Nightcap - Nightcap Hour 1: Unc and Ocho react to Micah Parsons firing back at Jerry Jones and are joined by Claressa Shields and Raekwon

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson react to Micah Parsons still upset that contract isn’t done yet, we are also joined by Claressa Shields to discuss her big fight this weekend and Raekwon joins to talk about his new album The Emperor’s New Clothes and much more! 02:30 - Claressa Shields joins the show41:18 - Micah Parsons just wants his fair share47:48 - Raekwon joins the show (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. United by passion. Podcasts that amplify the voices of women in sports. Thank you for supporting I Heart Women's Sports and our founding sponsors, Elf Beauty, Capital One, and Novartis. Just open the free I Heart app and search I Heart Women's Sports to listen now. Check out Behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.

We need to embrace this community. Listen to San Diego FC Behind the Flow on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Get fired up, y'all. Season two of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and incomparable soccer icon Megan Rapinoe to the show. And we had a blast. Take a listen. Sue and I were like riding the Lime Bikes the other day and we're like, weee! People ride bikes because it's fun.

We got more incredible guests like Megan in store, plus news of the day and more. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. Hey guys, it's AZ Fudd. You may know me as a gold medalist. You may know me as an NCAA national champion. of iHeart Women's Sports in partnership with unanimous media, starting August 7th on the iHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Nothing says summer like long days, clutch plays, and firing off a few bets on the game. Always draft King's Sportsbook. Never bet on baseball before? It's easy. Pick a guy to go yard, hammer some live odds mid-game or just ride with your squad and hope for the best. No spreadsheets, just vibes and

dingers. Here's something special for first timers. New Draft King customers bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app. Use code Shannon. That's code Shannon for new customers to get $150 in bonus bets instantly when you bet just five bucks. Only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Hello ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap. Y'all know who I am. I am your favorite uncle, Shannon Sharp, my partner and co-host Liberty City's own Bingles Ring of Fame honoree, had his storage locker went through.

I'm sick of seeing that, Ocho. I really am sick of seeing that man post stuff. He ain't got nothing. What'd you say? I said, I'm sick of seeing him post stuff but he find a Saint Laurent and all this and all that. Hey, God loves the cheerful giver, doesn't he? Isn't that what the Bible say?

Yeah. So there it is. That is Chad, Ocho, Seco, Johnson. We got a jam-packed show for you today We got undisputed heavyweight champ Clarissa Shields joining us at the top of the show and then we got Wu Tang clan member Raekwon joining us a little later Please make sure you guys hit that subscribe button Please make sure you hit the like button and guys go subscribe to the nightcap podcast feed wherever you get your podcast from we'd like to thank each and every one of you your eyes your ears and your word of mouth for making

nightcap what it is today without you there can be no us so we greatly greatly appreciate your support and your continued support make sure you check out shape our La Portier we do have it stock. If you can't find it in a city or state near you, order it online. We'll ship it directly to your door. But best believe we're coming to a city or state near you. The best tasting BSOP cognac on the market. Please drink responsibly and stay safe. Go follow my media company page on all of its platforms, Chez Chez Media and my clothing

company 84. That link is pinned in the chat. Supplies are limited and once they're gone, they're gone. So please grab yours while supplies last. So without, without no further introduction, here she is, two-time Olympic champ, 16 wins, 3 KOs, the undisputed heavyweight women's champion of the world Clarissa Shields. Clarissa how are you? I'm good how are you guys? We're doing amazing okay you're gonna be defending your heavyweight championship this weekend in Detroit you take on Lanny Daniels at the Little Caesars Arena. I mean you just fought a couple of weeks

ago Clarissa damn you fight like the old school fighter you used to fight I fought in February it's a while ago so let me ask you this so you try to fight how many times are you realistically ideally would you like to fight a year two a year three a year I would love to fight I don't know if my phone frozen on you guys yes the videos frozen but we can hear you she'll be back she's having she's having some technical difficulties uh you know that happened I mean hey welcome to the world of television live television because this is unrehearsed though Joe.

We don't get to cut. Don't worry about it. We can go back and pick it up and we'll start from where we left off. You're back now. I ask, I say ideally, how many times a year would you like to fight? I think three to four times is good for me. You know, I think that I go on there, I win. I don't really get scratched up and banged up too bad.

So three to four is good for me. You're taking on Lani Daniels in Detroit, Little Seasons. What do you hope to accomplish? Because by many estimations, you are the, you know, it's a short list. You and we're gonna talk about that a little later. The greatest women boxers ever. So it's only a really short list you and we're gonna talk about that a little later the greatest women boxers ever So it's a bill only a really short list. So

Taking on her. I mean what what do we hope to accomplish in this? What do we what what are we gonna get when you do what you always do come out here victorious? So Shannon, there's only one greatest woman of all time. Okay. Okay. Okay Talk to him man, and that is me. Okay, what you can look. You didn't get an assist? Talk to him, man. And that is me. Okay. But what you can look forward to see if on Saturday, I don't know if you guys watched the All Women's card that happened with MVP July 11th up in Massachusetts Garden.

A lot of those girls that fought were good. They were ranked number two, three, and four in the world, but number one did not fight. So you didn't get to see the skills and the power and everything that I possess so that's what you're gonna see on Saturday and I'm bringing you know I'm packing the house with 15,000 people I'm well over a million dollars at the gate already we're gonna do probably close to two million dollars at the gate I mean I'm I am coming on up I'm coming out to put on a show yeah a show for the people and I'm coming out to put on a show. Yeah. A show for the people. And I'm coming there and I'm bringing power.

I'm bringing skills. I'm bringing speed. And I want to show you why I wear these greatest women of all time chains. Okay? Hold on. I got a question. Listen, I love, I'm a boxing enthusiast. I love the sweet science.

Always have and been a fan of yours for a very long time. Thank you. All that you've accomplished to date, to this point, obviously being the greatest one of all time, how do you stay motivated? How do you stay motivated to want more? And after this fight against Lanny Daniels, what's next? First, just talk to me about the motivation

and what keeps you going once you've already achieved so much in the sport that you love. You know, right now I'm 16 and 0, right? And I'm the only four time undisputed champion and five divisions. Did I say 17 time world champion already? I think so. Come on, talk to me now. And it's like, you know what? I want to retire and I want them to say, oh, Clarissa was 50-time world champion. You know, Clarissa was undefeated. She fought against the best. She didn't duck nobody. She made the best fight.

She showcased her skills against anybody. She was dominant. You know, that motivates me. And like, the fact that, you know, it's not many doubters out there who believe that I'm not the greatest woman of all time, right? But if there is any Yes That motivates me to make them be fans, you know

I think may not like me but they will respect my craft and know that okay we may not like her for whatever the reasons are but Still respect my craft know that I'm the best at what I do and when I'm the best at what I do You really can't judge me because you're not the best at what I do. And when I'm the best at what I do, you really can't judge me because you're not the best at what you do. So in other words, you're saying you're trying to convince all, you're trying to convert all those non-believers into believers. Yes.

Just like Jesus did. Okay. There's news that came out. You and Layla Ali, who, you know, when she was fighting, she was the, she was the greatest woman, a box of all time. Here comes you and you guys have been going back

and forth and I think it's been reported or you said you got 15 million. You say you won a 15 million. Well, we got that and now so if you were to fight her Clarissa, let me can I say this? I don't really see the upside for you because of you beat her she's almost 50 she's 47 and and

she said out her own mouth for the past couple of years how this thing even first started she said she would not come out of retirement and fight nobody because nobody was good enough to give her a challenge knowing that me and her fought at the same weight class. And people think that I started to beef, but she said that, and I'm the number one pound pound woman in the world. We fight at the same weight class. I got the belts. I got the Olympic gold medals.

