The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Black Thought Opens Up On Childhood Trauma, Confronting His Demons, Early Days Of The Roots + More

Episode Date: November 14, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing.

Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this.

It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh, my God. What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan.

That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you?

Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the

thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called historical records.

Executive produced by quest love the story pirates and John Glickman historical records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history, like this one about Claudette Colvin,

a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was Claudette Colvin. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records.

Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha Guy. We are The Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed.

The brother Black Thought. Welcome back. Yeah, man. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. How you feeling? Legendary Black Thought.

I'm great. I'm great. I feel great this morning, man. You put out an amazing book. Thank you, brother. Called The Upcycled Self. The Upcycled Self. Uncycled Self.

No, Upcycled Self. The Upcycled Self. Uncycled Self. No, Upcycled Self. The Upcycled Self. Upcycled Self. Yeah, yes, sir. What does that title mean? You know, essentially it's about, you know, putting those parts of ourselves, of our past, you know what I'm saying, that are no longer going to serve us or no longer going to serve us in the same way to a different use, you know what I'm saying, to a better use. Right. So that's what I'm saying, to a better use. Right.

So that's what it's about, really. It's a self-help memoir of sorts. Yeah, the art of becoming who we are. I always wonder why did it take us so long to discover who we actually are? Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, it's a process. You know what I mean? It's valleys and peaks, and I think it's, you know it's a process you know what I mean it's valleys and peaks and I think it's you know you arrive

at an understanding of who you are you know over time so it's really no shortcut you know what I'm saying it's a lot of people that think you can go from A to Z but you gotta go B, C, D, E, F, G first you know what I mean and it teaches you too that you know a to z but you gotta you gotta go b c d e f g first that's right and it teaches you

too that you know everything is parallel like there's really nothing behind you absolutely you know i mean yeah yeah yeah and and this book is about that too it's about you know accepting uh the present you know i mean and just living, uh, being more intentional about, about your presence. Um, so yeah, that's, that's, that's where I'm at with it. Did you get a chance to, to deal with all the trauma before you put it in this book or was it, some of it was releasing that trauma by writing this book? Yeah. A lot of the trauma, um, you know, it was, it was addressed in during the process, you know, and that's, that's what made it, you know, just like this was my therapy. It was really, you know, a cathartic sort of experience,

and more so than I'd expected. I mean, you know your history, right? I know. But when it's laid out there, you know what I mean, when you have it on the cue cards, and you know what I mean, and you're reading it, you know, in a linear sort of way, I mean, it just hits different, man. It hits differently.

And it was something that my co-author, Jasmine Martin, was able to employ, like a tool she was able to use during this process that it really hit me hard when I was reading one of the final drafts of the book. And she was able to speak. There's an aside section where you hear uh you know um my mother like you hear my mother's perspective and uh the way she was able to uh you know just to approximate my mother's perspective and her voice that's what really really hit me hard um in the process did you have did you ever question your faith as a kid growing

up because you talk about so much death in your life and all the stuff that you've been through. Did you ever say, you know what, does this really exist? Is there really a God or whoever you believe? Did you ever question your faith at all? I did, yeah. There's definitely been times, you know, when I'll question my faith, you know, or, I mean, just on an existential tip, you know what I mean just the on the existential tip you know like you if there's a God you know how could all of this you know loss and trauma and in in death you know exists it's up some of the stuff that I write about what how

was the world this ugly if you made it in your image man I'm saying that's one of my bars from a song called dear God but But yeah, to answer your question, definitely. How did you get that back? And the reason I ask is if you don't know when you read the book, you'll find out that you lost your father at a young age. You lost your mom at a young age as well. Both of them murdered. Yeah, yeah.

Murder victims. So how did you get that faith back? Through the arts. Through the arts, man. Like for me, it was visual art, which was my gateway into music. And that's what really saved my life. You know what I'm saying? It was a game changer that I would have been on a – I was already on it.

