Latest / Nightmare Success In and Out / Slums of Detroit to Leader of Youth for good- Phillip Sample

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Slums of Detroit to Leader of Youth for good- Phillip Sample · Nightmare Success In and Out

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What happens when he works here? Becomes your reality.
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Hi. I'm Brian Cassidy.
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Welcome to the nightmare. Success in and out podcast,
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where we explore a, how to overcome your fears.
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And Nightmares is set yourself free.
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We're going to be exploring this topic with guys that was in
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Leavenworth with and others who survived their own nightmare.
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These stories can be inspiring. Sometimes sad, there's some
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humor but hopefully you can come away with a nugget of something
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that will help you knock down some of the prisons.
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You Built up in your own mind. Welcome back nightmares success
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in and out listeners. I have a great guest today, you
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know, and I love these type of guests where I get referrals
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from great guest. I mean, I can't imagine Marvin
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cotton Junior and Philip sample being in the same room, just
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talking shop, but these guys are out doing stuff in the community
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making stuff happen. And so when Marvin Gaye me
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Phillips name, he was telling me a little bit about him and, and
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So I went and started checking it out, what Marvin told me,
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man. Phillip is just I'm going to
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just read in a little bit about his story just because it's such
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a fascinating transformation, but Phillip sample was born in
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impoverished. Detroit, Michigan.
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He was raised between the slums of Detroit, Michigan of the
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gang, red and south side of Chicago, Illinois.
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As a result of A Dysfunctional unstable housing, L education
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violence. Philip became product of this
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environment. He joined a gang at The new
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years old became a leader of his own gang by the time he was 14,
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Philip got caught up got felonies when he was in juvenile
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but at 18 years old, he had been he was convicted of three counts
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of assault with intent to commit murder at the age of 18 years
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old for anywhere from 12 to 20 years.
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He was looking at while he was in prison, he just was a
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complete self evaluation. Self transformation and he was
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released after 15 years. In prison, Philip hit the ground
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running and he returned back to his old neighborhood.
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And he wanted to make amends for his past actions and contribute
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to rebuilding that community. And he is currently the owner of
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The Passion of the Life LLC, he's the author of the book, The
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Passion of the life, the life Let's see, what is it?
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The life death and resurrection of Philips sample.
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He just and he founded and established responsible able
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hands and minds of Detroit and what I just want to read real
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quick what it does because it's just it's everything that we
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think we want and he's put it in an injecting into the community.
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Its phase 3 of a three-year plan to build a space a place Or the
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community can learn place to inspire the senses and
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alternative to incarceration for our youth, a place for resources
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and opportunity as well as clearing.
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Lots beautifying, Lots establishing Gardens in areas of
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recreation and entertainment and culture.
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They'll be teaching the youth enduring skills and all
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different types of fields. And this will continue the
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process of strengthening the family community and strengthen
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the bonds and inside the community.
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Unbelievable stuff and he's got a documentary, a documentary
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that he's working on Tuesday. He's just a busy busy man, I
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really appreciate Philip you taking the time here today to
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get your voice out and and their story because I think it's
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something that is inspiring and that's what people need, you
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know, hear that. Hey, it's not, it's not the end.
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It's it can be a new beginning and you, you completely
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transformed. So Philip man.
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Welcome. Thank you, thank you.
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Thank you for having so Philip, you know, I just touched on it a
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little bit, but growing up where you grew up in such a tough
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environment as a kid. Can you bring me back kind of
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walk us through your life as a kid when you were in?
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You know, your family brothers, sisters?
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What was life like? So, I was definitely happy.
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Child. It respective of what was going
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on around me. I call it my Endeavor to fight
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down the Beast. Yeah, I grew up in, you know,
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Chicago, Detroit back and forth, all my young life between game,
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gives them and drugs and alcoholism and domestic
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violence. And just You know all the stuff
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that we deal with in our communities due to Idle, Hands,
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dysfunctional, education. Which wasn't what I was curious.
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Like, with your home life, your direct home life.
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Mom mom, single mom. My father was an old married,
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man with children. My mother was a young girl.
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He chose family, which makes sense I guess I think any
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relationship with him. Philip only I wouldn't probably
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know him as he walked past the last I got hit with a, you know,
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some energy of something. no, no no relationship with him at all,
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you know, I actually found them Not too long ago, you know, and,
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you know, I was intent on reaching out, but I changed my
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mind. You know, today, I'm driven
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about her morals and principles then.
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And I believe, a lot of the problems that I faced it went
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through a lot of the problems that the community is due to a
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lack of father. So, yeah, I don't respect that.
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So, you know, I chose to go to be just, you know, I'm godson.
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You know what I mean? Yeah.
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Yeah, yeah. Brothers and brothers and
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sisters. You have brothers and sisters.
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I have a younger sister and a younger brother.
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We all have different fathers. My brother's father was murdered
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when he was a baby. I became father like at 10 years
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old. My sister father, he's still
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around, you know, good positive person, definitely in my life
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you know cool dude you know, but a whole bunch of step is that's
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what you know in and out of dudes.
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Looking for whatever they were looking for and never, you know,
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formed a relationship with any of them.
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Never really respected. Any other side.
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Always said I would never be that guy, you know, he almost
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like enough it is do The opposite of what they were
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doing. Oh absolutely.
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Your life. And it garbage bag with with a
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woman can tell you to go come you know as she pleases never
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respected them. Yeah.
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So when you when when things you know I obviously in that
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neighborhood you what you were seeing as a kid was probably a
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little bit normalized. Was it?
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What did you fear the streets? Or does it feel like that there
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was something because you were kind of born into that that
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world. Would that it felt normal to
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you? So I definitely did clear the
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streets. I got 19 aunties and uncles and
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we were a tribe and hundreds of thousands of cousin in Detroit
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and Chicago and we took care of each other.