She even said, I think when she's on a broadcast, when I was going for my first Olympic gold medal, she said, oh, if they would have had the Olympics back when I was coming up, I would have won an Olympic gold medal. And she wouldn't have. She wouldn't have. I'm being honest with you. She wouldn't have.

You know, everything that Layla says about me, she's saying about herself. She says that I'm not, like, I don't have enough skills to be her. She don't have enough skills to even compete with me. The only thing that Layla has is Laila has is her size. She is a big woman. I mean, big hands, big feet, big head. Like Laila is a big lady, you know what I'm saying? How you really feel Clarissa? No, I'm saying like she's still a beautiful woman. Don't get me wrong, but she's a big lady. But you said that's a big target. You said big head, big head means big target. Yeah, and if we was to fight, I would hit that big target.

How did the, oh, let me ask you this. And then I'm gonna sit back and let you take it. Okay, okay, okay. How did the relationship sour? Her, when she did that, she go on an interview and says, oh, I will come my retirement, but there's no one good enough to give me a challenge.

There's no one like no one skilled enough, no one strong enough. I can just come out of retirement after being out the being out the ring. At this time, it probably was like 13 plus years. So she's saying that she can not box for 13 years in a professional boxing match. And there's nobody who would give her a challenge if she was to come out to come out of retirement and then she even said she would knock me out so therefore yeah people gotta understand like I don't take stuff like that lightly it's like you know what let's put your money where your mouth is I don't want to keep talking about Leila I actually

quit talking about her years ago because I'm like, you know a fight's never gonna happen every year. She's getting older She's never gonna come out of retirement. Whatever and then She come on and say oh The rumor I heard is if Clarissa got 15 20 million then now well, I got your 15 million. Now what? Now what you call it a book you call the book Clarissa yeah and and and we are still waiting to hear a response wait so you you are you are you are dead serious regardless of age regardless of how long you've been out the ring you will still get in the ring and fight her Layla told y'all herself, she is a healthy 47.

She ain't old and ran down. She said she work out. She still box, she jump rope, she run. This what she said. I didn't say it. She said it. Right. You're still 47.

Yeah. Hey, well, people need to act. You know when they say, at your age? Right, right, right. Well, we'll act 47 because you don't want to come missing with a young lion who's hungry. I like you know who got the 15 million to make a fight happen. You know you don't do that. Well I have a question and I'm not I'm not Clio I'm not known for predicting the future

but I already know based on what I've seen your resume speaks for itself everything you've done in the ring to date speaks for itself your last last fight, if I'm not mistaken, was February. I don't remember the exact date, but I did watch the fight. Hella performance. You fight July 26. This Saturday. Six. Lani Daniels. What's after that? After you beat Miss Daniels, this is no disrespect to her and her camp

and what they're what they're working on and hoping to accomplish. But we we we know how the end result is going to be. What's next after that? You know, I would love, like I said, to lock in the fight with L.I. Lee, January, February next year. T-Mobile Arena reached out to us and want to host the fight. Cowboys, they don't want to host the fight. Be the biggest women's boxing match in history.

And it's 15 million for her, so I don't want to host the fight be the biggest women's boxing match in history and it's 15 million for her So I don't know what she waiting on but I know when I turn 47, I wish one of these young girls Would try to test my gangster I'm coming right back to get that money For her what is it for you we only need to worry about what I'm getting First of all, you know, I'm the I'm the a side I'm the champion. We don't need to worry about what I'm getting. No, my bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad.

My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad.

My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. My bad. Got that number right got the number so if you think you can beat me up And I'm just so not skilled and I got no power and I'm good Okay, but

But if that fight doesn't happen with Layla, I wanted to have one more fight this year. Um Listen to anybody Shadesha Green she just became champion recently She just became champion recently. Yeah, I saw that. A rematch with franchise rules. Yeah, she's a drink and not messing with me. She can't fuck with me at all, but whatever. She got a belt, so if she want to get banged up, she can get banged up. So you take her belt?

How many belts you need, Clarissa? Damn, you got like seven. I got 17, but I need 50. I told you that. I have one more question. I have one more question and I understand there's a way difference, obviously. The possibility, if it's even possible for you to come down or for her to go up with Miss Bumgoner, is that, Is it any way that's even possible?

You got to be joking, man. I'm just I'm just asking, mama. So so so so so why? So one, don't you mean, Alicia, we we kind of squashed our beef, you know, right? Right. OK. OK. Alicia know that it's a difference between being good and great. Yes, ma'am. And she's working her way toward being great, you know, and she just ain't got enough, she ain't got enough ass behind her to-

Yeah, she ain't got no bricks in her back pocket. Yeah, to be able to stand up against- That's why I asked, that's why I asked. I mean, you coming down, that's all. If it was a fight that could be made, the lowest would be 154 for me. She had the kind of 54. And I think I saw her last year. She said she weighed 147 back when she was doing her F Clareston Shields tour back when we was beefing. And she got up to 147. So if she could come up to 54 and I go down to 54, I would love to make a fight with

her just to prove to her, listen, I can kill myself to make this weight and then still come out here and beat you in a boxing match But let me ask you this What about a rehydration clause because she's they're probably gonna want that because that I mean you're coming down You're coming down a couple of weight classes to get to 54. Yeah I'm not gonna do no rehydration clause because when you understand how you lose weight and how much water is important, you don't play those type of games. So I would never put myself in danger like that to where like I can make the weight but not being able to read to rehydrate is just not good.

Right. Understandable. Can I put my hat in the ring room? Understandable, understandable. But hey, can I put my hat in the ring real quick? Go ahead. So listen, if the fight happens with you and Leila Ali, for whatever reason, whatever the date may be, can I be on the undercard, please? Yeah.

No, no. Talk to me. I'm asking ahead of time. I just knew you was going to say something about you fighting today. I just knew it. I knew it, Ocho. Listen, listen, me and Andre Ward, we got some unfinished business.

Hey, who do you want to fight? Me and Andre Ward, we got some unfinished business. Ocho, we gotta match you up fairly. No, that's fair, sis. It's fair. No. My hand is in the state of Nevada. Andre Ward, you said?

Yes, my... SOG? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, Lyston people, they lump up easy. You mean Hines Ward? Hines Ward, not Andre Hines. Yeah, you're gonna have to go with like maybe a KSI. No, no, no, no, no, don't do me like that. Don't do me like that. I'm doing like

that. Listen, listen, we've been going at it back and forth for a very long time, similar to how you and Alicia were similar to how you and Leila Lear. So me and our year, well, we have to, we have to squash this beef that we have. It's a friend. Sometimes the only way to squash the beef is to fight. Thank you. I tell you, sometimes you gotta get it out the way thank you so put put us on the car please that's all so if the fight get made i will definitely let my team know we need to get outro and andre ward on i promise you i will keep that in my mind and let them know listen this is gonna take okay i see you okay okay okay if outro hey hey i'm putting this out right now. I'm smooth with the hands now.

If Ocho fight Andre Ward, I'm looking for a new partner for Nightcap. Damn, huh? You don't believe in me? Nah, not against Andre Ward. Hold on, time out, time out, time out. If this happens, I go in there with the Nightcap trunks, the Nightcap robe Oh, you know and you know, I'm representing us you gonna bet against me. I mean your boy Hey They play probably knock them off you so they'd be in the ring. I just go in the ring and get them

I got a question for you. Yes, they'll have a boxing match. Who would you want to fight against if I have a boxing match? Yeah Clarissa I'm 57. I don't want to fight against? If I have a boxing match? Yeah. Clarissa, I'm 57. I don't want to box nobody. Hey, uh, no, don't do that. Don't do that. Cause he's got other men that's 57. Who you, who you want to punch in the face, man? Talk to us. Hey, I done got too old. I ain't got no beef no more. Nah, man, we can't do that, man. Cause you gotta stand on business. No, I don't know. I, I'll punch a few folks in the face. Well, you chose the right profession because it seems like that on business. No. Oh no. Uh you confrontational as a child? I mean somebody say something to Clarissa you like this on site People was confrontational to me. Mm-hmm. I want confrontational you were the quiet one

Yep, I didn't know how to talk till I was five and I started real bad till I was 11 years old I couldn't even talk completely and people bullied me Okay, that's and that's what made me angry 11 years old, I couldn't even talk completely. And people bullied me. Okay. And that's what made me angry. Like despite the stuff that I went through at home, now I'm going to school, kids is pulling my hair, kids is taking my homework and copying it and ripping it up.

