#RolandMartinUnfiltered - GA To Hand Count Ballots, No Charges for GA. Lt. Gov., VP Harris' Reproductive Rights Push

Episode Date: September 21, 2024

9.20.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: GA To Hand Count Ballots, No Charges for GA. Lt. Gov., VP Harris' Reproductive Rights Push The Pro-Trump Georgia election board voted to require hand counts of ballots, which would delay the certification of the results by weeks if not months. This is the same party that tried to steal the 2020 election and has people currently awaiting trial, including the orange man.  One accused fake elector, Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, will not be charged in the election subversion case.  We'll talk to one of the attorneys who sued the special prosecutor for dragging his feet in the case.  Vice President Kamala Harris was in Georgia today, talking about reproductive rights after meeting with one of the families who lost a loved one due to the state's abortion ban. Martin Luther King Jr.'s son responds to North Carolina's gubernatorial candidate, Mark Robinson, 's alleged comments about the civil rights icon.   We'll show you a new campaign ad tying the two deplorables, Trump and Robinson, together.  Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.

This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's Friday, September 20th, 2024. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network, it is Frankie Bentley Appreciation Day. Folks all across the country have been wearing their white. And so we'll show you some of the social posts of folks who have been celebrating life and legacy of Frankie Beverly, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. Well, the pro-Trump Georgia Election Board voted to require a hand counts of ballots.

How stupid is this? Which would delay certification of the results by weeks, if not months. Yep, we'll talk about what they're trying to do to steal the election in Georgia, but the Georgia Attorney General's already said. This is probably illegal. One accused fake elector Georgia

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones will not be charged in the election subversion case will talk to charged in the election subversion case. Will talk to one of the attorneys who sued the special prosecutor for dragging his feet in this case. Vice President Kamala Harris was in Georgia today talking about reproductive

rights after meeting with one of the families who lost a loved one due to the state's abortion ban. Also last night, Vice President Kamala Harris joined Oprah Winfrey in Michigan for a virtual rally folks that had hundreds of thousands watching online.

They raised $100 million in 24 hours. Martin Luther King, the third. He's responding to North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson's alleged comments about his father. We'll show you that as well. Plus, a new campaign ad from the Harris campaign tying Donald Trump to Mark Robinson. Folks, that and more right here.

It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics.

With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. It's Uncle Roro y'all it's Roland Martin rolling with Roland now he's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best you know he's Roland Martin He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best, you know he's rolling, Martel.

Martel. Hey folks, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Georgia today. Shortly she's going to be at a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. Here is folks already gathered there. We will take that live when it starts. All right, folks, we're about six weeks away, 46 days from the November 5th election. Early voting began today in Minnesota and Virginia. Massive lines in Virginia. In fact, some counties,

they broke their first day early voting record by 1 p.m. compared to this time in 2020. South Dakota's in-person and absentee ballots became available today. Now, while some states are beginning the election process in Georgia, well, the MAGA election board is doing some stupidity. They voted to require hand counts of ballots, despite critics saying the new requirement would undoubtedly lead to errors and disrupt the process of certifying the vote in this crucial battleground state. The vote was 3-2 with the three Trump MAGA folks supporting the move and a Democratic and Independent GOP appointed board member strongly opposing it. The two who voted against the measure called it

an added step that could delay the presidential election results in the battleground state. Now, folks, it's just absolutely crazy. John Fervier, who's the chairman appointed by Governor Brian Kip on January 5th, 2024. You have Sarah tried all. Gazelle member appointed by the

Democratic Party on June 1st, 2021. Janice Johnston appointed by the Republican Party on March 2nd, 2022. Rick Jafar's member appointed by Georgia Senate on January 11th, 2024. Janelle King, of course, black Republican appointed by Georgia House on January 11, 2024. Janelle King, of course, a black Republican appointed by Georgia House of Representatives on May 17, 2024. She is a big time MAGA person as well.

And the crazy thing about this, folks, is that they literally could delay the results to the point where Georgia, their results wouldn't even count. I need you to understand what I just said. Their results wouldn't even count. That's how crazy it is in this particular delay. Now, this is a letter that the Georgia attorney general released. The office said last minute changes proposed by a Georgia State Election Board are likely illegal and invalid. This right here is a letter from the Georgia Department of Law.

It's from Elizabeth Young, Senior Assistant Attorney General. It says this memorandum is in response to the board's request for comments from our office regarding the proposed rules to be considered by the board at a September 20th, 2024 meeting. As an initial matter, this office does not typically engage in a broad review of an agency's proposed rules to ensure the agency's proposed rules are consistent with law. As an administrative board with rulemaking authority, it is the board's obligation to formulate its proposed rules to be consistent with law and conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections. The board should evaluate the legality of any proposed rule prior to publication and voting. Should the board desire specific legal advice concerning any proposed rule or action, the board should seek such advice in writing

address to this office. This office cannot search through email correspondence to which it is simply copied to determine whether or not the board has made a passing comment to seek legal advice on any particular topic. In addition, seeking unspecified comment on any proposed rule is unhelpful. In its request for legal advice, the board should specify the matter upon which it seeks legal advice and ask a specific question to be answered through the chair. This is the best manner in which to seek advice and allows his office to answer those questions on which the board needs advice and avoids any misinterpretation of the board's request allows for an efficient and deliberate response.

In the instant matter, in an effort to assist the board, we make this limited exception to our usual practice to offer the following expedited comments upon the rules proposed for, let me pull this up here. If I can, give me one second. I want to pull up the second page. Let me pull that. Do, do, do, do. I think this is right here. Well, actually, this is actually the Georgia Association of Photo Registration Function. So basically, the Georgia AG's office is saying, y'all, what are y'all doing?

This is too close to the election. It's potentially illegal. But this is what you're doing, folks. Not only that, this is in Georgia. In Nebraska, Republicans there want to change their electoral college votes. Let me say it again. We're four to six days away because they have electoral college votes given up by congressional district. Well, typically where Omaha is, Democrats typically win that congressional district.

They're talking about changing that, which could totally upend the quest of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz to get to 270 electoral college votes. So you see what's going on here, how Republicans are doing all they can to steal the election. They're doing all they can to help Donald Trump win, even if it means changing rules. We literally are 46 days away. And they're trying to do this. Matt Manning, civil rights attorney out of Corpus Christi. We have Michael Imhotep, host of the African History Network show out of Detroit.

We joined later by Kelly Bethea, communications strategist out of D.C. Matt, it's clear what they're doing. They want to try to use any mechanism they can to create a situation that favors Donald Trump because in Georgia they are still angry

that Biden-Harris won in 2020 and Georgia has two Democrat U.S. senators. That's right. You know, and it's kind of a little bit of foreshadowing because I know we're going to talk about another story probably in a little bit. But, yeah, you're exactly right. When I read this, I mean, before your analysis and before I even read the story in preparation, I saw the headline and I'm like, this is, you know, creating a problem to try to solve a non-existent problem. Going to hand counting when you're talking about millions of votes really to me seems to be just completely asinine. And I suspect what is happening on the ground is a lot of the rhetoric is rooted around trying to give people who might believe some of this BS that they're spewing, you know, some reason to believe

that now if it's going to be hand counted, then it can be trusted more. But when you're talking about this high a number of votes that will be cast, all you're doing is creating the environment wherein there's going to be those inconsistencies and irregularities. And then you'll be able to litigate it on the back end of your own having created the problem. So I think you're right. I think they're afraid of the way Georgia is going to go. And I think that they're going to do everything they can to try to stop, you know, a fair election by creating these circumstances that make it look as though they're ensuring a fair election.

It's really, really stupid. And it's another thing that we've talked about on the show, but that is the Republican playbook right now is attacking all parts of the system, not just the elected official. But you're talking about the elected the election boards, the school boards all the way top down so that those tentacles get all in through the system and you can control it at every aspect of the process. And that's exactly what you're seeing here with rulemaking, because here's the thing. If the Democrats were talking about changing rules within 60 days of an election, they would be throwing a fit. Right. But the reason they're changing these rules is exactly for this purpose, to try to make sure Republicans and Mr.

Trump in particular get a win in November. So this is the rest of the letter. As a general matter, the passage of any rules concerning the conduct of elections are disfavored when implemented as close to an election as the rules on the September 20th agenda. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Dr Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded

a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding

of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.

They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Supreme Court in Purcell v. Gonzalez recognized, quote,

that court orders affecting elections, especially conflicting orders, can themselves result in voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls. As the election draws closer, that risk will increase. Federal courts have thus generally refrained from enjoining state election laws in the months prior to an election. See Merrill versus Milligan. See also League of Women Voters of Florida

versus the Florida Secretary of State. Purcell applies when voting was set to begin in less than four months. The board itself has utilized the Purcell principle in defense of certain Senate Bill 202 provisions, but it says, again, thus, the board should also consider how the passage of any rules well within the period where courts have agreed that Purcell applies may affect the application of the principle in the future. And so then it goes on to talk about the role of the board, their statutory requirements, things along those lines, and on and on and on. And then here's the proposed rules. And then, like, for instance, this rule seeks to expand the enumerated location where poll watchers may be designated beyond those places identified in the statute.

So they want to do that. See what it says. The proposed rule goes beyond the statutorily designated list of places a superintendent may decide to place poll watchers and instead supplants the superintendent's discretion with the board's own. This too does not carry into effect a law already passed by the General Assembly, but rather expands upon the statute. The rule, if adopted, would then very unlikely be subject to legal challenge as invalid. And so they go on and on and on, Michael, explaining all of these different rules, and you see right here, this next rule.

This promulgation of the rule will likely, very likely, go beyond the scope of the board's authority and be subject to challenge as invalid. Propose four. If promulgated, it will similarly likely go beyond the scope of the statute and the board's authority. Proposed five. What does it say right there?

Same thing in terms of what the results can be. And more than likely, it is going to be illegal. So what you have here are MAGA Republicans on this board who want to do all they can to help down Trump. Here you have the attorney general's office going, y'all can try that. Probably going to be invalid, invalid, invalid, invalid. But they don't care. Yeah, Roland, they don't care. This is designed to sow more confusion, to delay the count, the final count in Georgia, to give Donald Trump more time after the election takes place, to spread lies and say the election in Georgia was stolen, and to cause more fear on the ground. He'll probably incite some of these MAGA supporters to go protest outside the hall where the votes

are taking place. We know that also there have been proposed changes in expanding access for partisan poll watchers. We know that rallying Republican poll watchers is one of the tactics that's involved in some type of voter suppression, where you have people watching the people, taking the count. So these are all out of the right-wing Republican playbook. Two critical things that's important for people to understand. You are correct that Republicans are still pissed off that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won Georgia by 11,779 votes in 2020, but also they're pissed that Senator Raphael Warnock

defeated Kelly Loeffler. And it's important for people to really understand the Georgia statewide election law, which was championed by— Warnock, Warnock, and—that is Warnock, Warnock, and Ossoff. You have two Democratic U.S. senators. I understand that. But what Denmark Groover did in 1963 is why you have the statewide election law, and it was specifically designed to keep African-Americans from having statewide elected power. OK, this is why if neither in the primaries, if no candidate gets at least 50 percent of the vote, you have to have a runoff. Right, right. What I'm saying overall, overall is not. Republicans in that state are upset because Biden-Harris won the state.

They beat Trump and Warnock and Ossoff won. So that's what's driving them crazy. That's why they immediately changed their state law after the 2020 election. They changed the runoff rules as well. In fact, in 2022, the deadline to register, remember in 2020, once the general election was over, you could still register for the runoff. Because I remember, so the deadline to register was like a month before the runoff. The runoff was in January 2020, January 5th, 2021. The deadline was a month before. They then changed the rules,

so the deadline for the runoff election actually took place before the general election even took place because they were angry with the surge of people who registered for the runoff in 2020 who didn't vote in the general election. So that's what you've got going on. And so these Republicans are just beside themselves, and they have been tweaking the law, tweaking the law, changing the law to do everything they can to steal the election.

And Steve Bannon said it. He made clear what they were going to do to prepare for 2024 because they did not want a repeat of 2020. I totally understand that, Roland, but there's another layer to this. There's another context to this. That January 5th special election that you just mentioned

was the day before the January 6th, 2021 insurrection. Yeah, I know. Okay, that law, people researched this law from 1963. Denmark Groover was a segregationist Southern Democrat who was in the state legislature. He championed this law that was specifically designed to keep somebody like Senator Raphael Warnock from winning a statewide election. Yeah. Okay? So that's another layer of the level of passivity that these white supremacists had.

Yeah. And then when Donald Trump said, he talked about we have to watch, like for this election cycle, he's saying we have to watch Detroit, where I live, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Philadelphia. That's the same thing you said in 2020, targeting areas that have high African-American populations.

So there's a whole racial layer to this. Oh, of course there's a whole racial layer. I mean, absolutely. But the point here, if you go beyond Georgia, Matt, we're talking about Georgia. We're talking Nebraska. We're talking so many other places. They are trying their best because they have the power to do so to change laws even late in this game in order to ease the path for Donald Trump to win.

Yes, correct. There's not too much you need me to add to that. I think that's exactly right. And I think what you see Republican-led legislatures around the country are doing is changing the rules when it suits them to, you know, continue power. Once they get into power, we're going to change the rules. And that's frankly really something we've talked about on this show. Democrats don't do that. We've got to play to kill. You know, we're not playing to kill. Too often we're playing softer than we need to be. Republicans are playing at all levels to win, including changing the rules, particularly within such a short period of time before an election. I mean, I think Michael said it perfectly. This is not only to confuse people,

and this is to obviously implement their playbook. But I mean, the idea that within 60 days of an election, you're changing the rules for how it's going to be tabulated is crazy, especially to a means that you know is less reliable than the means you already have. So that is intended solely to grind things down to a halt and to have the creation of a question about the validity of the results so you can say Mr. Trump won legitimately this time without people getting indicted behind it. Hold tight one second. When we come back, we'll talk more about what's going on in this election. As I said, Vice President Kamala Harris, she is going to be

holding a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, and so we'll go to that live when it starts. We'll talk about last night's virtual town hall that took place all across the country as well, so lots to discuss. Also, the Teamsters President, Emeritus,

is blasting Teamsters president, Sean O'Brien, for their failure to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. We'll read that statement for you, folks. And so a whole lot we got to break down. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. He told us who he was.

Should abortion be punished? There has to be some form of punishment. Then he showed us. For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I'm proud to have done it. Now Donald Trump wants to go further with plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide,

even monitor women's pregnancies. We know who Donald Trump is. He'll take control. We'll pay the price. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again. Here's his vice president. Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's

secrets ever again? No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk. His national security advisor. Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest-ranking military officer. We don't take an oath to a king or a queen or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator.

Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter, I wanted more children. But my embryo transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure.

Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that we wanted. I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights, and that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire protect our rights and that's kamala harris i'm kamala harris and i approve this message

here's a 78 year old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems oh she had a big crowd oh the crowd this weird obsession with crowd sizes it just goes on and on and on. America's ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. The overturning of Roe almost killed me. I had a blood clot in my uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner.

I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I'm proud to have done it. The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way, that they would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion?

There has to be some form of punishment. For the woman? Yeah. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom to make the choices about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. Hey yo what's up this is Mr. Dalvin right here. What's up this is KC. Sitting here representing the J O D E C I that'sodeci, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Well, some of the fake electors in Georgia are going to be facing prosecution

except one, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones. Prosecuting Attorney, Council Executive Director Pete Scandalakis, who appointed himself the special prosecutor, decided Jones wouldn't be charged in the Trump election subversion case. We told you in May how some black attorneys filed a lawsuit against Scandalakis to force him to perform a nondiscretionary duty. Attorney Wayne Kendall joins us from Fayetteville, Georgia,

to discuss the decision not to charge Jones. Attorney Kendall, glad to have you here. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll

be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real

from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.

Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. So, oh. Okay, all right, folks, we have an audio issue with Judge Kendall, and so give me a second, and then we're going to actually get him back on. All right, folks, let's do this here. The folks at VoteVets, they dropped a new ad against Donald Trump, and what you're seeing, you're seeing again as the ramping up of these ads against Donald Trump take place. Go ahead.

Y'all have the vote bet ad, folks. OK, let's go ahead and roll it. Here's the fact. Robinson's Trump's guy. He's been an unbelievable lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson. Robinson writing, quote, I am a black Nazi. Mark Robinson, he's out there, he's fighting. He's a great one. He's a good man. Robinson defended slavery, writing, quote, slavery is not that bad. I wish they would bring slavery back. I would certainly own a few. One of the strongest and bravest new voices in the Republican Party

has been a great supporter of mine, and I'm a great supporter of his. Your incredible Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. Robinson used slurs on the website. We found that he often used anti-gay slurs. He used an anti-Jewish slur. He used an anti-Muslim slur. Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson of North Carolina.

What a job you're doing. He enjoys, quote, watching transgender Warren saying, quote, that's effing hot. It takes the man out while leaving the man in, and then adding, quote, I'm a perv too. Keep in mind that he has called transgender kids sick and demonic. You're a very popular guy, Mark.

And somebody that really took this country by storm, not just the state, but took the country by storm. Now, Republicans against Donald Trump, they also have dropped their ad. Watch this. Fact candidate for governor in North Carolina, Mark Robinson, has made dozens of disturbing and damning comments on a porn website. Here's the fact. Robinson's Trump's guy. He's been an unbelievable lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson. All right, guys, so we have,

so that was the Republican voters against Donald Trump. They have been, of course, highly critical of him. Now, the Kamala Harris campaign, they also, after all the drama yesterday with Mark Robinson, they were very quick to go hard against Mark Robinson, against Donald Trump. And so you see them hitting hard as well. Folks, what you're seeing is you're seeing the Harris campaign not play games at all in terms of going after Donald Trump, tying him to Mark Robinson. Here is the Kamala Harris campaign ad right here. And he's been an unbelievable lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson.

For me, there is no compromise on abortion. I think you're better than Martin Luther King. We could pass a bill and say you can't have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason. Abortion in this country, it's about killing a child because you aren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down. I've been with him a lot. I've gotten to know him and he's outstanding. Donald Trump and Mark Robinson, they're both wrong for North Carolina. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this. Oh, you see how they are not playing games as well.

And so it's a very tight race there in North Carolina, and the polls show it. I told you about VoteVets. This is the VoteVets ad. Man, when Donald Trump runs scared, he really overdoes it. This time, his loyal henchmen in Congress, trying to stop veterans from being able to register to vote at the VA. Using congressional subpoenas to attack the VA for helping veterans participate in the very democracy they put their lives on the line to defend.

You can't make this stuff up. The Draft Dodger, making it harder for those who served to vote. Maybe he realizes that insulting us as suckers and losers, disparaging those who bear the wounds, refusing to salute the fallen, and trampling the graves of heroes for a TikTok photo op isn't the best way to win our support. Maybe he knows deep in

his dark heart that we'll do again this November what we did in 2020. Beat Trump like a drum. Michael, what you have there, you again, you have Republicans against Trump. You've got veterans as well. And North Carolina is shaping up to be a battleground state. Joe Biden lost North Carolina by 2.5 points in 2020. Vice, excuse me, then-Senator Barack Obama won North Carolina in 2008. 14,100 votes lost it in 2012. The Harris-Walls campaign is a serious shot at winning that. That's one of the reasons why she's been in North Carolina several times. Walls was just in North Carolina this week as well.

They see North Carolina as possibly falling to them, especially with Mark Robinson imploding in his gubernatorial race against Josh Stein. Absolutely. And yesterday was the deadline for Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to drop out of the race. And many soldiers said that he was going to stay in and he's defiant. And that's good for many soldier. We know that the Carolina Journal reported that earlier this week, leaders in the Trump campaign privately told Robinson that he was not welcome at rallies for Trump or vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance. And what this could definitely do is drive up turnout, not just for Vice President Kamala Harris, but down ballot races and drive down turnout for Republicans with Lieutenant Governor

Mark Robinson. And the other thing that's really pernicious about this is that these—this is another example of these type of black Republicans, especially black male Republicans, that Donald Trump likes to surround himself with, self-deprecating, those that speak negatively about African-Americans, speak negatively about the civil rights movement, Dr. King. But at the same time, they derive pleasure from seeing women sexually exploited. But they also want to control women's bodies by banning abortion and attack women's reproductive rights as well. So these ads are spot on. And it shows you once again why elections have consequences and why this 2024 election is probably the most consequential election since 1876, which brought about the end of Reconstruction.

Well, again, what you're seeing is you're seeing folks zeroing in on him. And so you're going to see a lot more of these attack ads as we move forward. All right, folks, let's talk about this story out of Georgia, where the where you have the decision by a special prosecutor not to not to prosecute the lieutenant governor of Georgia, saying that, well, you know what? Does it apply to him? Attorney Wayne Kendall joins us right now. Attorney Kendall, glad to have you here. So they're letting a lieutenant governor off the hook in Georgia, huh? Well, Roland, he's not completely off the hook yet. What happened recently last Friday was that the prosecutor who appointed himself after Fonny Willis got disqualified decided that he was not going to prosecute the lieutenant governor, Bert Jones. because he has a conflict of interest, an actual financial conflict of interest involving

the fact that the lieutenant governor, as the president of the Georgia Senate, is the only person that can move a bill to the floor of the Senate to pass the budget for his agency, which includes his salary. So he is directly financially dependent upon the lieutenant governor to approve his budget every year. And we're saying that that disqualifies him from being the prosecutor or investigating the lieutenant governor because the lieutenant governor is in essence his paymaster. So how many other folks, I mean, is the special prosecutor, has he, how many folks has he indicted? Well, Pete Scandalakis is the person we're talking about.

Pete has a history of non-prosecutions of governmental officials who get in trouble. He was the special prosecutor on the Rayshard Brooks case. If you remember that case, that case was where this individual was asleep in a car in a drive-thru. He was awakened by the police. He got in a scuffle with the police, grabbed one of the policemen's scanner, taser. He was running away and got shot in the back. There's other cases, there's at least three or four other cases in Georgia where this particular prosecutor has non-prosecuted people who have shot other folks. For example, there was a sheriff's deputy that shot an individual in the courthouse because he wouldn't stop using his laptop in the courtroom.