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So I didn't fear the street. I mean, you know, I've been in
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the house where the house was shot up.
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Of course. That's a scary moment.
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Yeah. But you know, don't you know,
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one how would you have been Philip when that happened were
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you? first time baby, maybe like 10
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11, you know, But but violence, nonetheless, from as far as I
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can remember back, you know, to the point where I was
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desensitized to a very young because I was one of my favorite
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movies is boys in the hood and like, how real is that too?
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You know, you see the kids walking, you know, Ricky's got
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his football. They go to see the dead body and
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the bigger kids come and, you know, the one guy takes his
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football and the other guys like, you know, even though
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they're tough, guys, he's like, man, we shouldn't take that
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guys. Ball.
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I mean, did did you have kind of like, Mentor type people that
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you looked up to in there a little bit?
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Mom was my uncle's with straight people.
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Yeah, i--'cause older cousins were Street people.
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And, you know, after that, part of that movie, that's just the
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way that we love on one another, you know, you know, it's hard.
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You know. It's this guy is lying, like,
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like five. Like, right.
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So, you know and my estate Didn't, you know?
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It's a thin line between bullying and preparation, I
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guess. Yeah, that's a good statement
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because you got to be strong enough to be in that world.
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Can't be soft but you got into it really early.
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I mean, you know, I was reading your bio, you know, at 11 years
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old. You're in the gang life. 14
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years old, you're the leader in the gang life.
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Well, I was around. Gang is them like forever?
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Yeah, and even when I, you know, made a decision, you know, to
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embrace that lifestyle I was still never like into gang
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violence. Yeah, like that didn't come
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until much later. Like I tell people, even in my
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Chicago days, you know, I would be 12 years old and I would
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catch the bus to El, you know, from 94 streets at 50% off and
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walk all the way, you know, through the projects that the
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time and go to school. And I never had, you know, those
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type of issues, people knew what I represented, you know, my
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family represented. So I had a little love and On
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both sides so I didn't I didn't really, you know, participate in
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gang violence when I was in Chicago.
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That's the funny thing. Yeah, so when you got into so
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we're I was going to ask you that.
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So school-wise did you have a group of guys friends that you
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went to school with and and was life?
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You know was school school? I mean, was, did you go to
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school and not school fast-forward to 8th grade?
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1989 ish? Yeah.
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Schools the Battle Zone. They had to do was, you know, I
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got to talk about in my book. It was the divisions.
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If you live, six mile away, you went one way you live seven
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miles. So school school became
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something else. You know, it's hard to listen
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when the guy sitting next to you got a hot one in his pocket and
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can go off at any point, you know.
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So School definitely became something else.
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I was intelligent. Now I'm the less.
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But I just I just lost it and like you talking about past and
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history and the Beautiful Things That dr.
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King did. But I'm living in poverty and
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violence and confusion like right now.
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Yeah. So when your nightmare happened,
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the big one, when it all came down, on that street corner, he
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kind of walks through that whole, you know, that's, I can't
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get a whole lot out of how that how that could have all felt
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When it happened, how it happened.
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So, just to give you some context.
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We take two game, gives them in part due to a lack of not have
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my identity, a Purvis a place. So when gang gives them offers
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this in an obsession or what, I would like to call a fatal
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attractions food and I became married to that thing.
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My claim to fame was to take care of my neighborhood.
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Look, after the people there, look after the lady next door
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and Return in my neighborhood. I'm loved I'm I'm celebrated.
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So on that day, I had already been locked up on fire gun case
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and I was in the halfway house and I was allowed to go home for
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a weekend, right? It's like the fertilizer past.
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So again, you know, the community are, you know, the
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phone boy big homie home or whatnot so it was, it was a
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party. It was a celebration.
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And I guess what we call the op saw that as opportunity.
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So, what we will call slide nowadays, right?
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So, you know, they came through one time and you know, and you
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know, just Street Rules of Engagement.
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That's not something that they do.
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We don't ride down a block, they don't ride down our block.
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Let's just deal. And it's so, you know, we kind
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of like, oh, wow, what was that prepared?
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Accordingly? Happy shot or deal with.
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They was going to do at that first pass.
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They might have got down because we was not ready at all but you
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know we prepared Unfortunately, they came back right back.
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They went down there. Gunfire erupted.
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I found out. So I ran jumped in the car.
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With my friend. We went to my wife was my wife.
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Now, we went to her house and my pager was blowing up 911.
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I called the block back. You know, we had a pay phone on
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the Block that we would call back.
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And basically, you know, that's when I found out that, that a
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baby had been shot in the crossfire of a shootout or
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whatever, or a bullet, ricocheted off the, you know,
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some type of way of baby, haven't shot in the crossfire,
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so, You know, I fell back on the porch light with no way, you
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know. Like so I told my homeboy, like,
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take me back to the block. Be like, yeah, like how would
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make no sense? Like I'm going to take you to
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your mama. So I went home.
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Couldn't sleep, of course, just trying to figure out like, you
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know, I didn't see, you know, the streets will clear but the
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baby and his mother was actually in the store.
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Just just going through it in my head like, you know, like well,
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how do you know what's exciting? next morning, one of my homeboys
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had told only So, the police called me basically, like, you
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know, who this is, I was like, yeah, and he was like, where you
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at. I'm like, you know, given that
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she got the number you, I'm assuming, you know, where I'm
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at. And they did, and they came and
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got me, and I was charged with one count of first-degree
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murder, for the child, and two counts of assault with intent to
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commit murder. Three counts of assault with
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intent to commit murder when did trial.
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So let me give you some deep psychological stuff right here,
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right? Yeah.
