Latest / Color Commentary / Ep 35 | Celebrating Cultural Literacy
Transcript
- Charles Cole: Welcome. Welcome to Color Commentary, a podcast where the stories shaping our world are told in black and white first, and then we dig into the deeper meaning and full color. Each week I'll be bringing you the news like this. First, we'll start with what I like to call the black and white section. A clear, straight shooting rundown of the facts and the tradition of greats like Ed Bradley, Walter Cronkite, and the classic voices of journalism. Then we'll shift into the color commentary section, where I have my own personal opinions and insights. Sometimes it'll just be me. Sometimes we'll have guests. Let's get into it. So listen, and before you start, I need to come on, like, subscribe, comment, share, all that stuff. It definitely helps out. And I need to say it more. So I'm gonna work on saying it more. Today's gonna be a little different. ⁓ there are some things that's been happening around things that I love, and I wanna I wanna talk about them today, kinda in in the way that I think. You know, I don't know if a lot of people are talking about this. ⁓ two big things. We got the NBA finals, and there's gonna be a true David vs. Goliath. ⁓ Victor Wimbiamba is here. ⁓ Jalen Brunson is here. And I'm really excited for both of those guys, for both of those teams. And there's a freedom for me with neither one of these teams being my team. I get to really just enjoy the moment. But we're gonna go into that, and I'm gonna go into what makes That Wimby got different. ⁓ just some things that I've seen, and ⁓ I I I'm really excited to talk about it. But first, we gotta talk about Hove. We gotta talk about Jay-Z at the Roost picnic. Jay-Z is back. The ruler is back. And Jay-Z likes to address things the way that he likes to address things. His name has been coming up a lot. ⁓ most recently, Drake. Took a small shot, a jab at him on his album Iceman. And I actually like that song. I think that's the Janice ⁓ you know, Janice Shut Up or whatever. STFU. Love that song. ⁓ but Jay had a lot of people to go at. This was takeover flow, Jay. This is I'm about to, I'm about to get all you cats at one time. Put it put them in a room. I'm gonna do something different. Let's go through it. Let's listen to it because one of the pieces of feedback I've been hearing online, and again, I know I'm getting older. I know the hip hop generation that I'm from. And what shocked me was people, fans, saying that it went over my head. Can he dumb it down? I saw a lot of those posts, and it was it was weird for me. It was really interesting. So I love hip hop and and I think there's a reason why ⁓ people are asking that. And again, I'm not talking about because people love to sparse and and go through your stuff. Let me be very clear. I'm not talking about this is what needs to be played at a club when people trying to dance. We we know that we know that, right? Like let's let's use our brains here. People were just not appreciating the level of wordplay. That was happening. And I think part of the reason, and this is how I feel, this is this is this is my take. And I don't know, maybe somebody's made it too, but it crosses into my worlds of loving hip hop and black culture and and and being a real proponent of agency, especially when you're talking about literacy. I think part of this falls into the camp of we are becoming a more literate society. I've I've said that. That's why I talk about. The books and things like that throughout these shows. People I mentioned this on my TikTok. I can elaborate here. People some people. Think that literacy is just being able to read. It's not just that. It's being able to read to comprehend and listen to comprehend and take information from here and there and make sense of it. Do some some sense making of these things, or, you know, understanding the usage of entendres, double or triple. ⁓ and in Jay-Z's case, sometimes quadruple entendres, or using similes and metaphors. And a lot of Our people today, a lot of young people, again, across race, a lot of our adults across race, literacy as a whole is something that we struggle with. And in this new era, this new world where Netflix movies have to tell you what the movie's plot is every four minutes because they know you're looking at your phone. Or, you know, a lot of people using the the talk feature to text instead of write. Or, you know, and again, I'm not talking about like like the shorthand for text, like, you know, BRB. I'm not, I'm not talking about that. But I am talking