There was a scuffle in the hallway of the courthouse, and the deputy shot the individual. He was indicted. The sheriff's deputy was indicted, and Pete Scandalagas dismissed the case. There are other cases similarly. So we knew that when he got appointed or he appointed himself, that it was unlikely that he would indict the lieutenant governor because of the financial conflicts of interest. And he didn't have to appoint himself. He could have appointed probably over a thousand other people. The statute allows him to appoint retired judges, retired prosecutors, federal and state. He could have appointed any number of private attorneys. But he didn't appoint anyone until after we sued him. And at that point, he appointed himself. And prior to him appointing himself,

after he had been sitting on the case for 17, 18 months, we sent him an open records request and said, hey, tell us who all you have contacted. What lawyers, judges, retired, active, have you contacted to take on this case? And this is 18 months after he was appointed to appoint someone after Fannie Willis got disqualified. And he responded to our request to say that he had no written records whatsoever of actually attempting to contact any prosecutors to prosecute this case. And then one district attorney over in Augusta volunteered to take the case, but he wouldn't hire him either. So it was a pure and simple whitewash situation, but it's not over yet. So what's next? Well, what's next is that we're waiting on the judge in this case to determine whether or not he should be disqualified.

And we had a hearing to determine a motion to dismiss our case last Monday, a week ago, this past Monday. And the judge has not ruled on that case yet. If he rules in our favor on that case, then we will go have a hearing on the merits and determine whether or not he is in fact disqualified because of his financial connections to the appropriation process that the lieutenant governor controls. All right. Well, let us know how the legal battle continues. We appreciate it. We will do. Thank you for having me. All right. Thanks a bunch. All right, folks battle continues. We appreciate it. We will do. Thank you for having me. All right. Thanks a bunch. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk about last night's huge virtual rally led by Oprah Winfrey for Vice President Kamala Harris.

We'll talk about how much money they raised and I'll also show you some of what took place last night. Folks, you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Support the work that we do. Now, let me explain this here, y'all. So, here's what's going on with Cash App. No, we can't show those. Here's what's going on with Cash App. So, Cash App has changed their rules. And so, if you have a certain type of corporation, you can't use Cash App.

So, we are an S-Corp, all right? My accountant said this is really the best thing for us. Well, here's the problem. Cash App is no longer allowing S-Corps to be able to utilize Cash App. So they're closing all of our Cash App accounts. Now, they've explained to us that they have a Cash App option that you can use with Square. Only problem is, it don't work the way it's supposed to work. So right now, until further notice, you cannot support us on Cash App. Well, our Cash App, Dallas Center RM Unfiltered is still alive.

The bottom line is that's being closed. Okay. So to support us right now, the options. Okay. Can't use Cash App for now. We're trying to get it sorted out. This is a huge mess, y'all. It's screwing with us big time, but it is what it is. Check your money orders.

Go P.O. Box five, seven, one, nine, six. Washington, D.C. two zero zero three seven. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday

lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country,

cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to

one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what

this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids,

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. One, nine, six. PayPal is paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. And Zelle, roland at rolandsmartin.com, roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. We'll be right back. He told us who he was. Should abortion be punished? There has to be some form of punishment. We'll be right back. With plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide, even monitor women's pregnancies. We know who Donald Trump is.

He'll take control. We'll pay the price. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again. Here's his vice president. Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.

It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again? No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk. His national security advisor. Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest ranking military officer.

We don't take an oath to a king or a queen or a tyrant or a dictator. We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator. Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter, I wanted more children. But my embryo transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure. Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that we wanted.

I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights, and that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78 year old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems oh she had a big crowd oh the this weird obsession with crowd sizes

it just goes on and, and on, and on. Hmm. America's ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. The overturning of Roe almost killed me. I had a blood clot in my uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner. I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I'm proud to have done it. The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way that they would be prosecuted for that and that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? There has to be some form of punishment. For the woman? Yeah. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom to make the choices

about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. This is Reggie Rock Beifle with... You're watching... ...Rose Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamdamn-believable.

You hear me? Thank you. So remember I told you when the Teamsters made their decision not to endorse because of this so-called straw poll showing 59% of their voters wanted Trump and only 34% wanted Vice President Kamala Harris. And then all of a sudden you had Teamsters in Pennsylvania, in Michigan, in Nevada, in California, and all around the country supporting Vice President Kamala Harris. Well, guess what? The Teamsters General President Emeritus, Jim Hoffa, released his own statement, and he is not happy. Quote, this week, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union made a choice to not endorse a candidate in the presidential race between

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. This is a critical error and frankly a failure of leadership by Sean O'Brien. This election is too important for our union to not do its duty. We must take a stand for working Americans. There is only one candidate in this race that has supported working families and unions throughout their career, and that is Vice President Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the principles that matter most to working families. Her advocacy for fair wages, workplace safety, and comprehensive labor reforms aligns with the core values of the labor movement. In my 23 years as general president of the Teamsters Union, I oversaw the endorsement process through six

presidential races. In every case, we supported the candidate that demonstrated a proven track record of fighting for working Americans in unions. One of the greatest assets our union brings in the political arena is our ability to mobilize our membership and put boots on the ground to support pro-labor candidates. By the IBT choosing to not endorse Harris walls, the invaluable impact those grassroots efforts represent will be absent in critical battleground states. The simple fact is that by not endorsing the Harris-Walls ticket,

the clear and correct choice for labor and working families, Sean O'Brien has undermined their campaign. With 48 days left until the election, the Teamsters union had a chance to have a positive effect on the outcome of this election. Every major union has endorsed the Harris-Walls ticket, but instead of standing in solidarity with all of labor and helping Harris-Walls get over the finish line, the IBT has chosen to take a seat on the sidelines. Now, folks, that is a powerful letter. Now, keep in mind, the Teamsters, they didn't endorse President Barack Obama. But see, what you have is you have these white men in the Teamsters who feel differently about Donald Trump.

They like Donald Trump. They gravitate to him. But guess what? He's anti-union. He doesn't give a damn about them. It was Vice President Kamala Harris that cast the tie vote, that broke the tie, and provided billions to save pensions, including 600,000 Teamsters. You would think the folks who had their asses saved when it came to their pension would remember the person

who actually did it. We also remember when Donald Trump was on with Elon Musk and he talked about, hey, fire workers. Who was striking? I'm sorry. Do pitching people not remember that? Do teams of people not remember that? See, folks, this is a perfect example of people who vote against their own economic interests.

So they're supportive of Donald Trump. Oh, because they like him and love his tough talk. Donald Trump is anti-labor. Donald Trump is anti-working class. And I remember seeing, I responded to this stupid tweet because if you want to know one of just the dumbest people out here, it's Megyn Kelly. It's Megyn Kelly.

She's pretty dumb. She's dumb in that this is the same Megyn Kelly. If y'all want to see stupidity, I mean, this to me, I'm going to go to in a second. So if you want to understand stupidity and how the mind of these white conservatives work is what Megyn Kelly actually tweeted. So last night she was whining and complaining

about the Oprah Kamala Harris rally. And so, and see, this is in line with the Teamsters. Here is utterly clueless Megyn Kelly. Amazed they think this Oprah thing is going to appeal to independents. A bunch of super rich Hollywood celebs endorsing Harris. Absolutely none of whom understands anything about the working class' suffering.

Emceed by one of the richest women on earth whose act has grown very stale. I'm sorry, is this the same woman who got a $69 million buyout from NBC because her show sucked and they fired her? $20 million from Fox? Hmm. Interesting that you want to talk about somebody being rich. Megyn Kelly, you don't know jack about the working class.

You prove that every single day. Donald Trump despises unions. Donald Trump has stiffed small business owners, people who did the work at his casinos, but he said, I don't have to pay y'all, and then told them, fine, sue me, then sued them back. But I need y'all to understand how whiteness operates.

The Teamsters decision, and you see Hoffa criticizing it, and this nonsense from Megyn Kelly is a perfect example of how whiteness works and how they, oh, they don't understand the working class who save their pensions, who has been called union people, have said this administration is the most pro-union administration in decades. So how is it they don't understand the working class? Hmm. Matt? I don't know. I wish I had something astute to say. I mean, what I think you see that being is part and parcel with what Republicans are doing a lot, which is selling policy that is inconsistent with reality. certain Medicaid funds or federal funds. We're not going to accept federal funds when some large percentage of Texans need those and continue to vote Republican because they buy the abortion soundbites or they buy certain soundbites that make them vote Republican,

despite the fact that the Republican Party is promulgating policy that's directly counter to their interest. That's because, to your point about whiteness, a lot of times whiteness in particular is what is leveraged to galvanize people whose actual political interests are different than what the Republican Party is selling. That's what you see. So, you know, that's one thing you hear often when I feel like, frankly, it's conservative white people who feel like they don't have anything else to attack a person for. Then they try to flip it on its head and make them some kind of, you know, oligarch. And there's a good argument that a lot of our government is oligarchy rather than democracy anyway. But

it's just kind of the pot calling the kettle black, especially when you're already rich. So this is all rhetoric and this is soundbites. And these kinds of things are used to galvanize a base of people, unfortunately, who are not discerning enough to realize that the policies that this party is promulgating are not policies that benefit them. And it's laughable, Michael. It's laughable as you listen to these folks complain about, oh, not understanding working class people. Oh, they do. They understand them. But the right wingers, they have lied to people and convinced them that, no, no, no, no. We have your best interests at heart.

No, you have the best interests. You're the best interests of the bosses. You're the best interests of the companies. That's who you have. That's what you're talking about. In fact, this is one of the workers speaking right now in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Vice President Kamala Harris rally. Let's go live there.

This is Kamala Harris because she spent her career fighting for working families and as vice president in the most pro-union administration in history. She worked with the Teamsters and other unions and our own U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin to pass the historic Butch Lewis Act, which saved the pensions of over a million retirees to date. Vice President Harris has created millions of good-paying jobs through the administration's historic investments in infrastructure and bringing manufacturing back to the United

States, and she knows there's more work to do. That's why, as our next president, Kamala Harris will work with Congress to pass the PRO Act protecting workers and ending some of the most egregious union wars. All right, folks, having an issue there. We're going to go back live to that rally in Wisconsin. So let me go ahead and get that all queued up for you there. And you see what the campaign is doing. They're very quickly pivoting to these workers, showing you exactly, you know, showing you what they're doing. OK, let's actually go. All right, guys, y'all got it? Let's go. Workers.

Trump's Project 2025 agenda would go even further, attacking the abilities for unions to organize. The bottom line, Trump is a scab. That's right. That's why this November the Teamsters here in Wisconsin will work hard, hand in hand, with millions of union workers across the country to defeat Donald Trump and send Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to the White House. And now, I am incredibly honored to introduce a lifelong champion for workers. Please welcome our next President of the United States, Kamala Harris. FIORIAL FANS ROAR Good evening, Wisconsin!

And it's great to be back in Madison! And you know I got some Madison cred, right? Oh, thank you all, it really is great to be back. Thank you all for being here. Thank you, everybody. Thank you,. It really is great to be back. Thank you all for being here. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. And can we please thank Bill for fighting every day for the working people of America? And to everyone at Teamsters Joint Council 39, I am so honored and grateful for your endorsement. I will work so closely with you, as we always have, and we will win.

And we will win. And we will win. And it's... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering

on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley

comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated,

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.

In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice

to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this

quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.

They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

So great to be with all of the leaders who are here. This is an auditorium full of leaders, including our dear friend and your governor, Tony Evers. Senator Tammy Baldwin, who you will re-elect to the United States Senate. Representative Pocan. Mayor Rhodes Conway. And I have to give a special thanks to the mayor because the last time I was in Madison, we went to the house where I lived when I was five years old. Here in Madison.

So many of you know, my sister Maya is here, So our parents taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And so we lived here for a period of time. So every time I land, the governor says, welcome home. So thank you all, to all the leaders who are here, elected leaders and community leaders and just neighborhood leaders, family leaders, all that you are. Thank you. So here we are. All right, we got work to do.

46 days until the election. 46 days until the election. And what we know, this is going to be a tight race until the very end. So let's not pay too much attention to the polls, because let's be clear, we are the underdog in this race. And we have some hard work ahead of us. But here's the thing, we like hard work. We like hard work. Hard work is

good work. Hard work is joyful work. And with your help in November, we will win! We will win. So, some of you might have seen the debate last week that I had with Donald Trump. It was fun. And I talked about issues that matter to families across America, like bringing down the cost of living, investing in America's small businesses, protecting reproductive freedom, And keeping our nation safe and secure. But that is not what we heard from Donald Trump. Instead, it was the same old tired show. The same old tired playbook we've heard for years. With no plan on how he would address the needs of the American

people. Well, folks, it's time to turn the page. Time to turn the page. And America is ready to chart a new way forward. We are ready. We are ready. We are ready for a new generation of leadership that division and hate they're pushing. We here know the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. And that's what our campaign is about, understanding that this is a people-powered campaign, that this is a campaign about building

community, building coalitions, reminding us all that we are all in this together, and that we're going to be good and all right. We're in this together. Which is why Democrats, Republicans, and independents are supporting our campaign. Because they want a president, we want a president I will be. I promise that. Now, many of you know my background. My entire career, I have fought for the people. As a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, I stood up for women and children against predators who abuse them. As Attorney General of California, I took on the big banks and delivered $20 billion

for middle-class families who faced foreclosure because of predatory lending practices. I stood up for veterans and students who were being scammed by the big-for-profit colleges, and for workers who were being cheated out of the wages they were due, and for seniors facing elder abuse. And as president, I will fight on behalf of all communities and all Americans, and together we will build a brighter where we build what I call an opportunity economy, so every American has the opportunity to own a home, to build wealth, to start a small business. And I'll tell you, I love our small businesses. For the small business leaders who are here, can you raise your hand?

Our small business leaders are extraordinary. So, you know, growing up, before our mother could afford to buy a house, we lived in an apartment above a childcare center. It was owned by a woman by the name of Mrs. Shelton, and she helped raise my sister Maya and me, because my mother worked long days and sometimes on weekends. We called Ms. Shelton our second mother, and she was a small business owner. So from childhood, I have known the character and work ethic of our small business owners. And I know small business owners are the backbone of America's economy, which is why my plan offers a new way forward and will give a $50,000 tax deduction to help

entrepreneurs start their small businesses. I also know we need to build more housing in America. You know, my mother saved up for years. And when I was a teenager, she was finally able to buy her first home. I know what that dream is like. I know what it is like for people to work hard and to save up and have a dream that is about the dignity of their work and an investment in their future, the future of their family, an investment in the pride they so rightly deserve because of their hard work. But right now, on the affordable housing issue, look, we have a shortage of housing in America, and it's contributing to driving up prices. So with my plan, we are going to cut red tape and work with the private sector to build 3 million new homes by the end of my first term.

And provide first-time homebuyers with $25,000 in down payment assistance so they can just get their foot in the door. Because unlike my opponent, who was basically handed $400 million on a silver platter and then filed bankruptcy six times, most people need to just have the opportunity to actually get their foot in the door to achieve their dream and their aspirations. We also need to lower the cost of living, because while our economy is doing well by many measures, prices for everyday necessities like groceries are still too high. You know it and I know it. I plan to lower costs on everything ranging from health care to groceries, including taking

on corporate price gouging. And my plan includes giving a tax cut to 100 million Americans, including $6,000, by expanding the child tax credit for the first year of a child's life to help young and new parents buy a car seat, a crib, baby clothes, in that most significant phase of their development. And all of this is to say, I will always put the middle class and working families first. I come from the middle class, and I have never forgotten where I come from. And I never will. And I never will. Now, Donald Trump, well, he has a different plan. And in many ways, you've heard me say before, he is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious.

Extremely serious. Just Google Project 2025. By the way, can you believe they put that thing in writing? I mean, they put it in writing. they had it bound, and they handed it out. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley

comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. But if you look at what he's up to, Donald Trump will give billionaires and big corporations massive tax cuts. He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare. And he wants to impose what I call a Trump sales tax, because here's the thing. What he is proposing would be a 20 percent tax on everyday necessities, basic necessities, which economists estimate will cost most American families more than $4,000 a year extra. Think about that.

And on top of all of that, he intends to end the Affordable Care Act. Remember, he tried 60 times when he was president. In fact, together with Tammy, I was a United States senator on the floor. I don't know where she is right now, but she'll remember, and we've talked about this. We were on the floor of the United States Senate in the middle of the night when one of those votes was up, when they were trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. And we were all standing around after we all voted to protect the Affordable Care Act. And we were all standing around. And then the big wooden doors to the Senate well opened. And in walked the late, great John McCain. Remember that? And he said, no, you don't. He said, no, you don't. Remember that?

But we were up against those kinds of attacks when he was president last time. And as he said in the debate, he intends to replace it, but has no plan. In fact, he has, quote, concepts of a plan. No actual plan, concepts. So, aside from that being laughable, it's very serious, because he's basically saying he would threaten the health insurance of 45 million people in our country based on a concept and take us back. Remember those days when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions? Remember what that was like? Well, brother, we are not going back. We are not going back. We are not going back. We will not going back. No, we are not.

We will move forward. And just like Wisconsin's state motto tells us, forward is where we go. Forward is where we go. Because ours—ours is a fight for the future, and ours is a fight for freedom. Like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do. Freedom. And we remember how we got here. Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade.

And they did exactly as he intended. And now, in more than 20 states, we have Trump abortion bans, many with no exceptions even for rape and incest. It is immoral. It is immoral. It is immoral. And let us agree—let us agree—one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do.

Not the government. Not the government. And yet—and yet, in our debate, Donald Trump said that everyone wanted to overturn Roe. I have talked with folks who are here. I have talked with women around our country and the people who love them. Women are being denied care during miscarriages, some only being treated once they develop sepsis. They didn't want this. And we know that women have died because of Trump abortion bans.

I was with a mother and the two sisters of a woman who died because of Trump abortion bans just last night. You know, and her mother said the worst thing among the pain that she is experiencing is when she heard and reflects on what she was told, that it was preventable. Preventable. And you know, when that decision came down just over two years ago, we predicted this would happen. And it's preventable. You know, the young woman, she was a vibrant 28-year-old young woman with a mother of a 6-year-old son.

Her name, Amber Nicole Thurman, who I promised her mother I will say her name every time. I will say her name every time. And so, Amber was a medical assistant. She had just learned that she was accepted to nursing school. She had her whole future planned out. And her sisters and her mother were describing her to me, and they said, you know, she had such light, and she had ambition, and she had ambition and she had drive and she was so proud that she had worked so hard and she was finally gaining independence that she found

an apartment in a safe community. It had a little pool where her son could play. And she was so proud. She was so proud and so hopeful. And then she discovered she was pregnant and she decided to have an abortion. But because of the Trump abortion ban in Georgia, she was forced to travel out of state to receive the health care that she needed. And when she returned to Georgia, she needed additional care, so she went to a hospital in Georgia. But under the Trump abortion ban, her doctors could have faced up to a hospital in Georgia, but under the Trump abortion ban, her doctors could have faced up to a decade in prison for providing Amber the care she needed.

And so, she waited for 20 excruciating hours. She waited as she deteriorated. And then she reached such a critical state that the doctors finally operated, and it was too late. And she died of sepsis. And recently, medical experts determined that Amber's death was preventable. Preventable. So understand what a law like this means, what these kinds of laws mean. These kinds of laws under Trump abortion bans. It means doctors may have to wait until the patient is at death's door before they take any action. Nobody wants that.

What is he talking about? Nobody wants that. Are we saying we're going to craft now public health policy so that doctors only kick in when you're about to die? This is one example of what is happening around our country right now. And this is a healthcare crisis. And Donald Trump is the architect. So I will say to you, because of why we are here, we're going to get Tammy reelected

to the United States Senate. And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. Proudly. And across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on other hard-fought, hard-won fundamental rights and freedoms, like the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to join a union, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. So we know what we are up against. We are clear-eyed about what we are up against. And we remember that generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom.

And now, the baton is in our hands. Now it's in our hands. It's in our hands. And so much is on the line in this election. And this is not 2016 or 2020. The stakes are even higher. Because, remember, two months ago, the United States Supreme Court basically told the former president that he will effectively be immune no matter what he does in the White House. But think about that. Think about what that means. So before, at least, there was some threat of consequence. And now the court has made this decision. Think about that. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.

He who has vowed to be a dictator on day one. He who has called for, quote, the termination of the Constitution of the United States of America. And let us be very clear. Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the President of the United States. Never again. Never again. Never again. Never again.

So, Wisconsin, it all comes down to this. We are here together because we love our country. We love our country. And we understand the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on earth, the privilege and pride of being an American. The privilege and pride of being an American. And I do believe that it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country and to fight to realize the promise of America. So, Madison, Election Day—yes, in 46 days—and early voting has already started in some states. Early voting in Wisconsin starts in just 32 days.

And in fact, many of you may have already received your mail-in ballots. Check this out. In-person early voting begins in Virginia and Minnesota today. Today. And don't we love Tim Walz? He's so good. He's so good. So, all that to say, the election is basically here.

And we're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. He's so good. He's so good.

So all that to say the election is basically here. It's basically here, and we have work to do to energize, to organize, and to mobilize, and to remind everyone your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power, and never let anyone take your power from you. So, Madison, today I ask you, are you ready to make your voices heard? Do we believe in freedom?

Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it? And when we fight, we win! God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. Folks, massive crowd there for Vice President Kamala Harris in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a critical state. We look at polling data right now. It shows that she's up.

A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad

Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet, MMA fighter, Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only

my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Anywhere from one to two points there in Wisconsin. And again, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, critical states for the campaign. Of course, they also are looking at Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia. I'm

going to go to my panel here. It's very interesting here, Matt and Michael, because, you know, you got your mainstream media who's constantly complaining about the lack of media interviews. And so I was watching a video a little bit earlier and it was Jake Tapper was questioning Keisha Lance Bottoms and he was sitting here going, well, why is she not doing more interviews talking about policy, talking about taking these media questions

and Lance Bottoms said, well, she's been kind of busy. She talked about the rallies and things along those lines. And again, she's doing exactly what she should be doing. I'm going to go ahead and play this for y'all.