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I was willing to take a plea for more time.
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If they would have dropped the murder charge on the baby if
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that makes sense. I didn't want to go to jail with
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that. I didn't care if it means doing
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30 years for assault with intent to commit murder.
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I can accept that, but I could go to prison with that only,
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they didn't buy that. So I went to trial, I get that
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Our brother was twenty seven Witnesses against me one,
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witness for me. Bless her heart and I kind of
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felt like all the sacrifices that I have made.
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You know, I've devoted my life, my freedom, my safety.
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I said these people and to have nobody in support of that was
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like just brought lies in bro. And then again, some of my own
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people testified on. So you know, I was In a bad way,
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bad. I've been a prayer.
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I pray. I've been a prayer my whole
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life. I feel he even has my lowest of
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lows. I never lost sight of what God
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means to me, or has the power to do.
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So, at one point in the trial, you know, I got on my knees,
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man. I was in the bullpen, I got on
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my knees and said you know you know my heart is always out of.
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Yeah so it's that the other so I go back on City courtroom you
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know the next very next person that took the stand was owner of
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the store and basically in his testimony he said it was damaged
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to both sides of the story broke.
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That was like the light came on in the room.
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The next person took the stand basically said that, it was the
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ballistic specialist that shell, casings 1 through, whatever it
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was definitely came from the weapon, I was firing.
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But this number that number and that number came from a
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different way. So that you know you know
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anything about law that created what we call a shadow of a
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doubt, right? Dad found not guilty of the
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murder of the baby. But profoundly guilty in my own
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conscious, of course, and I carry with me City's very days
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and it's just, I think about it. When I tell the story is that
18:53
pointing, at now as it was that day, 30 years later, you know, I
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can hear the emotion in your voice.
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When you tell this story, it's it had to been, what did you
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what were you feeling? When it came back and they said,
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you were guilty. I mean, that had to have been
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like It was it was, it was relieving but at the same time
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not so much. So because again, you know, that
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didn't bring the child back. Right.
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Right. You know, first two years in
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prison was how to kill myself without it hurting so bad you
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won't. Like like life called for life.
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You know, you trying to say my bad you know I'm talking about,
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right? That was where my thinking was.
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At some point, you know, that's how the book has I would be, you
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know, like I did here like I'm trapped in the most, you know,
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after situation, I would have never saw coming, right?
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So, I start thinking about life and just You know, everything
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that got me up and say that point I just, you know, start
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writing stuff down but you know, at some point I got possessed to
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want to live and to life. You know, to do your balls off
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the cliff for the toilet or whatever.
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It had to be like the most colleges things I could have
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done. Um yeah.
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You know, it isn't that interesting though.
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Built all that happens, you know?
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Because they're all I think I don't know how many people ever
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get to that point where they get into a really, really dark place
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and they think that's an alternative.
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And you know, when that strikes you that, oh my God, that's the
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most cowardly thing in the world.
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That's almost Like, where it? Reignites everything.
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This is a good party. You to figure out, okay, how do
20:52
I climb out of this? You know what?
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Yeah, what is it, what is it? I need to do to find my passion
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again and it sounds like that you once that hits, you almost
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like at a rock-bottom you you found your way, you know,
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there's I guess there's you know, there's two ways we always
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talk about, you know, whether somebody is a victim or Survivor
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victim, points fingers and blames and whatever of Survivor
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just says I got it. Mine, but I'm good.
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I'm going to walk and get it somehow gives you strength to
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will yourself into whatever that is.
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You got to step into and it sounds like at some moment in
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the time period, you just something happened through your
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self-evaluation, that you felt some kind of transformation.
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Did you? Did you write it all before that
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it ever happened? It's something was the process
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and no Road. The book, my entire 15 years and
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I'm still writing on the book, it's two more parts and I saw it
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says part 1 on the book you had. Yeah, you're not done no do so
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you know the book was the book saying period.
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Yeah it was a big butt but even more than that it was like you
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know so my first study, you not studied everything under the
22:13
sun, one of my first studies with psychology, I wanted to
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know You know why? When I get angry it's so extreme
22:21
like why you know like what what where this is this.
22:25
These triggers come from, right. So I start like one of, you
22:29
know, again I called my case and my perspective in defense of the
22:34
block right watching my mother fight grown men, you know, being
22:38
the brunt of the bully, you know, it it instilled in me.
22:41
This want to be like, you know, I'm the bullies bully type of
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mentality, right? Yeah.
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Even though my message were ugly, I kind of felt like it was
22:52
coming from a place, right? Right.
22:54
But understand that, I wanted to process all that, right?
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So I start getting into the psychology and how the mind work
23:02
being sociology, right? How does how the mind works
23:05
correspond, with how Society works, right?
23:08
And, um, and I begin to see myself, man, And and and in that
23:15
scene, I began to be able to give myself definitely
23:21
responsible for my own actions, but realizing that some other
23:26
stuff affected me, right, not knowing how to process these
23:32
things, you know. Maybe then I never liked sitting
23:37
70. A bad person is just made me
23:40
other than the person. I feel my mother went through 19
23:44
hours of hard labor to bring to the world, right?
23:49
Yeah. That's deep and and you you
23:53
started getting deep into that and basically finding yourself
23:57
through all that. Yeah.
24:00
Yeah. So while you were while you were
24:04
doing that, you're in prison and and you're in prison for a
24:08
while, you know, I mean, you're not just in prison for a couple
24:12
of years. You're in prison of to, where
24:13
this is going to be your life for a while.
