The Breakfast Club - Trap Nerds: ILLuminati with AWA Studios and Best of Class 1998

Episode Date: October 19, 2024

The Black Effect Presents.... The Trap Nerds Podcast! On today's episode, we’ve got two legends in comics on the show today: legendary artist and Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan and former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, who is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of AWA Studios.   They’ve teamed up with Charlamagne Tha God to create ILLuminati — a brand new 128-page graphic novel where hip-hop and comics collide. The book features the work of some of the greatest and most influential Black talents together to create this original story, cover art, and hip-hop homage art — including Denys.  Set in the LA music scene, the story delves deep into the price of fame and one of the most enduring urban legends of our time: the Black Illuminati.  They’ve even done special hip-hop homage variant covers paying tribute to the five most seminal hip-hop albums of all time chosen by Charlamagne himself! Charlamagne, Denys, and Axel will be in person at New York Comic Con and the ILLuminati Kickstarter campaign runs through Tuesday, October 22.   Support: The ILLuminati: A Thriller Where Hip-Hop & Comics Collide on Kickstarter! Learn More: AWA Studios Follow us on Instagram:  @AWAStudiosOfficial @TheTrapNerdsPodcastSee 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. 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 Questlove, 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. 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. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th 2017 was assassinated. Crooks Everywhere unearths the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country

into a mafia state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, and I'm a scientist who studies human behavior. Many of us have experienced a moment in our lives that changes everything, that instantly divides our life into a before and an after. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I talk to people about navigating these moments. Their stories are full of candor and hard-won wisdom. And you'll hear from scientists who teach us

how we can be more resilient in the face of change. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Justin Richman, host of the Broken Record Podcast. Every week, I or my co-host, Leah Rose, sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. Our new series is looking at

one of the most influential jazz labels ever, Blue Note Records. You'll hear from artists like legendary bassist Ron Carter, singer-songwriter Noah Jones, and guitarist Julian Lodge. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Trap nerds, trap nerds, real n****s like you never heard. Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another exciting episode of the Trap Nerds Podcast.

We in this piece, man. We got an incredible episode for you guys today. Joining us later, two of the creators of the Illuminati comic book series coming out very, very soon. Dennis Cowan and Axel Alonso are going to be joining us. They're going to be talking about the comic books. They're going to be talking about Malastone Media. They're going to be talking about Marvel.

All types of stuff. So coming up later. Stay tuned. But first, Dre, how's your week and i've been chilling work uh i'm in so before i start i still i was i'm still on the store was the old republic but apparently the dude told like when i you know i'm still streaming and when i get uh they basically said why i'm there right now i'm damn at the end of the main story. So now I'm just going to be on the expansions, but it's like, hell yeah.

I'm just really waiting on Sparkling Zero to drop on PlayStation. I've seen a lot of people excited for Sparking Zero. We going back to the trenches. It's been a win-hater. Xeno versus

Straight, but it went Budokai though. You know what I mean? Budokai's peak. That's peak Dragon Bounce. I don't know who they had over them fight mechanics and just all of the logistics nigga were on point type shit.

Are they bringing back the mash mechanic? Uh, boy. Where young people give themselves early arthritis? Hey. If I die, I die, my man. They had the same thing on Ninja Storm Naruto. Ninja Storm 2, I think it was. The mash mechanic.

I hated it so much. Hated it so much. Any game that do that, crazy. Go ahead. Take it back to your Mario Party game. Thanks. Now, I got gotta get that new Mario party too because that bitch online

was like 20 or 30 people. I saw this shit and I was like, ooh. Man, the turns are going to take so long. Boy, you'll be waiting 20 minutes for your turn. It's worth it to sit there and trash talk to all your friends. Hell, because the shit I didn't realize with Switch, because you know,

the voice chat on this suck, you gotta do it off your phone, the actual one which never made sense to me nah, it's like an app where you can just use a voice chat, it's like you gotta send a link to everybody that got the app when you can just use Discord like a normal fucking person

so it's like nigga, running dead on Discord aw, that'd be nice, but i'm waiting on that and i really just been chilling cleaning up and work i got all the parts for my truck i just gotta get them put in yeah yes buddy buddy about you totally well i started a new series this week black sales uh wait a minute you just now started Black Sails? I'm just now starting Black Sails, yeah. Never seen it. Oh, it's lit. What is that? I got something else. It's gonna be

Vikings. It's gonna be like Vikings. I got something else. Is that some pirate shit? Yep. God damn, I called it. It sounded like it. You got all those pirates that you know names from in there. All of them. Starting with Mr. Teets. Blackberry the Self. You got all of them in there, bro.

Okay. What is it on? Netflix. It was, yeah. It was from Starz, though. But it's on Netflix now? Yeah. That's why I seen it.

I seen it when it first came out on Starz years ago. Oh, so this shit been out? Yeah. Yeah. It's nice. Is it only four seasons? Yeah.

Okay, yeah. So they do have all the seasons. And it wraps up in a nice bow, Tony. You don't have to worry about no cliffhangers. Oh, God. So they have, okay. Yeah. So they do have all the seasons and it wraps up in a nice boat. Tony, you don't have to worry about no. Oh God. Thank you. I have some good.

Cause I kind of recalled here and it got canceled. So I'm glad that it, uh, no, they wrapped it up. Nice. Okay. Good.

And, uh, let's see what else I started. What's the amounts I started this week? Oh, from, I started from, um,

how far did you get? Uh, we're on this we finished the second episode okay so they are they were in the rv you know and they got out they had to put the talisman inside the crash rv and stuff it was good bro that was good yeah it is it is really good like i kind of knew it would be but i was surprised how hard of a time would you have accepted that you couldn't leave, Tony? Oh, dude. I don't know, man. I don't, like, just getting stuck in that roundabout for, like, probably about three times.

You know, I'd go around three times, like, and be like, okay, well, I don't know. Something's happening. Something's wrong. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it is really good, man. I'm glad I started it. I need to get back into Vikings, but I made the mistake of starting that with someone,

so I have to wait for them. Yeah. Yep. That's what happens. So much stuff. Eli, how was your week? Finished season one of Old Man. The Old Man on FX.

FX had some heat, bro. They showed us. Oh, yeah. They got some heat. Jeff Bridges. I was thinking of starting that. Jeff Bridges. I still don't understand what he be saying, but man, that show is so good.

I swear Jeff Bridges be drunk permanently, bro. But that show is so good, bro. It's about an ex-operative who's over in Afghanistan. It got real history about Afghanistan and how we sent money and guns and stuff to Afghanistan so they could fight the Russians

back in the day. We started messing with Afghanistan and how we sent money and guns and stuff to Afghanistan so they could fight the Russians back in the day. And then we started messing with Afghanistan and made the same mistake the Russians did. It's all the same stuff, but yeah, it's by him. Years later, years later, and then tell the story of what happened back then, why he's back in America, and then they

try to capture him or kill him because the dude in Afghanistan wants him. And you start to find out why and all that stuff and all the history behind it, his wife and all that stuff. It's really good, man. I'm on season two, episode two now. I started- Where do you watch that?

You can watch it on Hulu. Yeah. Just type it in the old man and it'll come up. I started Twilight of the Gods. Zack Snyder's new project on Netflix. It's an animated show. Viking stuff. Viking folklore.

It's all mythical. It's really... The first episode was really good, man. You will see some meat, though. It's like the Blue Samurai. They don't care about nudity. They have shmeet out and everything. Ta-ta.