about there's still there are 40 year olds and 50 year olds that don't know the difference between there, there, and there. Okay? I'm not shaming nobody. What I'm trying to do is connect an issue that many people think is like a huge academic thing or education thing, and it's up here and it don't it's not ⁓ it's not an issue in the real world. Here is an example of where we are seeing. Elite level rap. And again, you ain't gotta like Jay-Z. You ain't gotta like the freestyle. You can be annoyed with him. You can think he's being hypocritical. That's that's fine. We can we can have those conversations. But the ability to hear, the ability to to decipher what is happening or understanding, I'm saying this thing, but I'm covering this, this, and this at the same time. Like the mental dexterity that the brother has is profound. And for the record, like I think I think Kendrick Lamar has a high skill level. I think Drake has a high skill level. I don't know if these people have high skill levels as Jay-Z. I'm not trying to take a side on who somebody likes or doesn't like. What I'm saying is if you like hip hop and you love rap and you don't want it to just become Sesame Street level bars ⁓ where it only is talking about shaking ass. Or selling dope or whatever the case is, like if you want to be able to get to the next layers of rap the way you know some legends have been able to do, whether it be Jay-Z, whether it be Nas, whether it be Ghostface, whether it be ⁓ whether like Andre 3000, like the level of skill, like Lauren Heel, like I like what would happen to the miseducation of Lauren Heel if it was released today? You you understand what I'm saying? Like, it is a prolific body of work. All the court drama and beats and all that stuff be damned. That's not the conversation here. I know there's a whole thing there. But how prolific she was as an MC and a singer and what she was trying to accomplish. Literacy ties into this because you're we're going to lose at some point that part of the art form. But I've I've I've taken up enough time. Let's I wanna watch it. Let's watch it and let's go through it together. Sound good? She would have transitioned before I played my name. I would have hunted them. Every one of them playing these silly games. That won eight hundred avalanche chaser with a wish one came. But now one is a joke. Public enemy number one out and rank. The rocks not crumbling. The Lima Contact. Imagine we run out of pranks. You shot on a federal gel on mumbling something about having too much of this drink. You know how dumb that is. Another one tumbled his one. All right, let me pause it there. Okay, I'm gonna break this down a little bit. So the leprechauns, so he's talking about multiple people, right? He is and you're talking about the little tricks they play. Right now he's talking about Tory Lane's and Tory Lane's father. All right. Like he he's like, yo, he's breaking that down. He they Tory Lane's father. Was very, very adamant about ⁓ you know, Rock Nation set his son up or is evil and they're crumbling and all that stuff. So he's addressing that. And then he's also saying at the same time, your son is dumb. I he he made a phone call from jail that talked it about like where he kind of incriminated himself. Jay-Z is saying, how do I keep getting blamed for people being dumb? The other, you know, beautiful scheme with the ones and I would have hunted them and all that stuff. You know, he he he's better and then listen, there are other breakdowns that do this with, you know, all kind of editing and things like that, right? Like, so this is just a high level. I'm going through it pretty quickly. So the I'm not gonna get as into detail. I'll just mention he's talking also about Tony Busby when he calls him an ambulance chasing lawyer, right? Like Tony Busby has been known in the industry. to bring far fr ⁓ frivolous lawsuits ⁓ against people in power. And Jay-Z just had enough of it. He's had enough of people playing his name. There's a lot of other things in there, but that's kind of the level I'm gonna give you ⁓ of of my analysis because I cause I just want to make this larger point. And I know there are going to be people listening to this that are not a hip hop fan like I am, does not know Jay Z's full catalog and all the issues that he's had since he's come out. I do. I I I know a lot of this stuff pretty well, actually. And ⁓ and I just want to have some fun with it. And, you know, I want to help you hear it too. Wait, make his teeth is tumbling out their mouth, but somehow I'm the one who done it in some