The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: T.K. Kirkland Talks Comedy Tour, Being Saved From Shooting, Becoming A 'Senior Citizen,' Diddy + More

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

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Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show, Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle.

We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha Guy. We are The Breakfast Club.

We got a special guest in the building. That's right. The good brother, TK Kirkland, ladies and gentlemen. See to the mother effing case. A summer visit tk kirkland means something big must be happening and it is yes uh you just announced to catch me if you can world tour yes be a live nation yes we started in april but you know i always try to get to you when i get ready to kick stuff off but then with the kids and other stuff i had to travel so So everything worked out well. So I'm making a pit stop this weekend for the Stress Factory because it's my home.

It's the only date that Viddy had, and I had to come do Jersey. So that's why I'm here, to promote that and to talk about the rest of the tour, which I'm going to be in Houston next week at the House of Blues and the 19th, I'm going to be at Elmos in Austin, Texas. So I'm excited. I'm excited, Charlamagne.

Man, you just turned 63 this year, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What keeps you motivated, man? What keeps you going? I just think it's in my DNA, you know? And at one time, I think we talked about I was going to retire. And then when you start realizing when you're home for a couple days or a week, DNA you know and at one time I think we talked about I was gonna retire and then

when you start realizing you're home for a couple days or a week you go wow listen I don't know you know you're like you know what I think I need to stay busy because I think that's the old mindset people think they need to stay retired just to chill but I think to stay youthful and active and live a long time you actually have to be active and fit in your schedule working out and taking care of yourself all the so i stay consistent with that i wanted to ask you about you know comedians stealing jokes right it's something that we always talk about all the time you've come up here so many times and and you probably were the first

one to talk about signs of getting old and make sure you date somebody that knows the signs of getting old. But I've been hearing that joke more and more and more and more. Does that upset you when you hear your jokes? Here's the thing. When I said that joke, someone said Sinbad did that joke years ago. What people don't know about me, and I charlamagne could say because he's he's worked with me a lot of times i never watch another comic i always stay out the room so what happens as you get older in life and business you talk about there's no comic that's not going to talk about something that another comic has not talked about already it's impossible right you and you it's going to be the same topic i mean that now if you do somebody's material joke for joke for joke you're stealing the joke but if you dealing with a topic like we all we comedians you want to

talk about marriage you want to talk about marriage I want to talk about marriage right I can't stop you from doing it because that's your story right um one thing that I do about my stand-up show is I read a lot. And when I go and get on the mic, whatever happens, happens. I don't have a set structure show because when I got my degree, we were taught that when you give a speech, you never give the same speech for the same audience because every audience is different. So you truly have to be prepared for what's going to happen.

So when someone distills something to mine, I'm not that petty. I got so much material. Like I'll do two, three hours on you in a minute. But when I have my own stand-up show and I put comics on the show, I run a tight ship. I talk about what you cannot talk about because most comics don't have comedy IQ. And comedy IQ is like LeBron James

and Michael Jordan. They know a lot about the other players on the teams, right? Well, comedians don't do that because comedians will be on the same show and want to go right behind each other. And let's say something happened to Will Smith. Someone doesn't talk to him as a team and say,

yo, you talk about this, but don't talk about that because I'm the headliner. They all go on. Talk about Will Smith. They all go on. Talk about sex. They all go on. So the person in the audience.

It's like, I'm tired of this. Hey, Will Smith, another Will Smith film. Are they willing to listen, though? Like, are the comics willing to listen? though? Are the comics willing to listen? No, comics don't want to listen. What I found out when I started structuring my show, I was getting backlash. Go, TK, don't want nobody to shine.

But y'all know me for a long time. I worked hard to get my name on the marquee. And I run my show the way I want my show ran, regardless of if a person gets upset or not because I know the quality and the how I want the show to run and I want comics to you do this material you do this you do that

and then bam I come on and then it's a complete show and you a tough act to follow regardless TK absolutely yeah yeah yeah I don't play you already know I bring the heat yeah I bring the heat whether it's. You already know I bring the heat. That's right. Absolutely. Yeah, I bring the heat. Whether it's a concert or whatever, I bring the heat. And I saw you at Essence Fest.