Equality. Not the shmeet. They got everything out, man. Shout out to the nudity of Buhai Samurai it really kept my attention from the dialogue but yeah so far I'm just getting into it so I don't know what's happening yet

Agatha all alone from what I've seen so far I'm fucking with it yeah these first what four episodes it's been so far three episodes I saw three they dropped two at the same time three episodes so far it's been so far? Three episodes? It's three? I saw three. They dropped two at the same time. Oh, okay. Three episodes

so far is good. I can't believe it. Disney Plus, actually, this is something that's actually entertaining to me. I didn't expect it to be. Came in with low expectations, but it's there. It's okay. I'm pleasantly surprised, but I'm going to wait. I'm waiting a little longer

to make sure I don't get bored or nothing. You know, this is Star Wars. It'll fall. Yeah, it'll fall off. It'll fall off. So I got to wait. I got to wait.

Because the only Star Wars show that I seen that didn't fall off on Disney Plus was Ahsoka. That's it. That was all the one that was mildly entertaining. What about The Mandalorian?

Mandalorian, I really like. It got boring a couple of times. Oh, I finished it. But you don What about The Mandalorian? Mandalorian is not really my thing. It got boring a couple seconds. Oh, I finished Andor, nigga. What, you don't like The Mandalorian? Yeah. No, it's not really my thing. The what? Yeah, you heard that, Tony.

The Mandalorian. That's what I'm trying to ignore. Damn it. Nope. But Mandalorian is not really my thing, honestly. I finished Andor, cuz. Oh, yeah. Tony, Drake, what'd I tell you, bro?

Nice. What did you think about it? It was nice. I can't even be mad. I like the Dark is. Oh, yeah. Drake, what'd I tell you, bro? What did you think about it? It was nice. I can't even be mad. I like the diplomatic shit going on. It's actually good dialogue. It was dark. It was kind of dark. I was like, okay. You could tell who I was behind as a politics nerd.

And they read the books because a lot of the shit they kept, they actually did keep shit kind of accurate. I was like, okay. So they're all smart. Y'all got some smart writers there. You just got to give them niggas a chance. I love you, George Lucas, but it wasn't third grade dialogue like George

Lucas like doing. It was actually good, interesting dialogue. That's what I'm saying. They was using the book dialogue type shit. Niggas started speaking deep. You shit your own mouth. There's nothing wrong with George Lucas' dialogue. Yes, there is, man.

Come on, man. Just be honest. That's why he walked away from the bullshit because y'all talking shit all y'all do. I love the word he built, but that

dialogue, he... Oh, my God. The dialogue now makes me just kind of be like, I miss him a little bit. It's like... Every time I hear

I hate the saying, I'm like, nah, George. Come on, you should have thought about that, bro. That nigga's a swish. He gets everywhere. You should have thought about that, George. Come on, man. When I see Jar Jar, I'm like, George, come on, man.

What was you thinking, man? Come on, man. I can't. I can't. Star Wars not doing good because of dialogue to him. That's why. No, that's why. No, Andor did do good.

Andor's nice. I'm talking about Star Wars in general. No, it's like. No, no. It was simple. It's fun. Which is simple is good. He knew what he was doing.

Andor dialogue is good. It's actually interesting. It's challenging. All the other stuff is trash. It's worse than George Lucas. It's like when you try to be smarter than George Lucas, but you overshoot it. Yeah, and you just say, I'm dumb.

That's where it's at now, type of shit. Because the acolyte dialogue, that's some of the worst dialogue I've ever seen in my life, man. I'm just being honest. Nobody can, it just don't work at times. He made it so simple when you try to over-explain simple

shit. It just don't work. Randall Space-Tag. You know how they got the live-action Star Trek? Yeah. I mean, there's only live-action. Yeah. I think they need to do one with Captain Janeway. Oh, sure. No, like a live-action movie. A movie? Yeah. Just a Janeway movie? Yeah, but yeah. I think they need to do one with Captain Janeway. Oh, a show? No, like a live-action movie. A movie? Yeah.

Just a Janeway movie? Yeah, but like Star Trek. You know, it's like Captain Janeway. I don't know. Her story's different. I don't know if it'll fit. Why? Who is the audience to this? Because the reason why...

Star Trek was the shit. But it works because they lost the space. If you're just going to have a movie about a loss of space, I'm not interested in it. But that's what made the show interesting. Captain Kirk and them wasn't lost in space, so it made more sense. It was more political and all that stuff.

Voyager is more shonen. If you understand anime, you know what I'm talking about. Voyager is like a shonen. That's what Voyager is. Voyager is like a Shonen. That's what Voyager is. They can make it happen if they go Voyager.

All right, how's your week, Xavier? Great coming to shows. Shout out to everybody who showed up to stand up in peace.

Another great show. And shout out to everybody who showed up to Big Lab in peace. Another great show. And shout out to everybody who showed up to Big Lab Comedy Club. My closest show out. I think it was a sold out crowd. Had a really good time. It was my first time performing at Fort Worth. So shout out to everybody that came through.

I still been on Baking Bad. Loving it. Man, I just got to the scene where Gustavo goes to Mexico and just kills the mob boss that killed his homeboy back in the day. He's sitting there yelling at him. He's like,

Don Emilio's dead. You have no one to protect anymore. Leave and take everything with you. If not, fight me and die. I was like, yes, bitch. This is a good-ass actor. I was also hot, but it was amazing. I really liked it. You felt that, Jay?

I did. I mean, did you see Rebel Reed? Never heard of him. Y'all ain't looked at Rebel Reed? Wait. Is there like some cowboy shit or something? Netflix? No.

Netflix, that movie that was out. It's a good movie. Kind of in. The ending is kind of anti-combat. Oh, the one with the dude with the nose? The one with the light-skinned black dude who they might trying to say

might play Fighting the police and shit? Yep. Yep. So, is it worth it? Yep,

it's worth it. Okay. Is it worth it? It's worth it. Rebel Ridge. Netflix. I did see it because I kept seeing

previews for this shit. It's a nice seven, seven and a half drink. Good. Rewatch. Good. All rightatch. Good.

All right, check it out. Did you watch the last most recent episode of Ghost? The one that just came out? No, I ain't watched it yet. All right, you gotta watch it. I've been watching the old man still. I like the good nigga gets his revenge on racist white people in the country. Yep, that's what it is.

It started with, remember, Walking Tall? Type shit. One of my favorite rock movies. When he got the 2x4? When he was actually trying to prove something in the business. When he was trying to be an actor for real? Okay, because you be... I'm glad you... because that's one of my favorite rock movies.

You be hating it. I never said anything about Walking Tall. He's just saying... No, that's what he was actually trying to be. He was really still the same nigga. He was trying to be different people. Because Walking Tall, I'm about to say, and the Rundown, them were my two. And Faster.

I'm not a big fan of the Rundown, but I like Walking Tall. I'm trying to think. He had one more. Faster? Not Faster. I liked Faster, but it He had one more. Faster. Not faster. I liked faster, but it was one more. He randomly did.

What? The Scorpion King? Hell no. Kiss my ass. I like the Scorpion King. The X though. Don't get me wrong. I can watch the Scorpion King now

and laugh my way through that shit. And it's just a good, it's a good childish time. I like Edge of Tomorrow. Nobody likes that movie. It's on Netflix right now. Is that the Tom Cruise movie? Yeah. I don't have no problem with Edge of Tomorrow.

It's not bad. A lot of critics hate that movie. Was that the one where he had to redo everything? Yeah, he'll die and reset the movie. Okay, I remember that. I had no problem with that.