way of Mr. B. Dame Dash is who his old partner, collaborator, ⁓ they fell out. ⁓ you know, and Dame Dash has been having a lot to say about Jay-Z, ⁓ and one of these conversations. Dame Dash's teeth fell out of his mouth while he was talking. Didn't stop him from talking about Jay-Z, though. And apparently Jay-Z didn't forget. Let's back up a little bit. Dumb, that is. Another one tumbled his wonder how I get the blade. Nigga's teeth is tumbling out their mouth, and somehow I'm the one who done it is away. I'm the one who scrumped the pain. That hell you can die on. There's way too much flat that comes from those pains. I'm killing them softly. Misunderstood, don't need to be explained. You want it one way as the other. I steal on you suckers up. I ain't much for me, it's no-how. Cancel the brunches. I remember the hunger pain. The price of the bricks going up. It's gonna cost you a beat and even say my name. Okay. This one, just incredible. The Roberta Flack, Lauren Hill flip, they both did Killing Me Softly, as Roberta Flack song, The Fujies Redidit. Y'all got that. He has a rhyme scheme and he's making a point. And he's also telling people, stop blaming me for the mistakes that you all make. But if you want to put this pressure on me, you want to put this smut on my name that I did all this illegal stuff or these horrible things. You need us to, since Diddy gone, whatever. You wanna, I'll take the y'all don't like my my brunches? Take the brunch away. I don't need it. I am still him. I'm still powerful. I'm still operating the way that I operate. And since y'all keep talking about my capitalism conver comments or this, that, and the third, my price is still going up. Like actually, it's gonna even be harder for y'all to hear from me. Y'all gonna need to be. Just to mention my name, a billion dollars, or a Beyoncé, his wife, his beautiful wife. Again, there was so much more stuff in there, but an English teacher could really take this stuff and break down similes and break down metaphors, talk about the difference between those and and how he's using this stuff to tell a story and to make his point. Let me continue. Children and some of them have you niggas no shame. You're trying to get under skip. I really get under skip. That's unharmed playing. Let me pause it there. Kanye West said something about his kids and mental retardation. ⁓ and he was just really flagrant. And Jay-Z did not take very kindly to that. And he is reminding Kanye West of who he is. And if you're trying to get under my skin, and when he says I really get under skin, asks Un about that. Jay-Z very famously was on trial. ⁓ I think it was before attempted murder. ⁓ but it's well known that he stabbed Un Rivera, stabbed him. So ⁓ he he is reminding people that I might be very successful. You might see this very corporatized person, but if you keep pushing me, you keep pushing, there there's a side of me. That is not so pleasant. There's a side of me that will lose all this shit. ⁓ very, very interesting bar. ⁓ I'm gonna go back a little bit so because it goes into the next part as well, ⁓ where he continues to address Kanye West. Children and some of them have you niggas no shame. Y'all trying to get underskin? I really get underskin. That's unhound plan. So that line about you know ⁓ sane and all that stuff is about Kanye West, right? Everybody knows Kanye West has mental health problems, and what it feels like Jay is ⁓ insinuating is that. ⁓ He uses that shit at his convenience because when he's in my presence, he's very sane. Not only is he sane, he shrinks. So if you actually go back and listen to the journalist Torrey's ⁓ has some interviews about being in the presence of both Kanye West and Jay-Z at the same time, kind of backs this up, right? He talks about in that meeting how much he looks up to Jay-Z and how much Kanye is intimidated by the presence of. Of Jay-Z and and and Jay-Z's ⁓ opinion of him. ⁓ it's a funny story that he tells about a chain, you know, ⁓ interesting. You can go find that on Toray's I'm sure it's out there. Search Torrey Kanye West, it'll come up. All right. I'm gonna let you all listen to that again. But again, they mentioned that man's son and and also the Wonderkin part. Wonder is like a a child prodigy. So, you know, Ja Jay Z is basically saying, My my kid, my I have Prodigy children. My children are extremely talented. ⁓ and this is one of the rare times Jay-Z doesn't like to emote anger. He he is like ⁓ he like almost on this Miles Davis cool thing, but you can tell that he he he is, you know, he he he's out for blood