And so I went through that first, second, first and second grade. And then when third grade came, it was over. I was kicking butt. I was kicking ass, man. It was over for them after that. And I learned that when you stick up for yourself, people leave you alone. I didn't start boxing until sixth grade. So from the time third grade all the way to the sixth, I had gotten to a few little street

fights, but they always started with people picking with me I never picked with people I really didn't want to fight because I didn't know if I if I could fight my it was my anger that drove me to push people punty will grab them and just see and you know see what I could do but the first fight that I ever got into was with my little sister Brianna and when I tell you Brianna whooped my ass when I was eight eight nine years Old yeah, I'm gonna beat the shit out of me You didn't want to go through that anymore You do so much mean stuff to me growing up man, I'm telling you But let me let me let me ask you this Clarissa if you could fight any woman past or present

Clarissa, if you could fight any woman past or present, obviously Leila Lee is on the card because you know, the big payday you're talking about, it's got probably a million plus pay-per-view bias. Probably, if it's at Jerry's World, you're talking about 70, 80,000 fans. If it's T-Mobile, you'll probably sell that out. But if, I mean, who would you like to fight? Would you like to fight Anne Wolf? Would you like to fight Kristi Martin, Nicole Miner's I mean who would you like to fight? Would you like to fight and wolf? Would you like to fight Christy Martin Nicole Miners daughter? Who would you like to fight? Oh

What I would stop Christy Martin. That's not even a competition. Yes. You look small for you I would I would knock her out So now next the only other woman that'll be a dream fight for me If I have to say one being being and wolf and to K Taylor Katie because her skills are phenomenal the girl can box can bang she can figure it out she's a highly competitive thinker inside the ring and she wins all her fights that way she might not knock you out but she gonna outthink you and I would love to share the ring with her if we were near the same size But she's 140 and like I said those I can go is 154 and then as far as an and wolf listen

And was she was he was he was this people? People know Layla because Layla had the name and Layla was a good boxer But for Layla and and wolf to be in the same weight class and to never fight and camp in the same era we all know Layla Ali ducked Ann Wolf and why she ducked Ann Wolf because Ann Wolf would knock your damn head off yeah and that's a fight even I watched the Ann Wolf documentary on YouTube when I was a kid I watched her push trucks and punch bags and lift weights and If you look up an wolf versus bond award the biggest knockout in women's boxing. I dream to have a knockout like that. Oh

yeah, I a dream match between her and I I would love to have only because I Don't think I can be knocked out. But with her in the same era and And we were fighting but that would be somebody who I'm like, yo That's the woman who I'm kind of intimidated by and just to mention her she's coming to my fight on Saturday to support me and be there for me and this is one of my idols, you know, and I'm just so happy that she's coming Yeah, you need people that don't know about Anne-Wolf.

You need to you need to Google her or YouTube or whatever you need to do because she definitely had dynamite on her hands. I mean, she was a vicious. She was ferocious. She was. I have one more question. Hold on. I got one more question.

Listen, we know how great you are. Greatest woman of all time when it comes to boxing. What other passion, once you're done playing, I'm talking about playing, once you're done boxing, once the sweet science, once you hang the gloves up, what other hobbies are you interested in? What else is it that you like to do outside of the ring? Check out Behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved. San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.

We need veteran players and we need young players. Like, you're building a team from scratch and so the succession plan of long-term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community. When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier. And we watched Paraguay against Chile, pouring rain, just watching the fans jumping up and down. I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be my game, but it was going to be my life.

Listen to San Diego FC Behind the Flow. Now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get fired up, y'all. Season two of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe, to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, co-hosting a podcast with her fiance, Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire, and more.

Never a dull moment with Rapinoe. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final, the final and the locker room. I really, really, like you just, you can't replicate, you can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to talk.

We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candice Parker and college superstar AZ Fudd. I mean, seriously, y'all. The guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And, you know, we're always gonna keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well.

So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Jake Hofer and this is Back 40, a limited series show on wire to hunt, part of MeatEaters podcast network. Each episode I'll be asking eight wide tail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking

question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access? Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand. Listen to Back 40 starting July 30th on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey guys, it's AZ Fudd.

You may know me as a gold medalist. You may know me as an NCAA national champion and recent most outstanding player. You may even know me as a people's princess, but now you're also going to know me as your favorite host. Every week on my new podcast, Fud Around and Find Out, I'll give you an inside look at everything happening in my crazy life as I try to balance it all. From my travels across the globe to preparing for another run at the Natty with my Yukon Huskies to just trying to make it to my midterms on time, you'll get the inside scoop on everything.

I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball, and what it's like to be a professional athlete on and off the court. You'll even get to have some fun with the Fudd family. So if you follow me on social media or watch me on TV, you may think you know me, but this show is the only place where you can really Fudd around and find out. Listen to Fudd Around and Find Out, a production of iHeartWomen Sports in partnership with

unanimous media starting August 7th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Music, I just had my listening party today and it went very well. You know, everybody, I had nine songs and they rated all my songs 10. I was so shy. There we go. I like music and honestly, I'm a big community person. I want to train young girls and young boys who come from environments that I grew up in.

And I want to teach them boxing so boxing can help them like it helped me. You know, it really changed my life and helped me redirect my anger and I really don't look like what I've what I've been through. So I want to get back to communities and help people learn self-defense. And I mean, I'm going to I'm going to have kids within my career. So I don't have to stop my career to do that. So yeah, let me ask you, let's say this for the sake of argument. Layla says, you know what, Clarissa? You want this work, I'm gonna give you this work. But I want you to put that chain up. I want you to put the gloat up.

And if I beat you, I don't ever wanna hear you say, mention greatest woman of all time. I don't want that. I want that chain. You gonna put the chain up. Yeah. I mean, she want the little one on the big one

Right there that's the one that caught a hundred K right here. That's what that's what she won't Yeah, she's you come out retirement and she shut me up and beat me up. I Will put you put it right? I'll put it on that and I snap it closed for and litter you can have it boo You can have That but that's how confident I know that This ain't what she won't It's not what you want Clarissa. You seem very happy. You seem very happy now

Maybe it's because a lot of your your personal life has been made public and maybe you had someone in your life that was behind the scenes. But watching you, you know, we know some of the same people, we know Jamie Fritz, but watching you now, you seem a lot more at peace. You seem a lot more happy than you were in the past. Am I assuming too much? Am I reading too much into your body language

and the way you're moving now? No, I have to say that one, I'm 30 years old now, but I can say that since I've met I've met Pat Poole, he has brought a whole different woman out of me, I guess. Like I listen to him. He can tell me to be quiet. Okay. And he know how to fight, you know, so I can't bully him around and push him around. And, you know, he just so he's so kind to me. And he's so helpful that I've always had to do everything myself, you know, and that's dealing with my family, dealing with my friends, dealing with my business. I've had to do everything myself since 17 years old and now I have somebody that really like have my back and my best interest and who I mean looks after me when I don't even want him looking after me.