I actually was entertained by that movie. It's like one of Tom Cruise's million movies. I like that movie. It's on Netflix right now? You see, it's one of his million movies. Oh, I did try to watch Jack Reacher and Tom Cruise. It's kind of hard to watch after watching the Netflix. After you see a real Jack Reacher, you look at Tom, you're like, come on, man. Yeah, it's kind of hard to watch after watching the network problem.

After you see a real Jack Reacher, you look at Tuff, you're like, come on, man. That's not the same. It's not the same. It's not the same. Don't have the same presence at all. Oh, boy, who played Dove? I mean, Hawk off of Team Titans. Oh, yeah, he played a lot of that role.

He good, Jack Reacher. Uh-huh. They said Wes's name was supposed to play, but they couldn't get him. Then they got Tom Cruise. I forget who, and the dude they said it was was almost a perfect match. Hemsworth. Which Hemsworth? Liam or Chris?

Thor. Oh, Chris? Yeah. I think they said they wanted to get him for a new movie to play Jack Reacher. I like his Netflix movie better. I'm glad he chose Netflix. Talking about that, yeah, when he was tapped to cover his book. Yeah, Extraction. new movie to play Jack Reacher. I like his Netflix movie better. I'm glad he chose Netflix. Yeah, when he was tapped to cover his book.

Yeah, Extraction. I'm going back and watch that tonight. That movie was cold, bro. Did we give that a good review? Yeah, we gave that a good review. I'm giving it a good review. Yep. But that's all for my week.

You know, just TV watching. Let's bring our people into the interview then. All right, we got to go to a quick break. But when we come back, we'll be talking Illuminati with Axel Alonso and Dennis Cowell after this. 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 Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves. For self-preservation and protection, it was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that

is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace. 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. So y'all, this is Questlove, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it.

Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand-new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. 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. 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.

Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, James Brown, B.B. King, Miriam Akiba. I shook up the world. James Brown said, say it loud. And the kid said, I'm black and I'm proud. Black boxing stars and black music royalty together in the heart of Zaire, Africa. Three days of music and then the boxing event. What was going on in the world at the time made this fight as important that anything else is going on on the planet.

My grandfather laid on the ropes and let George Foreman basically just punch himself out. Welcome to Rumble, the story of a world in transformation. The 60s and prior to that, you couldn't call a person black. And how we arrived at this peak moment.

I don't have to be what you want me to be. We all came from the continent of Africa. Listen to Rumble, Ali, Foreman, and the Soul of 74 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. podcast. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean. He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba. He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh. And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere. At the heart of the story is a young boy and the question of who he belongs with. His father in Cuba. Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him. Or his relatives in Miami. Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom.

At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation. Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story, as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jack Peace Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts

dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of Black

writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we are back. Today, we got special guests in the building. We're talking to two legends and comics. Legendary artist and Mouselon co-founder Dennis Cowan and former Marvel editor and chief Axel Alonso, who is founder and chief creator officer of AWA Studio. They've teamed up with Charlamagne Tha Guy and created The Illuminati. Not The Illuminati, the comic book Illuminati, a brand new story where hip-hop and comics collide. Illuminati is a 128-page supernatural thriller available now on Kickstarter.

Set in the LA music scene, the story delves deep into the price of fame and one of the most enduring urban legends of our time, the Black Illuminati. Charlemagne and AWA have attracted some of the greatest and most influential Black talents together to create the original story, cover art, and hip-hop homage art. The team includes acclaimed writer and filmmaker Brian Edward Hill, Inkpot Award-winning artist and producer Dennis Cowan, and Eisner Hall of Fame artist Bill Sequins, with cover art by Eisner and Ringo Award-winning artist Sanford Green. On top of this, unique variant covers were created to honor five of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums personally selected and curated by Charlamagne himself, and celebrating the groundbreaking album art of each record the illuminati kickstarter campaign runs through tuesday october 22nd find out more on kickstarter the link is in the show notes check them out guys let's get to the interview axel and dennis how you

guys doing everybody's doing great good yes sir okay like i said it's great to have you guys there especially i mean dennis cowan we just said this before's great to have you guys here, especially Dennis, Cowan. We just said this before it started. You're a legend. Malstone Media. Stop dick-grinding, nigga. Stop dick-grinding. So, basically,

I just wanted to ask, how was the process with the comic book and the creation and everything? What are y'all looking forward to seeing as it's been released and everything? I'm the Chief Creative Officer of the publisher, AWA Studios, and we were talking with

Charlemagne Tha God, who is interested in promoting and supporting Black creators in the comic book space. He's a big fan of comic books, and he wanted to get behind and promote worthy projects. And I said, I've got a pitch in from Brian Edward Hill, called Illuminati, which is amazing. It's dealing with the most kind of enduring urban legends of our day, the Black Illuminati.

You want to read it? He said, for sure. He read it. He loved the pitch. He was in automatically. He wanted to get behind the project. I called up Dennis. I said, I've got this amazing project.

I'd love you to get on board. What do you think? He read the pitch and loved it as well. So I had my creative team at that point. And then Dennis brought in Bill, his longtime collaborator and anchor, to come in as our anchor. So we had our team. Brian is a writer, Dennis is a penciler, and Bill is the anchor.

It's an amazing story. It's about a young woman who travels to Los Angeles after the mysterious death of her sister, who's a rising hip-hop star. The woman does not believe her sister died from suicide. So she looks into what happened, and she uncovers a really, really, really corrupt, deep conspiracy buried in Hollywood. So it's like a Hollywood mystery, murder mystery kind of thing going. Yeah, it's pulled from the headlines.

You know, again, we announced the project the day Diddy was arrested, which is kind of protruding. It's pulled from the headlines. You know, again, we announced a project that Diddy was arrested, which is kind of protruding from the story. That's great timing. We didn't do that for anything. And that does not prove the existence

of Illuminati at all. There are coincidences that happen. So we just accept those things. Axel called me. Axel is my former boss at Marvel. So when he was running Marvel, I used to do stuff for him whenever he'd ask. Of course, Axel's my guy.

When he called and pitched me this thing, he started telling me, oh, yeah, it's a project from Brian Edward Hill, and we really want you to do it. And at the time, he said, it's called Black Illuminati. And I said, I'm in. You have to think I think I hesitated because it was one of those things where I heard the title. And I'm like, I don't know what this is or whatever it is. I just need to be involved. I just need to be involved. It sounds provocative. It did. It did. You know, he had me from Hello. So after I actually read the thing, I really actually did commit to doing it. And I called Bill and I thought it would be a great project. You know,

Axel wanted Bill from the beginning and we always loved working with Bill. He's one of my best friends and a great collaborator with me. So when I called him, all I said to him was, hey, Black Illuminati. And he said, I'm in. Just like that. So that's really how it happened. It was that easy. Speaking about the art style, where did the inspiration for the art style come from? Where did y'all get that from?

Well, it's my style. Yeah, I was going to say, it's like his style, right? It's just how I draw. I try to adjust my style to whatever subject matter is at hand. You know, storytelling is a little different. Subject matter is different. This is dealing with the supernatural and horror and, you know at night so yeah the noir yeah you just adjust your art a little bit for that but my style is my style it wasn't like i changed it radically for this yeah this is not

a superhero book this is a this is a mystery supernatural mystery thriller you know so there's no big muscles in it there's no no no people flying around you know it So there are no big muscles in it. There's no, no, no people flying around. You know, it's really, it's like real grounded in greedy. Yeah. Yes. Really, really grounded in reality as much as you can dealing with Illuminati.