24:16
Did you? Do you have any particular
24:19
things? fill up that you did that I mean
24:24
obviously writing and studying this and getting more
24:31
Understanding of who you were, and why you did what you did,
24:34
and how you acted to certain things and getting an
24:37
understanding of all that. Do you think that was kind of a
24:40
an escape for you? While you were in prison to open
24:43
your mind and get all that new knowledge that kept you?
24:49
I don't know what would that be called Almost inspired of the
24:52
mine. Definitely, um, every day would
24:56
look the same, if you didn't learn something new today and
24:59
every day was the same. So I got obsessed with
25:02
knowledge. I learned from every religion,
25:04
every gang, every person and about four years ago.
25:10
And I joined the Nation of Islam became the minister of the
25:14
Nation of Islam for the rest of my being.
25:19
And that just took everything that I thought I was through a
25:23
hold of. Level.
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Chest chest, and, you know, and when I practice something I do
25:29
it wholeheartedly, but I gangbang gangbang car.
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When I was pushing what we call the program, you know, I push
25:38
the program hard, you know I prayed what I was supposed to
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pray. I ain't the way I was supposed
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to eat. I fasted the way I was supposed
25:46
to fast and therefore I reached the ultimate benefit of that.
25:50
So you know nobody can tell me whether it works or don't work
25:53
because I'm clear evidence that Work, if you leg.
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It's a nation to this time. I use that platform to you know,
26:05
maintain truces only your heart with gangs with religion.
26:09
Sometimes it didn't work out as peaceful as we planned.
26:15
I did three years and bears, a Max with too much influence.
26:21
I think it's always interesting how that happens on the prison
26:23
world because people understand that if you get too much what
26:27
the b0p or the prison believes is Too much leverage too much
26:35
authority, too much influence. They don't like that.
26:38
They pull you out. So, you know, and and you know,
26:42
so I had to file a lawsuit to get out of segregation.
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And what the judge said was you're not in segregation
26:50
because of what you did, but you're there because of what you
26:53
have the potential to do, he who can stop a riot, can start our
26:57
eyes, right? So I'm at this woke me up, you
27:00
know, prior to that, you know, you couldn't touch me.
27:03
On the yard and left side, you know, 90 permission moves with
27:07
the mob and they were very serious mom.
27:12
I came out of there, like, you know what, I got to be quiet.
27:15
I got to find a different way to move, and I got a maneuver my
27:19
way about it is, you know, and I did that.
27:24
It's interesting though. Philip because everything about
27:28
prison is adapted because you're in an environment of primitive
27:32
environment. And you pivoted and adapted.
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Again you mean you adapted the first go in one way and you
27:40
pivot again while you were still in prison and adapted.
27:43
Another way. The funny thing about that is I
27:47
had big homies who had been down and they used to be like man,
27:50
you got to get it all. You got too much time and I
27:54
don't care about this. I don't care about that.
27:57
They have. I looked up a few years later.
27:59
That's all I cared about. I have a, I have a theory that
28:03
Are called you have to come on in.
28:06
Like, I believe in you guys a year two years you maybe can,
28:11
you know, stay in this place where you are here, but your
28:15
mind is free, right? I think when you had a type of
28:19
time that I had, you got to come on me, I had to stop worrying
28:23
about what this old girlfriend was doing, you know, that's
28:26
tough. All right, sleeping with the
28:30
opsin and pregnant with the Enemy.
28:33
And you know so I'm like you know I've got to let the world
28:36
go but the world is going to do and I got to focus on me and I
28:40
mean so again just this studying working out bro, you know, I'm
28:46
just you know, prepare for the role that whatever I do come
28:51
home, I'll be ready, like I was politicized.
28:54
So I start doing poetry with pcap and University of Michigan,
28:58
you know? I mean so it's not like you had
29:02
forgotten about the Because everything that you were doing,
29:05
Philip was really preparing yourself to step out and engage
29:11
the outside. Because I think that's one of
29:13
the interesting thing about your story is, there's a lot of
29:16
people Well, I mean I know people that have been in for 23
29:22
years and and they never they never rebound.
29:26
It's just it's one of those things that always and will ever
29:29
be the thing that they use is the crush that they can't get
29:32
back into society. I thought the interesting thing
29:34
about your story is that you used your time to transform
29:41
yourself self evaluate make the best parts of you bigger.
29:46
And when you step back Can say you started doing, you know, big
29:51
things. I mean the things that always
29:54
say that there's so many things out in our society, one of the
29:57
things I think that you know, we look at right now because our
30:00
society is so messed up, is we don't communicate anymore, you
30:05
know, it's one side over here, one side over there, and they
30:07
never hear each other. And I think one of the things,
30:12
you know, whether it's Marvin cotton, Junior order would
30:14
senior, or you, when I ever talk to you, Guys, it's, it's
30:19
interesting how you are always looking to bring it together.
30:22
Always figure out a way that everybody can be stronger bonded
30:27
together and that's the thing, over all societies missing now
30:31
and I'm not just talking about Detroit, I'll just talk about
30:34
anywhere. I mean politics in general, you
30:36
know, you got the left and the right and they there are at
30:39
enemy Wards. And so I think, you know, your
30:44
voice is so powerful because of what you went through, how you
30:48
Through it. How you survived?
30:50
And then how you came out, because a lot of times you can
30:52
have those elements but how you come out of that, that's the end
30:55
of the story and you ended up carrying out.
30:57
So when you got closer because you were in for so what did it
31:02
feel like to you to be getting closer to the door after that
31:07
amount of time? It was terrified, man.
31:11
It was, it was scary. It was, you know, but not as you
31:15
know, so, so fear-induced, it fight, flight freeze, right?