Like he's so protective and you know I think that with him I wouldn't be able to like I would be happy because I was working on my happiness before I met him. But meeting him, it just gave me like, I think when you find your person, you can just talk to him about anything and about any problem. Like I call him and listen, I talk more shit than a little bit, you know, I call him about everything. And I mean, he always has his ear open to communicate and talk with me and give me great advice and also to let me know like look you wrong here you know and I just appreciate that

it's so many tweets and so many um posts that I was about to put up and he's like he like don't don't do it because he knows my bigger picture and he's helping me Get to that so I think that with him helping me and he'll be in so supportive and him being so kind to me It's really just um, I don't know. I feel like I have I have a great a great partner in crime And we and we've been going somewhere special. So yeah, you can say that. He made me more womanly, right? Listen, I like that. I like that. I think to someone to share that,

because I guess for the longest time, I heard you talk, I've seen you on different platforms and you're talking about how your family, when you became successful, even though you did all of that, they still, some of them turned their back on you. And still the more you gave the more you they wanted. And it's a, and you said, and I, and I took. Took note of this.

You said they didn't want what you gave them. They want what you had. Yeah. What do you mean by that? Tell our chat that didn't hear you on other platforms talk about that. What did you mean by that? They don't, they don't want what you're giving. You can give them a hundred dollars. You can give them a car. You can give them a house. You can give them

food. They don't, they don't want that. They want what you have. So what do you have? You got a nice house. You got the pop and YouTube channels. You got the million dollar partnerships and endorsements and sponsorships. They want that. They don't want when you giving them a thousand thousand ten thousand and $15,000 when you helping them when you paying a bill you buying them cars. They don't want that. They want your car They want your house

But you work for that they didn't Absolutely, and that's where for a long time, you know, I didn't know how to say no. And when I started saying no, that's when people who I said yes to before, hundreds of times had the biggest issue. That's when it was, oh, she bougie. Oh, she don't care about her family. She don't take care of nobody. And, you know, out of everything that I've been through, the hardest one to deal with doing that was my younger sister because we came up together right, you know and she got three kids and I um help her take care of her kids like all her kids call me mama like

her kids is my kids when she happens 11 year old a year old and a five-year-old and it's my little niece and Nope, nobody would people think that I have kids because I have them so much and you know I'm the type of auntie where I'm sending groceries every week I'm buying clothes I'm buying school clothes so for me the hardest part when I start going through that a lot of other people did it too but it was her that really hurt me because she was the closest yeah and we got same mama, same daddy. And she really is like, people see me as this light and shining star.

But Brianna is my darkness. She is my darkness. And she's the opposite of me. But she understands that I've got that same darkness inside of me. I just show the light all the time. But she's like, how I am inside the ring Briana is like that every single day of her life she will she will literally put hands on you

like she will knock you out like she sent me videos of her fighting all the time like Briana you need to stop but she will knock your head clean off you know and you need to get up and glove there Clarissa have you had a conversation with your sister did you tell your sister like this hurts me after everything that I've done for you and your kids which are my nieces and nephews after everything that I've done Brie really this the way you behave this is the way you ask me yeah social media has its pros and cons but when she seen an interview that I did with Andre Ward and where I was crying you know she called me and she said, everybody talking about it's hard at the top.

She said, well damn, it's hard at the bottom too. But that's not your fault? No, but I'm like, I'm like, what you mean? She was like, rest. You know, I'm struggling all the time and you're not so that's where her animosity came from like you know I was okay you know even though I was helping her people getting in her mind and her head here yo sister should do more for you and it was like yep yep my girl listen we don't know a lot for you so when we talk she was like rest she you know one we went four

months without talking which my family knows that I don't do that I talked my mom and my dad even they they made me upset I still talk to them I really went on like a hiatus where I talked to my sister for like four months and then she would have the kids call me and I would only talk to the kids and I wouldn't talk to her and it went on for four months and one day she just hit me and was like, look, I want my sister back, you know, I'm sorry, I messed up. I never do it again. And, you know, it is what it is you know you know that I got you through whatever you know but I just like yo where I trying to get to in my career, I can't have you going live on Facebook lying on me, telling folks not to get tickets to the fights and shit. Like I can't have that. And I mean, it was deep, the stuff that she did, but

she had people, you know, in her ear. People are going to believe that Clarissa because that's your sister. You know, normally when family says something about an individual because they're so close, y'all grew up together. This is not some arbitrary, some willy nilly person talking. This is your blood sister. Yeah. Yeah. And that was the problem that I had was everybody took her word for face value when you, and then I didn't want to get on a social media bet and defend myself because it was like oh I'm trying to be above that but I literally had to it started affecting ticket sales in my life for my fight uh was it two years ago yeah and I'm like it was a week of the fight you know so she's

telling people oh she owner with crocodile tears you know don't come to the fight. She don't support her family She bought one of her friends a house, which I did not but People believe that yeah, it was like I had to Clear it up there and try to clear it up. But you know people love negativity more Before you go that that issue that you have in Clarissa, all athletes, not just all athletes, I can only speak from our perspective in playing football and having to talk to a rookie before and learning to say no.

Because when it comes to your family, your family would drain you. They would drain you because in the hard part for athletes and players, they have to understand it's okay to take care of your family. It's okay to enjoy the fruit of your labor and blessing those back that help you along the way. But those that take, they have no limits because they don't understand what it took to get to that point. There's a reason they have nothing sometimes, you know, obviously there are unfortunate circumstances that happen. But when one person makes it, they expect that one person to be

the golden ticket and they continue to take over and over and over and never knowing when to stop until that well runs dry. So at some point, the hard part of being the one that makes it out the family is knowing when to say no, because at some point, if you continue to pull that water from the well at some point it's gonna run dry. Yeah I agree. Clarissa I think the thing isn't what I tell people you're you that is a great gesture if you choose to help brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle but you're not no obligation. Yeah. See people see people got this notion because we came up in the same house, or I saw you from a child,

or I changed diapers on you, that that obligates you to take care of someone for the rest of their life, or buy them a house, or buy them a car. Out of the kindness of your heart, that is an unbelievable gesture. But we've gotta stop trying to put that burden, trying to guilt people in

Because because the first thing they're gonna say, you know, they say Clarissa and I had this a note You I know you've had it. Yeah, if it was me I help you It's the one if I was you I help you more than you help me They just say oh I do way more for you and I'm like, no No, you wouldn't. And the first thing, and when there's no more money, and somebody said, man, what happened to all of Clarissa's money?

Man, I don't know what she did with that money. I gave it to you. I tried to help you, you, you, you, you. And now I ain't got no money. Ain't nobody got no money. And now y'all talking about, y'all don't know where the money went. I had to tell myself, I said, listen, if I was to stop boxing today and I have another dollar who would pay my bills

I got a $4,000 mortgage on my $750 house up in Atlanta Okay, oh you had to create it. Okay. I own a few cribs, you know, you talk to the boss No, I got you know, you're talking to a boss. Come on, man. Come on, man. Come on, man. Let him know. I got hold on you. I don't want to run out of licks on you. I don't be in my business now. But I own houses and cars. I don't just be out here with the bling bling.

I'm like you. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes, some stuff you see, and be like, hold on, that right there is a knockoff, but this right here is a knockoff. You know what I'm saying? Talk to me, man. Come on, man. You know, so, no, for me, it was it was like I said if I was to stop right now who would pay these bills these

car notes you know pay for how I like to eat I like to eat I'm a heavyweight I like to eat steak and eat at the finest places so I'm like right now I'm probably my bills all together probably about $10,000 a month mm-hmm with all my bills together right mm-hmm So it was like right now If I had to freeze my bank account and I and I could use my money who would help me pay that? $10,000 make sure that I got my house my car my insurance Everything who will help do that and it's to say, but it's not many folks who you can rely on or people that even team up.