I know you're going to get a kick out of this, so just watch this here. She's not sitting down for regular interviews or fielding questions from the press, certainly not to the degree that her counterpart, Donald Trump, is. Why? Why is she not doing more interviews to talk about her policies and answer some of the questions that voters have about her policies and on her change on her views in some of

them? Well, Jake, she's done interviews, and I know that we would love or you would love to see her sit down every single day with CNN and do interviews, but it's that she's a very busy person. Now, she goes, she's a very busy person, but here's the whole deal. She's been doing interviews, Michael. She's been talking to Latino media. Ricky Smiley talking to local anchors there in Pennsylvania. What these mainstream people are upset with is that she's not sitting down talking to CNN,

talking to MSNBC. She's going directly to voters and she's doing nontraditional interviews. That's what she's doing. They're just upset that she's not sitting down with them. Upset that she's not sitting down with them. Now, she did do an interview on CNN with Dana Bash, and most of the questions that Dana Bash asked were right-wing conservative talking points put into the form of a question. So what happened last night, I watched it last night.

It was in Farmington Hills, Michigan. This was a fantastic virtual town hall meeting. And they took questions from voters. They took questions from voters. And the problem here with mainstream media, keep in mind, we've talked about here on a number of time over the past three years, those hit pieces that The Washington Post, New York Times, other mainstream media had attacking Vice President Kamala Harris. And then they would do a 15 minute BS segment on CNN or MSNBC about those hit pieces. OK, so now that she is so hot. Right now, they want to sit down interviews with the same person that you've been criticizing and dogging for the past three years. So she's circumnavigating the BS with mainstream media and going to Oprah, going to Ricky Smiley, going to African-American talk show hosts, also people like daytime talk

show hosts. I think she was on either Jennifer Hudson or one of those shows, things like that. She's doing that type of media, okay? So she needs to keep doing that. She doesn't need to do the, uh, I don't think she needs to do a lot of that mainstream media, uh, uh, interviews. What happened last night with Oprah, they need, they need more of that. That will garner more views and more interest than the mainstream media interviews like with Dana Bash on CNN. Yeah. I mean, I think what's interesting here, Matt, look, I get it. Um, you know, uh, you know, we'll stay, we're still waiting for an interview with her. They've been promised that we're going to get one.

And the bottom line is she doesn't have to go to them. And see, they want to be the gatekeepers here. They want to be able to control the information flow. We're now living in a different world. Here's a perfect example. Last night, okay, at its peak, there were 297,000 people who were on Kamala Harris' YouTube channel, okay? Oprah's YouTube channel had 100,000. There were about 20,000 that were on their Instagram pages. We had 10,000 watching on our page.

Now, Facebook, I think Twitter had about 200 some odd thousand. Facebook suppresses video content, news content, and definitely black news content. Oprah has 21 million followers on her Facebook page. There were only 1,700 people watching live on Facebook. Vice President Kamala Harris, her page, I think about five or so, 5.4 million, I think. They had about 4,700 people who were watching. We have 1.3 million on Facebook, only 230 watching. So Facebook is purposely suppressing content.

The reality is they can go directly to the people. They don't have to sit down and talk to mainstream media. And the New York Times is still pissed they haven't gotten a one-on-one interview with President Joe Biden during his presidency. And so their deal is, you keep crapping on us, we ain't got to talk to you. Yeah, you know, I mean, I often agree with Michael on this show, but I think he hit the nail on the head in talking about, you know, the reticence I would have

if I were on her team and if I were her to do mainstream media interviews after you've been, you know, doing everything you can to knock me down since I've been the vice president, right? So it's a supply and demand thing. The demand is overwhelmingly high. Everybody wants to hear from you. So you control who you talk to. And not only do you control who you talk to, you control how you talk to them, the narrative, right? The stump speech and the points that you're delivering every time that you speak. So, you know, if she had an issue getting coverage to voters, then it would make sense for her to go on mainstream media and capitulate to Jake Tapper and whomever else thinks they get to control

how her campaign gets its narrative out. But she didn't have to do that, because the entire world wants to hear from her right now, so she can control who she talks to. And especially at this point, when you have, as her own campaign manager has termed it, a, quote, margin of error race, I think they have to be strategic in what they say, when they say it, and how they say it, especially because Mr. Walz, to much of his credit, has unfortunately had to put his foot in his mouth many times over the years. And I think they're trying to control any potential damage that could come from situations where they're not completely in control. So I don't think they have any duty to do that, nor do I think they have a need because the demand is so high they control the supply.

Not only that, when your strategy is working, it's working. Last night, go and play the video. This was last night. Thousands, again, hundreds of thousands were watching. Go ahead and roll it. Go ahead and roll it, guys. So they had about 400 audience members last night. You had about 1,000 people on video monitors.

And again, you had hundreds of thousands of watching. If I go to YouTube right now and I click live to see how many people last night, when I click, let me see, hold up, let me go right over here. Give me one second. If I click live, last night's event, they restreamed it, but you see right here,

1.5 million. Guys, go to my iPad. You see right here, 1.5 million views. That's just on her page. I checked Oprah's page. I think it was 351,000. So right there, you almost at 2 million. Just for the point here, for the people who are at home watching,

let me show y'all this here. Y'all going to get a kick out of this. One second. So let me just go here. I'm going to pull this up. Because most of y'all don't pay any attention to this. Well, I do. And let's see here.

Right there. Boom. Ratings. Friday. Here's a perfect event these are the Friday these are the Friday ratings I don't want everybody understand something here these are fried this is this is Friday's ratings I go to my iPad in the four o'clock hour you had in the 2550 this is the 25 you know what I'm gonna do total that's just that's 2554 okay so Neil Cavuto 1.44 million Jake Tapper 708 thousand Nicole

Wallace 1.7 million then when you go to 5 p.m. hour the five on Fox had 3.2 million will blitzer has 7 hundred sixty four thousand Nicole Wallace They didn't have her ratings 6 p.m. Brett bear 2.3 million wolf blitzer 750,000 Ari Melba 1.86 million Laura Ingram at 7 o'clock 2 million Aaron Burnett 781,000 Joanne Reed 1.4 million Jesse waters 2.8 million at 8 o'clock Anderson Cooper 854 thousand and Chris Hayes 1.4 million. Jesse Waters, 2.8 million at 8 o'clock. Anderson Cooper, 854,000.

Chris Hayes, 1.5. Guess what, y'all? Oprah Winfrey and Kamala Harris' YouTube channel combined was also 2 million. In order to get 2 million, go back to my iPad. In order for CNN to get $2 million, you got to watch Jake Tapper's show, Will Blitzer's show, and Aaron Burnett's show. Guess what?

They don't need to go on CNN. CNN gives them nothing. CNN's ratings are in the trash. Why go on? Your ratings suck. So it's a smart strategy. No, it just, the ratings suck. Right.

The numbers, I need everybody, these are the numbers, y'all. These are the Nielsen ratings right here. Go back. These are the numbers. This is the total audience right here. So I'm sorry, Jake and the folks at CNN. They don't have to talk to y'all because anybody watching y'all, they can talk to more people online or in some podcast. Then who watch CNN? That's just a fact, Michael. Absolutely. The cheese has moved.

You know, so this is a new day. And, you know, one of the things that just to just take this back just a few months ago when all the frenzy was the interview that Shannon Sharp did with Cat Williams. You know, what was so brilliant about that is that Shannon Sharp gets 50 million views on YouTube, if I remember correctly, 50 million views on YouTube. And it impacted the general the conversation all throughout social media. And the interview did not appear in mainstream media. This is a new day when we have more control over content and reaching the end user and can bypass mainstream media. Well, in fact, the interview did $75 million. Well, I know at one point I heard the announcement when it broke $50 million. Right, but I'm saying on a page right now, go to my iPad.

Yes. It's right here. It did $50 million. Right, but I'm saying, on a page right now, go to my iPad. Yes. It's right here. It did $75 million. And in fact, again, I'm just going to go, I'm just going to pull up, because I was looking at this the other day. So you take, to your point, so here's a perfect example. Shannon did an interview. He's done an interview with Ronnie Coleman.

Mr. Olympia. Yeah, Mr. Olympia. Ronnie Coleman. Now her 16ia. Yeah, Mr. Olympia. Now her 16,000 views in two days. If you go to the, if you go to Marlon Wayans, now they got all these different clips, but the Marlon Wayans interview, 6.9 million. 6.9 million.

Y'all, let me say this again this is no lie and again I'm not I'm not trying to sit here so the Marlins Way interview has generated 6.9 million views in two weeks do y'all

know how long it would literally take Jake Tapper's show um about Do y'all know how long it would literally take Jake Tapper show about a real damn long time to get the seven million views collected. Matt, numbers are numbers. If you're the hat from a political standpoint, I'm not speaking from a media standpoint. From a political standpoint, if I'm them, I'm not changing my strategy at all. It's working. Yeah, and not only is it about ratings, because you're exactly right on the numbers, but it's about risk.

Why would you change your strategy and then put yourself in a circumstance where you don't control 100% the narrative. And here's the thing, you know, back in the day before social media, the only channels by which you could get things out, at least on a mass scale, would be mainstream media. So if you refuse to talk to CBS or Cronkite, whoever, 40 years ago, that could have a measurable effect on how much your message gets out. That you're showing, I think, perfectly right now that is no longer the case. You don't need mainstream media really at all. And what's interesting about that is, I mean, they try to characterize it as though she has some duty to go to them as a means to get information to the voters, but she can

do that without them. So really, you know, I think you're right. I wouldn't change the strategy at all, and I would continue controlling the narrative such that we get the points out in the way that we want them out, in the framing that we want them out, rather than having to be responsive to someone who may intend to do a hatchet job. I mean, we know they have done hatchet jobs on her in the past. You've covered them on your show. So I don't know why her team would ever do that, especially when you have such a tight race. If she were 20 points ahead in the polls, maybe she takes that risk. But right now, her framing has to be perfect. She's got to be speaking to the people in the

battleground state. She's got to be speaking to libertarians. She has to be framing things in the way they think turns into votes for that very small sliver of people who are still on the fence. And I think her team would be doing itself a disservice if they did not control as much as possible the flow of information and to whom they give that information. Also, Michael, let's be real clear. I think it's BS for media folks

to keep saying, oh, we need to be talking to her about policy. She literally talks about policy in her speeches. She's laying out policy. She's unveiled proposals. So that's just crap. You said it best.

The Dana Bash interview, most of it was, Trump says this, how do you respond? That's all it was. And so I'm like, why am I going to sit here and listen to that? Uh-uh.

I mean, it's just, again, I understand it. I want to sit down with her. I have some questions. But again, if I'm in her political shoes, I am executing the strategy that has got me to where I am,

and they've actually been executing a rather flawless plan. Absolutely. Rather flawless plan. And I'm still waiting on Donald Trump to do his press conference with the media dealing with foreign policy and answer intricate, detailed questions about foreign policy like Joe Biden did at NATO. I'm still waiting on that from Donald Trump. But yeah, the Harris-Walls campaign needs to keep doing what they're doing. And they're

taking questions like that virtual town hall last night. They're taking questions from real voters, from real people about their concerns. A lot of these questions, and remember, Joe Biden did Lester Holt. He did an interview with Lester Holt, NBC, Nightly News, and George Stephanopoulos. I'm still waiting on Donald Trump to do CBS, NBC, ABC. It's not going to be George Stephanopoulos because of the defamation lawsuit, but somebody else on ABC, ABC News. I'm still waiting for that sit-down interview. You know, I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. So, yeah, they need to continue. But hopefully we get the interview soon, Roland Martin and Filter as well.

That's going to be excellent. But this is fantastic what they're doing. And this shows how it puts the power, puts a lot of power in the hands of people to be able to get this on social media. So many people are cutting the cord when it comes to cable TV and don't have cable TV. And they're getting all their information on YouTube, social media apps, things like this. So they can get this type of information. And yes, she is discussing policy. And she has her policies laid out at KamalaHarris.com as well, at her website.

So all these people saying, well, she doesn't have policies, she doesn't have policies. You can go to her website and read her policies, and then compare that to Agenda 47 from Donald Trump. Here's the deal, though. I'm not even, and here's the thing. 2016, how many policies did Hillary Clinton lay out? She laid out tons of policies.

That's not what was happening. And at the end of the day, again, I know what media is doing. I get it. But frankly, if I'm them, I'm simply saying she's doing interviews. She's not sitting down with y'all. That's what the deal is. Here's a little bit more of what was said last night in the virtual voter rally between Oprah Winfrey and Vice President Colin Harris. That's the folks. I don't want the route. I mean, from last night.

Mr. C.J. and Andrika are here and they are they wanted to be here tonight to speak out for the first time. Ms. Chidette, what do you want us to know about Amber's story? Initially, I did not want the public to know my pain. I wanted to go through in silence, but I realized that it was selfish. I want y'all to know Amber was not a statistic. She was loved by a family, a strong family, a strong family. And we would have done whatever to get my baby, our baby, the help that she needed. When ProPublica came to my home, I pushed them away. No, no, no. But Kavithia, she kept, she was persistent. She said, it was something that you needed to know. You have to hear me. Women around the world, people around the world

need to know that this was prevented. That, of course, is the black woman who died in Georgia. The vice president referenced her in Madison, Wisconsin, and Atlanta. That is a powerful story, and Republicans, it's got them on their heels, Michael.

Absolutely, and it should have them on their heels because they are responsible for this. They have blood on their hands, figuratively speaking, not literally. And Donald Trump took credit for overturning Roe versus Wade. And this is an example of how elections have consequences once again. There's three Supreme Court justices. And the other part to this is, even though this is women's reproductive rights, women's

reproductive rights impact men as well. And what I mean is when you have a woman like Amber Thurman who dies, that impacts the men in the family also. So a lot of times this gets painted as just a women's issue. No, it's not. It impacts both sides of the family, the man side of the family, the woman side of the family. It impacts uncles, cousins, male cousins, things of this nature. So I think there needs to be another voice added to this conversation is amplify the men who are supporting women's reproductive rights and how deaths like this, in vitro

fertilization, et cetera, impacts the men as well. Matt, go ahead. I mean, I didn't get a chance to watch the segment. I've watched it as much as you've been playing it here today. And you know what I was thinking about earlier during the rally that I'm really interested in seeing if anybody's done any polling on is libertarians and their response in this election. And maybe you've seen it, maybe you have numbers on it.

But it really struck me that the refrain she was using about freedom, especially in the context of reproductive freedom, seems to me to be something that would really resonate pretty strongly with anybody who is a libertarian who identifies that way or who is, I guess, freedom-minded beyond being a part of one of the two major parties, to the extent that, you know, that's the thing that has not made sense to me about this particular aspect of health care policy. I don't see how you can advocate for unbridled freedom but then demand that the government controls people having freedom as it relates

to their bodies, even if you don't agree with the decision to exercise the right to an abortion. I don't understand how you can be for freedom and against that being an option that people can take, even if you aren't one of those people. So I tell you that to say, I mean, I think playing, not playing, but speaking to that issue is important. However, I think they have an opportunity to really make some big points as it relates to overall health care. She kind of spoke to that a little bit in the rally. But I think that is something that resonates even larger than the abortion issue, because a lot of people, I think the abortion issue is

open and shut at this point. But I think most Americans across the political spectrums have concerns about health care costs. And I think there's a real opportunity for them to hit that harder. Here's the whole deal. The issue is not folks' minds are made up because of reproductive rights. This is now about driving turnout. That's why you're still seeing them do it so this is about a turnout conversation is that about is that about changing somebody's mind opposed by his underside it's about actually driving the numbers out on the particular issues uh matt michael i appreciate it thank you so very much folks we're going to do this here we're going to go to a quick break and we come back we're going to have our fan base investathon uh we got

some great speakers lined up. Will.i.am, Tamika Mallory, Charlamagne, a lot of folks lined up. I'll be, of course, hosting that with Isaac Hayes III. So when we come back from this break, we'll have our Investathon with Fanbase right here on the Black Star Network. Back in a moment.

In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again. Here's his vice president. Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again?

No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk. His national security advisor. Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest-ranking military officer. We don't take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator.

Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter I wanted more children but my embryo transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure. Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that

we wanted. I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights, and that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems. Oh, she had a big crowd. Oh, the crowd. This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on and on.

America's ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. The overturning of Roe almost killed me. I had a blood clot in my uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner. I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I'm proud to have done it.

The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way, that they would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? There has to be some form of punishment. For the woman? Yeah. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom

to make the choices about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Hi, my name is Brady Riggs. I'm from Houston, Texas. My name is Sharon Williams.

I'm from Dallas, Texas. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? We'll be right back. Live right now, folks. So we're in the second hour of Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. We're doing something that is quite unique. We told you about the app Fanbase. We talked about the app, what it does, what it means, and how important it is in terms of a black-owned social media. But it's not just for AdWords.

We're in the second hour before anybody. And so what our goal tonight, the next two hours, is to raise as much money as we can because Fanbase is in the middle of a Series A raise. And so we got a lot of great people who are lined up. And you know what? Last night was a perfect example why an app like Fanbase is critically important. If y'all are watching the show, I told you. Last night, Oprah Winfrey and Vice President Kamala Harris held a virtual voter rally, okay?

Vice President Kamala Harris had about 297,000 people watching on her YouTube channel. Oprah had about 100,000. Both of them had about 20,000 people who were watching on their Instagram pages. They had about 200,000, I were watching on their Instagram pages. They had about 200,000, I think, that were watching on Twitter. Last night, she has 21 million followers in virtual. 1,500 people were watching her live feed on her Facebook page. 4,700 are watching Vice President

Kamala Harris's Facebook page. I think she has like 5.5 million. I've got one point three million people on my Facebook page, only two hundred and thirty. And so people don't realize these apps are actually suppressing content. You're not actually reaching all of your people, but with fan base, that's a different conversation. What I want to do right now is bring in the founder and CEO of fan base, Isaac Hayes, the third, as we kick off this fan base investathon. So, Isaac, let's talk about why you wanted to do this tonight. I wanted to take the opportunity to converge the Black community and understand the important place we are right now, the inflection point we are in technology and ownership and culture. Tonight, you're going to hear from some really amazing, knowledgeable people, people who are passionate

about their community investing. You're going to hear from Charlemagne. You're going to hear from Pastor Jamal Bryant. You're going to hear from Will.i.am. You're going to hear from Tamika Mallory. You're going to hear from Kandi Burris. You're going to hear from tamika mallory you're going to hear from candy burris you're going to hear from ryan wilson you're going to hear from you know um so many people that understand where we are and their different perspectives of why this moment to invest in this startup and elevate this startup to the level of an instagram and a tick tock by collectively using equity crowdfunding to insert our dollars into a company, use that app, scale that app to multi-billions of dollars, and then see what generational wealth can be created.

So that is why I wanted to do this. I know I'm the person that's proud to do this and giving me the opportunity to do this. I think it's amazingly important. I want to thank you for allowing me to do this. I think it's amazingly important. I want to thank you for allowing me to do this. I want to shout out Earn Your Leisure. I want to shout out Real Life Productions. These are streaming live on Earn Your Leisure's YouTube, your YouTube, Real Life Productions' YouTube, the Black Star Network, on Fanbase. We network on fan base we're on linkedin we're on

all these these channels right now streaming live so i want the entire you know world to understand about this and hear this message tonight so before we go to the talk about the wealth creation part i i want to go back to the the freedom for content creators. And you've done this numerous times where you've walked people through these things. So, but it's explained to people how these things work on these platforms where people think, Oh, I had, like I was discussing earlier, Cardi B has 165 million Instagram followers. But Cardi B is not reaching 165 million.

And what I talked about was, like, literally last night, Facebook deliberately suppresses news and political content, especially black news political content, and we witnessed it last night. So although Oprah has 21 million followers, only 1,700 were watching on Facebook. What's crazy is she's got 23,000 followers on YouTube but had 100,000 people watching live.

That's crazy. No, I mean, well, conscious suppression is a normal practice for tech startups because they have to drive advertising revenue to themselves. So if you have 100 million followers on Instagram, per se, you have the visual equivalent of the Super Bowl. That means you have as many people watching you that watch the Super Bowl 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That means if you posted a piece of video content on your page,

you could charge $7 million for that real estate. And Instagram and Meta and Facebook know that. So for that very reason, they suppress your content to force advertisers to run ads through them. So why would they let you reach 100 million people when they're about to charge Coca-Cola or Dunkin' money to reach 100 million people? If you could reach 100 million people, Dunkin' and Coca-Cola would come to pay you. We do not do that at Fanbase this is an engagement platform um we are a startup that has an ambitious different view on the future of uh social media that everybody is a content creator now it is not just the people that make the elaborate content it's the people that actually chat and have audio conversations and leave comments and going back

and forth in the DMs and in the tweets, that's all content because they're running ads in between all of that content that you make. So I don't care if you're posting photos of pizza or you're making a mini movie, we are all content creators now in this new space. And so we have to move to the point right now that we get paid for our content, we monetize our content and do that. And so for that reason, uh, I founded fan base and also I wanted to give people the opportunity to invest and own part of the company. So that is why we're doing this tonight. All right. So, um, first of all,

we got guests that are coming in, but for folks who do again, who don't understand, who may have never even heard of Fanbase, just as a matter of fact, I was having a conversation today with a media CEO. And I was trying to explain to him that all that Fanbase has to offer. I said, so I said, it's, I said, it's, I said, it's a combination of Clubhouse, Instagram. I said, you know, you can do all of these things that you have to go to several different apps to do. You can all do it on one with FanMix. I mean, well, that's,

so we're moving to a point right now where people want the Everything app, especially younger people, right? The younger generations of kids, they want the Everything app. They want to not have to jump from app to app and figure out, you know, how to monetize their content or how to have fun. And so I wanted to take, and honestly, some of these, some of these functionalities existed

just based off the sheer fact that the platforms themselves did not respect the creators. Clubhouse did not respect the first million people that joined Clubhouse and allowed them to invest. And so I went to my CTU and said, we're going to build audio chat rooms like Clubhouse and X-Spaces into Fanbase. And we did. And we were the first app still to this day. We are the only audio chat platform that allows users to be tipped while speaking on stage or in the audience or in the chat room, I'm sorry, speaking on stage or in the chat room, and you can create subscriber audio rooms for you to have those conversations. They do not do that on Clubhouse. They do not do that on X Spaces.

And Fanbase automatically allows you to do that. And we have something called branded audio that's amazing and incredible. And you'll see a little bit more about Fanbase tonight. But I want to kick this thing off with a message about what fan base is and where we're going. This is our statement in the way that we move forward. I want to, I want to start our program with, with this with our manifesto.

That really means a lot to what fan base is, is, is about. Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it. We stand for those who defy suppression, who speak out, and those who walk the road less traveled.