That had to be like a full circle moment. Listen. Because you hosted the 30th anniversary of the Cash Money Millionaires. Yes. And shout out to Baby and Slim. We've been working on some other things. And Baby said, T, T, you should do the Essence Fest. And I turned them down to be

honest with you yeah why um i think when you get a certain age there's some things you don't want to do no more essence is perfect no no i didn't know i haven't been to the essence in 20 something years oh yeah because essence is perfect it's they're skewing a little they're trying to skew a little old uh younger but it's 25 what i saying is, how old were you guys 20 years ago? 20 in my 20s? Yeah, see, that's when last time I was at the Essence. So it was a different vibe then, right? Yeah, it was a different vibe.

So I was like, ah. So since we was working on some other stuff, it came back up again. And I said, yo, baby, let's do the Essence Fest. So we did the Essence Fest, and he got me to host their YouTube celebration because, you know, Lior Cohen and YouTube gave them an award as well down YouTube. So I hosted that, got to bring out the tux

and all that kind of stuff and do something because I don't get a chance to wear suits that much. So that was a good feeling. So we're doing a lot of things together. So shout out to Baby and No Crew. What are you doing with them?

Because I've been hearing that you might have a Netflix special coming. Yeah. And I'm hearing you're doing something with Birdman. So is the Birdman like a special?

Yeah, what we're going to do is everything should be finalized soon, but we're going to do it October 18th at the Fillmore in New Orleans. And it're going to do it October 18th at the Fillmore in New Orleans. And it's going to be Cash Money Presents TK Kirkland.

Wow. So we're going to do something really, really huge. And then we got some other big things that we're doing. So it's 90% done. But you went on tour with them back in the day, right? I started with Cash Money. And what happened was a man, shout out to Ron Bird, because I was touring with Jay-Z on Hard Knock Life Tour.

And when we got down to New Orleans, Nelly and them was all on the show, but they didn't have nobody to host it. So I'm sitting in the audience. You know, I'm an opportunist. So I said, Ron, y'all need somebody to go on? He said, you want to go up? Ron Bird was the tour manager. Yeah, you know exactly who Ron Bird is. You know, I was on that tour. So I said, Ron, y'all need somebody to go on? He said, you want to go up? Ron Bird was the tour manager.

Yeah, you know exactly who Ron Bird is. You know, I was on that tour. You was on that tour? Yeah, yeah. I was on that tour. Nelly Birdman, fabulous. I was the ESL. Yes, yep, yep.

And A. Marie. Right. And I went on, and Baby saw me. And, you know, he said, yo, they was about to do baller blocking. And he said, yo, what up, Walter? He said, listen, yo, you the man. He said, ain't you that brother from New Jersey Drive? Because I was in New Jersey Drive.

And I said, yeah. He says, well, we about to do this movie called Baller Block. I want you to play a cop in Baller Block. And they just came into a lot of money. So I was flying down there all the time. And when we got ready to do the set, I was in my dressing room. And this one baby didn't really respect money, because he was carrying money around like Floyd Mayweather.

So he came in with these two big bags of money and said, yo, how much I owe you? I said, give me the whole damn bag. So he just threw me a few thousand, I think it was like 10, 15,000 to do the part. And the rest of the sister, because we was all, me, Ron Burr, they went shopping that day.

I'll never forget it. And he bought like six Bentleys at one time oh baby baby why you say he don't respect money because he was just throwing i'm old school yeah you know i believe everything you make you keep like i mean when the word stunner really fits him because he stunts joe in a in a positive way how would you tell these kids nowadays or just people in general how would you tell them to respect money that's a good question charlamagne um what kids to me don't think about is their future right i think um you get set up from the government because everybody gets their credit card at least they do back when you 18 19 years old they send you this credit card to get mmm they have $2,500 on it and kids most kids in the hood don't never get that kind of

money at one time so they go shopping never paid the credit card bill now when you get older you really like suck it your life the game will get your credit good and you realize now that twenty five hundred it's thirty thousand five hundred and eighteen cent it was a setup from the beginning so what we want to tell kids is think about your future because when you get my age and not even my age you understand it better but you can really start it in your 20s and 30s understand points and discounts now all y'all travel a lot most of y'all in here travel for free. On some place good, you got miles

and points. So when you run into a situation, you don't spend your money. You use your points to book them two round trips, two round trips tickets to England or St. Lucia's or Jamaica or Hawaii or Africa, right? You do that. So what we want the kids to

understand is get your nice credit card. Start building up. Start going to different hotels. You might start a little and get the Marriott Bomboy and all that and build up points over the years. And as you get older, you'll start having discounts. You'll get free airline tickets and bring your girl. When they upgrade you from a regular room to the presidential suite at the St. Regis,

because you are an elite customer. And that's the stuff I think that we have to teach people. Because one of my things I put in my act is Rockefeller was so amazing, he got most people thinking that most of the schools in Atlanta are HBCU schools. Rockefeller? Yeah, watch the game.