You know, so that's why I'd be like, hey. I'm so glad you just said that. I'm so glad you just said that. For those that are in the chat, I'm not sure how much you help your family, but I know everyone else is gonna see this, especially my fellow athletes, whatever it is you play, rappers, whatever it be. Like, just think about that hypothetically,

like Clarissa just said, if yes or no happened, God happened, you ran out of everything, go through your phone right now. And whatever your overhead is a month or whatever you may need, who can you call on your phone right now that you know, no matter what they're going to say yes. calling your phone right now that you know no matter what they're gonna say yes that you yes i could tell you right now my best friend nini will probably be like hey i can't pay your 10 000 dollars you can come stay with me and i'll make sure you eat every day yeah yeah till you get back on your feet but ain't nobody's gonna be like hey we got 10 000 for your money oh you know pap pap would take care of me he'd take care of me yeah right but I'm thinking of like not my relationship but you know family and stuff it's not it's

not one person I could I could call for that. Clarissa thanks for stopping by good luck on the fight. The next fight that she does do, I'm on the undercar, remember? Oh Joe, we talking about this. I told you, I told you five nights a week, I don't need you to bring your black ass back. I'm talking to her.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I told you all the time. Clarissa, good luck. Go ahead, what are you gonna say? Yes, so, just I to celebrate something just with my fans and, and with y'all fans too. This is my first gate where I've done over a million dollars, well over a million dollars. My first gate. We have over 15,000 people who have bought tickets to come to the fight. I am so just over joy by that. So all the fans who are listening, all my fans who love

me, thank y'all so much. It's only a few tickets left. So I want to be able to say once we, once I win this fight, you know, we had a sold out Little Ceasar Zarina here in Detroit. So please get the rest of your tickets on Ticketmaster. It's not that many left. All the floor seats are gone. And even if you're not coming to the fight You look for the odd ticket even if you ain't coming just so I can say I sold out so help me out, okay? Congratulations on all your success thank you time go with Olympic gold medal winning boxer a undefeated heavyweight champion 17 time world champ Shields, thank you Clarissa. Good luck on Saturday. I hope toissa Shields. Thank you, Clarissa.

Good luck on Saturday, and we hope to see you soon. Thank you, appreciate y'all. Thank you. Thank you. Clarissa Shields, man, it was great talking to her to see, you know, obviously she channeled that, what she was going through as a child.

You know, she said she didn't speak till she was five. She had a speech impediment until she was 11 and she got tired of being bullied. She got tired of being picked on and she channeled that into something good and to see her what she overcame and see her turn into a two-time Olympic gold medal winning boxer, the heavyweight undisputed heavyweight champion of women's boxing, 17-time world champ. She is to be commended. Congratulations and uh continue success Clarissa. She is the real deal. It's it's one thing

that I don't think people understand how difficult it is right. Well, not difficult but it's easy to be angry. It's easy to get excited but it's one thing to be able to take that anger and put it in the environment and channel it in a

relaxed manner. Yep. Controlled chaos. That's Controlled chaos. That's all it is. That's all about kids is controlled chaos. Yep. You know, oh man, it's a beautiful thing, especially when you watch it done right, the way she does it.

It's an awesome thing to see. It's unbelievable. Ocho, okay, let's switch gears. Michael Parson spoke at training camp today about the lack of a new deal. Let's listen to what he had to say. Damn. Check out Behind the Flow,

a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved. San Diego coming to MLS is gonna be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team. We need veteran players and we need young players.

Like you're building a team from scratch. And so the succession plan of long-term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community. When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chile, pouring rain, just watching the fans jumping up and down. I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that gonna be my game,

but it was gonna be my life. Listen to San Diego FC Behind the Flow. Now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get fired up y'all. Season two of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, co-hosting a podcast with her fiance Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete?

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How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access? Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand. Listen to Back 40 starting July 30th on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey guys, it's Az Fudd. You may know me as a gold medalist.

You may know me as an NCAA national champion and recent most outstanding player. You may even know me as a people's princess. But now, you're also going to know me as your favorite host. Every week on my new podcast, Fud Around and Find Out, I'll give you an inside look at everything happening in my crazy life as I try to balance it all. From my travels across the globe to preparing for another run at the Natty with my Yukon Huskies to just trying to make it to my midterms on time, you'll get the inside scoop on everything. I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball, and what it's like

to be a professional athlete on and off the court. You'll even get to have some fun with the Fudd family. So if you follow me on social media or watch me on TV, you may think you know me, but this show is the only place where you can really Fud around and find out. Listen to Fud Around and Find Out, a production of iHeart Women's Sports in partnership with unanimous media starting August 7th on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are you discouraged by the fact that it's taken this long? podcast. It's hard to, yeah, you see a lot of people around the league going, taking care of you, just wish you had something like that same type of energy.

It's hard to not take it personally? I want to say it's hard not to take it personally. And you know how there's a chain of events of something consistently happening over the course of years, when you kind of see it before through other players and things. So you don't take a person when you don't take a person when you like, all right, it's not like I'm getting treated differently than anyone else, you know?

So I don't take a person. I just don't understand. Hey, you can see the hurt. Yeah, you can hear it. You can hear it. Because you hear him, Mocho, you hear what he say? He say, they took care of TJ. They took care of Max.

They took care of Miles. De' care of Max. They took care of miles They'll hunter got a new deal because the nail hunter deal was after Max Crosby Yes, Crosby got 35 and a half the nail got 35.6 And then what you come jump way to 40 and now TJ comes in at 41 and he's like look look at all these guys I've been consistent. No, I haven't won a defensive player of the year like TJ I haven't won a defensive player of the year like Miles Garrett, but I've gone to the pro bowl every single year. I was a rookie of the year. I've been an all pro player. So where is you know, what about the reward for my work? And I said and I and he was bang, he was nicked up. And

so that's why the product even nicked up. He still got 12 and a half what 1312 and a, 13 facts, even nicked. He's going out there, giving you everything, everything that he possibly can. And to have my owner says that about me, look, you can feel any type of way. Right. I already know how you feel.

I think I know how you feel because you haven't rewarded my place. Right. 26, I don't want you to pay me for what I've done because I've gone to the Pro Bowl. I've gone to I've been an all pro. I've been defensive rookie of the year. You compensated me for that.

You holding up is telling me that you doubt that I can continue what I've been what I've started. Yeah, I don't I don't get Jerry. And some things are not for me to understand, but I don't understand this. Right. So one thing I thought about, always thinking about this and in Michael Parson's situation, he can take it personal because you've seen Jerry do this to multiple players.

He did it to Dak. He did the same thing to City Lamb. He did the same thing to Ezekiel Elliott. You told me multiple stories about situations that have gone on with Emmett Smith, with Jimmy Johnson. So this is just him in general. Most of the time you think about it, the owner like Jerry Jones, obviously the most profitable franchise in sports in general, the Dallas Cowboys, the star on the helm.

That'll cut you off, Ocho. I just saw a thing today because the Green Bay Packers are publicly traded because they're a chef. I saw that too. Every chat, every team, all 32 teams, $432.5 million. Let me repeat 432 million. Now that's what they got from the TV and all the league wide deals. That's not local TV.

That's not local radio. That's not local radio. That's not concession. That's not parking. That's not ticket sales. That's not merchandise. Yeah. So that's one big screen. They got six other buckets that they can pull from. Go ahead, Ocho.

So the Dallas Cowboys, obviously Jerry Jones is into making money. We understand what his bottom line is. Obviously the Dallas Cowboys, obviously Jerry Jones is in the making money. We understand what his bottom line is. Obviously the bottom line isn't about winning because the NFL is a copycat league. Owners see what other owners do. And if you want to win games, if you want to compete and build a team that can hopefully help you reach the Super Bowl, I mean, you just copy what you see other owners do. But the Philadelphia Eagles is right down the street.

It ain't that hard. You see what Jeffrey Lurie and Harry Roseman do every single year. They pay the players. None of their players are complaining or sitting on the sideline or holding out or doing interviews, nor are they in front of the camera every chance they get because they have one in goal. One in goal in line in mind, just as the players we coming in trying to get a super bowl. It's about business and their business is about winning. Jerry think about no winning man. Jerry is trying to show I'm in control. I'm going to make you wait the longer I make you wait the

more attention we as a Cowboys team get he continues to do the same thing each and every year with his star players and then taking shots at him publicly let me know it gives me a clearer picture and a clearer indicate indication that he's really not serious about putting the team together that can win look at look at Kansas City Kansas City will play their players and they say, you know what? You've been great here. We can't pay you. We're going to put you somewhere. We'll put you somewhere where you can. Yes. Ligerious need. We can't pay you.