So, cause I'm just looking at a couple of pictures like, so both of y'all, Dennis, you've been, you have your affiliation with DC company, Axl. You have affiliations with Marvel,

but I got to ask y'all, which one is your favorite Marvel or DC company. And Axl, you have affiliations with Marvel. But I gotta ask y'all, which one is y'all favorite, Marvel or DC? Oh, God. You're asking to pick a favorite child. You're asking me what? Pick a favorite kid. I'm gonna go with Marvel because it got Black Panther and Shang-Chi. I have to go with DC because, you know, they published Milestone.

That's fair. Okay. That's fair. Axe is not going to fuck that money up. Nope. Nope. Axe, I got to ask, what work did you do for Marvel before you started on doing Illuminati? I was editor-in-chief. I was editor-in-chief. I had Stanley's job.

Oh, okay. It was family. One of the things I wanted to do was I wanted to diversify the creators and the audience. My thing is I wasn't about the fanboys that existed. I wanted to go to the larger audience. So it was all about trying to diversify the creators and the characters. I got behind characters of Black Panther back in 2000.

No one gave a shit about him in publishing. Reggie Hudlin, our mutual friend, he was my mutual friend. He worked for six years for me. I did the hip-hop variants at Marvel. The hip-hop variants where we did homages to all the hip hop album covers. I redid the Liquid Swords covers. Liquid Swords, yeah.

I redid the Liquid Swords covers. Hey, Dennis, I didn't tell you this. I was in Koreatown in Queens. I swear to God. I saw a 70-year-old Korean man wearing a bootleg Liquid Swords Marvel variant of your cover. No. I swear to God. The Iron Man. What? A bootleg Liquid Swords Marvel variant of your cover. No. What?

A bootleg of yours. That's when you know you made it. When your stuff gets bootlegged. Liquid Swords. It was a copy of the Marvel copy of Liquid Swords. That is so sick. That is so next level bootleg. You're really hard legend now.

You're getting bootleg stuff. I get it. I need to have that shirt. I got another question for this that I always wonder. How long, because I know it's got to take a long time, how long does drawing all this stuff take? How long does it take for you to finish a whole comic with drawing?

That must be a long time. Or a whole book. A whole book. How long does that take? Usually about three weeks to a month. Oh my take? Usually about three weeks to a month. Oh, my God. Usually about three weeks to a month. That's a lot shorter than what I expected. Yeah, it's one week of laying it out.

Like I do small thumbnails of all 20 pages or 22 pages or whatever it is. I give it to my assistant who helps me with the backgrounds and all that stuff. I decipher what I want. I give him reference. He gives it back to me. Now I have to start drawing. So it'll take me about two and a half weeks. It'll take him about a week to do his thing,

be about two weeks. Understand, you're talking to a pro there. Blue collar, you know? Not everyone's got that attitude. Not everyone's got that attitude to put their head down and get the job done. Right. What it is, is that's how we were taught, you know? It's like you got a certain amount of time. You allocate your time. You get it done. You Right. What it is, is that's how we were taught. You know? It's like you got

a certain amount of time. You allocate your time. You get it done. You got to get it in. When you say you got to deliver it, there are no excuses. There's no nothing. Just hand the fucking thing in

when you say you are. And then you keep going. And try to cause your publisher as little hassle as possible. Editor's best friend there. Editor's best friend is that attitude, you know? So, this. editor's best friend there editor's best friend is that attitude you know so this um i got a outside question about another milestone question for you uh because right now dc is having this huge like takeover like this huge redo what they're doing

with a lot of stuff with the mc with the dcu and everything I always wanted to see some more mouth-to-mouth characters in the cinematic universes. Especially Icon, especially Static Shock. What's your thoughts on... Would you want to see a lot more of your characters? Of course you would, but what's your thoughts on them? Do you think that'll maybe happen in the future

or is that something that you're ready to see with the characters? We have to see what happens. I mean, for me, an icon, a rocket movie would be everything. I've said this. They have such good

chemistry. Yeah, it's Superman and Robin. It's like, it'd be such a perfect movie. Reggie has a great take on it and you know hopefully what one day one day someone will do it um i think static would be a great live action thing there was you know we had a script done there's all kinds of stuff and then there was a big reason change of warner brothers so that just threw everything up in the air and then the

constant and then the focus of warn was on, Warner Brothers was on their iconic superheroes, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, all that kind of stuff. So, it's fine. You know, it is what it is. You just get close. But the Milestone characters, I think, deserve more of an opportunity to shine.

You know? It's a gold mine that's just waiting to happen. It already happened with Static Shock in the 2000s. If it was brought back today, it would be even bigger. I remember the good old Static Shock days. It was a simpler time. It was a simpler time. That's right.

And you would think the executives at Warner would have paid attention to Black Panther and the sequel. Well, you know, as you know, no, man, as you know, any black success is looked on as an epic unicorn. Never to be seen again. We saw a unicorn in the forest, and we never got to see it again. And then they do another one. There was another unicorn in

the forest. You know? You would think they have come since, Axel, but it's DC we're talking about. They're cinematic universes. I just can't trust them. It's not just DC. It's the whole thing.

It's the business that we're in right now. Because I like Batman. I like Superman, but I'm kind of tired because they keep just recycling the same stories. And DC has so much potential. I mean, they have so many more characters. It's just like with the Black Panther. The's inventing it. I know. And DC has so much potential. I mean, they have so many more characters.

It's just like with the Black Panther. The person who's got the big success is the person who breaks out of that pattern and does something like that. So whoever does Icon and Rocket or whoever does that static thing is going to be huge. And that's going to be why. Because it's needed. And

just like Black Panther and just like everything else like that it'll be a phenomenon they just have to get off them and you know invest a little bit of money they want to invest in it just let it happen yeah yeah i'm glad you said that because i really want to see milestone some more and then rocket and i can't be something right put out there it'll just be amazing. And then people have another black... Because everybody's like black Superman. No, iCone.

No. We have the people right here. Now Todd and the other Superman dudes, no, no. Yes. We tied to the multiverse. We don't need this anymore.

Yes. Nobody gets it anymore. I got another question for Axel and Dennis. Y'all are in the comic business, the art business, and stuff like that. Going back to y'all childhood, do y'all remember what first got y'all interested in comics and art and things like that?

Dennis, you go first. What got you interested in those things? What got me interested in comics and art and things like that. Dennis, you go first. What got you interested in those things? What got me interested in comics was I was in third grade and I had never seen a comic book before. And the guy I was sitting next to was a guy named Derek Dingle, who ended up founding Milestone with me. Because I was Dennis Cowan C, he was Derek Dingle D. They sat us next to one another alphabetically like they used to do. So I'm sitting there, minding my own business, and Derek pulls out a copy

of, I think it was Fantastic Four, featuring the Black Panther, the first appearance of the Black Panther. He pulled that out. He pulled out two more comics, the New Gods, two copies of the New Gods comics. New Gods are my favorite as a kid, yeah. I lost my mind. It was 1971,

right? 70, 71. I lost my mind it was 1971 right 70 71 i lost my mind i had never seen anything like i had never seen a comic book and i had never seen anything like the pictures inside i thought that um i was doing something because i would watch a superman tv show on on on tv the black and white one with george reeds on my own superman comics but i didn't know i was doing comics so i would just do the show and I would draw a little box next to another little box. And I put Superman inside

doing different things in sequential order. I had no idea of what I was doing. And Derek shows me this. I'm like, oh, there you go. I'm making comics, damn. Yes. I'm already doing this.