I was on that path. And, you know, me meeting Questlove when I did, which, you know, I talk about in the book, and just getting on that musical trajectory of the arts is what really saved me. I know you was a baby when your father was tragically murdered, but you was a teenager when your mother was. Were you able to process that pain in the moment, or was that something that you dealt with as you got older? Yeah, I think it's something that I'm still dealing with.

I definitely was not able to process it in the moment, you know, no matter how hard I tried, right? You know, I wanted to feel all the emotion that you, you know, you no matter how hard I tried right you know I wanted to feel all the emotion that you you know you expect you would expect one to feel when you experience that sort of loss but I mean for me it was I mean it took forever before I was even able to shed a tear about you know my mother's murder you know and I think it's just because it was so many layers of callus and and scar tissue to sort of work through and that's what that's what this book is about it's just because it was so many layers of callus and scar tissue to sort of work through. And that's what this book is about.

It's about that armor that, you know, at one point in time, it might serve as a defense mechanism. It might, you know, protect you. But as we move through life and you get into different spaces, you start to interact with different people. And, you know, now you're in these different dynamics. They no longer serve us in the same way. What about vengeance and revenge? How do you ultimately let that go? It did you.

Yeah, I definitely feel like I have. That was just a wise move. I think I definitely came to understand as a young person, when I was still a teenager, that holding on to uh to to to negative energy in that way um you know it's as that's as detrimental to you know the beholder as it is to whoever you're trying to project it upon so um there yeah I've never really sat with uh you know the whole the vengeance in in that way you know what I mean? Um, as far as like in the, in my dad's case,

uh, it was, it's still, it was never a solved murder, but in my mom's case, uh, you know, they, they, they apprehended someone shortly after. And, uh, you know, we went through the trial and everything and, you know, he received the sentence and then it was a mistrial of it all. And he was, we had to sit through it again again so i sat through actually through my mother's murder trial twice you know and um but in that um you know once it once it was done it was something that uh i had to let go of you know what i mean in order to for me to be able to move forward so and you still had love for philly regardless of everything that happened yeah because that got to be tough too absolutely yeah yeah i have i have i absolutely have love you know for for philadelphia that's that's the place that made me. But it's also one of those, it can make you, it can break you.

You know what I mean? It's the city of brotherly love. That love has always been a tough love. Is there anything you learned about your parents writing this book that you previously didn't know, especially your father? There's not much that I really learned about my father that you know hadn't already been you know told to me uh but one thing that i really had to deal with in writing this book was i had to uh you know just sit with the level of grace that my mother

had extended to me as a young person i burned the house down at the age of six which is sort of where the book begins and um you know i I just knew I was in for it. I thought I was in trouble and, you know what I mean, just guilt. And, you know, all those feelings were sort of, you know, bubbling, you know, like running through my body. My mom came home. Obviously her only concern was, you know, if everybody was safe, right? And, yeah, just, you know, the grace that she extended at that time.

And it was just really surprising, you know what I mean? And it was a beautiful thing, and it just gave me a different sort of insight into who she was. And in retrospect, you know what I mean, now, you know, as an adult, just to go back and relive it, yeah, it just gave me a different take on my mother as a person, you know? And you understood the magnitude of what happened at the age of six? I don't know that I really understood the magnitude of what happened at the age of six? I don't know that I really understood the magnitude.

I knew I'd done something that, you know, I mean, there was no turning back from. You know what I'm saying? It was something that I couldn't undo. And it felt, you know, super serious. But I think in that moment, I just shut down. Like, that was my, you know, my knee-jerk response. My reflex was I just shut down. And, you know, I just walked down. Like, that was my, you know, my knee-jerk response. My reflex was I just shut down. And, you know, I just walked down the stairs.