But what if we were to trade you to somewhere that can trade you? Look at what they did. Look at what they did to Pat Mahone, they're taking care of Kelsey, they took care of all their receivers until Tyreek priced himself out of Kansas City because they had other things, they knew they had Chris Jones, they just signed Caloftus. Look, they're going to have to do something with McDuffie, Bolton, Trey Smith, they took care of him. the the the the the

the the It's hard because you have an owner who understands the value in the franchise. You have an owner who understands how do I continue to keep the news on me? How do I continue to keep the news on us despite not winning the past 30 years? News cycles continuously talk about three teams. The Cowboys, the Lakers and the Yankees. Whether winning or whether losing. They're always in the news.

They're always in the news. They're always in the cycle. So Jerry has mastered that in being able to manipulate situations to where the attention is always on them. And he's done it phenomenally. You look at the news today, huh? The news today, Washington ESPN training camp has started. It's 32 teams.

We talk about the Cowboys all day. What in the hell is going on? So now I get to the point where, wait a minute, what Jerry playing mind games with everybody? He doing it on purpose. He doing this on purpose. Oh, Joe, we got a special guest joining us. Sure.

Joining us with his eighth studio album, Emperor's New Clothes, out to massal, featuring Wu-Tang Clan members, Ghostface Killer, Method Man, Inspector Deck, as well as Nas. Here he is, Rayquan. What it do? Hey, hey, hey, show, what up, fellas? Show what they do, baby, what's good?

Hey, shit, hey, shit, old show, what's the word? And I'm here, man, one foot in front of the other, man. They're trying to make it happen with my head high so I can see where I'm going, baby, that's it. There you go, that's all we could do, right? That's all we could do. Keep on going. Quarren, tell us about the album.

Mr. Chalk. What do you like about it? Tell me, tell me, tell me the thought process. I'm going in, I'ma do my eighth studio album. What's the thought process? What are you looking for? Well, first and foremost, what I'm looking for is eighth studio album. What's the thought process? What are you looking for? Well, first and foremost, what I'm looking for is to tear shit up.

I'm one of them, I'm one of them. When I come back around, niggas gonna know I came back around because they'll take it for real. I take it like the fights. You see your brother got the robe on. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah.

It's serious, it's serious with me. But now on the real note though, I've been out the game. You know, I ain't going to say out the game, but I've been doing other businesses and I've been away from my pen and pad for about seven years. So I knew it was time to come back and Blant Brothers with another joint, you know? So you know, I've never been one of those artists to try to rush and continuously drop, drop, drop, drop, drop, you know, like a Marvin Gaye baby. So I got to sit down, figure shit out,

certain beats is gonna hit me when it's time. But I know right now was the moment of truth for me to step in, you know? You said something very interesting. You say you've been away from your pen in the pad for about seven years. Even though in the process or then when you're away Do you even do a little sketching? You're like, okay, you know, I just this this right even though You know that it's not quite time for you to go full Underground right focus in and start writing. Absolutely. Absolutely That ain't i'm not saying i'm walking away like I closed the door on it. Nah, we don't close the door.

We always looking. We always fishing. You know what I mean? I might run into a producer on the road and I'll be like, damn, I always want to work with you. You know what I'm saying? And then next thing you know, we entertaining that thought. But at the end of the day, I might just tell a nigga, yo, send me a 50 pack.

And I might reach through the 50 piece and might be like, yo I like this, I like that, I like this and then that's when I start my process of tuck. That's when the creative juices get going. Right, I start to tuck, I start to tuck and like I said I sit on it for a minute and that always been my mystique to my music. It's like a lot of shit niggas be hearing, it don't be like the beat was here yesterday. You know what I mean? I might've been like, yo, this one was designed two years ago and I tucked it because I knew

that when I hit a nigga with it right now, it's going to feel like it was done now. So it's just my way of process how I do things. Right. Now I have a... Listen, I love music. I'm a music enthusiast and I've always been a fan of yours, a huge fan of yours, Wu-Tang, the whole crew. But I'm thinking about music in general and the way it sounded back then, when we was all young, but the way it sounds now is completely different.

At any point, despite what the music sounds like today, I've listened to the album, One Life, Open Door, 600 School, You and Meth, doing what y'all always do. Does it matter how music sounds today and how hard it is to remain your true authentic self and keeping that New York sound no matter what the music sounds like today? I don't get caught up in what anything sounds like anymore because a lot of shit got let in that I may not like and that's just my opinion, but I'm not paid on it. But one thing I'm not going to do is allow what it is today to dictate me as an artist on where I'm going and how I want my music to be dictated. So I'm always going to stay in my lane. It's like being a 60, 50 year old nigga in a club with a bunch of 20 years. That don't look...

So I've never been that type of dude to sit here and say, oh, this is the new sound they like, so let me try to get... You don't chase sound. Nah. You be you up there, you're Quan and that's what I do. Right. That's right. And I do it to the point where I say in my mind, I still gotta grow, still gotta make it new,

you know what I'm saying? But I won't do something out of the box that I know that I'm not comfortable with. And I know my diehard fans might look at me like, yo nigga, what you doing? You know what I mean? Because I had tried shit, I have tried shit, Shay, and it's like, you know, my fans, they hard on me,

and I love it because, I love them because they made me who I am, besides my crew. But my fans, I tried things, like say for instance, right? Niggas be like, yo, I want you to keep giving us this, giving us this, giving us this. And I'm like saying to myself, like, that's cool, but what happens when I want to give you something like I want to give you apple? I want to drop a gem on you.

Right, right. So you know, it fluctuates. And then when I do find myself slipping away a little bit trying to please everybody, then they like, yo, we want the whole shit again. We want- Right. Yeah. So I never really categorize what I do is music is music. If you love it, it feel good, it vibes to you, it vibes to your soul.

I did my job. I ain't sitting here trying to act like I got to follow what manuscript everybody else is doing because I know y'all love me for what I bring to the table. And I think that's the hardest part, Quan, is that when you look at it, everybody's like, man, all he does is the same thing, same thing, same thing. When you give them something new, they're like, well, I want the old guy back. I want the old guy back. So how do I evolve when I try to give you something new and you say you want the old

Quan back? Right. I just basically give up on trying to please everybody. I just gotta know that at the end of the day, do it sound good? Is it the sandwich? We gonna take the sandwich or we gonna take the song? And me and my team, we sit around and they be honest with me. You know what I mean? Because if they try to change me, they gonna know that at the end of the day, I'm gonna look at them and I'm gonna be like, you sure? You know what I'm saying? And it's to the point where I think as an artist, we do have to listen to one another. I don't never want to be one

of those, you know, artists that just ain't ready to hear, be optimistic with somebody that they make sense on something. It's like back in the days we make a bunch of, a bunch of hardcore reality records and niggas say, Dan, you ain't got nothing up there for the females? I'm like, nah, I ain't on that time right now. But then the nigga give you a look like, and then that'll make me be like,

all right, I got it, I gotta do that. Right. Can I ask you this? What happened to the lyricists? When I was growing up, you had Kane. You had a Rock Him. You had KRS1. You had Slick Rick.

You had a Scarface. You had guys that were, it seems like now everybody wanna put the beat and guys can't, and ain't saying nothing. The beat banging, but they ain't saying nothing. Whereas before, guys had so much to say. Where did the lyrics go, Quan? Where the lyrics went, I think it's just the fact

that the radio has overpowered the mindset of music today. It's not everything is classified at certain levels, but then you wanna try to mash everything together like it's one. So I think when the lyrics was everything, it was about skill. It was about coming in a big park and knowing that you know how to fight on that mic.