And that's how I got in. That's how I started drawing. Man. Absolutely. Pretty much the same thing. When I was a little boy, my grandma would pick me up after school. She would walk me home, and in order to keep me

calm, she would buy me comic books. I bought Black Panther, Luke Cage, Shang-Chi, Sergeant Rock, and you guys. I loved these books. They blew me away. Like Dennis, I used to sit down and draw comic books myself

only I had no talent so I didn't go that round I loved it I loved it are we gonna see some more are we gonna see Luke Cage coming back

you think cause I'm mad it's gone I want it back talking about this show yeah the TV show oh my god I don't know

I like that show we say it every week it was underrated I liked that show too right Netflix did every week. It was underrated. I liked that show too. Netflix did a pretty good job with their Marvel shows. I'm not going to lie. They did a good job. They didn't mess up. Yeah. I didn't like Iron Fist that much.

No, we didn't either. Nobody liked Iron Fist. Nobody liked Iron Fist. He did a much better job in the Defenders, though. He did redeem himself a little bit in the Defenders. I didn't see that. I didn't catch that. You never saw the Defenders?

It's worth it. It's a lot of fun. Yes, it is. It was nice. It was enjoyable. Netflix got rid of all the Marvel shows now, so it's sad. Disney Plus. Is that where they are now? Yes. Dark Devil

is coming back early next year, I think. That's when it's premiered. I thought it was Christmas. It might be. It might be Christmas. Probably pushed it back. Do your research. So I got a question for Axel. Go ahead, Tony. I know you started as a journalist, right? What is that?

What's that real person? That's like a cartoon journalist, right? What is that? Yeah. That's not a real person. That's like a cartoon person, right? Yeah. So what pushed you to pivot to comic books? Yeah, well, I saw an ad in the Times when I was a journalist that DC comic books were hiring. So I thought, what the F? I'll just send in my resume and see what happens. I get a call for an interview.

I go in, and the editor who interviewed me, a late Lou Stathis, said, I wanted to meet you for a while. I said, what? And he said, you wrote an article for the Daily News I read. I loved it. I wrote an article about the use of the cannabis leaf in hip-hop and pop culture, and I interviewed a lot of people. You have my attention. Touche.

I gotcha. And two of the people I interviewed were the head of the DEA for law enforcement law, and the other one was editor-in-chief of High Times Magazine. And they both were really extreme. Yeah. And two of the people I interviewed were the head of the DEA for law enforcement law. And the other one was editor-in-chief of High Times Magazine. And they both were really extreme. They both seemed kind of silly. What happened was that Lou said, that motherfucker, he stole my girlfriend. So this is personal.

Yeah. He said, you're hired. You're hired. I said, I'm, ah. So I got hired because I wrote an article in which I made a guy look bad who stole Deidre's boyfriend. Oh, wow. Wow, that's awesome. Yeah, and then I stayed at Vertigo.

I was at Vertigo for a few years. Yeah. I had some success, and then Marvel came to me in 2000 and offered me a job. And I said, I don't want to work at Marvel. I don't like superheroes. And they said, we want you more now. Okay, so they were. My attitude was, I like the characters as genres oh right you know i thought you know

hulk is about anger management's monster force a fantasy book captain america is about politics and the american flag i mean black captain america 2000 almost got me killed you know i was not ready for that it's an idea bradley we're not ready for that no bob morales and callback i got fucking death threats for that shit. How dare you? People were not ready for that. Or Miles Morales. They were not ready. Oh, yeah. Miles Morales. I know now

because Miles Morales is another one of my favorite new Marvel heroes. So much backlash. Oh, the backlash was insane. Insane backlash. I know people like him more than Peter Parker. Yeah. On a personal level, people like him more than Peter Parker. Yeah.

On a personal level, I love him more than Peter Parker because all the stuff he does, he's more powerful to me. Miles Morales and that whole thing, to me, that was all inspired by Static. For real. It really was. Yeah, they got the same vibe and everything. Static walked so Miles could run. It was brilliant. And we loved it. And then they did the movies, and it was even It was brilliant And we loved it And then they did the movies

And it was even more brilliant And we loved it But the thing was Nobody at Milestone I've said this to Axl Nobody at Milestone We couldn't get mad Like, you know

And I couldn't get mad at Miles Morales The spectacular Spider-Man Being so much like Static Because Static was inspired by Spider-Man We basically said Gee, what if What if like the whole high school being so much like static because static was inspired by spider. We basically said, gee, what if,

what if like the whole high school getting bitten by a spider, being a nerd, not being accepted, being like a science geek and all that stuff, all that stuff came from spider-man. Oh man. I actually never realized that. Yeah. We made it a black character and gave it,

you know, that kind of flavor informed by our experiences. I didn't know that at all. That's crazy because Miles used lightning. It was like it was kind of everything flipped in on itself when Spectacular Spider-Man came out because it was like, well, we can't say anything. It's like, damn, we got them and then they got their lick back.

That's crazy. They had to get them and then they got their lick back. That's crazy. They had to get theirs back and they did. But Static is still a great character and still stands tall. The ultimate movie would be a team up with those two. That. That'd be beautiful. Epic minds. If they ever do one of them random DC Marvel crossover comic series again, that's probably not going to happen.

That would be hot, too, right? They got to meet each other and at least do the, what it was on Predator, the son of a bitch. So, we got one more question. I got one more after this one. Okay, you got one more. But back to Illuminati and our relationship with Charlemagne. How did our relationship with Charlemagne start? And, you know, how did y'all come together on this project?

We started with Charlemagne a few years ago and realized he had an interest in getting into publishing. And we understood part of his mandate, his personal mandate, he wanted to get behind Black creators in a big way. And he loves comic books. So we said, look, let's work together. Let's work together. We want to work with you to do this. It's a priority for us. It's a priority for you. We're like minds. Let's work together. And then when we got to formally talking to him alone, that's when I realized

I had to pitch from Brian. And I thought, black Illuminati? He might like this. You know? Easy as that. He's been a dream to work with. He has just enough involvement to keep it real you know and uh and to make sure that it's on point but he's not uh he's not intrusive and he's not he's not a control freak yeah i gotta attest to that working with working with him we've been one of what four years almost five years and we're making yeah making it so it's

been amazing so yeah we could also attest to that. You should put a word in his ear that we too are also writers. And you know, so we have some ideas we'd like to bring. You know, just a quick slide in, quick slide in, help.

He wrote that, and we read it. I remember when I read it I remember thinking at the time wow some of this stuff seems a little far fetched but this is a comic book so you know and then come to find out no none of it was far fetched

it's 2024 now one thing I drew was far fetched compared to everything that's come out now about when last time you been to Florida Now, one thing I drew was far-fetched compared to everything that's come out now. When was the last time you've been to Florida? I don't even remember. Go back. Exactly.

Go now. You'll see some things and hear some stuff, man. I usually end with these questions. These are my rapid-fire questions. I have coming folks on here. All right. First, chocolate or vanilla? He's starting off basic.

That's very basic. Chocolate or vanilla? I'm going to be unpopular, but I like vanilla ice cream more than chocolate. I do like vanilla ice cream more than chocolate. My people all like chocolate. No, I like them all coffee, coffee, coffee. I'm a chocolate person, but I appreciate vanilla.. Coffee. Coffee. I'm a coffee person. But I appreciate vanilla.