on this a little bit. It's a strong, strong warning. ⁓ and Jay Z likes to give those. I'll go back a little bit. I need a new therapist. This shit is not working. I I'm truly on the brink. Y'all better not encourage him. Y'all don't want me to think these thoughts that I think. That nut ass nigga still stuttering. That chatty patty down on his luck again. Plus introducing me to Jaguar. I don't know why I still fuck with him. Stuttering O'Schino. All right. Used to be under be with The Rock under Jay-Z. ⁓ and he has a lot to say in interviews about Jay-Z. He's addressing that. The chatty patty is in reference to Dame Dash. It's a term that James Dash has popularized. I don't know if he created, but you know, but I'll I'll I'll be safe and say he popularized it. So it's very evident who he's talking about. ⁓ and and and then the there's a funny line in there. ⁓ because Jaguar Wright has always had things to say about Jay-Z and Sean Carter. And I think, you know, she was, I think a long time ago, she probably mentioned something that felt like it was right. And then since then, people been putting cameras in her face and she just been saying bugged out shit. It's been proven to be false and lies. And Pierce Morgan was also in business with her at some point, and he let her come on the show, and they instantly got the cease and like it. Pierce Morgan came back and apologized. ⁓ Jay-Z is not playing with these people, but the funny part is, is it's the Roots Picnic. Like Quest Love and him are back there. Like they're there right now. So he's poking a little bit of fun, but that's who introduced him to Jaguar Wright. Jaguar Wright was famously ⁓ she filled in and ⁓ Jay-Z Unplugged to sing ⁓ Song Cry. ⁓ that's back when Jaguar was still an artist before she's kind of been on this New kinda unhinged ⁓ version of herself. So I'll go back a little bit so you can hear it in context. introducing me to Jaguar. I don't know why I still fuck with him. You wonder why you do the the freestyle rehearsal. That lady back on the stuff, she sounds like she in love with her. Her kid. Mickey Minaj. Take that kiss. Enough of them. A rapper can't be my eye. I got mag of Republicans. Those shots came from the very top of the government. Good luck with them. I'm governed by God. You try to break the coverment. I pray for 40 days. My neck get flooded again. Wrists get flooded again. Talking about Nicki Minaj, ⁓ the stuttering thing was intentional. Nicki Minaj is famously ⁓ as a video that came out not that long ago. She was freestyling and she stutter she stumbled over her freestyle. So he didn't, he was copying that. and sh he's about to kind of go in on her, but he's also saying, I'm not really worried about rappers. Like, like the MAGA Republicans, like Trump people sent you to do this. That's why you're getting so comfy with these people. Like, that's who sent you. And he's saying good luck with them because what he's insinuating is like everybody else, as soon as wait they're done with your black ass, you back to the curb. ⁓ you throwing away relationships and things for something that's not real, that's not there. And then he's about to go in on her her her husband and her brother who have charges that don't allow them to go near schools. All right. I'm not, you know, I don't need to. That's what it means. That's that is about to come up. We're gonna hear it again, I'm gonna let it play. So now you got this context. Lady back on the stuff. She sounds like she in love with her. Her kin Katie B. Her kin, triple entendre. All right. She is known as Barbie, the black Barbie. So Barbie has Ken. ⁓ her husband's name is Kenneth. ⁓ and her kin, for those that black people we say kin or country people, like, is that your kin? Are you related to? Her brother has a case. So her kin is referencing three different things. That that's what I'm this this is a part of literacy. All right, you understand? One more time. I won't stop it again. I'm sorry. Stuff she sounds like she in love with them. Her kid can't even take their kids. Enough of them. A rabbit can't be my eye. I got mag of Republicans. Those shots came from the very top of the government. Good luck with them. I'm governed by God. You try to break the coverment. I prayed for forty days. My neck get flooded again. Wrists get flooded again. My net worth went up again. My next update, the jig is up. So again. Jay-Z is known as ⁓ he calls himself Hove, as in Jehovah, meaning the God MC. So he does these things with Bible references or whatever. So the 40 days, you know, it rained for 40 days, whatever, but