Like, there wasn't a fire or something, you know. And, yeah, I guess it gives you a different insight, too, into your children, right? I was going to ask you. How they move. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so do you give that grace to your kids? Because, you know, as a parent, you know, a lot of times when your kids do something, the first reaction is to get mad, to get upset upset and you want to scold them so they don't do

it again but you got to go back to when you were six yeah and you did something way worse than i'm sure any of your kids have ever done so how does that affect how you parent your kids it it absolutely does and uh you know it's something that i just have to remain mindful of you know because in the moment it's not easy you know i'm saying i remember a couple years ago uh my son he he did something like where i think he left the water running like for a long time up in one of the bathrooms long story short whole like the ceiling of a whole room in my house wound up falling through you know and it was um you know tens of thousands of dollars in damage and you know long insurance claim and you know we were jacked up for a long time because of it um but yeah you know in that

moment it's like yo that's when i have to you know be mindful of that grace but you know i definitely i got to catch myself because my you know i'm i'm also a disciplinarian you know so are you a disciplinarian like you're like Mm-hmm. So. Are you a disciplinarian like the older people that raised us? Because I always wondered. There was a fine line for what we received as kids. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, between discipline and abuse.

You grew up in 1970-something. Right, right. Boy, Lord have mercy. It's a delicate balance. You know what I'm saying? I've definitely, and you know, I think maybe, I've never been team spare the rod. You know what I'm saying? I've definitely, and you know, I think maybe now, if I've never been team spare the rod, you know what I'm saying?

But I'm more lenient now and more, you know, I extend more grace now. I'm more forgiving now than ever, you know? What makes you feel like now is the time to write a memoir? When somebody approaches you and they say, hey, we'd love for you to write a memoir, you know you got to open up and probably reveal things you probably never revealed. What made you want to do it now?

Just because, you know, I was excited for that in the process, right? I was excited to, you know, like what that experience might hold for me. You know what I'm saying? Just being open, accessible, and vulnerable in a way that that i hadn't before in my art you know hip-hop is is is founded upon so much you know machismo and braggadocio and you know just larger than life when it takes all um yeah you know that sometimes um it gets exhausting you know i mean when you've that, when you've had to put up, you know, such a, you know, like a one-dimensional perspective of yourself

and of your art and of your identity, you know, for such a long time, sometimes it's, you know, I mean, they say that about people who lie, right? You tell a lie for a long time, and then it's like, you know, when the truth shall set you free. Right. So this is this is that sort of thing playing out for me. And I will meet fans who've been rocking with me for such a long time. And they would say, you know, for all the roots music that, you know, I've acquired and all your lyrics, I know front to back. I still feel as though I don't know, you know, Black Thought. I don't know Tariq Trotter as a person.

And that's always been by design just because of my introversion. So I felt like at this stage of my career, in Act 3 of whatever it is that I'm doing as a creative, I've passed that threshold of 50 years. So the only place sort of left to go is within myself as an artist. So this is sort of the final frontier. And it's something I've always held near and dear because I'm so private. So I've been really possessive and private with my story.

But I feel like now at this point in time, just with as many people who have followed me and who look up to me, and the idea of being a role model of it all, I think this is the time in which it would be of the most value and serve the most people. Rob Markman So as an artist, the memoir unlocks something that music hasn't. T.J. Yeah, it has for me. It has for me.

I've been able to just tap into, you know, telling my story in a different way. Now, you talk about, you know, when you were a teen getting in trouble for graffiti and getting in trouble for selling drugs. And then they shipped you like what most black families do. If they can't control you, they ship you to another family member in another spot. So they drop you in Detroit. Yeah. And during that time, Detroit was just as bad as Philly. It was.

So how did Detroit fix things if it did, or did it make it worse? You know, for me, it's always been about perspective. So one of the ways in which, you know, Detroit was beneficial for me was it wasn't Philly. You know, even though it was a lot of the same stuff taking place, and, you know, it was, you know, murder capital, you know, at one point. Yeah, everything that was happening in Philly in the 80s was happening in detroit you know i'm saying and to some uh degrees uh you know it was worse but um you know my uncle was you know he was doing well for himself he was sort of you know the uncle phil of it all so for me coming from where i came

from and the place i in detroit where i to stay, it was on the outskirts. It was in the suburbs. It was, you know, right next door to where Diana Ross's dad lived. So I felt like I was a fresh prince. Moving on up. Yeah. So for me, you know, even though it was short-lived, just that glimpse of, you know, upward mobility, you know what I'm saying,

it was a different type of fuel to the flame. It showed you that it was possible. It showed that it was possible, yeah. And, you know, when Quest and I were still together, like, throughout that whole thing. So it was a different motivation for me to get back to, you know what I'm saying, what I had left and what we had already started working on. Was Motown any influence, like, being close to that?