A lot of people think that Spelman is an HBCU school. It's not? Nah. Spelman's not an HBCU? Watch what I'm about to tell you. You ready? Spelman is Rockefeller's wife. They dropped the Rockefeller.

Spelman. I don't know if any of this is true, but I'm listening. You better Google it right now. I know what I'm talking about. Let me Google this right now. Yeah, Google it right now. Why are we on the air? I'm listening.

Yeah, why are we on the air? Spellman is Rockefeller's wife. Let me see. Oh, Laura Spellman Rockefeller. Laura Spellman Rockefeller was an American abolitionist, philanthropist, school teacher, and prominent member of the Rockefeller family. Her husband was standard oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.

Spellman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Lauren Spellman Rockefeller Memorial were named for her. Okay. You learn something new every day. Isn't that something, yo? That's crazy. So Spellman, the HBCU, is named after a white woman. That's wild. I never knew that. okay you learn something new every day isn't that something yo that's crazy so spellman hbcu is named after a white woman that's wild i never knew that you see what i'm saying right ain't that

insane that's wild what made you how'd you when did you when did you hear that like what made years ago because i read a lot and it blew my mind i read a too, but I ain't never read that one. That's what I haven't read every book. Right. Isn't that amazing? It said in 1884, the school expressed its gratitude for Rockefeller's generosity by changing the name. Yeah, Spelman College was named after Laura Spelman due to her significant financial contribution to the institution. Throughout her life, Laura Spelman was dedicated to social and educational causes, particularly for women and African-Americans. Yes. So it's the HBCU. She causes, particularly for women and African Americans. Yes.

So it's the HBCU. She just donated a lot of money to it. Wow. They said, yeah, I knew this though. The Rockefeller family continued to donate 10% of their income to charity, including substantial donations to Spellman, founded to educate black women. Wow.

And other colleges around there. Okay. It's just not Spellman. So it's just amazing things that happened in the 1800s, how the world can manipulate or change because there's just some things we just don't know. Just like I read the other day and saw the first Bible that came out in the 1800s and how when we got colonized, how they changed all the black faces to white. Even the Last Supper was all black people.

And it just, we just totally just been manipulated. Now, one thing I don't want to get into as an OG, the things that I always talk about, you don't talk about religion and politics. That's the rule. So that's something, you know, I just wanted to mention that just a little and move on because, you know. Just to put it out there, Morehouse too. Henry Lyman Morehouse, who was a Baptist minister from Stanford, New York.

Yes. He's a white gentleman as well. Yes. He's a white gentleman. Why did they name it after him? Did they say? It doesn't say. You're going to have me researching this all day.

They're going to have me researching it all week. But at least the world is about to see something there. Because I'm quite sure if you don't know, a lot of, because when I say it doesn't say you're gonna have me researching this all the time but at least the world is about to see something that because i'm quite sure if you don't know a lot of because when i say it in my stand-up people are blown away i'm quite sure some people don't believe me like you almost didn't believe me until you googled it i did not believe you no but i'm saying right right but i'm saying people will feel the same way but people don't have the enough time when they're in the show to google it so they go, maybe he's telling the truth, maybe he's not telling the truth. So yeah, it's crazy, man.

Now I saw you on Vlad TV too. You said that a phase on love stopped you from killing somebody, from shooting somebody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shout out to Faison. I'm always gonna show love to Faison. Back in the 90s, I had some issues with some gentlemen down in a comedy club

and I could tell the whole story. What happened? You was going to shoot a comedian? No, no, no, no. The owner. Oh, the owner. Jesus. He going to the top.

Damn. The owner. Because it was a hustling dude out of Detroit. And he was, you know, he had influenced a lot of young men. You know, everybody took the wrong side of that business. Instead of running a comedy club, they all thought they was gangsters. And I went out earlier that day and wound up meeting this girl probably the night before. And we wound up having sex during the day.