31:21
It was definitely not up flight, Nora Fries, you know, I was I
31:26
was, it was terrified, but I was ready to fight the good fight,
31:30
you know. I believed in my mind, I
31:33
believed in my willpower. You know, I hadn't, I have no
31:39
bad relationship. Even if these that I did have,
31:43
you know, we end up, you know growing up in a lot of us
31:46
falling in love with one of the toughest you don't have to shed,
31:50
you know after loss on both sides.
31:52
Right. You know that maybe to tell
31:55
they've used to date that it's doable because I've done it, you
31:58
know what I mean? But it was it was scary.
32:02
But you know, You know, I believe I deserve to go home.
32:13
I believe I had something to contribute to the society, you
32:17
know? I mean it was like getting out
32:19
that day fill up with me after all that time.
32:22
I mean you walk out. What is it?
32:23
What's the feelings? You're feeling?
32:25
What walk me through that. So I caught the Greyhound from
32:29
Jackson Michigan to downtown Detroit.
32:33
My first pick me up, you know Had on the Browns that they give
32:38
you and I'm in my Footlocker. Yeah.
32:40
And in a whole bunch of paperwork and plans, man, I've
32:47
got to the house, I'll paroled to stay with my uncle, We Do
32:51
music, he had a studio perfect environment.
32:56
He gave me a pair of pants. I didn't have a belt, I walk
32:59
around holding pass up, you know, I was happy man.
33:03
I didn't I didn't think about tomorrow.
33:06
Oh or was you know it it gets serious in a minute.
33:09
That's how I felt like let's just absorbed family pulling up,
33:13
friends, pulling up. Let's just take it all in and
33:16
tomorrow. It is be serious enough, you
33:18
know. And just went like, you know, I
33:22
was humble man, but I tell guys, you know, everything that was
33:26
awful to me. I took whether it was a ten
33:28
dollar voucher for ID, $50 voucher for work clothes.
33:33
Whatever it was, I took it, I got a job with Habitat for
33:37
Humanity and they said, I couldn't, you know, I crashed, I
33:41
talk to people. I will do when I was building
33:44
houses and rehab homes in my old neighborhood.
33:48
No, I don't want to, I don't want to.
33:49
I don't want to Paint over that because I think that's a big
33:53
thing. You just hit on Phillip is so
33:57
many people use the excuse that they can't get back into the
34:00
world because they're an ex-felon.
34:02
You know that I'm, you know, I've got this for, you know, got
34:05
a tattooed on my forehead. I'm an ex-felon and they can
34:08
discriminate against me when I go for a job or where I will go,
34:11
but you have to work twice as hard to get that and you know if
34:16
you really want it, they got to see your passion that I'm that
34:19
guy. I'm not the This guy and you did
34:22
that, and that had to made. You feel like you were making
34:27
progress in something that a lot of people just weren't doing.
34:32
Yeah. Absolutely.
34:35
And again I was just that humility piece, man.
34:39
No, I'm not going to do this so I'm not going to do that.
34:42
Ivy had high expectations but we don't talk about what we going
34:46
to put in to reach those that level of benefit, right?
34:51
So I came out ready to pay my dues.
34:53
Now, I knew for a fact that I owed Society, but I also felt
34:57
like Society old me, you know, if if I'm a son of the community
35:04
and, you know, and I return, you know, will you help me be
35:09
successful or just leave me and thereby are becoming what I was,
35:13
right? That makes sense.
35:16
So I believe re-entry is Society's responsibility or not
35:24
and see what happens. Right.
35:26
So, so, you know, I came out, like, I'm coming to give what I
35:29
old, I'm definitely coming to get was owed to me, even if
35:32
that's the job, even if that's decent living.
35:35
Even if that's all, you know, whatever it may be, you know.
35:39
So so then you're not feel like if I was coming to make excuses,
35:43
I should have never came out right?
35:46
Yeah, absolutely. And people don't really like
35:49
that anyway. They you know it's like imprison
35:51
people don't like whiners, they don't like people who can't
35:54
believe. I'm here.
35:55
I didn't do this, right. All that you want somebody just
35:58
to kind of go over to the other side, get a get over that and
36:01
come back when you're done because it's not going to
36:04
change. You gotta get used to it and
36:06
live in it. Yeah, exactly.
36:11
But Philip, when did you start realizing once you get your feet
36:15
under you? What like what was the biggest
36:17
change for? Like I said she'd been in
36:20
because I'm trying to think you got out in 2009.
36:23
Yeah. So the hiding like smartphone
36:26
and technology and all that, that had to be weird, wasn't it?
36:30
It was so weird. I spent a few days sitting in
36:33
the corner with the phone, you know, within a year I was
36:38
recording and mixing my own music.
36:40
I was doing graphic designs making my own fires so you
36:44
picked it up fast. Oh yeah.
36:46
I would sit there and just go Go and clicking gun, clicking and
36:51
till I figured it out, you know, I knew that the technology was a
36:55
big part of the way the world works, but but it also made a
36:58
lot of stuff easy, you know, I publish my own book.
37:01
Yeah. I turned a quarter million
37:04
dollars, a book offer because I didn't want to sell the rights
37:07
to my story, 100%. I don't regret that decision.
37:12
I was called crazy but I have deaf and dumb.
37:16
Don't regret that. You know yeah publish my own
37:20
book like where could you go and open up a template and all you
37:24
got to do is copy and paste and in the book is done or or, you
37:29
know, push a button and you live to the whole world like the
37:32
capacity of Technology was mind-blowing.
37:35
No. Yeah.
37:37
You know what my time be. You know if you have what they
37:40
call followers or you had a name you earned it the iron weight.
37:45
You know, it was no of like and heart since you have to really,
37:53
really get out there and get it back.
37:55
So I'm like, you know, how about music videos?
38:04
Tell me a little bit about that. How did you how did you get into
38:06
all that? Because you know the music since
38:10
I was like eight years old and telling in the family was it
38:13
uncles? And yeah he's saying.