You know, I think it's more the remnants of the Motown energy, like that work ethic of it all, the assembly line of it all. You know, that was just, I mean, it's still part of Detroit. It's woven into the fabric of the people there. And I think that's one of the things that makes, you know, cities like Detroit, Chicago, Oakland, you know what I'm saying? These are sister cities, brother cities to Philly in that way.

I love this line, our lives are a response to the call of our childhoods. Yeah. What does that line mean to you? Yeah, I mean, you know, it's about having to go through it to get to it. You know what I'm saying? Essentially. Why we always got to go through it? Why black people got to go through it?

We're not the only ones that got to go through it. That's true. You know? Yeah, we're not the only ones that got to go through it you know yeah we're not the only ones that got to go through it but um yeah i think that's that's that's that's what it speaks to you know it's about um a wisdom that you know you can only arrive at you know what i mean it's about a journey to that wisdom and sometimes it's about being wise enough to realize that uh you know the journey is just going to take you back to where you began i love reading memoirs now because i love to hear how people you know cope with you know

they're in a child cuz I do not know why the older you get it feels like you're in a child is crying out for more and more help and especially when you do start doing the work when you do start going to therapy sitting with spiritual leaders you know dealing with plant-based matter whatever it is it's like you're in a child to start screaming out for help well they talk about our emotional response to just things in the world and how you know the way we respond to things you know is something that we usually develop before the age of seven or eight mm-hmm you know what I mean so is it requires a

conscious effort you know what I mean in in order to train your body, to condition yourself, to respond to the world, to respond to any sort of stimuli in a different way than you would as a child. You know what I mean? So that's what they call, you know, the work. So this is part of that. This is me doing my work to work through my shit, and it's the beginning of it.

This book is only, you know, this is me as a young person. uh by the by the end of the book i think i'm still i'm in high school you know i was gonna ask with with the roots when you guys created the roots when did y'all start making money and the reason i asked is because it was new yeah like when when the roots came out it was something that hip-hop hasn't seen on that platform or respected on that platform so when did the roots finally break through and was like nah this is hip-hop's bad i want to say um around you know 2006 or so and who was the characters during that time um it was you know me quest kamal then i hovered on bass um i want to say uh frank Knuckles was playing percussion And Kirk, Captain Kirk on guitar You know, that was sort of the crew

And also around that time, you know, Cody Chestnut was a reoccurring, you know, basically a member of the Roots When he decided, you know, to make a move and, you know, stop touring with us He essentially replaced himself with my brother Martin Luther. So we've always had someone just like a singer since the early 2000s associated with the group. Was it hard to always

break into a market, sell it to a promoter? Because I just remember the roots so early on. It's just like, this is just so different. Sometimes in hip hop, different is hard to break through. It very hard for us it was um you know

super difficult to what because we didn't really look or sound or feel like entity anything else that was that was happening so it was a lot of you know we always had to prove ourselves right and and you know I mean it took so long for us to even break even financially. And that's something that just came over time, you know, just paying those dues on the road. You know what I'm saying? Like you start at one point touring and then you're able to sort of get your stock up just through when you keep coming back. You know what I mean?

So we were able to sort of build on that relevance. And it was wild. It was like when we finally hit a point, you know, 06, 07, you know, where we felt like, yeah, you know, all these years of 200 plus days on the road started to pay off. That's when, you know, there was a whole seismic shift in the way people started to receive, you know, people were receiving music

and, you know, concert tickets and all that thing. It was, you know, we went through a revolution with the streaming and that whole thing. So, and then that's when the Tonight Show opportunity presented itself and that's what made it make sense. It was like, you know, we had just reached, finally reached, we hit a stride and everything was changing, you know?