That's why I learned so much to this point in life that I try not to have sex before a show. Because I'm just tired. And me and this girl, we threw down, dog. It's like 2, 3 o'clock. I'm out. And I got three shows that night. And I missed two. Woke up panicking.

And one thing about me, I always like to smoke because I'm still taking my shower. I ain't going out until I wash my ass, right? So I get there, and they all are in the office, thinking that they tough. Talk about TK, what happened? I'm trying to tell her, and one of the dudes punched me in my face. For being late? For being late.

That's my point. Okay. Now, I had already caught a case here in New York with the puppy situation back in the day, right? Hold on. You need to, for people that are new here. Oh, yeah, because you said puppy situation. What kind of case? back in the day right hold on you need to people that are new here oh yeah that was the credit card fraud that we had back in in the 90s right and um when once you go to court your hands are tied

because you're on probation now I was in a very crazy situation I had the puppet case here in 98 but a year before that I had caught a case in L.A. So now New York was trying to convict me as a predicate felon, right? And a predicate felon in the state of New York is a mandatory four to six years. So I'm dealing with that. A lot of people got a pass in my lifetime is because I had something else over my head. And once you get in front of a DA or a prosecutor that really wanna, make an example.

Yeah, they waiting for you to slip. You gotta turn the other cheek when people are putting you in a bad situation. So you gotta make good choices. How old were you when he punched you in the face? This was 40 something years old. And let me tell you something, when you get hit in 40 something it hurt dog

especially when you ain't been hit in a long time like it's a whole different type of feeling when you get hit like that and so what I did was I went to the whip

I just want to tell you I just think it's wild like he was 40 years old knocking off his stilts I thought this was like a 20 year old thing like you know you know

you're a little reckless you knock off and get late but you 40 years old coming to the club late yeah but I'm saying I like a 20-year-old thing. Like, you know, you're a little reckless. You knock off and get late. But you 40 years old coming to the club late. Yeah. But I'm saying I had a little situation. And coming back up. He was coming up. He was coming up the blast.

And Faison saw me. He snatched me up, got me in the car. And he's driving, yelling at me. Oh, he saw you with the gun? Oh, yeah. I was about to be on, dog. You was walking he saw you with the gun oh yeah he i was getting it's about to be on dog you was walking down the street with the hand no i always back then i was crazy you know i always kept something and um so he punched you and you left yeah i left the guys

left so i i didn't yell and fight i just knew what i was going to do so i went right outside they wouldn't come outside they were scared so they wanted to call the police and everything and faze on snatched me up and got me out and he was yelling at me because Faison also was one of the good friends who wrote me a character letter for the puppy situation to the judge here um named Margaret who put fear in my heart this woman is so um I could just tell she was tired of me because what happens when you go to court, they do care about that particular case, but what they care about is your past. And her concern was, how did he get away with all this other stuff? Like y'all should have stopped him years ago.

And basically what she was saying is, the buck stops here. So she put fear in me to the point that I literally took a deal with New York, you know, to turn myself in in January, and I was going to do the four to six years. And my business manager at the time, David Cleman, said, they have underestimated you. So I'm still traveling. I go to Harlem. No, I go to Vegas

if I live in Vegas. I go to Vegas, I'm gambling, and I meet this guy standing next to me. And he happens to be an attorney from Long Island. And his name was Tony Capitella. You know? Now I'm thinking I'm in the Sopranos, right? Tony Capite name was Tony Capitella. You know, now I'm thinking I'm in the Sopranos. Tony Capitella. Tony Capitella.

So he's talking to me and I'm telling him about this case in New York. He said, well, if you help me out do this, I'll help you. So he got Tony Capitella and Frank Dorado was his partner. I don't know if they still alive. And we worked out a deal. I helped him out on the situation. And they come to court. But this is what I tell them in January

because I met them like in November. And I said, listen, when you come to Manhattan, you cannot come late because this lady was tough. He comes an hour late, dog. But he's sharp, got this trench coat on his arm. And we took my deal off the table. And the judge was so mad. I didn't even know what this word meant until she said it.