38:18
Is it poppin techno Michael Jackson crazy haha.
38:25
Yeah yeah save me but yeah so you know I love music, I always
38:31
didn't, you know, it's music. So I came home again.
38:35
He had Studio one of my homeboys be gifted me a video and I'm you
38:42
know I'm saying the person is on pull up with this little camera.
38:45
You know. Shout out to my man and cherish
38:48
Superman booty, right cameras and stuff man.
38:52
A lot of people with it was amazing and then he text me and
38:56
say, get on channel thing with 38 at the time and the video
39:01
easy, right? Wow.
39:03
You know what I mean? Wow, it is not that I ever, you
39:07
know, came out with the thought. I want to be a rapper.
39:10
I'm going to be a rapper. I actually think that time was
39:13
sacrificed during my incarceration, but it is
39:17
something I love to do. This available to me to do.
39:20
So I actually got to do it man. Follow Your Passion.
39:24
Well what, what made you because I obviously, you kind of found
39:30
your way and you're, and you're thinking and prison when you got
39:35
out, Phillip, were you thinking? I'm gonna go and I'm going to do
39:40
some things in my community, the community.
39:43
I know, and I'm going to start affecting change.
39:46
How did that come about? Because you In you established
39:49
and founded organizations that begin doing some incredible
39:55
things for the community. Did you, did you have that
39:59
confidence right away or did you kind of feel your way around and
40:02
think? Okay, no, I need to do this, I'm
40:03
the one that wants to do this. Definitely didn't have that kind
40:07
of felt enough profit game and the corporate game and it credit
40:11
game. That's not something that we had
40:13
talked without come from So, you know, so I was sitting, so I was
40:21
writing inside for organization called he casts prison.
40:25
The greater part that rest in heaven somewhere, man, buds.
40:30
Alexander, who is the Angel to be mad?
40:33
I would go to Ann Arbor recite poetry do the different panels,
40:37
you know, traveling with him and through him.
40:39
I met a brother from Albuquerque.
40:41
New Mexico, man. I'll be no Garcia.
40:44
Shout out to my mentor, my main man.
40:46
Oh gee, after New York got on the board of the circle suggest
40:53
this Innovation. Yeah he did on that board so
40:57
it's people with money and people who've been there and
41:00
done that they come together. Basically put the money on the
41:03
table, we raise more money and we say, you know, people write
41:07
grants and we go his grandson looking, I'm learning this thing
41:10
from the other side. I'm looking at what the funders
41:13
are. Looking for looking like how it
41:15
needs to be structured, So, you know, and I went to Albuquerque.
41:20
I thought man laptop Pizza through my mind, right?
41:24
I'm like, oh good, she's old. And I start asking questions and
41:30
He asked her, you know, gave me some things to do and I came
41:33
home and I did, you know, 2017, you know behind it was born.
41:39
You know, if you able to respond, you're responsible.
41:42
So that's where it comes from. And, you know, the first three
41:47
years with hard, anything that got done or halfway done came
41:52
out of my pocket, and I didn't even have pockets, you know, I
41:56
homeless quite since I've been home, it ain't been no crystal
42:00
stair brother. Um, and it never is, you know,
42:03
that's the thing. And I think one of the things
42:05
that you said there is so important, especially for the
42:09
Youth to understand that if you see somebody doing something
42:14
that you want to do. But you don't know how to do a
42:17
humbling yourself on just asking them.
42:20
Hey man, how's that work? It's like getting the answers to
42:23
the test before the test because a lot of these people who will
42:25
Mentor you they're willing to tell you because they're they're
42:30
they're they're happy that they're doing what they're doing
42:33
and they're doing it well. And you went out and you got all
42:37
around the right people and and got the right mentors to be able
42:41
to get the answers that you needed to do what you were
42:44
wanting to do. Yeah, and I lifted a man, he was
42:48
great. He introduced me to my man,
42:50
George Galveston Oakland. I went out there looked at what
42:54
he was doing. Learn from him.
42:56
And, you know, I got these guys on that I can reach out and say
42:59
her, but with it, I'm stuck, you know what I mean?
43:02
Yeah, I'm in my own office, we got three offices right here.
43:06
Open space. You know, we've been we've been
43:11
doing it man. I want, I don't want, I don't
43:15
want Cross over what you said about the homeless thing because
43:19
I've got a good friend of mine. That was homeless twice and he's
43:23
out in La. Now and has his own production
43:24
company and he survived that. How did how did you get through
43:30
that? Man, you know, so, you know, I
43:35
took it in stride, man. I, you know, I wasn't worried
43:38
about it, you know, one of the ways I became homeless this
43:42
because I had finally was able to securely, she got in want to
43:48
keep living with my woman's name on everything come out.
43:52
I'm a castle. You know, I mean, so that's part
43:57
of it, you know, what, I finally had found an apartment that
44:00
would, you know, In the at least and what happened with that was,
44:05
when the property management or whatever switched over.
44:09
They came with that criteria, we don't least it felt.
44:12
So it was immediate eviction. My baby boy was in the womb, you
44:17
know, that's my sister, she opened their house, you know?
44:22
You know. But, you know, and I took it in
44:24
stride and I knew it was the moment.
44:26
I didn't allow it to make me desperate.
44:29
I'm about to go round the world and kick in a honey.
44:31
Those right? No, you know, hold your stomach
44:36
and rock out to the barn. And what is this trying to tell
44:39
me, right? So, we very passionate about
44:43
equal and fair housing for formerly incarcerated people.
44:47
You know, when you go through some trauma is from, what's your
44:50
purpose? Come?
44:51
Right, exactly. Exactly.