But today it's more of a popularity show. You know, if you got a great hook, you making people dance. And that's cool because at the end of the day, we need a little bit of that. But as far as the lyrics and all that concern, I think the radio just is like, yo, they trained to go one way with it. So we don't stop doing what we do.

We just do it for the niggas that remember that. And can- Yeah. And it's funny when you think about it, the stuff that is mainstream right now is sort of the stuff that Uncle's talking about, but those of us that are a little older and can appreciate lyricism, we can appreciate it. You know, Juan, what I miss, I'm gonna call you a chef, what I miss, honestly, is the storytelling.

Damn. The story that came along with rapping is one thing to have beats is one thing to listen to rap but to hear a story told like they used to do back in the day. And you know, there are a few, I mean, J. Cole is pretty good at it too, you know. Though there's an art in itself in that alone. Exactly.

That a lot of artists have moved away from because in order to be mainstream, you have to have a certain sound or you gotta have a certain certain beat or you got to sound like, you know, you know what I mean? I'm going to tell you something too. I'm going to tell you something too. A lot of people don't feel like it sells. Right.

You know what I'm saying? Okay. So if me and you know that we go into the movies, like we just strictly love horror flicks. Yes, sir. Horror flicks might be probably the least ones that sell in the movie theater. Everybody's on some drama, comedy shit

or whatever the case. I'm just trying to give you- Superhero, they're on the superhero now. DC, Marvel, whatever the case may be. Exactly. So all I'm saying is that, is to each his own on what they like. But when it comes to the politics, a lot of times, the lyrics, I guess they just feel like, yo, we

don't want that no more. But we know commercial shit, we know it has to exist. As an artist, you want to still try to deliver on every level. So I'm not stupid. I'm not, I'm not expecting me to be talking crazy and think that that's going to be on prime time, three o'clock in the afternoon and me and your grandmothers is listening or whoever is listening.

So I know that, but like I said, I just think that it's not being embraced enough in the culture of wanting it because it's a lot of niggas that just feel like, yo, that shit ain't doing, yo, fuck all that. So you got a lot of dumb niggas out there. Let's, let's wait about that. Am I lying? Am I lying, hon? No, you're not. So we know it's a lot of dumb niggas. So dumb niggas don't want to hear nothing but

shit that they feel like is making them happy. We the type of niggas don't want to hear nothing but shit that they feel like is making them happy. We the type of niggas that we need to hear something because we might be going through something we might have a moment we might need to hear Jim. We might need somebody got a job a bracelet to make me be like turn my neck and be like I needed that. So you know to each his own man to each his own. Yeah looking back at the legacy of hip hop are you did you know Wu-Tang would be what you guys became? I knew we had the potential to be who we wanted to be but we know there had to be a lot of work

but far as the confidence factor yeah I think we we knew we was gonna make a make a um we was going bum rush because at that time we was young and we felt what we felt was going to win. But we knew that we still had to put in the work. But to go 30 years later in the year and have this audience of fans that's of all race and greed and it's like, that's the moment shit. We didn't see that coming.

We didn't see that coming. Because when you look at it, you guys, each one of you guys stepped out on your own. You kind of like NWA, you see Q did his own thing. Dre turned into a producer. A lot of these guys did their own thing. And to see after all these years, it's like man

I I remember when and when when they put the compilation together and you guys are always it Is it is it hard when you're a group you got five guys and and normally you ain't gonna see this anymore What you saw with NWA what you saw with Wu Tang what you saw it ain't no it ain't ain't no more in sync Ain't no more new kids on the block ain't no more new addition cuz everybody looking for that solo action cuz I ain't really trying to split a hundred thousand five ways I'ma keep it stacked with you I ain't really trying to do that if I will get a hundred stacks if I will get a hundred stacks I gotta run this on my own exactly and see that's the whole thing. That's why I tell people all the time,

when we came together, it was like shooting dice at a dice game and the nigga just backin'. RZA was bettin' his hand on something that he didn't know was gonna be what it was, and guess what? Head crack. You found this fuck, you assembled this amazing team of men that basically all got their own style.

And you believe in every last one of them, but you want them all to come together because we know team means everything. It's like I've been on sports teams. Y'all know how it goes. You know what I mean? A team, once y'all on the same mind frame and y'all really want to win, that's more to win. That's more to have under your belt. The people are like, yeah, nigga, we getting close to the winning. Because we got a strong team. So really for us, we was looking at the cats that did it before us, the naughty by nature's head banger, the head banger, you know what I'm saying?

We want to be like those niggas. We want to be like them, but we got to be better. We got to figure out a way to let them know we just as strong as them or we may be even a little stronger. So our intentions were big, but like I said, we could say whatever, whatever, but if you don't put in the work, that shit don't mean nothing. You know what's funny? One of the things that we always struggle with, especially our people, when it comes

to doing anything and uniting, even as a group, whether it be most of the time, it's hard for us to stick to the plan and understand long-term vision. This is what we need to do. But one, we got to put the work in. Most of the time, depending on what it is going on, everybody want to take a shortcut. Everyone take a shortcut. And it's very, very difficult for everybody to stay on the same page. Have y'all managed to always be on the same page after all these years with no fallouts? I'm sure there's probably little rifts or whatnot, but have you all managed to keep that friend group so tight together? It's the fans, man. And it's the ability to be able to know men going to argue.

We going to go through, we might fight, we might argue, but the thing we not going to forget is where we came from and the blessings that we received. See, when a man feels like he's at his worst point and you just want to give up, that's cool too if that's who you are. But we are brothers so we know that at the end of the day, it's a rule that comes with going at each other. It's like, yo, that shit can't exist but for so long. So, you know, times it really be, it be rainy days. You know, we might not talk to each other for months,

but that don't mean we don't love each other. So I guess when we come back to do some work If whoever's on bad terms y'all had enough time to be like, you know, that shit ain't about nothing man Let's let's go back job. But really like I said, it's the fans We never want to let down the fans on making them feel like we don't break up But it happens. Can you give me five groups that's together still? You see what I'm saying? At least they broke they might have got back together but they broke up at some point in time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's why actually. So for us, I think it ain't never a

breakup thing. I think it's uh yo I'm out the way for a minute man. Take a break. Yeah I'm out the way for a minute. You know it been plenty. Yeah, I'm out the way for a minute. It's been plenty of times probably in the past with me, I wanted to break up, but then I have real niggas around me like, yo, are you really sure? That's how you feel? And then it makes me question, am I dealing with too much emotion? Or do I got facts to stand on to make that decision that I'm making? So, you know, a lot of times it's just, you got to learn how to forgive, man. You know, the most high teachers how to forgive, not forget, we give.

So we forgive each other sometimes because money ain't going to keep us together. You know what I mean? What's going to keep us together is, damn nigga, I know your mother, I know your family, your family love me. You know what I mean? I ain't going nowhere. You ain't going nowhere. Yeah, and we try to just Balance it out with distance, you know sometime you gotta balance it out with this With the Wu Tang forever the final champ chamber tour. Was that really the last time you guys are gonna be together right now? That's the call because everybody got

other things on it. Got other projects going on, got everything going on. Vision board but me and you know that anything could happen. How many niggas said that in the past yo it's over then they bust a move. I mean right now nobody don't know for like the last couple of years we have been struggling with you, you know what I mean? Because dudes is doing shit. You know what I mean?

It's different if a nigga sitting around a corner and you just don't want to do it no more. Niggas say it, I don't want to do it no more. So sometimes that ain't the case, but if I got something going on and the next thing you know, this shit fall in my lap and it's like, damn, I got to say to myself, damn, I'm going to be busy that month. That nigga's trying to dance. I'm already signed then.