So, yeah, in that uncertainty, you know, the consistency of the day job and that platform that it would represent, it looked really good. Was there a particular moment? Was it Jay-Z using y'all a lot? Or, like, was it a particular moment that caused that shift? You know, when we started to make some bread. Yeah.

I mean, it was just— And get recognized by enough to where the Tonight Show was like, yo, I want that to be... Well, you know, yeah, and I think it was just over time, man. You know, we, you know, we've been around for some... I mean, blessed enough to have been around for such a long time that, you know,

a good example is, you know, there's a festival that takes place in Denmark, in in denmark in copenhagen every year it's called ross guild and uh you know we started playing at ross guild um before we were even you know allowed on the actual festival grounds like we were you know two tents you know out on the main strip right and you know we we worked our way up from you know the outskirts to the tent you know right on the borderline to you know uh you know third and fourth stages um until we came back and we were able to headline you know with it was the roots and bruce springsteen co-headlining you know um but yeah that was over you know i'm saying many years and it's like um ross gilder isn't the like

we've done that around the world, you know what I mean? Just because we've been able to keep up appearances. So, yeah, I guess we just paid our dues, you know? Paid our dues. And, yeah, and then once we got, you know, we got into Late Night and we started doing that thing, it definitely represented a change in our career where we haven't been able to tour in that same way.

So, yeah, everything that we had done up until that point, it's just been a blessing. This is the sort of thing where we probably had taken it for granted and thought we'd be able to do it forever, but here we are. And now, yeah, it's just more of a blessing and just a greater opportunity when we do get to go out and still touch the fans in that way.

Now, when you decided to write about the altercation you had with Questlove back in the 90s, did you have to ask him if you could speak on that? No, I didn't have to ask him because he had written about it in one of his books before. Got you, got you, got you. And it's the sort of thing that, you know, like, that's my brother,

so, I mean, I know if it's good or not, you know? Yeah, yeah. And also, it's like, to me, those are the best relationships. Oh, yeah. If you can fight and then get over it, hey, those are the best relationships. Oh yeah. If you can fight and then get over it, hey man, that's family. Yeah, absolutely. And you know, it really takes love for somebody to get you that upset, right?

You know what I mean? Only my loved ones have ever really been able to get me that riled up, right? So there's something in that. But yeah, you i was we were all kids at that point yeah you know now now i'm an adult so i would i would i would have dealt with that situation a completely different way how long did y'all not speak um i mean we lived together maybe we didn't speak for the train ride home but it's like you know once we got back to the and how was that i had to be uncomfortable awkward i right, right. There's no escaping it. And how was that? That had to be uncomfortable, awkward, or was it like, bro?

Yeah, it was definitely, you know, it was awkward, it was uncomfortable. You know, it's the sort of thing that I would laugh about, you know,

almost most immediately. Like, that's just where I come from. You know what I'm saying? You get into a little thing, you know, we settle it and then it's funny.

But yeah, in Amir's case, it just wasn't, you know what I'm saying? Funny, you're like, nah, that shit wasn't funny. You know, like, yeah. But yeah, in Amir's case, it just wasn't, you know what I'm saying? You're like, nah, that shit wasn't funny. Like, yeah.

But yeah, we were able to, you know, obviously move past it. And I think, yeah, we're stronger for it. People ask me about, you know, how we remain together and work together and, you know, been business partners on so many different levels for such a long time. And I think it's because we got shit like that out of the way, you know, like early on and we're able to, you know, just focus on the art and the business, you know, for many years. Chapter 12, doing the work.

Yeah. What kind of work do we need to do to find out who we really are? Like what worked for Black Thought? I think, you know, it's confronting. It's confronting, you know confronting our demons head on. And like I said, this represents the beginning of me doing a lot of that work. But yeah, there's still very far more to go. Was it therapy?

Yeah, that's part of it. You know what I'm saying? Definitely. Couples therapy, therapy for myself, therapy for my children. You know, these are the sort of things, these are the sort of tools that are at our disposal to embrace. And, you know, when it's good, it's great. You know what I'm saying? So I try to utilize all that.