Everyone deserves to be seen and their voices heard. We're sparking a movement, growing a community of creators united by the desire for freedom choice equity and ownership at fan base it's all for one and one for all we support each other to guide promote and uplift you in a place where you can unapologetically be yourself a place where your voice ideas and creativity are not just welcomed, but celebrated.

We are black-founded, minority-funded, and supported by a diverse, inclusive, powerful community that believes in the strength of authenticity and individual choice. Regardless of success or background, we welcome you. The marginalized, the underappreciated, the successful, the superstar.

We're for all who seek a space to express themselves freely where they are rewarded for being their authentic, true self. We transcend labels because only we have the right to define ourselves. We are built for the brave, the culture, the creators, and for the future where everyone has a power to shape their own destiny.

Where all are empowered, voices are amplified, and freedom is embraced. For the first time, you have a chance to own the platform you help make popular. It's a revolution. A movement in how we connect, create, and share. Everyone is a part of it. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our

economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1.

Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early

and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives.

Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Well, I love that part, you without limits, because so many of these other apps limit what people are able to do. And so I see this also as an issue of freedom. Isaac, I think you're on mute. Sorry.

There you go. Yeah, this is our goal and our plan and our mission statement of how we, you know, plan to do that. Right now, if you're watching, you see this link on the page. You can go to startengine.com slash fanbase to invest. The minimum to invest in fanbase is $399. And you're going to learn a lot about that. You're going to learn about equity crowdfunding and investing and stuff like that all through the program but i want you to have the information so i don't want this just to be um a conversation about you know uh just saying hey invest in this company i want you to understand the why this is important and learn a little bit about the information and

things that you may or may not know so you know we'll start with that but i know that um we uh we have a special message from the mayor of Atlanta to kick things off. And I wanted to jump right into that with Mayor Andre Dickens. Good evening, everyone. I'm Andre Dickens, the mayor of Atlanta. It's an honor to be here today to celebrate and uplift one of Atlanta's most innovative and impactful tech startups. Fanbase, as mayor, I've always believed in the future of our city, is rooted in the creativity, drive, and entrepreneurship of our people. Atlanta is known as a cultural and economic hub, a city that fosters talent across many industries,

and one that champions innovation. Fanbase embodies those very values. It's a homegrown platform that allows creators to connect, share, and thrive in a space where their talents are not only recognized, but rewarded. Fanbase represents the future of social media, where creators are no longer just a part of the audience, but they are stakeholders. This company is giving creators, especially those from underserved communities, a chance to build careers, generate income, and be their own brands without relying on gatekeepers or traditional methods of exposure. I want to commend Isaac Hayes III for his vision and leadership in making Fanbase

a powerful tool for creative expression and entrepreneurship. This platform is more than just a business. It's a movement that speaks to the future of digital spaces, giving everyone, whether they're musicians, artists, influencers, or everyday people, the chance to build community, monetize their content, and take command of their futures. Atlanta has always been a city where innovation meets culture, and Fanbase is proving that this combination is not only possible, it's thriving. I'm excited about the future of Fanbase, not just because it's a great idea, but because it has the potential to positively impact so many lives, creators, businesses,

and the communities that support them. The success of Fanbase is a win for Atlanta, and I am confident that this platform will continue to lead the way in social media space both now, here, and globally. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey and to the creators who are using Fanbase to tell their stories and share their gifts with the world. Let's keep pushing forward. The future is bright, and Fanbase is proof of that. All right. I think so. We've got a lot of people who are going to be joining us, different celebrities that have invested, other people,

but for somebody who's watching and if they want to invest, obviously the information is there. You've got a QR code on the screen. You've got starkengine.com forward slash fan base. How much do they invest? Still on mute, Isaac. Huh? Can you hear me? There we go. Now you go. So you got to remember, your mic is on, but you got to

hit that mute button on the stream yard. Okay, I do. Okay, cool. The minimum to invest is $399. Our goal tonight, I said before, is to really increase, go to $15 million. know, go to 15 million. We were raising 17 million.

We've already raised over $2.1 million. So we're at 2.1 million. We'll go to the screen and show what's going on with the raise. So I tell everybody, go to startengine.com slash fan base. The minimum to invest to $15 million. That's a lot. I know these platforms and all these people with, you know, all these viewers and subscribers you guys have. Look, 25,000 people investing $600, and we raised $15 million for Fanbase.

And so that is why, you is why we're doing this tonight to really scale and continue to build this great company. And also I want to remind people who are watching because it always happens. Folks talk about, well, this is a perfect example for me. Okay. I'm a fan base investor. I'm a fan base user.

And so I like posting multiple photos. All right. So how do we do that? Can we do that? And so functionality. I've got to remind everybody. I remember when Twitter, when Facebook, when Instagram, when Snapchat, when Vine, all of those, they didn't have the functionality then that they have today.

I think wasn't Instagram initially videos like 10 seconds? When they added Vine? Vine was like, Vine was what, seven seconds or something like that? I remember I had some people,

they'd say, Roland, why aren't you on Vine? I said, because first of all, I don't believe in disappearing content. I said, I don't believe in creating content, and it goes away. And so then with Snapchat, the same way, Snapchat changed it where your content actually stayed there. I went, okay, I'll join that. It's still sort of the same thing. So you have to build, you build up.

All of these companies built up to where they are now. And that was based upon what they raised, how much was invested in engineers and technology, and the exact same thing with fan base. Yeah, I mean, our floor is the other app ceiling. So our floor is the ceiling of these other apps. So we kind of have to compete with these other platforms in ways that

users expect. But we do an amazing job at that. The tech is solid. It's incredible. So I'm excited about that. I want to take people on the journey of fan base, and I want us to speak to somebody that really inspired me to first make fan base and i i want us to speak to somebody that really inspired me to first make fan base

and and we can get into it and and check it out so here we go all right this is a special guest probably the most important guest of investathon ladies and gentlemen i'd like you all to meet ghetto spider what's up man hello how's everything going man everything is going excellent now for people that don't know you are the reason fan base exists um i want to talk about that you went viral dancing in a spider-man costume in a game style yes that's correct and and you are from memphis tennessee let's go memphis tennessee y'all put away so i shot you a dm you asked me if i managed content creators which i didn't at the time um but you were really adamant about us connecting yeah that's correct yeah so i got out that conversation saying wow like this kid's going viral he had like 300 000 followers out of nowhere

it was crazy um i was like he's having the time of his life going viral in this costume but how does he monetize that situation right and um i was like yo we need an app where people can subscribe to people like netflix because if there's a chance that Disney or Marvel didn't want you using the costume, you're an amazing dancer. So I wanted people to be able to have an opportunity to monetize their content. And I don't think I ever talked to you for like an entire year. I really jumped into building fan base and came back and told you about, you know, what fan base was about.

So subsequently, you became a fan base was about so subsequently um you became a fan base investor yes i did i think um was it the same year or the year out up there i'm not sure it was pretty quick i mean i just thought it was amazing that you know i built this platform for content creators you are a content creator you're very very successful, you're alright, but giving you the opportunity to monetize your content on social media without being suppressed or getting banned or stuff like that is important. So, what are you up to now?

So, I created the Ghetto Avengers. I started off as Ghetto Spider, so it'll be nice to bring that audience to fanbase, you know what I'm saying? Just bring the whole audience to fanbase, because it's like a community. YouTube, it don't feel more like a community because everyone bring people from YouTube

to Discord, but I feel like fan base will be more of a community thing. Well, I got something really special that I'm going to show you offline, but I appreciate you stopping by. Tell everybody where they can go invest. Do you remember where everybody can go invest? Start engine. I think it's like you can start

at $300 $250 $300 $399 $399 $399 hey go invest hey fanbase and it sounds like fanbase sounds like I'm not sure if I'm getting deja vu but fanbase sounds like an out that it needs to be up there like how did you get that name

to begin with I trademarked it as soon as I heard it. That name's supposed to be known. Like, everyone should know that name by now. Fanbigs. Trust me, after this, everyone will know the name. Hey, I'm looking forward. I'm an early investor. I'm excited to see this journey.

Let's do it. Thank you very much, man. I'll talk to you later. I'll talk to you later. Thank you. Alright, man. Appreciate it. Hi, I'm Isaac Hayes III, much man i'll talk to you later i talk to you later thank you all right man appreciate it hi i'm isaac case the third founder and ceo of fanbase fanbase is a free to download free to use next generation social media platform that allows anyone to have followers and subscribers on the same page fanbase was built through investment dollars from equity crowdfunding from the jobs act people just like you help build FanMates.

And we're looking for more people to help build FanMates. We are currently raising $17 million at a Regulation 8 crowdfund on StartEngine. We've already crossed $2.1 million, but we're looking to raise more capital from people just like you that deserve the opportunity to invest in early-stage startups without having to be accredited investors. So right now, I'd like you to go to startengine.com slash fanbase and invest. The minimum to invest is $399. That gets you 60 shares of stock in Fanbase right now, today.

And then use Fanbase to connect with friends, grow your audience, and be you without limits. We're back at Fanbase Investathon and and I got my guy, Desi Brown. What's up? Hey, what's going on, my brother? What's happening? Oh, man.

Bless, bless, bless. So I'm Desi Brown, the co-founder of the franchise game, marketer, connector. And what I want to talk about today is how important it is to invest in Fanbase. As a creator, we always are blowing up the other social media platforms, never to have an opportunity to actually invest back into the platform. And with Fanbase, it's your opportunity to not only blow up a Black-owned social media company, but to also make money through the platform, but also make money by investing in the platform. We've never had this opportunity with any other social media. And so it's very important to be at the intersection of culture and technology. And that was the reason that I invested. Isaac and I have been friends for years

and I invested through StartEngine very early on. So if you want that opportunity as well, make sure you go to startengine.com slash fanbase, invest, get your money up. Let's make it happen. All right, man. Thank you, man. Appreciate it.

Thank you for stopping by, my guy. I appreciate that. What's up, Justin? What's going on, man. Thank you, man. Appreciate it. Thank you for stopping by, my guy. I appreciate that. What's up, Justin? What's going on, man? How you doing? I'm good, man. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Justin Dawkins, a good friend of mine and one of my tech senseis that taught me about the tech industry when I first got started. How you well, man. It's a beautiful day here in the A and happy to be here to support you and crowdfunding and just getting more people involved in the innovation economy, in the process of building a great technology and generational wealth. That's the idea. That's the dream. Where do we lack right now currently in investment opportunity for businesses like mine? Where are we lacking? Because equity crowdfunding has really served as a way that I can have investors

invest directly in my business. Where are we lacking? Yeah, I think one, equity crowdfunding to me represents an opportunity to get everyday people involved in the innovation economy and get them involved in investing and helping to build local startups. Every startup that you've ever seen started out locally, started out with like a local group of people, whether that was in San Francisco or Boston or New York or here in Atlanta, and then it grows. And I think we miss that because we see the headlines, we see the Forbes list and then, you know, New York Times or whatever the case may be. But every movement starts with a

small group of people. And equity crowdfunding represents that. And not taking advantage of that really, really misses the boat, misses a tremendous opportunity to get involved, A, early, but then B, to be much more instrumental in how a company grows and really helping to shape what it looks like as it grows. And so there's a lot of missed opportunity. A lot of great businesses are underfunded, under-resourced. And so equity crowdfunding and even some other tools, I think, are great options, especially for a lot of startups and businesses that may not fit squarely into venture capital models or other equity models. I'm going to put you on the spot. All good. Think about fan base. Now, as someone

that came to you and said, hey, I want to build an app, and we built one, tell me what you think about what we've been able to accomplish. Well, first of all, I would say what you and the team have built over the years is just phenomenal. The technology is not easy. It requires a lot of intentionality, a lot of smart people around the table, obviously great engineering and design talent. But more than that, what I love about what you build is the community and how you really, really focused on creators, especially when we look at where things are with other apps that don't need to be mentioned right now. But we talk a lot about how they treat creators and how they don't capitalize them well, don't invest in them, don't give them the resources they need to be great, or just flat out just

don't compensate them well. And I think what Fanbase represents and what you built is an opportunity for folks to earn money, also build a following, build a tribe, and really, really tap into those folks that are really passionate about them, what they produce and create, and making sure that that entire ecosystem is an equitable ecosystem. And I think that's what I'm most proud of when I think about Fanbase. And it's honestly why I personally invested in the company. Thank you. Yeah, I think, you know, I'm glad to have you as an investor. I think, you know, your co-sign means a lot from someone that

saw me work on this from the beginning and actually seeing the tech and what we've been able to do. Let me ask you this, because I think this is also something that's important. When it comes to black tech, right, And one of the things I stress is infrastructure and ownership. We, especially in like entertainment and technology, like the infrastructures are primarily not owned by people that look like us, but yet our culture powers them. What are your thoughts on that? I think, I think you hit the nail on the head. You know, one of the things that makes the culture wonderful is that we are really great at building brands, telling stories, connecting. But when you look

at building big companies, right, going beyond the brand, going into the systems, the processes, to your point, the infrastructure, it is critical that we own pieces of that as well. So I always like to think of it or liking it to, you know, even the clothing or their pair lines that we own pieces of that as well. So I always like to think of it or liking it to even the clothing or the apparel lines that we put out. Like, yes, we're good at putting graphics and getting the right textures, but we don't own the cotton. We don't own the manufacturing. We don't own the process of actually producing the good.

So we're really great at brands, and that's amazing, and we can continue to do that. But yes, we should go, as we like to say, go vertical. We should start looking at supply chain. We should start looking at owning our technology and the other things that make up the platforms in which we can produce more and more and more businesses, more brands. And we actually own more of it, which gives us really, I think, the power that I think we all want as a community. Thanks. Well, I appreciate you, you know, coming through the Investathon. This is something that's never been done before. This is kind of different. I think this will serve as a model for us to continue to support each other and build businesses. So I appreciate your support. Let everybody know where they can go invest.

Oh, that's easy. StartEngine.com, forward slash Fanbase. Get in early. It's time. It's time to take off. I think we're in a wonderful transition as far as our economy, as far as the creator economy. And I think Fanbase is poised

and in the right position to take full advantage of the moment and really enable creators as well as investors. And I think we can win together. Looking forward to it. Thanks, man. Well, thanks for stopping by, man. I think we can win together. Looking forward to it. Thanks man. Well,

thanks for stopping by, man. I appreciate it. Of course. Anytime. Appreciate it. Uh, shout out to the whole fan base family,

all the investors, everybody is tuned in and having this conversation. My name's Ebro. I host the morning show in New York city, Ebro in the morning, drive time. Uh, also work at Apple music as a host and,

uh, do other work inside Apple Music As the global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B there And, you know, a lot of content gets made by me, my team And when I saw Fanbase was, you know Being in a position to accept investors I decided to invest and support Because we all know that black content

And black creators set the trends. Some of the most engaged with content on the internet and on media platforms. And so with the company fan base positioning that as a priority to make sure that black creatives and their content gets monetized and they get credit for it and they can build their businesses. I felt like it was a no brainer for me to make an investment and participate. So I was honored to do so. I hope to do more as the technology grows and more tools become available for creatives. I plan to engage a lot more. So let's keep pushing. Let's keep sharing the message and you know, let's keep growing this thing.

You know, now is a great time too. I think there's a lot of transition taking place in tech and in content. And so let's keep pushing forward. Thanks for having me. Welcome back to the Fanbase Investathon. Our next guest, my next guest, is someone that is extremely important

to what we're doing at Fanbase and our partnership with HBCU students in the black community. I want to welcome Dr. Lisa Herring, the director of Propel to the Fanbase. How are you doing? It was good. I'm fantastic. It's so happy to be here with you today and excited about this time together. I think that and most excited about our partnership

with the Propel Center and with Fanbase. So let's talk about that real quick. Like, what is Propel for people that don't know Propel? And then we'll talk about our partnership. Yeah. So for the last year, I've had the pleasure of serving as president of the Propel Center. And the most frequented question that's asked is, what is the Propel Center? So with clarity and with great excitement, the Propel Center is the nation's first innovation tech hub uniquely designed to support our country's historically black colleges and universities. The follow up to that is, so what do you mean when you say an innovation tech hub? So what we mean very clearly is that as an innovation tech hub, we interface with all of our HBCUs across the HBCU ecosystem by way of connecting with scholars, our students, with faculty, and of course, with the institution at large. We provide upskilling opportunities for our scholars at

the Provel Center, those who have an interest in careers that may not always be top of mind, but are top of mind as it relates to the workforce. So that can be AI, arts and entertainment, cybersecurity, critical partnerships that then also allow for us to prepare a space for our students to go into internships and apprenticeships. We also, Isaac, prepare and provide for our scholars micro-credentialing and upskilling opportunities in these fields while simultaneously working with faculty to do professional development with them. Wow. I'm really excited about this because, you know, right down the street from our new headquarters right now, you guys are going to build the Pell Center, which is a HBCU innovation hub for all the HBCUs in the United States of America.

Tell anybody about that. Yeah. So when Apple and Southern Company invested approximately $50 million into the Propel Center back in 2020, it was done so as a result of what most of us know as a reaction to the George Floyd murders. Both Apple and Southern were not only intentional, but also very proactive in taking a stand with their investment, particularly under the area of racial inequity and social justice initiatives. For us, what that has meant is this investment in our HBCU ecosystem. We established MOUs, Memorandums of Understanding, with over 80-plus HBCUs across our 100-plus HBCU ecosystem, and the Propel Center

will be housed on the campus of Clark Atlanta University on Student Movement Boulevard. We're about four years into existence, and we've spent the last several years developing our program. Our program has been inclusive of a Propel Learn platform that is an app that allows for students to have access to our courses and our micro-credentials. But I love to explain Propel in this way. It's an opportunity for students to be online, on-site, and on-campus. And our on-site structure will be here in Atlanta, Georgia. We'll start our campaign for that very soon for additional funding. But most importantly, we're already on campus across the ecosystem.

And as you know, we have this amazing opportunity to connect our students with industry partners who are also deeply invested in our scholars. Yeah, I'm excited about our partnership. One, Fanbase was founded specifically to allow creators to monetize their content, but more importantly, we understand the value that Black culture brings to social media and the opportunity for people to monetize their content. And then in the tech space, I wanted to also build something that I know that in the future, we could actually have people come along, be part of Fanbase, work for Fanbase. And one of the things that I, you know, wanted to announce with you right now, which I think is extremely important, is that with this new raise and this investment that we're doing,

we are going to commit to a pipeline of creating job opportunities and getting people to come and work at Fanbase through Propel. I'm so excited about that because I think it's more important that young individuals, young Black individuals have an opportunity to work at tech companies, especially a social media

company that's founded right in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm excited to be able to announce that. We are committed to the pipeline of bringing a lot more Black students and Black employees into Fanbase by way of this partnership. So let me be very clear and intentional around celebrating and embracing this opportunity with you, not just for our professional partnership, but for what I've always believed all my life is our most important focus, and that's our scholars. What this does, just to be clear, it addresses the urgency for us to not only support, but create future innovators. That's definitely a part of what's happening. And I want to appreciate something that you said, Isaac,

and that is creating pathways for Black creators. So our partnership with Fanbase, hands down, does just that. In partnership with the Propel Center and Fanbase, and when I think about the scholars that I've already had a chance to not only engage with, interview, talk with, even within the campus of Fanbase, I know that it's a difference maker. And then most importantly, we're investing in what, as an HBCU alum, is important for me to name, is HBCU Excellence. So this is a lifetime opportunity

for not just our professional partnership, it's an opportunity for the scholars that we serve, and it's the way we change the game. And that, my dear, my friend, sir, is the most important work we can do in this time, in our culture, and of course, in our city. So I'm going to also, now here's the next bit of news that I think we're announcing right now, which is the fact that Fanbase is going to commit to taking a portion of revenue that we make as a company and create Fanbase Propel Scholarship. So that's right. To announce that, I think that is extremely important.

So we could talk a little bit about that. But give me your thoughts on that. So it's not even as much a thought as it is a reaction and gratitude. And let me say this about you and your vision and leadership in this partnership with the Propel Center and our work for, as I shared earlier, investing in HBCU excellence. This opportunity to raise money that allows for scholarships to go to an HBCU scholar that's connected with the Propel Center is not only a shared goal of empowering our young Black leaders, but I think it's so important. It's so important. It changes their life. It eliminates issues of concern. And

it also invests in them by saying that we see you, we believe in you, and we want to be a part of this journey, whether that's entrepreneurship, right? Whether that's a creator in the industry, however they see it. So I'm grateful for that. You know, in the absence of our scholars, it's a deep, heartfelt thank you. And in the thinking about our future, this is the way we come together and make a difference in the lives of our black and brown community, but especially the scholars that we're very focused around supporting. This, sir, is a game changer.

So we're deeply excited. We need like a drum roll, right? Can you, I don't know, can I do like the virtual drum roll or kind of the loud applause, something to that. Yeah, some theme music around it. It's amazing. And I want it to be clear. It is also a collaborative vision and it speaks to the call to action where now more than ever, we all have to do something

to be able to say, not only do we support our HBCU community, we're deeply invested in it. And this is a testament of true investment. Hey, that is the perfect way to wrap this up. I am so appreciative of your time and you coming to Fanbase Investathon. This is a movement, an economic movement, a tech movement, and a black movement, per se, too, definitely with our partnership. So I appreciate you stopping through Investathon. I'm excited that you're here. I can't wait to work closer together. You know what I mean? Yes. Yes. Yeah. I know. Yes, please.

No, but I thank you. You guys are an amazing partner to have. And I really appreciate that. This is something that is special for us to be able to do as a as a social media tech startup right here at Atlanta Georgia is to really be connected to the community and HBCUs around the country and there's a lot of talented young people I mean we've done some partnerships in the past and some of the kids you guys have are incredible amazing smart brilliant people so I'm glad to be affiliated with you guys and continue to work with you so thank you for stopping by I appreciate you very much. And I'm sure we will cross paths sooner than later, as always. As always, and thank you for rising to the call to action.

What you're doing is, as I shared earlier, it's lifesaving for our scholars and our institutions quite candidly. And the fan base and propel. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, whyall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull,

will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the butcher, Brent Smith from shine down. Got be real from Cypress Hill, NHL enforcer,

Riley Cote, Marine Corvette, MMA fighter, Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter. And it brings a face to it. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the war on drugs podcast podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.