She said, reprimand Mr. Kirkland. Put him in handcuffs. Took me in handcuffs, dog, and took me to Rikers for 30 days. Damn. Because I changed, I took the deal off. So she wasn't playing. Now while I'm up in Rikers Island fighting the Puffy case,

Puffy gets in trouble with Shine and Jennifer Lopez at the club with the gun. So the same DA people come to me that's trying

to put me away. They want Puffy that bad. So they come to Rikers Island and my attorney is there. puffy that bad so they come to rikers island and my attorney is there he said hey they want to talk to you and want to know would you um talk to the grand jury that you saw puffy with the gun and you know me being clever i said y'all get me out of here we can talk about it you know You know? We can talk about it. So they took me from Rikers Island back down to the tombs. So, you know,

the COs know you, right? So they see the detectives every day like, yo, what's going on? So they taken me out and they got me in the black car and we're going to the club where the shooting happened. But they're not telling me

exactly what happened. They want me to re-retrain the lines. So they're saying, you was here and Puffy was here. So I I was here puppy was there and they said you know I'm like going through it but all this time for the three days they took me out I'm getting blimpies you know because you in jail the food is horrible so I'm like I'm hungry I'm thirsty you know I'm eating my butt off right you know they take me back up to um rikers island i think a week later hey what's up this is ramses job and i go by the name q ward and we'd like you to join us each week for our show civic cipher that's right

we're going to discuss social issues especially those that affect black and brown people but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly. Whether you're black, Asian, white, Latinx, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you.

Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. They come to me and my attorney says,

TK, they want to know if you're going to help them with the grand jury. And I said, no. Were you at the club that night? No, they wanted me to lie. Oh, okay. So they wanted you to put yourself in the club. Yeah, they wanted me to put myself in the club because that's how bad to put yourself in the club. Yeah, they wanted me to put myself in the club because that's how bad

they wanted Puffy. Damn. Yeah, they wanted him that bad dog. And I said, nah, I'm good. They was mad as hell, yo. I said, nah, I'm good.

And I wind up getting that four to six off the table. I got five years probation and here I am, a successful business stand-up. Did you ever have that conversation with Puff and tell Puff what they were trying to do? No, we never had that discussion.

You might have stopped Puff's reign of terror, TK, if you'd have said something back then. No, but I wasn't there. It would have been a lie. So? They put him in jail? Oh, yeah, always that type of situation. Yeah, I totally agree. It might have put him in prison. Puff is I'm saying? Oh, yeah, yeah. Always that type of situation. Yeah, yeah. I totally agree. It might have put him in prison.

Puffer. He's a legendary. Yeah, but Puffer's going through what he's supposed to go through. Does that make sense? Yeah. See, in life, you get so many chances to do right. And because I've been there. You have so many chances to do right.

If you don't do right, the universe has a way of humbling you. Oh, I agree with with that the universe will humble you dog more than you mentioned because as you you know we're all successful right you get up certain days you got your chest out a little bit more some days you know you you treat some people a little wrong you know sometimes you know just the way it is right but you got to take that moment to say to yourself, yo, I'm blessed. That's not that's not that's not push this envelope because God can really take this away from you. And if you keep treating people bad, you keep doing violent things to women. You keep being disrespectful. Now, don't get me wrong.

You can do this maybe one year maybe a week right and then get your life together but if you have a track record for years and you didn't figure it out ah the universe will make you pay and when that situation happened to me with puff what hurt me well we didn't have social media then but what hurt me my mom found that because when i was doing crime before we didn't have social media no one knew about your business you could have shot somebody right but no one knows what you did a week ago so now this hit the news now the same people who love you and respect you when you get in trouble they're embarrassed cuz they old career they talk about how

amazing you are how blah blah blah and when you hurt them it's a blow and my mother didn't go to church oh for like six months he stopped going to the same place to get her yeah she ain't one here but she was so I explained to us at my do not be embarrassed. You raised me right. I said, you raised me right. So when someone says to you, just say, he's his own man. That was his choices.

And all those experiences made me who I am today, right? 60-something years old, I'm humble. I'm respectful of life, and to still doing what I'm doing at my age is just a total gift. In shape, stay in the doctor's office, strong shoulders, and senior citizen. And you are considered a senior citizen. I am a senior citizen. I thought two more years. I thought 65. Yeah are considered a senior citizen. I am a senior citizen.