Oh, yeah, I'm a big proponent of therapy. Absolutely. Is there anything you left out? Meditation, meditation is huge. Oh, meditation, yes meditation meditation yes yeah meditation is huge how did you learn how to meditate and the reason i say that is a lot of people don't know how when they try they close their eyes and they can't get to that place just just over time over time you know it was something that um you know i started meditating i started taking you know 15 20 25 minutes at the beginning of the day at the beginning of the day,

at the end of the day to just sit and, you know, just be at peace, to be silent and just try and, you know, quiet my mind. And, yeah, then I started reading some books. And I got into this guy, Dr. Joe Dispenza. He wrote a book called Becoming Supernatural. I got up on his stuff. And he's a unique individual just because of his tone of voice. You know what I mean?

The way he leads a meditation, his voice is really, it's just wild. You know what I mean? He sounds like, it's just some, you know, it's like some freak shit, you know? But once you're able to, like, move past that and you can get over the way his voice sounds and you, you know, you're comfortable within yourself, you start to, you know, see and feel results. And then you start to meet people, and it's like, yo, I can feel that there's been a seismic shift in your life, and you ask what they're doing, and it's like, oh,

I'm doing the same shit. You know what I mean? I started to meet people who call themselves putting me on to the meditations that I was already doing, but they may have been further along in the practice, and it gave me hope. It gave me just that reassurance that once you get over a hump um you can hit a stride and uh yeah it really works man you got your mantra you count your beads yeah yeah well you know i mean you do

whatever you need to do if it's bees if it's a mantra if it's you know just sitting in silence if it's you know if it's related to you know the light or the lack thereof whatever you need to do you just got to do it i think you know it's something you know, just sitting in silence, if it's, you know, if it's related to, you know, the light or the lack thereof, whatever you need to do, you just got to do it. I think, you know, it's something different for everyone else. Every individual person, you know, has something specific that they can latch on to to deepen and strengthen their own personal practice. Yeah, it started me. My good sister, Debbie Brown, she got me started on counting the beads, chanting my mantra. So now I'm at the point where I can just chant my mantra and get there. I don't even have to count the beads no more.

Exactly. Yeah, yeah. You know, that's when you hit that. That's that transcendental, you know what I mean, of it all. Could you be Black Thought without being from Philly? No, I don't think so. I don't think so. Yeah, I think so much of who I am, so much of my identity is associated with my Philadelphian-ness.

Yeah, and it's the sort of place that I had to grow up. You know, Black Thought, I couldn't have been Black Thought if I hadn't been working as long as I have. I got a job in second grade that was a you know that was a very philadelphian thing right yeah so I don't think um I don't think the balance of you know the love but that tough love I don't think I would have been able to receive that you know from any other community and the name the name Black Thought. Yeah. Where exactly did that derive from? It derived from my time as a visual artist and just dealing with paints and just the color palette. I realized that so much more went into arriving at the color black

than one would think. There's so many different nuances and colors, other colors that go into, you know, arriving at the color black. So that's sort of what it began as. And over time, it's evolved into something, you know, that has taken far greater meaning, you know, both, I guess, to me and to, you know, to people who support me. So, yeah, at the time, I didn't think, I guess, to me and to people who support me.

Yeah, at the time, I wasn't thinking of black thought as the concept of a people. You know what I'm saying? But that's sort of what it's come to mean. Absolutely. I wanted to ask, and I know it's a question that people ask all the time. What's your thought process on artists now and music now? The reason I ask is, you know, growing up,

there were so many outlets for different types of music, right? You would hear Tribe on the radio. You would hear Mos Def on the radio. You would hear Kanye. You would hear The Roots. You would hear Common. But you would hear your J. You would hear your Cube.

You would hear the different elements of music. I don't think you hear that now. Do you think that side is not being represented or just musicians are not being heard? I think that side. I being represented or just musicians are not being heard i think i think it's being i think that side i think the diversity of it all is is being represented but um i don't think that platform is is radio you know what i mean so i think it's being represented you know just across different platforms and it's about tapping into those uh you know i think they're more outlets more avenues now now than ever for an artist to sort of emerge without being taken advantage of, without having to sell their soul, without having to compromise as much as we did for the deal, for the bag, for the exposure.