44:53
Oh, I've been working with peach pie in Detroit, but, at last 23
44:59
years, and no, it's true. Spoiled.
45:05
And the building is a dream come true man where you know I'm
45:10
working with young gang involved you you know and nobody
45:15
understands them better than me man.
45:17
Nobody get it. Like I get it.
45:19
Nobody like can do my part of the job like I do it and it's
45:23
something I would do for free. Yeah, so go to be able to draw
45:27
some sustenance from that. It's like again a testament to
45:32
Faith. Yeah, I'm sure that fills you up
45:35
there. Because these guys are younger,
45:39
I mean, obviously you can identify with what they're going
45:41
through in their lives and, you know, being able to show them
45:46
that there's a different path and being able to show them that
45:49
the path that you've chosen. Now is filling you up and making
45:54
you who you are and you're doing so many good things, you know,
45:58
so many times. I think Phillip the the younger
46:02
people if given a fork in the road, Road, they'll look at both
46:07
options, it's just that so many times there's not that fork to
46:09
look at both options, they're only seeing one path.
46:12
And what you're what you're doing is you're big, you're able
46:15
to show them the path that they are on and in the path that you
46:20
lived. And now you're able to use your
46:22
experience of the path that you're living now.
46:25
And, you know, God that's that's just, you know, that's so
46:27
powerful for people who are looking for, you know, light at
46:31
the end of the tunnel. Bad is the sometimes, it's like
46:38
the dream and you know, I just left a press conference with the
46:41
mayor man, you know, it's like the dream and he knows me and,
46:45
you know, and we shake hands and he called me by name, right?
46:48
Just be at these tables advocating for my people and to
46:53
be able to say, you know, look at me as an example, you know,
46:57
they need incarceration, they need resources, right?
47:01
So, you know that have That capacity and the capacities and
47:05
don't want to change clothes and put my suit on and talk level of
47:10
language, or to be able to write at another level of engagement,
47:14
right? To, you know, to move funders
47:17
and get grants, right? It's just again, it's favor,
47:21
man. It just gave you think moved
47:24
out. And I think what you're doing
47:27
there Philip is it. When, when people go through The
47:33
world of prison and and you're able to get things out and do
47:37
things on the right path, having that seat at the table and
47:42
having the ability to leverage your past to be the legitimate
47:46
voice, the real voice at the table so that they listen to you
47:50
see. I think a lot of the things that
47:51
happen there's probably, you know, these Round Table
47:54
discussions but they don't have the right people at the table
47:57
that can really affect the change, you know, an idea out
48:00
here without the right voice is just An idea.
48:03
But you put somebody at the table who's lived it and and
48:06
knows it and also wants to implement it.
48:08
That's when Real Change happens because that action can be
48:10
implemented. And and that's when things
48:13
happened. That's why I think what you're
48:15
doing right now in the community has so much real purpose to it
48:19
because you are who you are, you know, you're not just somebody
48:22
that flew in and you're going to talk to him and fly out, you
48:26
know it you've lived it, you've lived a streets of it and they
48:29
know it and that's that's whatever that Vibe is.
48:33
The real stuff it has yet to be a you, or a group of men, young
48:39
men or women that I haven't been able to reach.
48:43
Yep. He'll give me the worst of the
48:46
worst. The ones that you think are the
48:49
most see? Because those are the most pain.
48:53
Yeah. Right.
48:54
Those are the ones that need a day or hugs away from a
48:57
breakdown. You know?
48:58
I mean this is Ayah T2 and I do get it right, you minutes you
49:02
Doing this that and the other, but why, you know what I mean?
49:07
Like, why am I Minister Society? If I didn't, I wasn't a little
49:11
baby and say, you know, look Philip when you go with you
49:14
going to be a nurse I'm going to be a menace to society.
49:16
No, I'm all right, right. I'm going to be at one point.
49:21
I was going to be a police officer, right?
49:23
So, you know, it is just don't happen that way then but you
49:29
know nobody, you know, can do what I do better.
49:32
No. And I think the other thing
49:34
that's so effective, is that you can tell that.
49:37
I mean, just you tell them the story today.
49:39
I feel your story of what you told, how you were in prison in
49:42
your like, why do I think this way like I'm going to get into
49:46
psychology? Why am I triggered like this?
49:48
I got a lot of well I got a lot of shit inside here that I
49:50
haven't let loose in that logo, but why did?
49:53
And then you got deeper into it and you invested the time by you
49:57
telling that story and relating it to people and them saying me
50:01
too, I guess. It, it, that's, you know, I, you
50:06
know, looking through all the stuff that you've got going on,
50:09
you see? Because you talked about, you
50:11
know, that that neighborhood used to be kind of like Norman
50:13
Rockwell and then it fell back into one of the worst
50:17
neighborhoods there is, that's not ever saying that it can't be
50:21
what it needs to be, or should be for the community at the
50:25
community comes together. Like they, they want to it can
50:29
and it will be, we try to buy everything.
50:33
Yeah, yeah, clear. And lots of beautifying your put
50:36
things skills in, you know, I'm a social scientist and I was a
50:40
teenager and I sat on the roof with an AK-47 and I devised the
50:45
plan to what I call Corner my neighborhood.
50:49
And I understood that we needed to take away the streetlight.
50:53
I understood that we needed to monitor the traffic that came
50:57
through here. So, as a grown man, from a pure
51:00
place, I know how to turn it around.
51:02
Yep. This is not Theory.
51:05
This is this is practice. You know it's a my old
51:09
neighborhood challenge is seven islands, the high opioid
51:13
overdose prostitution what you would call a red light district
51:17
I say simply put up some five thousand lumens motion right and
51:22
it'll go away. Yeah.