They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Partnership, I know for certain, will help advance equity in tech and that we are going to, together, help launch the next generation of creators with the tools that they need.

And again, in their absence and also in their presence at the Propel Center, we thank you and we thank Fanbase. Thank you very much. Thank you, Rosalia. Bye. Always. Okay. Back to the Fanbase Investathon. Right now, I have Mr. Jarek Albritton, host of the Big Tech Energy podcast. This man has been in the tech space for almost 20 years.

He is a fan-based investor, but I definitely wanted to get his voice on this Invest-A-Thon to talk about the importance of black tech in owning equity in tech startups. I'll let you take it away, man. Yeah, man, Isaac, really appreciate you having me on. Really excited about this next round of investment. Really excited for the people that are watching this to have a chance to make history and also become part of a huge

black generational wealth creation event. Once this company goes public, it gets acquired, whatever the case, it's going to happen in the future. But yeah, just a little bit about my background. I've been in tech since 2006 and primarily in the startup space since 2010. And as part of being in the startup space, one thing that's really important to me is equity. Because equity is the type of thing where somebody like a seed investor at Uber puts in $5,000 and then once they go public makes 24 million these are opportunities that our community typically gets left out of because we don't meet the requirements or we're just not in the right rooms in the right spaces so for this opportunity i'm really excited that you are in the

right space you do have the opportunity and not only can you invest but you can also have an impact on how this investment grows in the future by sharing to people to join Fanbase, to create clubs, to make content on the app. And so how I discovered Fanbase was I was on this app called Clubhouse, where I was basically helping people break into the tech space and building a huge audience, but I'm building an audience for a platform that I have no ownership in. So when I saw what Isaac was doing with Fanbase, I jumped right in, invested really early. Since I've invested, I think my investment has increased five, ten bags, something to that effect.

But that's only just a small amount compared to where I see it going in the future, if our community does what we do on all platforms, which is bring our humor, bring our swagger, bring our, you know, point of view that has blown up other social media platforms, if we just go ahead and do the same thing, Fanbase is absolutely going to be successful. And what I like about Fanbase, besides the fact that, you know, it's Black-owned and we can have ownership, it's just the functionality aspect of's Black-owned and we can have ownership, is just the functionality aspect of it. You can do things like I do on YouTube on the app. You can do things like I did on Clubhouse with social audio on the app. You can do things like I do on Instagram on the app. But instead of only seeing, only my audience seeing, only a small

amount of my audience seeing this material, the opportunity for my entire audience to see this material and to do revenue share, get hearts for everything I do on the platform. I had one conversation I did on Fanbase where I looked on my phone and I made like $25. Clubhouse, Instagram, et cetera, never really had that happen, never had that opportunity. So just thinking about once the app has millions and millions of more users on the app platform, there's no toggling down of the algorithm like you see on Instagram and other platforms. I envision myself going live on Fanbase and making $1,000, $2,000, $10,000, $50,000. The sky's the limit.

So if you're not a user of Fanbase, highly recommend that you use it. But if you're not an investor in Fanbase, this is your opportunity to get in right now before the price goes up, like Fat Joe said. And you can absolutely be a part of history. Because what I'm interested in and what I'm excited about is the fact that this could be an event however many years down the line. You definitely want to be patient with this investment. Don't think it's going to happen overnight, right? But when it does happen, this is going to create so many black millionaires. And what that's going to be able to do for our community is incredibly huge.

I mean, shoot, if only what, I think I did the math before, if only 600 people, what is it, if 25,000 people invest $600, that's $15 million right there. Just 25,000 people, $600 each. And we could raise $15 million right now, pump it into the app. And then all of the things that he's going to do from a tech standpoint that I've heard about that I can't share, all I can say is I'm really excited. And I really hope that you jump on this opportunity because if you don't and you see the company get acquired or go public or whatever that event is, you're going to be kicking yourself. So jump into it, get involved, spread the word about Fanbase. And yeah, when it comes to ownership, that's all that matters in this world, to be honest.

And this is an opportunity to own something and be a part of history. So, yeah, man, that's my passion and appeal to everybody in this space. And if you're interested in learning more about tech, AI, and how to get careers in tech, feel free to check me out on Big Tech Energy Podcast on YouTube and Dr. J on Instagram and Dr. J, more importantly, on Fanbase, where I'll be building community and really growing an audience there and taking advantage of all the functionality that I can get on Fanbase. So that's it, man. Any questions? No, man, that's it. You said it perfectly. I got one question for you. Where can they go invest? Yeah. So if you go to startengine.com forward slash fan base, startengine.com forward slash fan base, that's where you can get a piece of this pie that's going to be worth a ton of money

in the future. So that's where you need to go. All right, man. Well, thank you very much for stopping by Investathon. I appreciate you. I know you're busy at a conference. You're doing your thing, but I'm glad you took the time out of your day to stop by the Investathon for families. This is really impactful and powerful. I appreciate you and I'll see you soon, man. All right. Sounds good. All right, my guy. Thank you. All right. So now I have to play this and make this special announcement. Will.i.am is up next, but this isn't really a live conversation. Will.i.am was gracious enough to join the Investathon right from South Africa off the plane. But I'm really excited to bring this conversation. It's really insightful.

And I hope everybody really tunes in and listen to this. So here's the conversation that I have with Will.i.am that I filmed at about 2.30 this morning, 2.30 a.m. I had to get up and do this, but it was important to have Will on, and I wanted to make sure we do that. So here's Will.i.am in our conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, I am not at the fan base headquarters. I am at home, but I had to get this amazing guest for the Investathon. Welcome, Will. How are you doing, my guy?

What up, Isaac? I'm chilling, bro. Just here in South Africa. First of all, I want to thank you because, you know, when I reached out to you about this, you were saying, I think I'm going to be in South Africa. But let me check. And the fact that you, you know, got right off the plane, made time to do this, I really appreciate you for that. You are someone that I extremely respect in the space of technology, especially what you're doing with AI and all the amazing things that you're doing. I want to ask you, when it comes to technology and black culture, where are we lacking?

Why do we need to own infrastructure and technology as black people? I could say, like, you know, we right now, everybody's at the same starting point. There's some people that are further ahead, the obvious ones, but for the most, the majority of folks, we're all in the right place. Because in the past, everyone wasn't equal like this. And so there's people listening to this right now. I'm like, what are you talking about? How can you say we're equal in this? I'm coming from an optimistic, competitive perspective.

And when you want to win, you know, to have an underdog, I'm way, way in the back mentality, I don't want to have that mentality. So I like to project where I am creatively. And creatively, we are, you know, we are far beyond. And because that's what it's going to take for us to truly dominate in this new renaissance that we're in. But by saying that we are all in the same starting place, we are all in the same starting place because there has been a reset. This AI stuff is going to reset how businesses are ran. It's going to reset how people are educated. It's going to reset how, you know, going back to how businesses are ran, you know, there's

going to be a lot of jobs that are going to be rendered obsolete with this new renaissance. But it's also going to create a whole bunch of new jobs, a whole bunch of new industries. And the folks that are going to create that are the creatives and folks that have massive imagination. And our community has massive imagination. More importantly, our community has a lot of unsolved problems. And we could solve those problems ourselves. And when we solve those problems ourselves with our massive power of imagination, that's going to catapult us in a realm and a vibe that we haven't seen. It's a whole new jump off. It's similar to like, you know, third industrial revolution, early 1900s, late 1800s. We are at that right now as far as how the world is going to change. And if you're creative or hyper creative, let's get creative.

Let's compete. Um, let me, so with, with fan base, you know, and I also heard you speak about fan bases. I didn't even know you talked about fan base when you were on the view that one time. And I was like, well, I haven't noticed about fan base. Like this is crazy. But, um, how important is it that we own technology? Like the, what the, the, the goal of what I'm doing right now is the fact that I'm creating the opportunity for people to invest and actually have equity in a tech company, um, at an early,

early stage, which we didn't really have a chance to do. So how important is that? Okay. I, I, I was talking about fan base the other day. Um, I talk about fan base a lot in interviews or when I'm talking about these mega companies, the very few mega companies. And there's nothing wrong with competing with giants. And if you think of like, I don't know how many other Instagram alternatives there is. And there's one that I know of that just so happens to be black owned.

And that's fan base. And it's important that we have black owned awesomeness, especially if we're audacious enough to compete with giants. If you're competing with a company that's worth a trillion dollars and you come close, yo, what's wrong with that? People are going to invest money in whatever stuff. You're going to invest money in, in whatever stuff you're going to invest money in somebody else's stuff, not even knowing, you know, that's, that's somebody else's stuff at one point in time didn't really fuck with us. So, you know, um, in this Renaissance that we're in, I think there's going to be a few big companies.

Wait. There's already a few big companies. But I think there's going to be more small companies than there are a few big companies. The idea of having a big company with a lot of employees and there's only a few of them making all the money, I don't think that's what tomorrow looks like. I think tomorrow looks like giant

small companies, like a lot of them because there's a lot of people on the planet. And fan base being you know an alternative that has a business model that supports

creatives you know and folks to have access to their reach that's an awesome thing and it's even more awesome that it's black-owned. I'll take that compliment any day. So right now, we are raising $15 million. Our goal is to raise $15 million. And I think that with that, it's going to give us a three year runway to really compete. You know, a lot of times black companies don't get access to capital through VCs and less than half of one percent of all dollars went to black startups last year.

And so equity crowdfunding, which is what I've been able to do to raise capital, this is the only shot I got. What do you think about equity crowdfunding? How do you feel about that? How do you think about funding our own business, even other types of businesses with equity crowdfunding? How do you think that can help build Black business in a way that's been difficult? Okay, I've invested in AI companies. I've started AI companies. I've sold AI solutions. And then I have a foundation where we serve the inner city. I started in the projects that I come from, and I started with 65 students. And, you know, in 2008 to now, now we serve 15,000 students.

And raising money for AI versus raising money for HI, human intelligence, to get black and brown people up to speed. It's hard. It's not just like raising money for a black-owned company. It's hard raising money just to get black people and brown people up to speed. And so if you think about that, that hurts. It still hurts my spirit. But I still keep going, you know. You know, we've sent kids to Dartmouth and Brown and Stanford and Georgetown and UCLA, USC. We have amazing, you know, scholars that are going to school for engineering and computer science and synthetic biology.

They all come from my neighborhood. But we got some hurdles and some barricades that were thrown at us. Really, at the end of the day, our spinning power, our cool making, our situation at this point in you know, our next door neighbors, our friends, our cousins, our grandmas or grandpas. You know, it's going to take us all to help us all out. We are our own Calvary at this point in time, especially with this new tool that we got. And so I know firsthand, I got company. I got a company, FYI.ai. It's hard raising money, especially in this climate. We're in a recession. People ain't investing like they used to, especially in black and brown businesses.

And we could come up, we could pull ourselves up. We could like push our, you know, make time for one another and support one another. That's why when, when you were like, yo, I'm doing this thing, I'm like, yo, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta show up any, any, any, in any form of whether it's virtual, if I was in LA, I would get on an airplane. I would fly to wherever your event was. But, yeah, we need each other right now.

Thank you. I mean, well, right now we're on start engine. So the minimum to invest is $399. That gets you 60 shares of stock and fan base. And that's critical at this early stage of a company. It's not just that. You could invest money or you could just use it all the time. Because if people invest and then they don't use it, that ain't good.

Right. Use it all the time. Invest and use it all the time. Think about the things that we actually invest in. We've invested in characters that poison our community. We celebrate the folks that poison our community.

We look up to the cats that got our aunts and uncles strung out on a substance. We bigging them up. Think about the shit that we actually entertain and respect at the highest level. So, and then there's like this, this new type of thing that folks is, they know the importance of it. And, you know, you not need no brown, let's say juice, but you got a different juice.

You got, you know, some that every, I something that I wish I could give my cousins and my niece and my nephew to be like, yo, I'm going to start my own tech company. We need more Isaac Hazens. Your dad inspired me to make music. You're going to inspire my

cousins and my family members to start tech companies. I hope, you know, because when they see Uncle Willie, they'll be like, Uncle Willie, you're crazy, Uncle Willie. But when they see somebody else doing it too, right alongside, we got a movement.

So, back to what I was saying, $399 you're going to spend $399 eventually on some bullshit. But if you're going to spend $399 eventually on some bullshit. But if you're going to invest $399 and then use it every day

to ensure that your investment grows and you get your cousins in the neighborhood to be on it every day and a movement happens and you're a part of it as it grows the neighborhood to be on it every day. And a movement happens. You know? And you're a part of it as it grows.

And you're pushing it to grow. You're out here farming and nurturing something that will change our communities. Instagram is worth a lot of money. It's not just like it's a lot of money. It's not just like, it's a lot of money.

Like, it could, I would always say like, well, imagine if WhatsApp was WhatsApp, came from Watts. Imagine that. Oh yeah.

TikTok is massive. But it's, it's not just the loop. It's, it's the, it's the, you know, people using it all the time. Believing in it. You know, being a part of Beats, I saw it.

You know, people use Beats. They wore them. Right? That was the choice. And it was different from my, you know, it was a movement. They spent their money and they wore them.

But what you're doing is like community-based. It's like, yo, invest, use it. And we all grow. That's, that's pretty powerful.

Yeah, man. I mean, I want to thank you. I know you're a busy guy. Um, man. I mean, I want to thank you. I know you're a busy guy. I appreciate you for taking the time. As soon as you land in South Africa, I want you to continue to continue to lead the tech space because I'm really tapped into what you're doing and everything that you do. We are allies in this tech space together and I value your friendship and your mentorship and your experience very much. But I want to thank you for taking time to join us at the Investathon.

Thank you. And check out FYI.ai, all the folks listening to this. That's my company. Yep, we in the thick of it. Getting ready to deploy our tech across amazing hardware, partnering up with other companies as well. But salute, Fanbase. Thanks for your bravery, your audaciousness, your ambition. Anything I can do to help.

I'll be there. All right. Peace out, bro. Thank you, my guy. I appreciate it. All right. All right, my man. What's up. All right. All right, my man. What's up, y'all?

Look, Fanbase is more than a platform. It's a movement to empower creators, offering a unique opportunity for everyday people to invest in Black-owned tech, infrastructure, and help shape the future of social media. Investing in technology is essential for creating long-term wealth and influence in the digital age. The Black community must not only consume tech, we must own it.

Discover how equity crowdfunding can serve as a powerful tool for funding black businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital directly through their community, through the Jobs Act. I'm back. We're back on Investathon. Coming up next, I think we have Tamika Mallory. Is she available? If not, we can go to Pastor Jamal Bryant.

If Tamika's here, let's go with Tamika, but if not, let's go with Pastor Jamal Bryant. If Tameka's here, let's go with Tameka. But if not, let's go with Pastor Jamal Bryant. Oh, you don't hear me? Why y'all wait? Make sure you go to startengine.com slash fanbase to invest. I think we just have a backstage issue,

but how do you like it so far? Listen, we're raising capital though. I wish I could see the screen. We are raising money. We raised probably about $50,000 like really quickly. Like I think we've raised about $50,000 in the first, you know, 30 minutes or so,, doing this. So it's running up. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase right now and invest. Tell your friends. Share these links. Share your YouTube links.

Take these YouTube links. Throw them in your group chat. Tell all your friends what's going on. There's a lot more people coming up to speak. I want you to hear all these people. Tap in. Let's go. Let's roll.

Let's continue. If you have not invested, reinvest. That is extremely important. It helps us scale. And we are at an inflection point. We have to really take advantage of this moment to do this. So, you know, let's roll. Let's roll. Where are we at now? All right. So waiting for Tamika Mallory and pastor jamal bryant uh to connect so they are not here just yet uh and again for folks uh who may have just started tuning in this is a fan base fan base investathon of course uh there's a lot of information out here folks so

that you can get i saw some on the YouTube chat that said, hey, I need more information about the company's financials. Guys, if you go to startengine.com forward slash fanbase, you'll see all of the detailed information, the SEC filings, all that sort of stuff. It's all there at startengine.com forward slash fanbase. And so if you want any information about how the company's performed, its current valuation, how many investments there are, how much was raised in the previous raise, all the information is right there. So all you got to do is go to it.

You can simply go to startengine.com forward slash fan base for that information. And so this is really about the opportunity for us to be able to get it on the ground floor. And let me just say this, because this is the thing, you heard Will.i.am talk about this, and I talk about this all the time. And I'll never forget, I'll never forget, I was the

speaker at a chamber of commerce event, a black chamber of commerce event in Houston. And it was very interesting because they had a live auction. And they had this diamond necklace and then they had this after the diamond necklace was a custom tailored suit.

And so I sat there and I watched the diamond necklace sell for six, 700 bucks. And I literally saw the tailored suit actually go for more than a thousand dollars. Now, why was I perplexed by that? First, that tailored suit, only you can wear it.

You can't sell it. You can't, I mean, that's it. The diamond necklace actually is going to maintain the value or have more value. And I sat there and I said, is that how we, frankly, sometimes make decisions as African Americans? That's literally what I said. So I then look at, and again, Will.i.am made this point, look at the things that we buy.

Look at the things that we invest in. So I'm just sitting here, and again, I'm thinking just functionally. So, you know, two iPhones. Okay. Now, because of what I do with social media and everything like that, and I've got T-Mobile and I got Verizon, all that sort of stuff like that. Okay. So more than a thousand dollars for each phone. Okay? I got an iPad right here because iPad was $1,100, whatever the number was. Okay? I got a MacBook Pro right here. I've got, you know, other items here.

Now, ask yourself the question. What do you spend money on? And does that money grow? Meaning, is it going to grow? Can it actually blow up? That's how you have to think. And I'll never forget the conversation that, and I wish I had pulled the video up,

Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was offered a million dollars from Converse to sign with Converse. And he was offered Nike stock. He was offered Nike stock. And I'm going to pull up, I'm just going to say Magic Johnson in one second. Magic Johnson and Nike.

Okay. So it was 1979. Nike was not Nike then as it is now. Phil Knight did not have the money to pay, to give folks big salaries. So, but he offered Magic Johnson stock. Magic Johnson turned the stock down to accept the converse cash.

Had Magic Johnson, and this is a story from August 10th, 2023 in Sports Illustrated, had Magic Johnson not turned the stock down, the stock that Magic Johnson was offering last year would have been worth $5.2 billion. That means Magic Johnson would be the second richest African-American in the country. But Magic said, we didn't have anybody in my family who has stocks. We didn't know anything about that. He said,

Converse was well known, took the cash. That right there speaks to what happens a lot of times with African Americans. We're not, frankly, from a cultural standpoint because we've been shut out of these things for decades, for centuries. We don't think in terms of stocks, equity, and things along those lines. A lot of it is cash right now.

Isaac has talked about African-Americans who are huge on Twitch, who are huge on other platforms, who are getting paid very well, but they have no equity. They got no equity. 50 Cent was at an investment test talking about that. The initial liquor deal he was offered, marketing deal. It wasn't an equity deal.

Diddy had a marketing deal. It wasn't an equity deal. When companies get sold, guess who gets paid? The owners, those with equity. So this is about you having an opportunity to, on the ground floor, get equity in a technology company and in technology as a space where most wealth is actually being built.

Isaac tells this story all the time. I can't remember his name. And again, people think, oh, big money. You tell the story of the guy who invested just $5,000 in Uber. And when Uber went public, his $5,000 investment was worth, was it $24 million? Yes. It was $24 million. So he didn't put in $5,000.

Yeah. There is somebody watching right now, you literally spent $5,000 on a vacation. Yes. I'm not saying don't go on vacation. But what I am saying to our people, we have to make decisions on what are we spending our money on today

and what it could mean down the road. I can't wait until Jamal Bryant is here. Jamal? Okay, he's here. Pastor Jamal Bryant is here? Yeah. Alright, bring that cap up. Jamal? Okay, he's here. Pastor Jamal Bryant is here. Yeah. All right. Bring that cap on.

I can invest the thumb. For fan base, I got Pastor Jamal Bryant. How you doing, Jamal? What's good? Man, I'm super duper excited to be with you and all the more. It's got to be serendipitous of divine timing. I have to talk to serendipitous of divine timing.

I have to talk to you live from Tulsa, Oklahoma on Black Wall Street. Now, Isaac, it was crazy. Yeah. I'm a pastor of a church, but before I was a pastor, I worked for the NAACP

as a national youth and college director. And I mean, you ought to hear something so critical. The Klan, the government, has never bombed a NAACP office. Never bombed an Urban League office. Never bombed a Rainbow Push office. Never bombed a National Action Network office.

The first time America ever bombed itself was right here in Tulsa, Greenwood, because it was black economic power. Their greatest fear is that we understand how strong we are economically. We are, Isaac, the 11th wealthiest nation in the world, and we got nothing to show for it but shoes and bags. When you and I were talking a couple of months ago, and you shared with me, if you could just get our own people to invest in fan base, it's going to be absolutely revolutionary. I need you all to understand something so critical, that the next step after civil rights is civil rights. And those civil rights, hear this, are coming through technology.

This is an economic boom that all of us have got to be a part of. Benjamin Mays, former president of Morehouse College, said you got to run faster or you're forever left behind. Do you know how many people wish they could have invested in Apple? How many people wish they would have invested in Dell? How many people wish that they would have invested in Microsoft and they missed the opportunity? I don't even know whether it's divine timing or Isaac was just in the spirit realm. But the reason why this week is so important for us to be a part of Investathon is 15 years ago this week, Mark Zuckerberg bought Instagram for Facebook for $1 billion. Do you think that he regrets that investment? Not for one moment.

Your greatest regret is not what you do. Your greatest regret is what you don't do. And so I want all of us to be a part of a fan base that this gives us an opportunity to not be consumers, but to be investors. I know this is hard. Isaac, when I give you this. You have a nosebleed and going to need a nap for 20 minutes. It's hard for you to do it because 86% of black people don't own a single piece of stock. So when we're talking about investing, this is, I might as well be talking in Swahili, Arabic, or Hebrew because you don't even understand what it means.

Let's not live for today. Let's live for tomorrow. So I am giving the challenge for 25,000. How many are we challenging? 25,000 people. Yeah, 25,000 people to give $600 and change your future, your destiny. I don't want you to think about fan base. I want you to think about your future.