All right. Batman or Superman? Batman. Batman. Here we go. Eli is our resident Batman hater. He hates Batman. But obviously, I love Batman.

We got the win. We getting back. It's a good day now. What are y'all thoughts on Free Willy? Oh, God. Shut up. I want to hear their thoughts. Ask another question. I think Free Willy is one of the best movies of all time.

What are y'all thoughts on Free Willy? No, you did not just bring it up in an interview. Yes, I did. Yes, I did. What is it? I haven't seen it. Michael Madsen. Free Willy.

You never seen Free Willy? I haven't seen it. Yeah, swear to God. None. I haven't seen it. I've seen never seen Free Willy I haven't seen it yeah swear to God none I've seen West Park Dogs he's in that too right who

isn't he in that too show the fuck he is yes he is in it yeah so it's too extreme you remember the song Michael Jackson made the song about

it's too extreme I forgot which one it was Axl how old are you me yeah 54 55 55

okay it makes sense it makes sense yeah I'm a little man I'm a little man How old are you? Me? Yeah. 54. 55. 55. Okay. It makes sense. It makes sense. I'm a little man. It's a 90s kid thing. I understand. I can understand.

My kids are about 48. You know good what I... Shut up, man. They can tell I ain't 48, man. You know what's rapid fire questions? One last question for rapid fire. Please don't make me stupid. One last question for rapid fire. Please don't make me stupid. One last question. If you could write or make any movie, comic book movie, that you could think of, any comic book movie, past, present, future, whatever you want to do, what would you write or make, Axel?

We're talking about existing characters? Existing characters. Punisher, for sure. Punisher, okay. Yeah. Nice. Dennis? I would do Iconic Rocket. Okay okay Yeah Nice I would do

Icon of Rocket Okay Yes I would do Icon of Rocket And then I would get Star Wars Yes Alright

That just needs to be In the atmosphere We need to mention that more Because I really would love To see Icon of Rocket Movie also Yes But honestly

I'd rather create Something new Myself Right I like creating stuff That's new You know It is time for some new shit Instead of just Yes You know But honestly, I'd rather create something new myself. Right? I like creating stuff that's new, you know?

It is time for some new shit instead of just, you know, I'm tired of the classic reboots. I'm tired of the Star Wars, put a woman in it and make it gay. We could deal with some new shit and it's probably going to boom off the soul fat. We just tired of everything getting rebooted right now. We got this book called Illuminati. You should check that out. Yeah this book called Illuminati. You should check that out. Right. Illuminati.

I can't wait. I automized. I can't wait for it to come in. I'm definitely going to... I like to do a comic book review, so I'm definitely going to review it. This is built to last. This is built to last, too. The story is complete, but there's threads for more stories to be told. It's a franchise. And shout out to Breaking the Gold, Doubling the Gold.

Y'all had a 10K goal and y'all had 20K. Yeah. Stuck in. Let's go. Go on. Making it. So people are supporting.

So make sure y'all go to Kickstarter, look up the Illuminati and go, you know, check it out. Yes. Buy the book. Back the project. And a campaign.

Everyone, please get out there. Like Dre said, buy the book, to the project. And a campaign. Everyone, please get out there. Like Dre said, buy the book, support the project. The campaign ends October 22nd. And also, you can see these guys at New York Comic Con. What is that coming up if you want to plug the dates? If y'all want to let the audience know. And also, let them know your socials if you have them out there. Please.

Oh, yeah. I'm at DennisCownArt on Instagram, at DennisCownArt on Instagram, DennisCownArt on Facebook. You can find me. I'm just Twitter, Axel Alonzo Marv. A-X-E-L-A-L-O-N-S-O-M-A-R-V. That's my only social.

I don't do Facebook. I don't do anything like that. I have an Instagram account just to check out basketball videos of my sons, my son, you know, make sure he's still alive. And also in closing, yeah,

you can check out that New York Come and Come panel. October 18th at 345 p.m. It'll be the panel on Illuminati with these guys here, Axel and Dennis,

who are also joined by the boss man, Charlemagne, the guy. It's going to be amazing. I can't wait to see more from the story and I can't wait to see more from you guys. This is amazing to sit down with both of you

and dream come true. Alright, we're going to go to a quick break but when we come back best in class after this. 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 Keys opens up about conquering doubt,

learning to trust herself, and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves. For self-preservation and protection. It was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace Grace, 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, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy

with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. 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. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa,

it was called a moment. 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 iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Black boxing stars and black music royalty together in the heart of Zaire, Africa.

Three days of music and then the boxing event. What was going on in the world at the time made this fight as important that anything else is going on on the planet. My grandfather laid on the ropes and let George Foreman basically just punch himself out. Welcome to Rumble, the story of a world in transformation. The 60s and prior to that, you couldn't call a person black. And how we arrived at this peak moment. I don't have to be what you want me to be. We all came from the continent of Africa.

Listen to Rumble, Ali, Foreman, and the Soul of 74 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean. He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba.

He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh. And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere. Elian Gonzalez. Elian Gonzalez. Elian. Elian. Elian Gonzalez. At the heart of the story is a young boy and the question of who he belongs with.

His father in Cuba. Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him. Or his relatives in Miami. Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom. At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation.

Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story, as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jack Peace Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary

enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of Black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And we are back. So we've got another edition of Best in Class. We're going to the dojo with Drake. Dojo! I appreciate it, darling. All right. What's up, Padawans?

Y'all know we are just running through this long-ass scroll we call time, and we're doing the best class. Well, we just shine some spotlight on new, I was going to say new games, on games of the olden years that were the bee's knees of his time. And this year, this week, we are in the jolly old year of 1998. So let's pop it off with one of the goats, Banjo-Kazooie.

Oh, was that not it? Yep. Yep. Yep. It was bad. It was bad Junkers to me. Yep. And let's try it again, though. Okay.

All right. Hey, that's funny that, like, I'm looking at the IMDB list and three of the top five on Super Smash Bros. But another Nintendo Go? Gex Enter the Gecko. Oh, is that? Man, I guess I'm not really striking on this one. The Gex Enter the Gecko really come out in 98. Sure did.

I fucking did. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. True. Ocarina of Time. Ah, my fucking hair. Ah, that's funny. My personal favorite Zelda game.

And Ocarina of Time. Tony, who had the better soundtrack? Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask? Right? That's a tough one. I'm going to go with Majora's Mask. I think there was a lot more. He cooked on that.

Yeah, I got to agree. Yeah, I'm with you. Everyone loves Lost Woods, but I think that's kind of, well, Zelda's Lullaby. You get what I'm saying? I still think Majora's Mask. I mean, but I'm biased. I like Majora's Mask better than Ocarina of Time. Didn't Majora's Mask have that song

that the dude made? He was probably on cocaine when he made it. Which one? It's a few of them. It's a few of them. That's a goat. But next to plenty of shit. I've never played next... That's a goat. But next up, funny shit. I've never played the first one. I played the second one only because

of... Do y'all remember the orange box that came out on Xbox and PS2 that had Team Fortress and Half-Life 2? That's the only... Encounter Strike. That was the third one. That's the only way I was ever able to play Half-Life, but Half-Life 1 dropped.

That story still confuses me, but I'm pretty sure we're never getting Half-Life 3. I'm sorry. And next up, another one of my personal favorites. And the beginning of me being a conspiracy-like theorist. Metal Gear Solid. The beginning of the real adventures of the GOAT. Another Super Smash Brothers MVP. Solid Snake.