I throw two more years. I throw 65. You start at 55. You get your AARP card at 55. And now I'm president of the Homeowners Association. I got Medicare A and B plus my private insurance. And that's why I tell the young men to start stepping their game up. Because even though I'm in my six,

I still can pull your girl. And they said, TK, what do you mean? I said, because I can put your woman on my insurance. I said, y'all out here dating women because she got a tooth missing? You know? I said, y'all out here dating women, you only got, you know, I'm not against surgery, that's what you want to do,

but if you can't get your, if you're going to get your girl a butt, or she get a butt, and you can't give her the extra few dollars to have the thigh to match the butt, it's not a relationship. Insurance is important, because a lot of these women, pH balance be off. Yes.

They be having that little fishy odor, but they can't even get to the doctor. They can't get to the doctor, yep. So that's the way I come in. I'll put them on my insurance. You know what I wanted to ask you about, because you bought up Puff, and I just was thinking about, like,

a lot of people from your era and people that you worked with. When I first met TK was when I was working with Wendy Williams. Yes, yes. And you was hosting the, it was, she had a tour where it was Keisha Cole. Keisha Cole. You and somebody else.

What's the young man's name that got caught with the trans? Bobby Valentino? Bobby Valentino. Bobby? Yeah Valentino? Bobby Valentino. Bobby? Yeah, it was Bobby Valentino. All right. But so when you see the situation, when you see how things like Wendy turned out, what do you think? Isn't that amazing?

Yeah. The consequences of your choices. See, everything is about the consequences of your choices. Some people only think, I try to teach people not to think about tomorrow. I teach people to think about 10, to teach people not to think about tomorrow. I teach people to think about 10, 15, 20 years from now. You have to think that far in advance. All great people think that far in advance.

What I mean by that, let's use football as an analogy. Joe Matana, Tom Brady, when they play games, what makes them great championships? We're looking at the field. Most average quarterbacks only look six yards or whatever. But Joe Montana, Tom Brady, the whole stadium is their field. And to give you an example, I always tell people when I read this, saw this interview, Joe Montana in the 80s playing against,

it was San Francisco playing against Dallas, and they was losing. This was the first time San Francisco beat Dallas. NFC Championship game. NFC Championship, yep. And in the huddle, Joe Montana said, hey guys, you see John Candy up in the stands? Like he was so comfortable that he wasn't caring about what was going to happen.

He had saw John Candy, and John Candy was big back in the 80s. He had saw John Candy in the stands, and that's the conversation he was having with his team. And great athletes, great people see the future. They don't think about, like my life is planned for the next 25 years. I know exactly what I'm doing, you know, and that's just something that keeps me motivated. I know what I'm wearing on this particular day. That's how far advanced I think.

And that's what people have to start thinking about. Some people don't think they're going to die. Some people don't want to get insurance. Some people don't want to work out. And all the young people today who are drinking alcohol all the time, you know what they're not thinking about? The consequences of the drinking. That's right.

The consequences of drinking years down the line, what is it going to do to your body? And nobody cares. And I just want everybody to have a long life because the thing that I understand about this world is, and it's my understanding with the universe, is as long as I live long enough on this planet, I'm going to get everything that this universe has to give me.

I will get everything I want. There you go. I will get everything I want. I want to ask you about Faison and Stephen A, too. They were going back and forth about OJ being mentioned at the BET Awards. Yes, and I am not going to explain that. Faison has his opinion, Stephen has his opinion, and what I want to tell African-Americans, Spanish,

whoever are really rocking with black people, we know OJ killed the bitch, right? Let's just do this. Like, it's facts. He was found innocent. Yeah, but watch where I'm going. Okay, okay. You know, we know he killed the bitch.

But OJ's family. You know, you still invite them over for dinner, you know, but you hide the knives. Jesus. Jesus. You hide the knives, you know. Faison, my man, Faison said the exact way to say. Stephen A. Smith, my man, Shea Shea. I think men of power.

I move differently, you know? I think I'm older than those guys. When you're black, really black, I'm not saying they're not black, you have a duty to protect your people. And when people come on there and you start talking crazy, you got to say, you know what, not on this show. We're not going to do that on this show because we move a certain way on this show. That's my definition of a man,

that you hold everybody that comes on your show accountable when you're talking about your culture and your community. It's very important because that's something

that we don't do. You know, even though we might know that person is wrong. But in front of the world, yo, you got to protect your people

and that's what, oh man, I'm a, but in front, we have to, because that's what other races do. in front we have to cause that's what other races do and when you think about other races

see the reason why black men are considered no good just baby daddies cause African American women talk to the world about how bad we are but you don't know nothing about the Mexican man you don't know nothing about the Mexican man. You don't know nothing about India, right?