I want you to think about your legacy that you're leaving behind. Isn't it amazing that Prince had no estate planning? Aretha Franklin had no estate planning. Michael Jackson had no estate planning. Michael Jackson had no estate planning. And so the state had to come and make a plan for you to invest in fan base. Says everything that we need to know, that you're concerned about your children, concerned about your legacy, and concerned about the future. 92% of black people, and I'm finished with data, I'm finished with data I'm finished with stats 92% of black people

Don't know the names Of their great grandparents And they don't know the names Of their great grandparents Drum roll Because they didn't leave them nothing We had the funeral fighting over earrings And a stole

And mama wanted me to have the lamp. Because we've not made a real investment on how it is that we're doing it. I've been walking this street here in Tulsa. It is the 102nd anniversary of the bombing. And I came up this week because I wanted to see it. And because one of our family members, the Brians, owned a dry cleaning on this street.

The Brians was before the Jeffersons. We was moving on up. And I wanted to make sure that I remember not only our legacy, but those who don't know their history are destined and they're doomed to repeat it. Some Baptist preacher, the doors of the church are open. The

ushers are coming now. I'm passing the gold plates. I need 25,000 of you all to partner with me to make an investment to the future. What's the website, Isaac, that we're supposed to go to? Startengine.com slash fanbase. Yeah. Startine.com slash fanbase. Yeah.

StartEngine.com slash fanbase. Slash fanbase. I asked that you all would do it, and I need you to do something a preacher never tells you to do. You ain't never heard this in church. I'm telling you to start a rumor.

I need you to tell this everywhere that what Isaac Hayes III is doing is radical and is revolutionary, and we got to protect him at all costs. So do me a favor. Not only do I need you to give, I need you to share this. I need you to

please post this. Those of you, take the copy link and then put it in your group threads, the group threads that you are in right now. You got at least three of them that is at the top of your phone. Drop me into the phone right now and say, hey, y'all, let's do something. Every year, y'all planning on the same stuff. Let's go to brunch.

Let's go to the Essence Festival. Let's go to the winery. This time, let's pull our money together. Let's not buy out the bar. Let's raise to the winery. This time, let's pull our money together. Let's not buy out the bar. Let's raise the bar and say, this is what it is that we're going to do and how it is that we're going to be forward thinking. After it is that you make this investment, add a title onto your social media handle. If you invest in fan base, add this title on your social media handle. Here it is,

Afrofuturist. You are a black person who is living for the future, and you believe that the best of who we are is not what we used to be, but what we've become. So as the children, that's 25,000 of y'all. It is. That's not even a half. It's not even a quarter. It's not even a third of those who went to the Million Man March. We're not even asking you to go nowhere. You ain't got to meet us at Centennial Park. You ain't got to meet us at the Lincoln Monument. So we're not asking you to buy no hotel. We're not asking you to get on Spirit Airlines. We're asking you right from the comfort of your home that 25,000 of you will be on lockstep with us. In the days to come, your grandchildren are going to ask you, what were you doing when Fanbase was launched? And you're going to respond, I was watching Netflix.

I was watching Hulu. I was in a group three talking about who got arrested, but I didn't do nothing about the future. Come on, man. Ice Cube said you got to check yourself before you wreck yourself. $600. If you're in Atlanta, you spend that on hookah and lamb chops. Come on, don't play with me. If you're in D.C., you spend it on mambo sauce. If you're in Memphis, you spend it on hot chicken sandwiches. Come on now, don't do this to me. If you're in L.A., you did it on Randy's Donuts. Whatever it is that you are, I need you to pull that $600 together and let's make an incredible history.

Cornel West said black people got to stop reciting black history and stop making black history. Cornel West said black people got to stop reciting black history and stop making black history. This is a black history moment. And I know y'all are thrown off because you only used to doing black history in February. Well, it's September and you're still black. So I need 25,000 of y'all to help us to do something incredible, something monumental and something significant. If the next president is black and they don't have a black tech or black economic agenda, we doing the electric slide backwards. Come on, y'all.

Let's move this thing forward. All aboard the love train. You ain't got to get on a midnight train to Georgia. Get on the midnight train to this website $25,000 So we'll see the $600 And let's change the world I'm glad to be rocking with you brother

Anytime you need me call me Colette And it don't matter whether I am in Oklahoma Or Kenya I'm going to be there Because I'm looking to cash out This cannot fail I got three kids in college And none of them Negroes got a scholarship I need looking to cash out. This cannot fail. I got three kids in college and none of them Negroes got a scholarship.

I need this to work. Let's do something meaningful. Let's do something significant. Man, thank you very much. I appreciate it, man. Thank you very much. StartEngine.com slash fan base, everybody. Thank you, Pastor Brian, for stopping in

to the investment. I appreciate you very much, man. I love you always for no reason. I'll see you at the top. All right, man. God bless you. We got a couple of great guests coming up. I thought Jamal was going to tell the story, but he didn't.

I'm about to mess y'all up real quick. Herb Kelleher, if y'all know who that is, co-founder of Southwest Airlines. Jamal's daddy was the bishop of the AME Church in Dallas. Herb, y'all, I'm about to mess y'all up. Herb Kelleher approached Jamal's daddy about joining the board of Southwest Airlines. Offered him, stop. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams,

and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future

where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1.

Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.

Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. His daddy turned it down. His daddy was like, I don't know about airlines. That was the second company. I can't remember. I don't know if it was Blockbuster. That was the second company. Same thing. Jamal said to this day, his mama want to smack his dad. Why am I saying that, y'all? I'm telling you.

I'm telling you. Why am I saying that? Because had Jamal's dad accepted that offer, Jamal wouldn't be worried about the scholarships for his daughters. Because that stock potentially could be $10, $20, $30, $50, $100 million today. This is what we're talking about, y'all.

It's what we don't know that's throwing us up. This, all the information, I see y'all in the chat. Y'all all keep saying, asking about the investments. Listen to me clearly. Everything you want to know

about this investment, just go to startengine.com forward slash fan base. Y'all asking about the investments, y'all asking, y'all just go to the site. Stop asking the moderators to give it all.

It's all dead. But what we have to do is we have got to get our people to understand you're not going to build wealth working on that job, making $40,000, $50,000 and paying your bills. It's not. This is how in the last 20 years, technology is driving wealth creation in the United States.

We got to guess. We got it. We got Tamika Mallory with us. Tamika Mallory, co-founder of Untell Freedom. She joins us right now. Tamika, what up? What's up, family? What's up? How y'all doing?

We're doing great, man. Thank you for coming to the Investathon. I appreciate you. You've been a supporter of Fanbase and Ally. I appreciate you so much. You know, I want you to give your perspective of where we are right now and why we need this platform and why this platform is important to you. Well, I think there's, you know, several reasons.

First of all, there's very personal reasons. And I think that we, you know, people ask me why I do civil rights work and why I'm so committed to the movement. And they expect me to give them this big answer that includes all of the people in the world that I want to help, but sometimes I tell them it's real personal for me. My son, my granddaughter, my father, my family, and even me. I want us to be safe and to be protected. And so for me, it's real personal.

I listen to Jamal, as only Jamal can speak, say some really powerful things about, you know, why we need to focus on building wealth. But he also said that we only have to show for most of our money, bags and shoes. And we fighting over the stolen earrings. And let me tell you, I want the bags, the shoes. I want the stole. I want the earrings. And I'm on my way right now to buy out the bar, as he said. And I think we should have all those things. But I also want financial freedom. I also want to make sure that my family, that I am able to leave them something and that they do know my name and that they can remember me for more than just being out in the streets, protesting and organizing our people. That is important, but it is also important for us to organize our people to be able to sustain ourselves. You know, I, in my heart of hearts, am an abolitionist. I do not believe in having police and outsiders providing public safety for our community. I believe that we should be providing our own public safety and

that most of what happens in terms of holding our people accountable should be done within the community. But that cannot happen if we do not have an economic engine that will help us to sustain a model that will help us to pay for what it looks like to campus our communities, to have the types of programs necessary for our people to be safe, to be whole, and for our people to be educated so that we can get rid of food deserts and all the things that's happening around us that creates the unfortunate circumstances where police are even needed in our communities at all. I believe that our economic freedom is going to be the key towards our sustainability and to us

taking and having self-determination and taking into our own hands what we know how to do for ourselves. In every community that I work in, where they have strong grassroots organizations that are doing anti-violence work, I think about Erica Ford here in New York City and A.T. Mitchell and my brother, my son, and so many who do work on the ground in places like New York City, even in Newark, New Jersey, where Mayor Ras Baraka has invested incredibly in grassroots organizing, you can see the difference in the community. You can see where our people are more comfortable to walk into an office and say, I need help. You can see where some of the most notorious young people are turning their lives around

and getting the help and the support and the resources that they need. But that is going to come from us being able to take care of us, because we know looking to the outside, looking for other individuals to care about our communities and to invest in our communities the proper way is never going to happen. If we are waiting for someone to come and save us, they have not been here yet. They are not planning on coming. It is us for us and it's about us. And so, you know, my investment in Fanbase was one of the first investments that I made when I had a little bit of money from a book deal that I received. I put my money into Fanbase,

and I'm proud to join other Black folks. In fact, I put my money in because Roland Martin called me on the phone one night and told me I had no choice. And I tell you, you know, it was a good decision. I feel very good about the support for Fanbase, but I also feel good that I had the wisdom to listen to wisdom and understand that if Roland was calling me and giving me a direction, I didn't need to ask him 50 million questions while I'm not saying that people should not understand fan base inside out as you are thinking about investing. You should do that with anything. But I was able to trust the fact that Roland was going to give me the right info and he was going to put me in the right direction. So hopefully those of you who are listening, that you will believe that today

as you see so many of us who you know work so hard on behalf of our communities. We are invested in something that we know is going to win. I appreciate you, Isaac. I see you. I see what you're doing for the community. You are the type of person that I want to be invested in, someone who is courageous, bold, who speaks up against all the suckers out here that's trying to play our communities. You're doing your part and really holding down your role. And we love you and appreciate you.

So I'm fan base all the way. And I'm asking all of you who are on here tonight to go out, tell one, tell everybody. They say la-di-da-di and everybody in your family to invest $600 in fan base by going to startengine.com slash fan base. Wow. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I still think it. Awesome. Well, I mean, you know, one of the reasons I did that is like to me,

cause out there on the front lines and listen, ain't no 401K plan in civil rights work. That's right. River Jackson always says that. And so here was an opportunity to support a black-owned tech company, allow an investment to build and grow. And so then all of a sudden, if this thing takes off like we want it to, like it should, all of a sudden you get a return on that. And so, again, this is how wealth is being created. And unfortunately, in all these cases, we do not have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor

a lot of these investments, and this opportunity allowed us to do so. 100%. I thank you. I love y'all. Appreciate you. 100% I think you I love y'all I'm not going to buy out the bar but it sound good at the time because I was trying to do a little playoff of Jamal but I ain't buying out the bar I'm on a two drink minimum

and back home in the bed I love y'all by not drinking I don't spend no money on alcohol we know you tell us that all the time and you don't spend no money on alcohol Right We know, we know, you tell us that all the time And you don't need alcohol ever Alright Tamika, appreciate it, good to see you darling

Thanks Go ahead Asha Go Candy Hey friends, what's up It's your girl Candy A lot of y'all know me from a lot of different media platforms, but most of y'all know I'm about my business. Let's just get straight to it. And with that being said, over the years, I've made a lot of investments. I've invested into

a lot of different things, but I would have to say there's not been many times that I've had the opportunity to invest into a company that has the potential to be a billion dollar company one day early on. How many times have we heard people say stuff like, oh, if you would have invested in Apple back in, you know, I don't know, back in the 90s or the 80s, you would have $100 million right now. So, you know, I'm just making up numbers, okay? I'm just saying, but y'all know what I'm talking about. How many times have we heard that? And we always say, dang, I wish I would have had that opportunity. Okay, with that being said, I am an investor in Fanbase. I got in early and, you know, I'm not telling you what to do.

I'm just telling you what I did. I do think that this company is on to something. I feel like we all know social media is huge. And we've all seen different apps blow up crazy. Right? But I have to say, with those apps, I didn't have the opportunity to invest early. And with Fanbase, the opportunity is there. I encourage you to get more information.

Find out more about Fanbase. I'm just saying. We got Kimberly Blackwell rolling. Kimberly Blackwell, what's happening? Hey, how y'all doing? What's good? I'm glad to be here. I just want to say thank you for

having me, Isaac. I was an early fan base investor, came in in 2021. having me, Isaac. I was an early fan-based investor, came in in 2021. For me, I was glad that it was mentioned, Roland, and how you talked about Tamika. I started my business

right out of college 25 years ago. So I kind of knew that I wasn't going to have the ivory tower,-year tested plan waiting for me. So I challenged the audience to think about, you know, what is it and how is it that we are looking at financial freedom and future. And so for me, investing has always taken a priority in how I look at creating a legacy for my family and so many others, my community. You know, I bet on a lot of founders. And what I can tell you about Isaac is that I am proud to take this investment in fan base. You know, but I also encourage everyone to look at what it is and how it is that you're

placing your monies and investments. And so as Candy mentioned, go out. I'm sure that they have resources that Isaac has mentioned in the sense of understanding the business, what it is by way of growth strategies and plan. You know, you're talking about culture. You're talking about technology. One of the things I liked about Fanbase when I was introduced was really how the monetization opportunities to build and create wealth in a way as an additional stream of revenue that we often and always all need. And I just thought it was, you know, a very innovative and aggressive way to attack the competition. A competition is

healthy. You know, we have multiple platforms that we use, but we should also all be using and supporting fan base. And so for me, investing is personal. I got involved in investing very, very young. I will tell you, I've made some good ones and I've made some not so good ones. You know, investing is about risk and you have to understand anything that you do and the $600 or more, you know, it's 25,000 people that we're asking to invest in today and, you know, beyond. But what I would tell you is that you don't have to just do 600. And what I would also tell you is if you don't have 600, do what you can. You know, no one should be doing anything that's going to, if you can't afford to lose it, think twice about it. If you can't afford to lose it, but if you can, because we know that we're using money

and spending money, as they've mentioned, in the club and or anywhere else, and a lot of nice accessories. But why not take an opportunity to get into something at, you know, what, I don't even want to say startup, because now we have a history and a history of performance. The business is still here. So we know that Isaac and team are doing some of the right things in the sense of where and how they've expanded their product offerings from the initial set. And I'm actually just proud to be a part of the tribe. I think we have to understand too that other communities are

so good at supporting one another. So why wouldn't I, when he called me, and I do, thank you Lord, have, why would not put money into supporting another business that I believe in, another founder that I believe in, to do the right thing? And what I will tell you is that I sit in a lot of investment communities where folks talk about the deals that have been mentioned, where they put in less than, you know, 5,000 up to 25,000. And as was mentioned, they are wealthy, wealthy individuals. We have an opportunity to do the same. And I encourage you all to go out, you know, look at StartEngine slash Fanbase. If you have questions, Isaac, I do encourage you, because if there are a lot of questions in there, we do need to make

sure we're directing them to where they can have it and feel good about it and inform, because I know you've already done the work. And then, you know, let's take this ride together because Lord knows that I am hoping that this is the one that allows me to cash out. We're going to cash you out? You're getting cashed out. You're getting cashed out. This is a community effort. Look, man, if we don't own infrastructure but i think i say look man and and you know this is a conversation i have all the time i went through a list of black

owned inventions and it just broke my heart that we invented ice cream and we're not briars we invented the alarm system and we're not adt and brings it's just at some point we have to stop and build the infrastructure if we're not we're just Briggs. It's just, at some point, we have to stop and build the infrastructure. If we're not, we're just going to be assisting our culture through somebody else's infrastructure. And that infrastructure is going to be a billion, trillion dollar asset that creates generational wealth for a bunch of other people that are not us. And it's just, it's time to do that. And if we don't, we do ourselves a disservice. And really capital is really what separates, you know, all of us. It's hard to get capital. Like equity crowdfunding is really what, all of us. It's hard to get capital. Equity crowdfunding is really what is the godsend for us to be able to do this, but the win

is that we all own this company together. Everybody's a shareholder and fan base. By using the platform, you continue to make it grow, and it makes it extremely possible to do that. I tell everybody... Listen, we created Scratchin' and Hip Hop,

and we don't own a turntable company. There you go. Again, that's what happens. I need everybody to understand, while we have been on this live, this story just came across. Open AI, the company, they have raised

$6.5 billion in their latest raise. Now, mind you, the entire U.S. virtual capital market is $150 billion. They raised $6.5 billion. So the reason I'm saying that, folks, they raised $6.5 billion. That means that they value that company at $150 billion. $150 billion.

Folks, I'm telling y'all, black people, this is a fact. And I need to say this, too, because I do believe in folks understanding what they're investing in, but I will also tell you the game. We're getting a lot of feedback with your mic. So, Isaac, let's mute our mic so hopefully that fixes the problem. Go ahead. The only thing I was going to add to that is that oftentimes I get calls on companies I know nothing about. But what the call is, hey, Kim, we have an

opportunity, put you on the cap table, here's what we need from you. Because of where it's coming from, whether it's OpenAI, whether it's NVIDIA, all of them, if you got in and got in early, you just go for the ride. You just go for the ride. And that's what happens with open AI. And what you also know is that, again, through technology and what we know is happening with how folks are using generative AI and all sorts, that is the future. And here we go back to the main stage and common denominator of tech. Well, to that particular point there,

Joteka Eady, many of us saw her last night on the Oprah Kamala Harris deal, win with black women, started that four years ago. Joteka used to work for the NAACP. She leaves the NAACP, goes to Silicon Valley. That's right. Joteka got into all types of deals. Bob Johnson always said this.

He said, you have to be in the deal flow. She got put into deals by virtue of the relationships that she actually built. That's how you build wealth. And again, so what this is, is opportunity

and let me say this to every Black person or even non-Black people. Black people, we are America's tastemakers in everything, music, fashion, culture, you name it. When it comes to technology, the data shows it. Black people over-index in iPads and pads. We over-indexed. Black people, we were foregoing landlines. We were over-indexing on cell phones. We are early adopters of all social media platforms.

Folks, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, our creativity drove the development of all these platforms. So what we're saying right here is, why in the hell are we going to keep making non-Black people, and listen, anybody can invest whether you're Black or white, but the point is this here. Why are we going to keep making non-Black people rich as hell with our ingenuity, our culture, our dancing, our singing. How about we actually do that

for ourselves? That's all I'm saying. Thank you, Kimberly. All right, let's go. Start engine slash fan base. All right, next up we got Ryan Wilson. Ryan, where you at?

What's up? What's up, man? How you doing? I'm doing excellent. How are you, man? I'm good. I don't know what's going on. We get a lot of feedback.

I'm not sure why that's the case. Kenan, I'm not quite sure, but just be aware of that. Go ahead. Yeah, you good? I'm good. I can hear you be aware of that. Go ahead. Are you good? I'm good. I can hear you okay. All right, cool. Am I sounding all right? Yeah, man.

I mean, well, I first want to say to everybody out here watching that Fanbase would not exist without Ryan Wilson in the gathering spot. I say that all the time. He builds a community, a membership community for black people to come together. And some of those first conversations that i had about tech were some members of the gathering spot one which will be joining us later i think barry's around here i see barry barry backstage we'll talk to barry in a minute and i really bothered barry jewel and justin about tech and they were happy enough to do that but i'm i'm thankful that ryan created a community and he's big about community

and it's it's really one of the reasons why fan base does exist so i thank you for that ryan thank you for being here tonight i appreciate you you're a fan base investor you're always talking about this we got we got some things we're going to work on with fan base and the audio space coming real soon so but i'll let you take the floor and and share your your thoughts well first man all love i i was very humbling, right? Is to be able to hear stories like that. That's what TGS is here for, right? We have, we have to be supportive of one another. And I think what tonight is about is that sort of support, right? We've got to come together. I listened to the last couple of conversations and look, I do think it's important

that we understand about any business that you're going to invest in. It's important to try to understand the fundamentals and what the upside is. But there's also something else that we should just be considering. And that's just being just like plainly supportive of an effort that's happening. We're not asking in this case for everyone's life savings right we're asking for folks to participate in trying to build uh continued momentum with something that we to roland's last point something that we know that we can control right so i i'm a i'm proud to be a part of the effort yes because the upside is something that's interesting to me right but i'm even more proud right because i love to watch a company start and continue to scale and like like there's, there's return on my investment just for being able to participate in that part of the process. So I encourage folks,

look, we, we are not in enough deals, but when there's a deal inside of our community with people that are doing good work, that have the same values that we have in terms of like what business can be about, we've got to step up to the plate and make sure that we have in terms of like what business can be about, we've got to step up to the plate and make sure that we're doing our part. So, look, again, I'm happy to be here tonight, but I'm excited for where this is going collectively. We have the opportunity here in ways that we don't have with a lot of companies to really influence the future of this company, yes, with our dollars, but also just with our participation. And that's huge. So all in all, startengine.com backslash fan base. And you've got someone that'll be a supporter for the entire run here because it's genuinely an honor to be able to participate in any way in a company. Man, thank you for that.

I appreciate you. We got to continue to build and work and build our businesses, but especially in tech, people don't understand, like we all have the ability to increase the value of a tech startup that we own. A lot of people didn't get to own tech startups.

I'm like, man, we need to own these bad boys. You know what I'm saying? And run it up, man. I mean, these companies are trillion-dollar companies. And honestly, when I talk to the creators of these, when I talk to the creators that use these platforms, I don't care what color they are. They really said these platforms don't even treat them well.

They don't listen to them. They don't listen to what they want to do. We're in the middle of building a platform. We're building RTMP streaming for gamers so they can have Twitch, right? We're building new functionality in the audio. We're building...tmp streaming for gamers so they can have twitch right we're building new functionality in the audio we're building for me i need rtmp to stream relevant unfiltered on fanbase we're streaming on fanbase right now though we're on fanbase right now we're streaming live on fanbase right now i don't know how romero did it i don't know how the team does it you know but

but honestly i think to that point right like, we need to hold fan base and you to the same standard that we hold other things to, which is to say that we blow things up all the time and aren't participating in them in any way, right? So, again, like, it's important to talk about the upside and the opportunity that exists here, but it also is just important for us to say, look, being able to be engaged is a thing, right? Like that, that, that there is return there. There's, there's something valuable in that engagement. And frankly, we do that all

the time in other contexts. We get very, very, very passionate about making sure that the world knows about the things that we care about. We should keep that same energy here right like again you'll make some money yes right but before then this is going to be a beautiful journey and that that is something that again i think we've got to continue to highlight absolutely well i mean i know we'll be able to do that the gathering spot is a large community um we got some stuff that we're going to do in audio. I'm excited about. I thank you for being here, Ryan, as always. I appreciate this. I appreciate y'all. Be well.