That was the beginning of me with stealth games. Because I didn't have an Xbox growing up. So I got Sam Fisher kind of late. I didn't even know where this nigga. I just knew Snake type shit. Next up, we got the beginning of me falling in love with zombie games. Resident Evil 2. Still traumatized me to this day day to the point where I had to buy the remake just to beat it to prove some shit to myself. I needed that.

That was for me. We got Fallout 2. The beginning of like the beginning of like Super Light Team competitive shooting. We got Rainbow Six. Was Rainbow Six a multiplayer competitive game at first or was it a story? the beginning of like super like team competitive shooting we got rainbow six was rainbow six a multiplayer competitive game at first or was it a story no it was a single player story right yeah but rainbow six the first one dropped in 98 let's keep going we got bald like i know like rainbow six because rainbow six because i remember ve. Vegas was hard. It's fucked. I don't know how

I was just saying shit. Yeah, don't listen to him. I'm dead. I'm trying to think of anything else that I see that's wiggity wiggity worth it.

Oh, and the beginning of the light. This is me falling into tech and we got tech in three and I can close it with that.

I can close it with tech in three because that's the beginning of Gen becoming my main. And 98 for me was a big year of gaming for me. I got a Nintendo.

This was like the time my grandmother was doing her best. And she worked for like Mobile Oil. And we were well off. If you had some shit, you got it. Yeah. I had a Nintendo 64 and a

PlayStation and a Game Boy. I was the kid that everyone came over to my house to play games. I had... Nice. Wasn't ever invited. Just putting that out there. That's fucked up, man there I didn't know you Because you were black, huh?

No I had black friends No, we really didn't even meet each other Until high school So I had Spyro, great game They also came out that year In 98, damn

Sure did I had Gex. I mentioned that earlier. Hey, I played all of them bitches. My mom pawned that game, so I didn't have it for a long time. That's the one game like, if I ever rented it from the

like, funny shit, our county market had a video store inside of it, so you could get groceries and rent movies. So I'd always get, every time a Gecko Against Gecko game came out, I'd rent that bitch for like three days, and I'm trying to beat that bitch before I got to take it back. Was it like a store inside a store? Yeah.

Our Fiesta used to have that. Yeah. Fiesta and Dorancho. They had like a Hollywood video inside of it. Type shit. And that's where, and funny shit, He's got like a Hollywood video inside of him. Type shit. And that's where, in funny shit, that's where Hollywood,

I was, it was one of them that wasn't blockbuster, that sold movies. They came from like the inside of like the grocery store.

Then they got their own building. It's like, damn, that's nasty. Oh, and on the Dreamcast, I had Sonic Adventure. That came out

this year. Love that game. Also, I would always go play this in... It wasn't Fiesta. It was a different store by John Quincy Adams. Malone's. It was another Mexican store. It was kind of like pre

Fiesta. It was Marvel vs. Capcom. Over and off of Bunker. Yeah. It's still there. Is it? Oh, it is. Holy shit. And then Pokemon Yellow came out this year. That was my first Pokemon game. I didn't start with red or blue.

Oh, damn. I started on red. Yeah, I started with yellow because I loved the show. So I was like, oh, there's a game and yellow follows Ash. Yeah, that's the one shit. It followed the entire show, but instead of you picking, it gave you Pikachu.

Yeah, which always made me mad. I couldn't evolve him. I was like, take this Thunderstone. Boy, it pissed off everybody. I don't want to evolve my nigga. I caught a Pikachu and evolved it to a Raichu and put that Pikachu in my box. You couldn't. And Yellow, it was like Ash's Pikachu. nigga. I caught a Pikachu and evolved it to a Raichu and put that Pikachu in my box. You couldn't.

In Yellow, it was like Ash's Pikachu. You couldn't put it in a box. You couldn't evolve it. It had to be with you. Yeah. It followed you all the time. Well, I don't know what I did that in. Well, it had to be Red or Blue because that was before Yellow. Right. Mario Party

came out this year. That was Destruction of Friendships. Wait, that was 64? Yeah, that is 64. Yeah. Ooh, Friendships, we're lost in that game. Fuck Monopoly.

We had Crash Bandicoot Warped. I played that a lot. That was the third one, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. That was another game I played at that girl's house where I saw her. You like bringing that story up.

You must have her, like, burned in your memory. I played it. That was probably my first naked woman I've seen up close and personal. And also, I played a lot of games in that house. I don't know why. I was over there a lot. Well, you had a crush on her. That makes sense.

I had a crush on the dog. It's not the mom. I mean, after I saw her naked at the end. Right. Then I got two more lesser- known ones that I really enjoyed. Gray Fencer, Musashi. Was that the sword fighting game? No.

He did have a sword. No, he didn't. Or did he kind of look like Final Fantasy VII style bodies? Yeah. Yeah, I do remember that shit. That was a great game. I only, I have,

that's like a kind of a core memory. Cause whenever he would die, he would be like, when I, when I get reincarnated, I want to be Musashi again. And I'm like, you know what?

I feel that. And then Turok 2. I never beat that game. Never, never in my life. Still haven't gone back to beat it. It was difficult for me. You know, it's on Switch now.

They just dropped. They picked the first two on their bit. And then my mom pawned it. I'm joking, Dad. My mom pawned a lot of my games. I see. I see. I see.

God. I'll just pray you beat them before then. I didn't. Damn. So I would go to Mexico, right, because I had to go visit my dad. I'd go to Mexico for a summer. I'd come back, half my games are gone. Shit, gone.

And then I would have to complain to my grandma. My grandma would tell her to go get them. And then maybe I'd get them back if she didn't do it at the start of the summer. If it was at the start of the summer, they're gone. Because it had already been like three months or whatever. She missed the shit. If it's at the start of the summer, they're gone. Because it's already been like three months or whatever. She missed the shit. That's fucked up. Eli, you got anything?

Why did you have an undershirt on for the interview and you had a shirt on now? You should have just kept the damn shirt on. I was sweating. I had to wait for the shirt. I was sure about saying, where the fuck did you put a shirt on? We're moving the washing machine in the house. Well, dang, what was it?

I got off track. Dang, Xavier. Rainbow Six Siege, yeah. I mean, Rainbow Six. That's what I remember the most. My 98. That's also what I'm going to say. I ain't even know if the first one came.

I remember playing that. I remember playing that at school. That's the first time I played it. Really? At school? Yeah, at school. They used to have everything at school. He was one of the smart kids, so they had more privilege. That was very, very... Why you say I'm salty, bro? Because it was some bullshit.

They should have not let, separated the smart kids. I could even go on fucking field trips because I was dumb. That's some bullshit, bro. Okay, that's a personal problem. Oh, that's 98. I remember doing it. Oh yeah, Pokemon Yellow.

That's what I remember. That's probably what I remember. Pokemon Yellow. You had Pikachu follow you around. That's what I remember. Did you forget? Was you not paying attention the entire time we were talking about this? No, follow you around. That's what I remember. Was you not paying attention the entire time we was talking about this? No, he wasn't. He was over there putting his

stupid shirt on. Okay, they make sense now. That's why I was like, when the fuck did you put a shirt on? In my games. 9-8 was kind of dry. I ain't gonna lie. It had some sleeper hits. Nah, that was a big year for me. I ain't gonna lie. It had some sleepy hits. Nah, that was a big year for me.