They don't talk about their, and what I've learned in life, they're just as bad as we are. I see what you're saying, because to that point, that does happen to us, but black men do that to black women. You know, you're historically bitches,

and hoes, and this and that. You know what I mean? Right, right, right. Black women don't listen, and they won't submit and all that. We all talk about each other as a style. Now when I'm on stage I use the word B-I-T-C-H, I use profanity.

The reason why I do that is because I want to get my point across. But if you notice when I'm on your show I don't use profanity. I don't curse in front of my children. My profanity is strictly for entertainment purposes even what you said about OJ, about Nicole Brown Simpson

it was a joke I'm glad you said that listen people, that was a joke do not come after me talking about oh my god he insensitive I don't want that problem and I hope they don't cut that part out you know what I'm saying, because you know how the world is, right?

They'll just use that part and everything else will have a problem. Yeah. You also said it's hard to find good friends, man. Yeah. Why do you think that's such a tough thing to do? You know, Charlemagne, we live in a world of habitual liars facts

habitual liars and we all want to do good because of our experience in life and you meet someone and you feel something for them and you want to give that person a shot they just caught you at the right time they caught you at the right time and you're like I'm going to give this person a shot.

But you don't see it coming. So there's two lessons in this journey, right? Two lessons is once you find out that person's a habitual liar, it teaches you to keep your guard up for the rest of your life. And you're only going to get played once. Not just when that person teaches you to be that way with everybody because it shows you that everybody has the ability to get you. Everybody.

Female, dude. I'm not talking about being in robbery. I'm talking about your time. I'm talking about relationships. I'm talking about finance and business. Like people going into business with people because people don't take the time to get to know a person's character,

find out where they live. Every time somebody want to do business with me, I say, yo, yo, yo, yo, wait, wait, wait. Let's get to know each other first character, find out where they live. Every time somebody wanted to do business with me, I was like, yo, yo, yo, yo, wait, wait, wait. Let's get to know each other first. But when people hear something good, they're like, yo, let's change numbers. Let's do X, Y, and Z. People not reading the contracts, people exchanging information.

Bam. Now you can't find them because they disappeared. And people have to take their time to get the numbers going through was going through D.C., and a guy saw me. I'm walking one way. He said, yo, I got a business opportunity. I said, why do you want to do business with me? He said, I don't know you. I said, no disrespect.

He said, I don't know you. He said, why would you want to do business with me? Why would I want to do business with you? I never met your mother. I don't know where you are. And that's my point. We have to stop that. We have to really get into finding how a person moves in. And life teaches you little things about a person.

A person said that they successful. You got to peep out their hands. What kind of sneakers they got on? Are they a fast talker? Because some people in their fast talker and run a lot of game you say oh okay because i teach people who roll with me what do you mean when you say what they got on because when i was growing up my daddy would point to these white men in my town monk's corner and they would look regular as hell and he'd be like that's the richest man in my corner he ain't

wearing none of his money but watch what i'm about to tell you okay you could wear something simple but you know it's quality see when i'm in london and me and my daughter we went to go see the mona lisa and um this guy just regular t-shirt jeans it was kind of big but we paid attention to detail he had the cuff turned up right on his sneaker i mean on, on his jeans. And it was Fendi. But when you know, you know. You understand what I'm saying? We, as you get older, you understand.

Like, see, in your 20s, 30s, and 40s, you think people care. In your 50s and 60s, you realize nobody gave a fuck. Nobody gave a good goddamn. Am I right? Yes, sir. No one gave a fuck. Yeah. You know? I drive everything. No one gave a fuck. Yeah. You know?

I drive everything from a Bentley to a minivan. Nobody cares. Nobody cares. I'm for real. Nobody cares. It feels good for you. Nobody gives a damn. Nobody gonna, when you die, nobody gonna be like, he drove a Bentley.

Right. Nobody cares. He wore a Fendi every day. Charlemagne, nobody cares. And when you think about us as well, we all came up, we wore sneakers and shoes till the hole came in the bottom. Remember back in the day? Your sock be out.