So we've been having to deal with those situations and move some things around. So we pretty much had like a, we had like a forecast that was basically saying, yo, we going to do this, we going to yo, we're going to do this, we're going to do that, we're going to do this, and then we're going to chill. Because we know that at the end of the day, yo, nigga, you might got a lot of other shit to do. So it's all about respecting men and respecting their businesses and their family time, all that plays a role. But we do have to

go through some struggles with that. So now we just say, yo, you know what? Now everybody, yo, we go back out one more time, show the fans some love and then, yo, now you don't got to worry about me in your ear trying to do something. That's what it was though. But you never know. I'm gonna tell my fans that you never know. You never know what could happen, man. But it's gonna be, if it escalates to us doing it again, it's gonna be better because that's the only way we signing up. You recently said hip hop doesn't feel authentic anymore.

Do you? Okay. Is there, in your mind? Is there ever a chance? Hip hop, rap, whatever the case may be. Will it ever be what it once was? Let me tell you something, Unken. I want you to listen real clear. I don't know if I just told you like I told you. You see, this is why I call my album The Emperor's New Clothes. My album The Emperor's New Clothes is because The Emperor's New Clothes is a Dutch folktale about deception. The king got hoodwinked.

He got hoodwinked. He's sitting there with all his vanity and vanity turns into ego and then next thing you know, you become weird. You start to forget the rules and principles because your ego is so big that the day these guys came in to sell you some clothes that wasn't real but you knew they wasn't real but your ego allowed you to sit here and try something that really it wasn't right. So the bottom line what I'm saying is we got to stop falling for suckish shit, for stupid shit, for shit that ain't hip hop that we classify as hip hop.

What's the difference? What's the difference? Jad, if I give you a shirt and I say, yo, try this shirt on and I ain't got it in my hand, Common Sense is going to tell you, nigga, this ain't, yo, Ray, you ain't got it in your hand. Somebody might be like, that's the shit, Ocho put it on. That's what's going on in the game today. So niggas make hip hop be something that we know it ain't, but you got niggas right next

to you telling you it is what it is. So my thing is, don't get caught up in the deceptions. So when I'm making my music, I gotta keep it hip hop. You know what I'm saying? Prime example, and this ain't shitting on nobody. Post Malone, right? I love him as an artist. I love him as an artist. You look him up in the dictionary or anything, Google, they call him an American rapper. Now my thing is, when I think of Post Malone, he's singing all the time Not take away from him saying that he can't rhyme or he right all that's something else

You see i'm saying you see how the white boys do the rock you got contemporary rock You got punk rock. You got this rock. You got hardcore rock. You got all these different titles But when it come over here to hip hop everything y'all niggas is calling fucking hip hop. It ain't hip hop, bro That don't mean it ain't dope. I'm not taking nothing away from home. I like a fan but that yeah You understand what I'm saying? I know exactly what I know exactly what you see. This is not the single. It's just like I said, we got to preserve the culture, man. The best way we know how, man. Niggas got to start acting like they calling everything something that it's not, man.

That's all I'm saying. So I wanted to make this album basically bring niggas back to realizing that, yo, you know what? Stop being deceptive. Stop letting niggas decept you that yo you know what stop being deceptive stop let niggas decept you with other bullshit man you know what i mean if this is what you want then you gotta you gotta stand on it but if you're gonna settle you can tell you yo eat this shit yo this shit is good and you like this shit is nasty if it's nasty. It's nasty. But right here is the problem that we're going to that we that

we've run into, right? We've allowed it to get in for so long. Yeah. Right. It's going to be hard to get it up out of there because we've allowed it to infiltrate for such a long time and so now people just like, oh yeah, that's rap. yeah, that's, that's such a search because we've allowed it for the last 20, the last 20 years to get in there. And as you said, they say it, and now we classified as rap, we classified as hip hop, but that ain't what it is. That's never what it was, was, and that wasn't what it was intended to be.

Let's see. That's, but see going back to the Emperor's new clothes. Remember two swindlers came in there and swindled the king Yeah, yes when was so guess who the swindlers is do I gotta say it? No, no, no No, it's the niggas with the money. It's the niggas with the money. That's saying they're pushing it That's saying one for you one for me two for you one two for one, two for me, three for you, one, two, three for me. You get it? Yeah. Yep. We ain't gotta sit here and not know what we know,

but at the end of the day, money, man. That's why I said the vanity, you know, the vanity controls the ego and then you become something that's just, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wanna, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,'s just yeah yeah yeah yeah I want to yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah and the nigga bring you anything and everything and you like yo fuck it all I see is the money I don't need nothing else. The funny thing this is the great thing I like about life whether whether it's sports whether

it's where there's rap whether it's arts whether it's where there's, history always repeats itself. Facts, facts. Life goes in cycles. Mm-hmm. In decades, as I call it. That's right. History, it's gonna repeat itself where hip hop is back to its original format in which we all know and love.

I mean, I felt like it never really went nowhere. I just felt like this was a blanket over it. And basically, everybody just at a point where, you get tired of hearing the same type of shit all day. You know what I mean? It's like, you know, like I said, man, I ain't got to shoot at nobody, man. I ain't here to shoot at nobody.

But a lot of shit that we all respect, let's just classify, let's just put certain things in our own mind to be what it is fuck that we don't need nobody to tell us yo this is what it is you got to know what it is I got to know what it is and at the end of the day like I tell niggas you go to the movies you pay for what you want nigga period you want horror nigga you Period. You want horror, nigga? You come over here. You don't go over there for horror if it ain't horror. But today, like I said, all we could do is really start trying to articulate what's what.

You know what I'm saying? And that's my thing. I didn't make this album to try to shit on nobody these are just my principles my niggas this is just how I feel and I knew that yo do what do what you niggas know you do man period man you know I'm saying because if you do it some other way then you gonna wind up like the king and the Empress new clothes and shit when he fucking got so something in a little kid Told them that ain't it. Yeah Yeah, sometimes you need that, you know, and this ain't even this

Even my philosophy just based on hip-hop. It ain't even just that we living in those crazy times We know where there's no rule book. it was a rule book back in the days mm-hmm fuck if you had a big brother and a nigga tell you a nigga put your hands on you you better put your fucking hands you better fight him not shoot him fight him people scared to take a or not oh Ray absolutely yeah hey Ray I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm

not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not guys do it one more time, take the group out one more time, spin the block, let everybody see the Ruthane Clan, 30 plus years in the making and do this thing one time. Thanks for coming by, stop by again soon.

Baby brother, y'all my baby brothers, I love y'all and y'all subscribe to y'all platform, what y'all doing. Like I said, man, it's going to take real ones to stand the way they stand and and I salute y'all brothers man, and thank you for everything because You all a part of this culture. Let's stick together. We got some great things lined up for the people You know I'm saying I've got a documentary coming out. That's gonna blow y'all niggas heads off only Wakes, you know the documentary, you know what I mean? They're also you know, like I said, I'm just trying to dance in the greatest way, keep myself relevant.

But you know, it's a lot of shit going on, bro. That's all. Great. Thanks. But I appreciate the platform. Thank you for supporting me, man. It's all my fans. You know how I get down.

Enjoy the music. There it is. Ray Kwan, thank you for coming by. Go catch the new album, Emperor's New Clothes. Salute. Appreciate you, man. Enjoy and stay safe. Tell the family I said hello. Thank you, my brother. Likewise.

Peace. Yo. Join I Heart Radio and Sarah Spayne in celebrating the one year anniversary of I Heart Women's Sports. With powerful interviews and insider analysis, our shows have connected fans with the heart of women's sports. In just one year, the network has launched 15 shows and built a community united by passion. Podcasts that amplify the voices of women in sports.

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So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. Hey guys, it's AZ Fudd. You may know me as a gold medalist. You may know me as an NCAA national champion. You may even know me as a people's princess. Every week on my new podcast, Fud Around and Find Out, I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball, and what it's like to be a professional

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