And everybody, startengine.com backslash fanbase. And you will see us at the gathering spot, especially with all the events that we do. We're doing thousands of events a year. We're going to make sure that we do even more work with fan base as these experiences are happening. Just correct.

It started to dot com forward slash fan base or forward slash. I appreciate you. Sorry. That's, that's almost a reflex. I understand. I understand. Hey,

we got about four minutes left y'all in, in, in the investathon. Pinky Cole was on. Bro, we got a little bit more than y'all, in the Investathon. Pinky Cole was on. Bro, we ain't got a little bit more than that. No, hold on, hold on, hold on. Pinky Cole, you told me eight to ten. Pinky Cole was on.

Let's get Pinky back. But my friend, brother Hill Harper is with us. Hill. Hey, everybody. Hey, listen, it is wonderful to be on. And listen, I am an investor, a very, very, very early investor in Fanbase, proudly so. And I encourage everyone to join me.

Join me in investing in this company. I've invested in many companies. Some have worked well, and the investments were great. Some have not. That's the nature of investing. But this is a unique opportunity. And there's an opportunity cost to not invest in. And think about this.

We have to own our own base technology companies. And remember, technology companies evolve over time. They are living organisms. None of the companies that are billion-dollar, trillion-dollar companies, unicorns, are the same company that they started out being. They were funded and funded over time so they could continue to adapt as new technology introduced itself. That's why it's critical that we invest here. I know we have a limited amount of time. That's why I wanted to cut straight to the point and say, listen, your any amount of investment matters. And this is critical. I'm also going to say this because, you know, Isaac, I was waiting to say this here.

I'm going to launch my Hill Harper fan base page account, whatever we want to call it. I'm launching it as of this next week coming so that not only will I be an investor behind the scenes, I'll be an active participant in hoping to draw actual people and eyeballs to the platform. And so that's how we support each other. Remember, Dr. King said we're all tied together in a single garment of mutual destiny. We've got to stop operating in silos in our community. We have to partner collectively. Ryan said it. Other people have said it. This is about collective participation, because when all people are collectively participating, it makes the tide rise for everybody. And that's critical.

Too much in our community, we've learned to operate in silos. Get out of that mentality. The opposition operates collectively. They don't have to agree with you. They don't have to agree with each other. And I'll finish with this. In our community, it seems we got to agree. You disagree on one thing. You agree on nine. It's like, I can't work with that. The opposition, they can disagree on nine things, agree on one. They storm the capital together. Come on, y'all. We've got to support each other. Let's go. Absolutely. And in fact, Hill talked about the collective. If you go back and listen to or read Dr. King's final speech, April 3rd, 1968, Mason Temple, he said, black people individually, we are poor. He said, yet collectively, we represent one of the largest economies in the world.

That's right. He said, in order for us to move, we have to move as a collective. So when Isaac talked about out the top, if 25,000 people contribute, invest 600 bucks, that raises the $15 million. Now, you don't have $600, you do less. I am a living example of what happened when black folks operate as a collective. We probably had about 31,000 people contribute to Roland Martin Unfiltered in the six years.

They contributed more than $2.5 billion. That's how we're still here. We've been able to build this network because there are people who say, Roland, I can't send 50. They said, I've got 25. Your 25 is just as important. Ten, five. I had an elderly black woman in the airport in Atlanta. She said, all I have is a dollar.

And I said, baby, your dollar is just as important. We took a photo. I posted on social media. But that's what we're talking about here. But what we're talking about is creating. Here's what I'm tired of. And I was at CBCF last week. I'm tired of us having wealth creation

conversations we have to have wealth creation engines you're not going to create wealth by attending panels about creating wealth in, the only people who are actually making money off of that are the folks who you're paying a registration fee to. That's who's actually building wealth. So this is, Fanbase, y'all, is a social media company, but it is a wealth creation vehicle. And that's how we have to think about it. So now if you're watching or listening, I want you to now say, okay, how many wealth creation vehicles do I have an opportunity to actually participate in? That's what this is. And again, it's a risk. There's no guarantee of anything. But here's what I do know. If you spend $600

on a jacket and you gain weight, your ass may not be able to wear that $600 jacket. And so it's going to sit in your closet or you're going to give it away. I'm just being straight up.

Listen, I've got some stuff in my closet. I can't fit. So if I want to wear that stuff, my ass is going to lose some weight. Well, I'm taller than you, so that's not going to work. Don't get out here. Hey, don't get out here and lie, Roland. Hill, don't make me post a photo on Fanbase Hill. Don't make me do it, Hill.

I don't want to hurt your friend. We try more people there. All I'm saying, folks, is this is a wealth creation vehicle. And I'm telling you, Isaac knows this. Hill knows this. I know this. White boys and white women all across the country, they are in deals like this in order for them to be able to invest small amounts of money,

have a big payoff in three, five, eight, ten years, and they can sit back and chill. They can sit back and chill. And sit back and chill and they ain't going to a nine to five so that's all we're trying to say here why your participation is important so uh hill harper we appreciate you joining us man thank you so very much love you frat so folks here's the deal i'm about to jump off uh i gotta go pack i have to fly to atlanta tomorrow uh I'm being inducted to the National Black Radio Hall of Fame.

So I got to pack. I got an early morning flight. I appreciate it. Got an early morning flight. So I'm going to leave you with this. And y'all, this is very basic. This is very basic. Go to startengine.com forward slash fan base. The information is there for you

to read. Everything is there. All The information is there for you to read. Everything is there. All the information is there. And I'm telling you, y'all, I want you to understand. I get technology. I'm 55 years old. I'm 56 in November. I think I am.

Yeah, I'm 56. My brother's 57. I'm 56 on November 14th. He's 57 on November 13th. Okay? I'm on Facebook, Twitter. I don't call it X. Tumblr, Instagram, Fanbase, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, Threads, Spoutable, Spill. That's 11 social media platforms. Of the 11 social media platforms that I am on, I do not own any equity in 10 of them.

Let me say it again. Facebook. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business,

taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th.

Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it.

I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Departmentreads, Spill, Spoutable. Those are the 10. The 11th is fan base. Those are the 11 social platforms. And I might be missing some.

I'm on Flickr. 12. Got photos over there. I'm on Flickr. 12. Got photos over there. I only have equity in one, which means out of all the social media platforms, somebody said too many platforms. No, it's not. Thanks for throwing YouTube. 13. Out of the 13 platforms, the only one that I have equity in is fan base because Isaac is taking advantage of the crowd fund regulation that was signed into law under president Barack Obama that allows regular ordinary people and not institutional investors to be able to get in. So black people,

when you make the investment, it's not a question of just, man, I'm going to cash out in a year. You literally are creating economic value for your children's children. I don't have any biological children, but I raised six of my nieces. I'm creating economic value for me, for my family. That's how we have to be thinking. Last point, we have got, as black people, we have got to stop talking about black Wall Street in the past. Oh man, we built black Wall Street. No, you did not build black wall street. They built black wall street. What you should be thinking about today is how do I build black wall street in 2024? So 50 years from now, a little black kid, a little black girl, a little black boy that's going to Black History Month program, they're going to be talking about, oh, there were a group of people

in 2024 who decided to do Black Wall Street in the 21st century, and they invested in a platform, a social media platform that then blew up and was worth billions. And they're going to be talking about you as opposed to 50 years from now, we're still talking about Black Wall Street from the 1920s. You got to make a decision today. Do you want to be remembered 50 years from now as creating the new Black Wall Street? Or do you want 50 years from now, they never bring up your name because you bypass an opportunity to participate in Black Wall Street 2024? Isaac, I'm done. Thank you. But you ended your segment amazing. Appreciate you, Roland.

Thank you very much. I told Roland I'm going to buy my Phantom one day. I don't know when we get to the billions. Roland's getting the Phantom. Up next, we got Barry Givens. Where you at? Barry Givens in the building. Barry Givenbons to the front there he is yo yo yo barry gibbons is one of my tech senseis shout out to barry so barry's another one of the reasons that fan base exists um i annoyed him for quite some time him and and his partners, Jewel Burks and Justin Dawkins.

I bugged them every day to learn about tech, but Fanbase would not exist without Barry Givens and Justin and Jewel because they gave me the information and the tools to really build this company from understanding the space of tech. So I appreciate you for that. I know you have your perspectives. You are out in this world. You are a, you are a VC basically. Like you're out, you're out there giving money to the, to the. No, not, not, not basically.

It's, it's kind of what I do for a living. So, so yes, I'm a professional investor. So I run Collab Capital. Very relevant to this conversation because Collab Capital, Clap Capital, by the end of this year, will have a little over $125, $130 million under management. And we only invest in companies that are building innovative, huge solutions to big problems that have at least one black founder on the team. I'm going to get into why that's really, really important, but we've heard a lot from a lot of different people.

And I just want to echo the importance of community, the importance of us just investing, not just in fan base, but you definitely should invest in fan base, but just investing in general and building generational wealth. I want to approach this a little bit from an education perspective. How I approach. You can just take your creative, select the audiences that you want. I'll give some feedback.

Okay, there we go. I want to approach this as how to make investments right so when i'm making investments the first thing i'm looking at is the team and isaac and romero have been killing it from the day that uh isaac started this uh from the time he brought mirror on the team uh they've just been releasing product, releasing features. There's no doubt that they are building a good foundation to a company. And so typically as an investor, that's the first place that I'm going to start is looking at the team and making that decision and checking that box. The second thing is the market. I'm not going to go deep into social media. Everybody uses it. It's for everybody, not just black people. We want to bring everybody over to fan base. Then business models. And this

is what really got me with fan base when Isaac first pitched it to me is that I just envision a company like Nike coming on the fan base, building up their followers, getting the loves, getting the likes, actually making money while on the platform and only releasing sneakers to people who follow their page, right? Like those types of opportunities, Marvel, when they're voting on who's the next movie they're going to release, which character are they going to make the next TV show on Disney for? You can do all that type of stuff on fan base while they're producing revenue. And while they're producing revenue, fan base is producing revenue. While fan base is producing revenue, me as an investor, I'm making money. So from a business model perspective, I just loved what

the team was building, thought it had a lot of legs to it. And so that's why I continued to push Isaac and work with Isaac to make sure that this became a reality. But the most important thing that I typically look for in an investment is how can I help that investment grow? And this is the truly special part about fan base. We all can literally help build our own wealth, right? We can help bring people to the platform, post content on the platform. We can do all of these things. If you are a creator and you're not on fan base, you're literally doing yourself a disservice. You can invest in a platform that you can then pull your content into, create new content, build up your following, make a living off of that

following. And while you're making your day-to-day living off of that following, you own stock in a company that your wealth is being created on the back end. And so that's kind of my spiel on just from a investor, a professional investor perspective, how I look at companies. But here's what I want to say, Isaac. And I don't think anyone has said this before, because I think it's kind of a, it's a thing in our community where sometimes we really struggle with helping other black people win. And I'll get back to why I do what I do for a living. My entire success right now, what I do is built off of making other black people rich. As an investor, if I go make someone a billionaire through the work that I do every day,

I'm going to make some money, but they're going to be billionaires, right? Like they are the founders of the company. And that's what I love about fan base, right? And we're looking at ourselves creating billionaires like Elon Musk. Excuse me if anybody has the truck, but it's ugly. And we're still going out and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars while this dude is openly on his platform doing all the racist things and giving millions, tens of millions of dollars to people that we may or may not support. I do not, but I don't know what everybody's affiliations are. That's what wealth brings. And so we have to make sure that we get out of our own way and help make the right people wealthy. And so through this, hopefully we make Isaac extremely wealthy. Like I want Isaac to be sitting on

billions and billions and billions of dollars and I'll be happy with a couple million. Right. And we have to change our mentality as black people to be okay with other black people winning more than we're winning on the same play. Right. And so that's why I love what I do every day. That's why I love being an investor in fan base. And that's why I hope that you all invest in fan base. If it's something that's too risky for you, if it's something that you can't do financially, um, always tell people, don't, don't stress yourself out over an investment. If it's going to mess you up at home, like don't do that, but you can invest in other ways. You can share the platform, you can get on the platform, but in all seriousness, it's 600 bucks. It's 600

bucks. Um, minimum, right? If you can do more, do more. Um, but let's all make Isaac really, really, really rich so that when we do have the next election, when we do have the next thing, the next scholarship that we need for black kids coming out of Southwest Atlanta, the next tech fund that is looking for investors so that I can invest in black people. I need investors. I would love to make Isaac rich so that he can actually invest in my fund, right? This is how money works. And we have to make sure we have more uber rich black people that have the same values that we do, that believe in the same things we do. So it makes conversations like this easier. And I'll stop there. I know we're already late on time,

but love what you're doing, Isaac. I want you to continue. I know that the path gets hard as a founder sometimes, but yeah, just kudos to you. Kudos to the team. And as you know, I'm always here to support, always here to show love. And so whatever you need, I got your back. But peace. My God, thank you. I got a word for that.

You know, I got a word that I call, well, you know the word I call, or word I use that we need. I was trying to be a, just in case you wanted to post this later. I didn't want to go that far. It's all good. It's cool. I mean, we on the Blackstar Network, but I want to

keep it cool, but appreciate you for stopping by. Like I said, the fact that I can talk to you almost every day now because we're around each other a lot more. Same office. I appreciate it. Thank you for stopping by

tonight and coming to Investathon. Thank you so much. Startupengine.com forward slash fanbase. Start engine. You said start up. Start engine. It's late. Startengine.com

Same week. I already know. Yeah, but it don't matter. I shouldn't have messed it up. Startengine.com forward slash fanbase. Go join me as an investor. I look forward to seeing y'all on the platform and at the celebration when we all on Isaac Yacht.

All right, my guy. Appreciate you. Peace. Don Cannon, where you at? Where my guy Don Cannon at? Where the Cannon at? Uh-oh. There he is. Hey, man. Isaac Hayes, the president. What's going on, man? What's going on, brother? Man, thank youoh. Hey, man. Isaac Hayes, the president. What's going on, man? What's going on, brother? Man, thank you for being here, man.

You know, I've known you for like 20-plus years. Yes, sir. You know, we've grown in different ways in our businesses, and I love where you are with what you're doing with Generation Now. For people that don't know Don Cannon, you better know Don Cannon.

He is responsible for some of hip hop's greatest hits and also the co-founder and owner of Generation Now, a record label that has signed a phenomenal talent, multi-platinum talent like Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow. Yes, sir. They continue to build that. They are some of the best marketers I've ever seen. The content is incredible. It's amazing. Appreciate that. Glad to have you here. But are some of the best marketers I've ever seen. The content is incredible. It's amazing. Appreciate that.

Glad to have you here. But, you know, we've been on this journey. So I want you to talk about Fanbase, your experience, investing, using, all that kind of stuff. But I'm glad to have you here, man. I appreciate it, bro. Glad to be here. You know, I want to start off, real. The first thing that I have to say is we all want each other to become the most powerful human beings we can

in a positive way in the community that way, like the last gentleman said, so we can fund other things. We don't get that chance as people. I started Tomorrow App. We started Generation Now. The first thing we don't get that chance as people like I started tomorrow at, we started generation now. And the first thing we, you know, we all coming from, you know, me, I came from the hood, the fake ghetto is what they call it. Um, but the hood to where I can not get people to believe in us around us. And we need to start that by creating these platforms that will help us get to the next level and build this talking points from me and you and get into there.

So, you know, the same thing I feel with, you know, StartEngine. It's so great to have something like that where our people can invest small amounts of money. There's so many things on there that you can get into all tech companies. You know, there's products. I know one of the girls we went to school with, she has a beer and she's trying to start that up. So I think that platform and other platforms help us get to those points where we can give that money away.

You know, I buy Jordans maybe once a month. I buy shoes once a month. It feels good to be able to look at things and to, you know, invest in things that will help me, like the guy said, three, five, eight, 10 years later, and give back to the community as well. So I see where we can run parallel as founders of companies and be those people that bring the community together to learn how to invest, build wealth, and do it for our families, friends, and, you know,

those neighboring around us. I don't know where you went. I know you're a busy guy, so I don't want to hold you. You took time, quick time out to stop through, but you got to come by the office, too.

And we got to, you know, work on some other stuff together. I know. I heard you move right around the corner. We moved right around the corner. We about to make Tech Village over there now. Hey, man. I'm already working my magic. I'm already pulling... Look, that's the thing I'm already doing with this position over here. I'm already working my magic I'm already pulling

that's the thing I'm already doing with this position over here I'm already pulling other black startups in this building right now this building is getting browner and browner every day like Barry who was just on me and Barry are in the same building now I see Barry almost everywhere I heard him say that

I keep hearing this movement too I keep hearing people going to Austin people going to austin people going to miami people still going to frisco and down why not come to atlanta to be a part of that i started rubbing my hands together and i was like oh we got it we got it we got it we're a block away so it's still tech village for sure all right man i appreciate it makes all your invest man i put some money into this guy i want want to see this guy successful, man. He's always been a stand-up guy.

But if I win, you win. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying. See, the thing about tech startups I say all the time is these companies don't get to like, you know, $30 million and $40 million, and then everybody, you know, you put your money in. These companies get to billions and billions of dollars. These are 100x, 1,000x, 2,500x returns on investment. So that's why it's up to people like, yo, you tripping. Yeah. And it's me. I'm a little different. I love the passion and I love

projects and things, but I actually invest in the executors. And you're an executor. So I feel like you could take that brand to the next level and you can do multiple brands to the next level. So that's where I focus really as an investor. We don't speak to that as much. A lot of people are like, well, I don't want to, you know, get into coffee because I'm not, you know, I don't drink coffee. I don't do these things. But I believe in the executor. And a lot of the things I invested in were people that I know can execute the same thing with me.

If you're coming to me and say, hey, he has a new artist and I do something where I'm raising money for it, you know I'm going to execute it the proper way. So those are the things that I look for as myself as an investor. But just make sure you take advantage of it. It's there. It's in front of your face. StartEngine forward slash fan base. I love that platform. I love the scale.

You can go there and get all the information you can from the app. I've seen a couple people in the comments talking about, well, if you raise the $17 million, what are you going to do with it? What is it for? You know, these are questions that need to be asked, you know, for certain people. But all the information is there. Isaac is a good talk box. He'll give you everything from top to bottom, everything you need. And I love what he's doing.

The executor, Isaac Hayes III for president, future president, and go to fan base on Star Engine, Star Engine 4 slash fan base, and just throw some money at it, man. It'll turn into something, I promise you. Thank you, my guy. I appreciate you. Always. All right, my man.

Yep. Up next, we got one half of Civic Cipher. Man, my man Q Ward. Q Ward has been here the whole time. Q Ward said he was enjoying the show, but I want to bring Q Ward in. You know, this guy, there he is. What's up, man?

My brother, what's going on? Man, thank you for being here you guys have been supporters of what you know we're building over at fanbay for quite some time um always represent anytime you guys like look you need me to i y'all put me in the magazine i was like yo y'all gave me some some some i was in hip-hop and i was here all week like what's up like you guys that kind of support is invaluable though, man. I think, um, it's, it's invaluable support. I appreciate you for doing that. Um, all these people that are on this, this call, I'll say this in this, this investathon, I want to express to

anybody out here that's watching right now, nobody's being paid to be on here. Nobody's being paid to be here. These are people that care about what we're doing. These are people that believe in it. And it's also, there's relationships that I've been able to have five, 10, 15, 20 years and call on these types of people because number one, you know, I do believe in doing good business. I do believe in being transparent. I do believe in doing something for the black community and make sure that we have an opportunity to invest. I mean, with these, this is being streamed now on three YouTube channels and will be available after the stream for people to play.

And that's when this thing's really going to get played is after, after it's over, people will start watching this and really, you know, cutting it up and chopping it up and doing all this stuff with it. So I'm excited to have you here, but you know, I want you to, I want you to tell everybody about your journey with fan base and why you believe in what we're doing. Well, the biggest thing is you created an economy where we don't have to be passive investors. You know, I can, I go back, I called him Mike 15 years and invested in fan base.

I don't have to put my money into something and hope it works out as a community. All of us investing into fan base, we can make our return happen. We can make it the biggest social media platform out there. Like our brothers said before, by simply participating on the platform. So when there's an economy where creators can invest, bring all of the things that we do to make Instagram popping, to make Twitter popping, to make YouTube popping, we are the engine, but the infrastructure reaps the benefit. We have now, or Ike has now created a platform where we can bring our content, bring our creativity, and bring our creations, and then explode the platform, and all of us get to participate in that explosion. So I'm, I'm looking forward to celebrating that exit. I'm going to be in Atlanta

with you. I'm going to be in the Phantom with you or the Cullinan, whatever you say we riding in that night and doing all that I can to really impact anything that you're doing. Cause I believe in you as a person, but this idea is brilliant. The first time you told me about it, I couldn't invest yet. And I was anxious. So I've participated in every round, every raise, and I'm continue to do the same and try to tell everybody I know to join me on that mission. Man. Well, thank you. I mean, listen, I, I appreciate, uh, you and Ramsey's you guys are y'all some smart dudes, man.

Y'all some real chill. Y'all got the magazine and a lot of stuff but I mean media but here's the thing about it too also you guys being in media I think that what's important about that is I want people to understand that fan base is disruptive fan base puts the power of media in the hands of every single person newsflash as soon as they put video into social media, we all became television networks, right? We all became television networks

that can distribute content amongst ourselves. So even you guys have the ability, like, I want a hip hop, I think I need a hip hop weekly fan base page because, like, you know, it's a way to take that media and even take it into an audiovisual visual space or audio space or even build more. And that's the things that we'll be able to do. So when I thought of the media space, I'm thinking like, man, there's, there's so many opportunities for people because social media is just little pieces of television. Now it's just, we scroll, you know, we surfing, we channel surfing all day long to see who got baby oil on them who's who's getting locked up but but there's

there's they're running ads in between all of that just like they do on tv but you own your own network and so you got to monetize your network and they're not giving you any of that ad revenue hardly any so you might as well start your own your own netflix being yourself and get people to you know at least tip you for the content that you make. We got some great things coming up, Isaac. We just did a new partnership with iHeart. They're about to more than double our footprint. You spoke about Hip Hop Weekly. We're relaunching Hip Hop Weekly either last quarter or first quarter of next year,

and we're going to use Fanbase as our launching point for all of the new programming we got. So we produce a new podcast, relaunching the magazine, and again, doubling the footprint for Civic Cipher in a new partnership with iHeart. Fanbase will be our home base for everything that we're doing in the creative space, exclusive behind the scenes, all of our video. We haven't even done anything with video yet. All of our stuff is audio. So we are going to try to help explode this platform. We're coming to spend some time with you in Atlanta, spend some time in the office, brainstorm, and come up with ways to make this

a massive endeavor for everybody involved. Well, thank you, man. I appreciate you for being here. This is masterfully important. I appreciate you guys' support. And just let me know, whenever you in the city pull up, You've been to the office. You've got to come to the new office.