And all of us here together probably got 3,000 sneakers. Easy. And don't wear none of them. Don't wear none of them Don't wear none of them You are not lying to me Soon as it Soon as it get a little dirty Go get another pair

Isn't that something? They climb me Because I wear the fan clothes All the time Smart I don't Nobody cares Nobody cares

As long as you got on Fresh underwear I don't even know If he does that Okay You think he's that bad They wear that same t-shirt to mall.

Okay, okay, but as long as this underwear game is good. Like, I just like it. Once I get comfortable,

I'm comfortable. Listen to me, I watch you guys all the time, like my brothers, and I see how comfortable you are, and only thing

I can say about that, as long as you wash it. That's right. You don't wash it. You can't wash it. You can't wash it. You don't wash it where that's a mall. Yeah, as long as you wash it with a little wool light and everything, it don't wash it. He can't wash it. He don't wash it way that tomorrow.

Yeah, as long as you wash it with a little wool light and everything, it don't lose color, you know, and you always smell good and you keep your nuts fresh. A lot of guys, the nut game is important that you stay fresh, you know what I'm saying? Like, a lot of men don't understand that. Like, you got to,

when you roll up on women, especially, you got to smell amazing. That's women especially you got to smell amazing that's right you got to make sure everything about you is just on point because women like that the young men today are so i i just don't think men today like women i think that you know they don't want to take them out they don't want to give them flowers they like yo she could do that herself i'm with and you know i had a conversation with this dude in harlem he said um you ain't gotta do that you know you ain't gotta do nothing for them you can still i say yo what what who raised you disrespect to what i'm saying and to the young men who are listening it's not about about money but you gotta have accomplishments

and you gotta have a few dollars because because either you're going to pay directly or indirectly. Now, some women, you got to put it right in their hand. We know what kind of women those are. And some women, you're going to spend indirectly a movie, a dinner, and then be man enough. See, everything is not about a purpose, right? Just because you're taking a woman out doesn't mean you have to end up in bed. It's not about that.

Sometimes a girl is best to be a friend. You might end up with, yes, all my best relationships are homegirls. Man. Women. And you got to think about that. That's right. Because this woman that you turned out to be your friend, she grows to be a producer, a business person.

That's right. She'll get down the line. That's right. And because you're cool cool that's your opportunity and a lot of men don't think that way guys start thinking that way you ain't gotta hit it just because you bought or something don't mean you got to be mean to like i saw out here um some guy asked a girl for a phone number he killed her because she didn't give it to him you understand what I'm saying?

He didn't even seem like he was tough. But, man, he was a little skinny dude. I'm quite sure for the rest of his life, while he's in prison, he will regret what he did because I know they wailing on his ass. Oh, man. He's a party partner. Oh, man, they wailing on his ass. Oh, my God. And you young guys, y'all think you're tough.

But in jail, ain't no guns. Ain't no guns, brother. You're going to really see how the people you never see on the street. That's super, super tough. And people on the street that you don't see on the street who's super, super crazy. And they find out you did something foul. And they plotting on you as soon as you come through. So that's why some people go to protective custody when they know,

because they know if they come out in general population, you done, yo. That's right. You done. So, yeah. TK Kirkland, man. Go check him out. Catch me if you can. World Tour.

Tickets available right now on LiveNation.com, and he'll be in New Brunswick, New Jersey this weekend at the Stress Factory. Give him the number. Give him the number. Give him the number. Man, what's the number? What's the number? We ain't got the number.

Yeah, we got to get the number. We got to get the number. Hold on. Stress Factory, New Brunswick. Can't they just go to the website? Yeah, they go to the website. You know, I showed my age, didn't I? Yeah.

Yeah. You just go to StressFactory.com. StressFactory.com. To get your tickets. Get your tickets, ladies and gentlemen. Jersey City, the Tri-State area,

stand up, TK Kirkland is home. I want everybody to come out to show mad love to the one and only TK. And then check me out next Friday,

July 18th in Houston at the House of Blues and Austin, Texas, July 19th at Elmo's Austin and please follow me at TK underscore Kirkland like the water at Costco's

K-I-R-K-L-A-N-D cause some of y'all can't spell there you go well it's the Breakfast Club it's TK Kirkland wake that ass up in the morning The Breakfast Club. It's T.K. Kirkland. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q. Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher.

That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We'll see you next time.