So, yeah, it's just about tapping into those avenues. But yeah, I think there's more space now, you know, in the culture, like the hip-hop landscape for just a broad range of influences to coexist. I think like more so now than ever, you know? So yeah, I don't think, I mean, now I don't love all the music that, all the hip-hop music that comes out. But I think, you know, like that I think it's all good, right? That's cool. I'll allow it.

And I think back, when have I ever really rocked with every single thing? You know what I mean? So, yeah, I think that's something. It just gave artists a chance to be a little more commercial, right? I just remember as a kid or even an adult, you grow up listening to radio. Think about it. You would hear Public Enemy on the radio. Yeah.

You would hear Tribe on the radio. Really just in mix shows. But a mix show but you would hear end up like it was a regular public enemy was in rotation common was in rotation tribe called quest was definitely in rotation so you would hear those type of music but you would hear your hoves you would hear your nars you would hear your biggie you would hear dmx it just was an element that i don't necessarily know if it's you know if it's transcended now, you know? Yeah, yeah. I don't think it's, you know, yeah, the culture is not represented in that way anymore. You know what I mean?

Definitely not on radio. Even this conversation is always interesting to me because we act like over the last 12, 13 years, all the top guys ain't on that hardcore Rai Raja. Right, right. They're not. The Drakes, the Kendricks, the Coles, you had Chance in there, you had the Wale's, the Big Shot, they not even on that rah rah stuff.

So it's just like when people talk about how bad the culture is, I'm like who y'all paying attention to? Yeah, it's just different. It's different, you know what I mean, whether you think it's bad or not. Well man, Black Thoughts book, man. That's right. The Upcycled Self. The Upcycled Self.

Yes, yes, yes. We appreciate you for joining us. And what do you want people to get out of this book? If they can get one thing out of it, what do you want them to get out of this book? You know, if one person is able to see themselves, you know, better understand themselves or better understand, you know, their path, their lived experience, if this is going to be, you know, an entree into someone else being able to start to work through their stuff and, you know, shed some of those layers of armor that are no longer useful, you know what I mean? Those layers of callus and scar tissue, then, yeah, then it's a win.

And I've already, you know, experienced that, you know? I've already had some of those conversations. So win. And I've already experienced that. I've already had some of those conversations. So I feel this book has already been helpful. All right. And y'all didn't get nominated for a Grammy this year, did you? I did. I got nominated for a Grammy a couple of days ago. Yeah.

Congratulations. Black Thought. Oh, the album? Yeah. No, acapella. Not even with a beat. Wow. Just the voice.

Love it. Bars. Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love letter to hip hop. How did that feel? It feels awesome. It felt awesome. It it. Bars. Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. From, yeah, Love Letter to Hip Hop. How did that feel? It feels awesome. It felt awesome.

It's your first solo. Yeah, like, in that moment, I didn't really realize it until, you know, my homies started telling me, like, yeah, you know, it was wild. Like, this is, you know, your first Grammy nomination, you know what I mean? Like, outside of the roots. And then another homie hit me and was like, yo, it'd be wild if you win this joint. Like, that's the flex. You ain't even need music, you know? So I was like, yeah.

And I sat with him like, all right, yeah, yeah, yeah. You wrote some bars for that just to get up there. Absolutely, yeah, yes, sir, yes, sir. Do you still, I don't want to say need it, but do you like that type of validation? I do. I do. I still appreciate that sort of validation. You know what I mean?

That's not what I do it for, but it definitely, yeah. I mean, it feels, it's great to be recognized. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Well, Miss Black Thought, we appreciate you pick up his book,

The Upcycled Self, and it's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up. In the morning. The Breakfast Club. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love.

I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best, and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zaka-stan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-a-stan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host.

And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show,

where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand-new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop.

Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. I wouldn't give up my seat Nine months before Rosa It was Claudette for my name Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise.

Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.