Let me say something about the new office. I want to express to people, our lease was up at our old office, but I wanted to say that when I saw this community here, this is a community environment where I met a wonderful woman by the name of Natasha Parker

who built this entire office. And it's basically like a collaborative space. So just being in here, I built so many more relationships just by being here. We were off silo. You know, we were in the cut. And that's not really what social media is about. Social media is about being social. So you have to be seen.

So we are, you know, we have a partnership with Georgia Tech. We have HBCU partnerships. And so we're stepping out. We're stepping out. We're stepping out for 2025. We're going to be a lot more visible, so I can't wait to have you at the office. I can't wait to get back to Atlanta. Ramses is looking for a house down there as we speak, so we might end up being neighbors, bro. Hey!

Ramses to Atlanta, he's strung out now. He's ready to make a move. Well, I mean, it's way different than Arizona. Let me tell you that. So yes, sir. All right, my guy. I appreciate you being here. Thank you man for your patience and hanging in there. Hey man, I asked if I could come in early cause I wanted to be more than just a passive participant. I'm proud of you, brother. I love you, man. And for always anything we can do, you got it.

Man, thank you very much. Appreciate you. Yes, sir. All right, my guy. Vanessa Poole? Where you at? I can't hear you. Turn your mic on.

Are you muted? Yep, I'm here. Hey. What's going on? How are you? I'm here. Hey. Hey, what's going on? How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing amazing. Glad to be here.

Man, look, so we connected at InvestFest. And, you know, I want people to tell, you know, talk about, I want you to talk about what you do for a living and why that's important because you own a black bank. And I think that that's extremely important. But, you know, the access to capital that the black community has is so limited. And it's so frustrating that, you know, VCs really. And I know some people in the VC space, but VCs don't check for black companies like that. You see what happened with the fearless fund and you see what happens with like stuff like that. And then a lot of times the banks are not necessarily on your side. It's amazing to meet a woman that owns a black bank, which I think is important. And when we spoke about you coming on to the Investathon tonight, I wanted to, you know,

make sure that we made some space for you, but to talk to us about the importance of access to capital because start engine is providing me an access to capital that i would never have before this is a community funded app um by people that are and these aren't donations i don't people think that you guys are just this isn't a go fund me and i know i i support everybody raising money for um uh vice president harris but this is ownership. You are purchasing shares in this company. So I want you to speak to that, though. Yes, absolutely. So guys, I do own a bank. I am nationwide. I also fund in 40 plus countries. And the importance of the dollar, the importance of the black dollar. So let's face it, in modern times, a dollar circulates on average six hours in the black community.

That, in contrast to other communities, is below the standard. So in the Latino community, it circulates more than six times. In the Asian community, it circulates more than nine times. That's equivalent to 20 days. In the white community, it's unlimited number of circulation. So this disparity of circulation highlights a deep-rooted economic disparity. So money circulation is important in our community because it helps us circulate what leads to higher financial stability, as well as economic growth. So platforms like Fanbase and other Black-owned

businesses, it's imperative and important that we invest in them. I am 100% a Black-owned bank. I do not have any business partners. I'm the sole owner. Investing in companies and investing in platforms that are for us, by us, will help us build generational wealth. So I heard a lot of people talk about equity, right? So equity is the way that you put money into a pot, you let it sit, and it grows. Ultimately, once it grows, you can pull the capital out and access it. Hopefully, your equity grows to something phenomenal. But when you're investing, of course, as everyone said, it's a risk. You don't know what it's going to grow to unless more people invest in it. The black spending

dollar right now, the power that we have in our abilities is almost surpassing 1.7. It's supposed to be about $1.8 trillion at this point. So with that being said, we have money in our community. We know how to spend money. We just have to be able to spend it on the right things. According to the Census Bureau, guys, one in every five white households is a million dollar household. In the Black community, one in 20, one in 20 is a million dollar household. That's a big gap, right? But guess what? On the flip side of it, one in four, one in four of the black community household is either zero in wealth or negative wealth. So it is important to invest, invest, invest in platforms such as this. This is a

technology company. Technology is only getting better. It's growing. It's not going anywhere. If you're going to put your money towards something, you have to realize that investing is a long game. Okay. You can't put your money in there and expect it to turn profit in 24 seconds. You got to leave it in there for it to grow. But guess what? If you put it into places like this, fan base, then you'll definitely grow a profit because as let's say it's been around for, you know, a couple of years, I joined Fanbase in 2020. And I've been a member ever since. And I'm also an investor. So go to startengine.com slash Fanbase, startengine.com slash Fanbase and invest, invest, invest. Look, it's only $399. Put in your $600.

Let it sit. Let it work for you and gain your profit later. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Thanks for being here. I'm so gracious for you to be here and your wealth of knowledge

and what you're doing and glad to have you as an investor and fan base. And we'll continue to build. Look, I might be not going to look y'all base got money. Look, we don't have to have to talk. Absolutely. And look, you guys, if you guys have businesses, don't work homes that you own, you know, don't be afraid to pull equity out of there. If you want to, you know,

invest in other things. Just sitting on the golden ticket after the big economic boom in 2020, COVID, we're all sitting on equity if you purchase the home during that time. So don't be afraid to tap into a little of your equity, pull out some capital, and invest in some of these businesses so you can turn profit. Wow. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. We are back at the Investathon, Fanbase Investathon. Like, all right, I'm about to pull in the big dog right now. I had an opportunity to speak at the 100 Black Men of America Conference in Atlanta

over the summer, and I saw Mr. Milton Jones speak. I got an opportunity. I got connected with him. And I want to bring in the chairman of the 100 Black Men of America, Mr. Milton Jones. Milton Jones. How you doing, brother? How are you doing, man? I'm doing great. I'm doing great.

Listen, I've been listening and feeling excited about the notion of our investing in ourselves, because all too often we invest in others, but not in ourselves. We create for others, but not for ourselves. And so when I look at the messages that we give to the young people that we work with, and we talk about what you see is what you'll be, which is what we really mean, and we think about our four pillars of mentoring, economic empowerment, health and wellness, and education, that particularly in areas of economic empowerment, the best way for us to empower ourselves is to invest in ourselves. And what you're building with Fanbase, if we're making the owners of Facebook famous and rich, if we're making the owners of so many other tech stocks famous and rich, then we need to make sure that we're taking advantage of it here.

I've invested in stocks for more than 35 years, not as a stockbroker, but as a person just trying to be a little frugal and making a little more than a savings account might generate. And I didn't invest in 1990 in Apple, but if I had, it would have cost me $0.31 a share, and yesterday it was worth over $220 a share. $0.31, $220. That's how it works if you wait and hold long enough in a well-run company. Sometimes stock goes down, but many times it goes up. And frankly, with the kind of content that you're talking about producing here and the strength of the platform you're building, it really, I think, looks like a great opportunity for us to take a look at and help others see. I've taken a look at it. I was in the process of investing when you called on me,

but I'm going to get that done tonight. And I believe whether it does something great for me, I've got children and grandchildren. And I think it's been said to take care of one's children and their children's children. And so as such, everything's not a quick hit game, but the long-term game can be great. And I know there are members of the 100 that are on the call. We reached out to some of the brothers and asked them to join. And I'm excited about the possibilities that exist here. And just glad that you're stepping up the way you are, Isaac, and so many others that I've heard tonight. Jamal Bryan, very inspiring, who's chair of our interfaith

committee for the 100, that his messaging, you know, was very, very impactful, and so many others, that we've got to make sure that we have our eyes open and don't say, you know, how we missed this, how do we miss that? Well, if you don't eventually stop at the bus stop and get on, you're not going to ever ride on the bus. And so I think that and then you go from that to riding on other things. So I just think that we've got to make sure that we take a look. Don't invest more than you have. I think, as you said, at $600 per investor, you reach a huge number if you look at 25,000 people. And I think it was Kim who said everybody may not be able to do $600.

So do $300, $399. Do less. Do whatever matters. But don't stop there. You can always come back next month or month after next. And so there are many ways to build an investment portfolio. And it's not all built at one lump and one bite. It's built over time through steady investing, through dollar cost averaging, which, you know, like the

right, if the price continues to rise, it'll be a little more next month, but you did buy some this month. And then after that, then, but what you bought this month rises next month. And so if you look at that kind of approach and you're in your patient, then, you know, and there'll be questions about that when you go to enroll, you know, are you looking for overnight success or are you looking for the long-, a seven-year-plus kind of range? So those are questions you've got to ask yourself. But I think when you do, you'll find that what Isaac and this group is doing is going to make a huge difference, not just in the short run, but in the long run.

And for our people to have a platform that is run by our people. So, Isaac, again, thank you for what you're doing, and thanks for what you did at our conference. It was great to have you there, and we look forward to having you again. Man, thank you. I appreciate you. I know you're going to be an investor. We talked about that.

How many members does 100 Black in America have? Five thousand. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott.

And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the

Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives.

Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Look at that. That's like, that's a quarter of what we need.

All 5,000 to invest 600. We in there. Well, we're going to get the link spread around. Okay, for sure. Well, thank you for stopping by. I appreciate you, man. Thank you. All right, my guy.

See ya. Man, that's awesome. Milton Jones, we'll be right back with a fan base investathon in just a moment what's up y'all look fan base is more than a platform it's a movement to empower creators offering a unique

opportunity for everyday people to invest in black owned tech infrastructure and help shape the future of social media investing in technology is essential for creating long term wealth and influence in the digital age social media. Investing in technology is essential for creating long-term wealth and influence in the digital age. The Black community must not only consume tech, we must own it.

Discover how equity crowdfunding can serve as a powerful tool for funding Black businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital directly through their community, through the jobs act. Hey guys, Erica Jane from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and some other projects. And I'm here to talk to you today about fan base. And you're probably thinking like, why is she here? Well, I remember when my friend Isaac Hayes called me a few years ago and he's like, Erica, I'm starting this new tech company, this great new app, get in on the ground floor.

This is your chance to get in on the ground floor fan base. This is the chance for you to own a piece of tech. And you know, that's where all the money's made, early. So my advice to you, check out fan base. And Ike, I'm really proud of you. Awesome sauce. So I wanted to talk about actually the JOBS Act is something that we talked about specifically. I want to go right into that. People kind of don't know what the JOBS Act is. So equity crowdfunding came from this this law passed by Barack Obama and Joe Biden in 2012 that made it possible for anybody to invest in an early stage company. Before this, all the people that invest in Apple, Google, Microsoft, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter were already rich people. So we never got the phone calls. We never got the phone calls to do that. So the JOBS Act and

equity crowdfunding has offered the opportunity for us to be able to take our dollars and put them inside small businesses or startups that we've never had an opportunity to do so for, which is why in the space of tech, that's incredibly powerful because in social media, we are the ones that have the power to increase the value of the app by using and owning it. So when you get 10 or 15 of your friends using the app and then investing in the app, do that. So here's a video that I want you guys to see about the JOBS Act,

and then I'll be right back with Charlemagne, and we'll close this out. Back in 2012, in an effort to create jobs, Congress passed an important bill. Officially, it was called the House of Representatives Bill HR3606, but nowadays it's known as the JOBS Act. Simply put, the JOBS act makes it easier for promising new businesses to raise capital from investors like you once these businesses have capital they can start hiring now this is a pretty historic change you see for the past 83 years since 1933 to be exact only wealthy investors were allowed to invest in these private business ventures. These wealthy investors are known as accredited investors. An accredited investor has a net worth

of at least $1 million or earns at least $200,000 per year. But the JOBS Act will allow all investors to invest in early stage startup companies, regardless of their income or their net worth. As the Wall Street Journal wrote, if all goes well, small companies can raise cash relatively cheaply, while investors get a stake in an innovative business with limited downside risk. We are back at Investathon for Fanbase. All right, this is the most special guest of the evening. I had his name on the top of the list that I wanted to come and talk about, Investathon and investing in Fanbase.

Charlamagne Tha Guy, what's up, man? How you doing? Hi, what's up, my brother? How are you, man? I am doing excellent, man. Thank you for coming. You know, you are the most popular voice in black media i heard somebody tell me that about you like your voice is like you are the guy you know so i don't i don't

even think about stuff like that i praise god for whatever position he got me in but i don't even get caught up in all of that i understand but i think you know you can speak truth to media because you've been in the business so long and so um when it comes to fan base i think you know you know, you can speak truth to media because you've been in the business so long. And so when it comes to fan base, I think, you know, you know, I reached out to you. You invested. But I really want you to speak to social media and black culture and where we are right now, because you've mentioned it a lot. Like some of these creators. Why are we not owning these platforms? I kind of want you to go and talk a little bit about that. Well, I mean, you know, number one, I think, you know, at this point,

black people, we have to know that we control the cool. Um, but what does that even really mean? You know, being in control of cool don't mean anything like, you know, that that's, that's a saying that I've heard a lot of people say, you know, over and over and it's true, but you know, our kids aren't going to be able to, you know, I can't pass cool on to my kids. Like, it don't mean anything. It's not like any real generational wealth.

It's not any real capital. It's not a real, you know, resource. It's not a real asset just to say, hey, we control the cool. Like, no, we need to actually be controlling, you know, a lot of these platforms. And it's funny to me when I see us even put labels on things, right? When you label something black Twitter, and we brag about how we make so many of these social media platforms pop off, what you should be really saying to yourself is, man, you're making so many people rich. You're making so many people, you know, billionaires. While you control the cool,

you're creating, you know, you're controlling theaires. While you control the cool, you're creating, you know, you're controlling the cool and making these other platforms cool, but you're creating generational wealth for people who don't look like you. And that's just the reality of the situation. And I think that, you know, a lot of times we have to just get into the mode

of believing in ourselves. When you first started talking to us about fan base, Isaac, I thought it was such a good play to at least try. You know what I'm saying? I'm not going to sit here and say, why can't it work?

Why can't Isaac Hayes III create a social media platform that's just as popular as Twitter, that's just as popular as Instagram, that's just as popular as TikTok. Why not? Like, you got the way with all to do it. You got the intelligence to do it. We're continuing to build

the resources and, you know, get the resources to do it. So it's just like, why not just try it? You know, I've been alive 46 years. I've watched like eight or nine social media platforms take off. You know, it was MySpace.

It was Facebook. You know, it's been Twitter. It's been Instagram. It's been TikTok. It's been Snapchat. You know, I watch us, you know, go on platforms like Clubhouse. And it's just like YouTube. Like all these platforms are filled with so many amazing black

creators filled with so many amazing black content and we brag about making these things pop but it's not popular for us really yeah it's just like yo why not give fan why not give fan base a try something that i notice is that all these institutions of entertainment are infrastructures that are not owned by us. So, you know, NFL, NBA, you know, TV, film, and social media. And so the companies, you know, the apps that you're talking about were really funded by seed investors and small group of people. Now, the difference between us and them is capital, which is why we're here tonight. Capital is really the big difference maker in this. And so investing in fan base gives us the capital to actually compete on a level that

these platforms operate on. And we're able to scale to the next level, then raise more capital. So that's the process. And people don't understand how important that is. And I know you can talk about that. Man, we need 25,000 people to invest $600 right now. We're good. We can go home, right? You can go to startengine.com slash fan base right now, but you're right. It's all about the capital, man. It's all about the money. Cash rules, everything around me, dollar, dollar bill, y'all. You got to spend money to make money. You got to

invest money to make money. And I mean, that is always our biggest hurdle. That is always our biggest obstacle. And that's why I don't even I tell people all the time, don't don't trip about where black people are because we're babies in this thing. And, you know, we're we're we're really just starting to learn a lot. And we're really just starting to, you know, get in these spaces the way that we need to. And, you know, people like yourself, Isaac, with Fanbase, y'all the first of its kind. And that's why it's important to make things like this work so we have a really solid foundation to stand on. So, yeah, people need to go to startengine.com right now

and invest some money in the Fanbase. Man, listen, startengine.com slash Fanbase. What did you say you said? 25,000 people. 25, listen, startengine.com slash fanbase. What'd you say you said? 20, 25,000 people. 25,000 people investing $600. Fanbase. Yeah, they good. We good.

How long you think that'll hold us over? Oh, we have a three-year plan for that. That's a three-year runway. Like, that's the thing. I've had to stop and start the race to raise more capital when other platforms have raised $35 million and gone out of business in 18 months. And they were founded after fan base.

Imagine that somebody founded a company to compete with fan base. They raised $35 million from VCs. It was out of business in 18 months. You know what I would do with $35 million? Shout out to me. Damn $35 million. And he was out of business. 18 months blew the money.

Why do you think that is? Because they, I think these, these other apps try to buy celebrity, but they don't know how to build community. I'm big into community building, which is why I really, if you notice, you've invested for a while, but I've never really called on celebrities to have this type of conversation because apps are maintained by communities and not celebrities. Celebrities got to go celebrity.

You're a busy man. All these people are very busy. So once you leave, your audience is going to leave and not celebrities. Celebrities got to go celebrity. You're a busy man. All these people are very busy. So once you leave, your audience is going to leave and not necessarily stick around. So the purpose of fan base is for me to build something that people stay when you're not there and build community. It's about building community, monetization, all those things. Free app to use. You can monetize if you want to.

So I think that's the difference. People try to buy audiences. And I've seen tons of apps come and go that try to buy audience. And you can't do that. You have to build community. But to build community, you have to have capital to build the resources and build the infrastructure to expand that community. So that's what we're doing. I think, yeah, I love that.

And I think that's why people like social media, because celebrities become a part of a community. Like, you know, I think that's why, I mean, it's a gift and a curse for celebrity, right? Because I feel like when we look at what celebrity was in the 80s, what celebrity was in the 90s, even what celebrity was in the early 2000s, to me, that was real celebrity. Like, those were real celebrities. People pass out when they see those folks, right? Like, I don't think we have that anymore. But I actually think that's kind of a good thing because celebrities become

a part of a community with their consumers. And, you know, I think that you're apt to support a so-called celebrity more if you feel like you really, really know them. If you feel like, you know, you can really

engage with them anytime you want to. Like, having somebody's Twitter or DMing somebody and them DMing you back, really know them. If you feel like you can really engage with them anytime you want to. Having somebody's Twitter or DMing somebody and them DMing you back, that's like the new text message. It feels personal now. Yeah, for sure. Well, I mean, I don't want to keep you too long. I know you're a busy guy. I appreciate you coming by.

I appreciate all the support you always give me and your fan base. And you're really spreading a message even beyond fan base. Wake up, people. Invest. Own things. Pastor Bryant said that 83% of Black people have never owned a piece of stock ever.

And that's crazy. And the opportunity to do this with fan base is in the seed stage with equity crowdfunding is what's so important. So that's why I'm so passionate about this, because this is the opportunity to turn the people that put $500,000, $10,000 into multimillionaires. You know what I'm saying? 100 millionaires by putting these amounts of capital into a company. But we have to also support and use the app and scale it up by users. So the capital and then the community together are what's going to build us up. So thank you.

Tell everybody again one more time where they can go. StartEngine.com slash fanbase, man. Go invest some money into our future, into our community. Thank you, sir, my guy. I appreciate you very much. Thank you. All right. All right, my guy. Man.

What can I say? Shout out to me and the guy. I appreciate you. So it's been like three hours. We're right at the end. The Investathon was supposed to be two, but we went three. We had so many people wanting to come in and pull up, and I appreciate everybody, man.

Shout out to – I want to shout out the entire fan base team man romero um ebony uh maddie noah andy kita um who else john uh miku santi uh who else uh valeria it's it's so many people i mean this is a this is a huge undertaking and the honor of my life to be able to build a tech startup. As I said, and I talked to you with Dr. Herring earlier today, Fanbase is committed to creating a pipeline of employment for HBCU students in our conversation that we had at the beginning of the Investathon and also taking a portion of our revenue and doing the the fan base propel scholarship um to provide access to students so um this has been a great night i

think you know we've raised i know a couple hundred thousand dollars um just here tonight and so it's been incredible um but share this video when you're done. You know, this lives alive. Live is here, but we want to make sure that this message lives in perpetuity beyond. Make clips. Send to your friends. Text them the link to these videos. Shout out to Earn Your Leisure. Shout out to Real Life Productions.

Shout out to Roland Martin, who's always been there. Kenan. Kenan is the GOAT, man, for putting this all together, man. And I thank you all. And so I want to leave you tonight with what we're about one more time. If you didn't understand what this is all about, who Fanbase is and what matters is this. And I'll say goodnight on that note. Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it.

We stand for those who defy suppression, who speak out, and those who walk the road less traveled. Everyone deserves to be seen and their voices heard. We're sparking a movement, growing a community of creators united by the desire for freedom, choice, equity, and ownership. At Fanbase, it's all for one and one for all. We support each other to guide, promote, and uplift you in a place where you can unapologetically be yourself, a place where your voice ideas and creativity are not just welcomed,

but celebrated. We are black founded minority funded and supported by diverse, inclusive, powerful community that believes in the strength of authenticity and individual choice. Regardless of success or background, we welcome you. The marginalized, the underappreciated, the successful, the superstar. We're for all who seek a space to express themselves freely

where they are rewarded for being their authentic, true self. We transcend labels because only we have the right to define ourselves. We are built for the brave, the culture, the creators, and for the future where everyone has a power to shape their own destiny, where all are empowered, voices are amplified, and freedom is embraced. For the first time, you have a chance to own the platform you help make popular.

It's a revolution. A movement in how we connect, create and share. Everyone is a creator and everyone has a fan base. Here, you can be you without limits. We'll be right back. The price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. you get your podcasts. and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning

that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from

foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.