51:24
Yeah. Well you don't you don't you
51:27
don't you don't turn the lights on the lights on Did write it
51:33
was turned the lights off. Turn the lights off you know so
51:39
healthy is found is that no is 22 new, build homes over there.
51:44
You know they always moving on the recreation piece now which I
51:49
think is very important, you know, the getting you something
51:53
to do but but it's doable. And yeah, it's it's just about,
51:58
you know, I had a patient in that.
52:03
Well, I think one of the other things and I hope, you know,
52:07
these type of things that you're talking about Philip, you know,
52:10
you were talking about, you reached out mentors or were like
52:13
in San Francisco and New Mexico and all around, you know?
52:17
Hopefully, as this continues to grow that these are things that
52:20
just seep out and they become part of every community.
52:23
So that what works is duplicated to all the neighborhoods that
52:28
need it. So that it becomes something
52:30
that it's a system and a process that everybody.
52:33
Was this is the way to effect change into a community and the
52:37
things that you're doing with that are those things.
52:41
Those are things that you could duplicate and st.
52:43
Louis or you could duplicate in another area that needs it.
52:48
Those are things that if they come together, you put it on.
52:51
Braille over the top. There's a lot that could happen
52:53
because you're affecting it right there, it just it just, it
52:56
could be duplicated other places they had all the time that we
53:00
can do it in the void 205 zip code with It is considered one
53:04
of the most dangerous places in the country.
53:06
We can do, you know? I mean, Yeah it is.
53:11
It's just being blessed man. You know I got married in the
53:14
house. Two children.
53:15
Yeah, tell me about that. Tell me about your life with
53:18
your kids and everyone how old are they?
53:21
It's great. They drive me crazy but it's boy
53:23
girls a girl too. Okay.
53:27
Oh I'd say hey they got they own company big head Billionaire's
53:32
LLC and it's just great man that you know people say you a great
53:37
dad and I say you know, And and I think my daddy poet, you know,
53:42
because I know what I know what I needed and wanted and you're
53:47
filling that up. Yeah.
53:49
But it regardless, so his absence I love them, you know,
53:55
and he would be a fool to not want to embrace the sun, like
53:58
me? No doubt.
54:01
Well, I got to ask you this out of everything that you've gone
54:06
through in your journey and you've gone through a lot and
54:09
you're A lot, what? Looking back at what you've gone
54:13
through. What do you think?
54:14
Your biggest takeaway for people listening to this?
54:16
About what they need to do or how you did?
54:20
I've how you, how you've lived through your life.
54:23
What are they not o? Not only tell this oh yeah,
54:27
there's a will, there's a way. Yep, get around the right.
54:31
People, you know, and humble yourself, and you know, that's
54:37
it, a bottle that up bottle. That up right there.
54:41
I love it. Can you repeat that?
54:44
Yeah, humble yourself. That's the biggest thing, you
54:48
know. But but, you know, and for me is
54:51
even harder again, you know, I had this did 15 years while I
54:56
was treated like prison royalty. Sure.
54:58
Don't know to come out to society and be normal, you know,
55:02
it, you know, it takes some homeowners, but I was always
55:06
humble, you know? I've never, you know, I never
55:09
thought me worthy, bro. So it's always The constant
55:13
striving to prove worthy like, you know guys you giving me this
55:18
capacity and giving me this mind, you giving me this chance.
55:22
Like, I just want to prove worthy, man.
55:25
You know, even with my job, bro. Shout out to cease fire, bro.
55:28
Shout out to my team. I got a team from that.
55:31
We got a team from from Heaven, bad, nothing.
55:34
Like I've ever seen before of selfless.
55:37
Fearless people grow, you know that show up when the blood on
55:41
the wall. The baby been shot.
55:43
You know, trying to comfort siblings and mother's, man.
55:48
You know, row, we will is just so powerful.
55:53
It's powerful stuff. And I tell you the other thing I
55:56
noticed in the Common Thread, reading through all your
55:59
different things and hearing your story.
56:01
Today, you've always been a leader and you know, leaders
56:05
have a vision but they have to take action with her visit and
56:08
they use their own experience to affect By using that experience
56:13
and that's what you're doing. And and and you're doing it
56:15
humbly, which that's, I may be the secret sauce of all of it
56:20
is, is you staying grounded with it?
56:23
We got your kids, you got your wife, you got everything that
56:25
you got going and, and you're creating good and, and Philip II
56:30
wish I could multiply you. And just, you know, have one of
56:34
those machines and we could send out 300 Phillips.
56:42
Give it up. I'm not horde none of ya.
56:46
Absolutely back. Philip man.
56:49
I hate you. I appreciate the platform.
56:53
I appreciate what you're doing for us.
56:56
Shout out to my man. Marvin cotton.
56:59
Yes, the opportunity brother out here doing great work.
57:03
Did not let the beasts that feed them, you know?
57:07
And and that's what it is, you know?
57:10
Come on in, have a seat. Yeah, yeah, we got more people
57:15
get more people for Phillips in here.
57:17
We'd better get off this podcast before, he's got a roomful,
57:20
Philip. Thank you, man.
57:22
For being my guest today. For those out there, we were
57:24
talking about books. I've got 19 minutes, accepts
57:27
loyalty, betrayal Life Behind Bars adapting.
57:30
And finally setting yourself free a memoir and all those
57:34
people who have apple Spotify go to Apple leave a review.
57:39
Those really help out since people Little bars at the top,
57:43
share the show, get a notification love that when I
57:46
was in prison, I was always writing back to my people, stay
57:51
strong. I'll do the same Phillip.
57:54
You're a good man. Thank you.
57:57
Thank you, brother. Send me that link to the book,
58:00
man. I want to check it out.
58:01
I will do. So the good have yes, sir.