I don't see no hits on her. The first Metal Gear Solid, nigga? That was the beginning of stealth games. That's not in my wheelhouse. Not a Metal Gear Solid guy. Yeah, ain't your thing. 98 was

kind of towards the end of 64, but 64 was still coming out with nice ass games. But I guess while we still on game and whatnot, just another, I'm so ready for Dragon Ball Sparkling Zero, Sparking Zero. I don't know why I keep on saying Spark, Sparking Zero.

It's going to be nice. Good old punching time. It's Tokyo game nice. Good old punching time. It's Tokyo Game Show at the moment, so next week we'll come with some more news on everything that's coming up, but I will say, damn, I did see

some more Civilization 7 stuff. Nice. Nice. I saw the Shadows, the Sonic Shadow Generations trailer trailer apparently they're gonna have a uh chapter i guess for the mood like a little prelude prequel chapter for shadow storyline that go into the movie we uh oh yeah i heard about that yeah we can't no voice in them and shit i was like okay i see what y'all doing right there that's nice it's kind of neat i like that i've been seeing a lot about the immortal combat chaos reign stuff and all that

but it's like ah i just don't know because if they ain't think last time i played the system was i'm gonna just say i ain't like shit need to be rebalanced i don't like it right now tony did you also see that Power World is coming to PlayStation 5 in light of the lawsuit? Yeah, they did it at the Tokyo Game Show. They said, fuck y'all. I was like, dude.

I was like, ooh, okay. Drop your dick on the table, my niggas. I respect you. That can't even be bad. Take that shit. Try it. I mean, this is one of the rare times I'm gonna to those sides no I'm not

I'm not I'm not they kinda I mean what they're suing for is kinda BS but still they that's why I'm saying

you gotta come with a better reason if you're gonna do some shit like that well then maybe Game Freak should stop throwing out slop every other year

that too like they got they need the competition they got the Madden and 2K curse. Yeah. They haven't had competition for like a fucking decade.

They're coasting. They're coasting. Dude, they're mid as fuck. Ain't no way. Yes, they are. Last year, when we were swarming the shield, after that, it was fucking heat. You talking about the arcane shit? Yeah. After that one, it took a heap. You talking about the Arcade

shit? Yeah. That went in a Pokemon game. That was like a story mode type shit. I don't know why it was trash, but other than that, it was great. Anywho, so we can get to the trailer. We can get to the movie trailer. Okay, we finally got the

sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yota, which is I'm ready for. I thought y'all know Ghost of Tsushima was my shit. I still got my Ghost of Tsushima hoodie and backpack. I'm lit for that. Dynasty Warrior Origins is still looking really nice. Horizon Zero Dawn getting upgraded, remastered.

All right, I didn't ask for it, but I feel like this is one of those y'all should've just gave everybody that got the actual shit for free for that $10 shit. If it was five, I would've did it. I ain't gonna lie. But right now, I leave it to next week to get the rest of them, but this one messed me up a little bit,

because I was like, it could work. So, okay. They got a Stella Blade DLC coming up and it's going to be a, what's the word? A collaboration with Nier Automata. Automata P. Nier Automata with the

what it is? Not 2D. It's the girl with the white hair that got the eye patch. It's an RPG. And who don't worry about it. Which makes the eye patch. I hate that. He ain't never played it. It's an RPG. And who don't worry about it? Which makes kind of sense.

It could work. So I want to see what they're going to do with that. That's neat. Because Stella Blade got it. If that ain't like a game of the year nominee, I swear to God, it was a lot of fat white women over this board picking these games. I'm standing on it. Yep. That's right.

But game-wise, I'm going to come next week with some more news. Oh yeah, that Meta Good Solid Delta trailer is shelf kids. Go check that bitch out. I'm just mad Hideo is not part of this. I still don't like that. I don't like y'all know I don't like how Konami did

Hideo Kojima. But yeah, this look damn good though We reached the end to another Exciting episode of the Trap Nerds Podcast Make sure y'all go check out Illuminati and make sure y'all go check out The Kickstarter campaign You're gonna go to www.awastudios.com

Slash Illuminati Check out the tiers, they got a lot of stuff available The hoodies, the merch, the hats, and also the comic book series. It's going to be amazing. It's going to come out. I'll be reviewing it very soon. They're also going to be at the New York City Comic Con, October 18th at 3.45pm.

It's going to be an Illuminati panel with Dennis, Axel, Charlamagne Tha Guy, and some more of the creators of the Illuminati comic book series. Alright, let's sign off. Dre. That shit was stressing you out, bro. It was. God damn.

I'm sorry. It's always fun with you, boy. Popcorn, this is your Niles Social. Damn, my voice cracked like a motherfucker at the end of it. But, yeah, I'm finished. I think I'm at the end of the Jedi Council right through. Do I have a main storyline?

The one through 50. The one through 50 story? Yeah, because I'm at level, I'm damn I'm at level like 68 right now. Oh. Type shit, so yeah, you know, I do the side missions. I'm the side mission assassin. I'm doing all of them, damn it. So yeah,

I'm almost done with that. Then I'm gonna do the DLCs and I think I'm a side mission assassin. I'm doing all of them, damn it. So, yeah, I'm almost done with that. Then I'm going to do the DLCs, and I think I'm going to start my Hun solo playthrough. I'm just going straight to the dark side. I don't know which one yet. I'm debating. If you start a new character, you just want to help me do random quests and just cheer for the story, y'all know y'all more than welcome. Because the dude gave me like a million dollars

the last week, which is cool. So, isn't it? I'm chilling. Hit me up. VX Fashion, all platforms. I will be streaming

this week. Follow me on Instagram at TheRealSonEli. Follow me on Twitch at OfficialSonEli. I will be streaming with Tony this week whenever he streams.

That nigga also live. He's going to keep me honest, see? So all the way to I stream and Tony stream. So let's go. Make sure y'all follow Trapped to Risk Podcast Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Appreciate all the love, support as always. Make sure y'all follow me though. Same faces. E-X-Man PG. X-Man PG. And make sure y'all

call me like never mind. I need to stop smoking weed. That's so wild. I smoked the entire keep that in. That don't make no sense. That's ridiculous.

Go man. This is Trap Nerds Podcast. Yeah. Oh yeah. Make sure y'all go check out Stand Up MVs every third Saturdays. This is Trap Nerds Podcast. Oh yeah. I'm going to be streaming too. I'll be back streaming. Awesome. Yeah, oh yeah, make sure y'all go check out Stand Up MVP's every third Saturdays, man.

This is Trap Nurse Podcast. Oh yeah, I'm going to be streaming too. I'll be back streaming. Awesome. This is Trap Nurse Podcast. All these niggas are lying, bro. This is Trap Nurse Podcast. We are out.

We up. Listen to the Trap Nurse Podcast every Monday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know?

I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa It was called a moment 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. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017, was assassinated. Crooks Everywhere unearths the plot to murder a one-woman WikiLeaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. Listen to Crooks everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, and I'm a scientist who studies human behavior. Many of us have experienced a moment in our lives that changes everything,

that instantly divides our life into a before and an after. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I talk to people about navigating these moments. Their stories are full of candor and hard-won wisdom. And you'll hear from scientists who teach us how we can be more resilient in the face of change. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Justin Richmond, host of the Broken Record Podcast. Every week, I or my co-host, Leah Rose, sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. Our new series is looking at one of the most influential jazz labels ever, Blue Note Records.

You'll hear from artists like legendary bassist Ron Carter, singer-songwriter Noah Jones, and guitarist Julian Lodge. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.