he's basically saying, I still got all my stuff. I st I'm I'm still glowing up. I'm still growing. And ⁓ by the way, y'all hate when I talk my money talk. I thought that's what we were using. I bit before it was about getting this money. Now it was terrible, but whatever. My net worth is up again. And then this is the part where a lot of people spending a lot of time because he is Jay-Z and and Drake is one of the biggest rappers at this point, right? Even though he's coming off the Kendrick piece, he just had three albums come out. He has numb all those albums are one, two, and three on the chart. ⁓ he has another number one, which technically ⁓ gave him more number ones than Michael Jackson. We can have a whole different show on that. And if you feel that that's real or faulty or whatnot, I think it's a little different as in J Michael Jackson had to sell physical copies, and now we're in the digital age, it's a bit different. But this next part is all about Drake and him and Drake have an interesting relationship, an interesting big brother, little brother mentor, mentee situation. And it's good that you know that context going in as I rewind and let this part play. Get flooded again. Went up again. The chick is up. Nigga, up chip. Wrong chart, chip. You gotta look up again. Niggas looked up the hole. I never looked up to them. So Jay-Z held the record for number one rap albums or rap you know, number one in rap for a long time. Drake passed it. ⁓ but he is reminding Drake, bro. You looking at the wrong chart. I like the little wordplay, wrong chart, champ. People are definitely gonna start saying that. Let me make the t shirt now. ⁓ but people are are are definitely gonna start that. So his thing is look, I'm I'm on Forbes. I'm about to be up ten billion. I'm not just a billionaire. Like I'm about to be up ten of those things. And you're chasing me. And his point is I I I've never looked up to you. You've always looked up to me. You st and you still looking up to me now. You will always look up to me. I will never ever look up to you. That those are the bars and lines that he has for Mr. Drake. And I'm interested to see if Drake is gonna come back. Again, Drake, you know, and he used he flips Drake's line about the jig is up. and I used to debate. So in debate, there would be this thing called a turn. A turn was one of the best things you could use. And it's basically when you took somebody else's article argument and you turned it on them. It's a turn. So when Jay-Z is so when Drake is telling Jay-Z the jig is up, like y'all's time is done, y'all out of power, Jay-Z does a turn. And says the jig is up, like jig me, jig a man. I'm up. ⁓ I'm above. I'm up, I'm up on the scoreboard even more. And let me make sure you're looking at the right charts. My next update, the jig is up. Think I'm up 10. Wrong chart chip. You gotta look up again. Your publishing gangster, go talk tough to them. Don't talk success to me. Niggas is workers. Impermaturity is how your contract is worded. So Jay-Z is ⁓ very, very proudly independent, even how he came into the game. Very independent, right? Even when they did ⁓ collaborate with Def Jam, it was more collaborative, right? Like, but they they own their stuff. Drake, Drake does not. ⁓ and and it took time for Jay Z to get all his stuff back. But Drake does not. ⁓ according to Jay Z. I don't know all the I they have much more insider knowledge of each other's stuff than I do, right? And I know there's people that have broken this down. I'm just telling you what I know and what I don't know. But what he's saying is, you talking tough to me. Go talk to them white people that own your life. That's who you go talk to. ⁓ and that's what he's saying. And and honestly, I think I think Drake is trying to do that. I think Drake is working to get his independence. ⁓ the funny thing is, even with Drake taking these shots, he still looks up to Jay-Z. Like he he he he would probably come out and still say that. Like Jay-Z is who he has patterned his career after. Even with the way he takes subliminal shots, he got that from Jay-Z. You know, whereas a Tupac and a 50 Cent are very much more, I'm talking to you. I want you to know it's you. I want the world to know it's you. ⁓ Jay-Z and Drake are very much more double entendre, triple entendre. I'm giving a message that only, I'm giving you a warning shot, only you and I know that it's between you and I at this point until I want more people to know. Drake got that from Hove. Right? So, continue. Your publishing gangster, don't talk tough to them. Don't talk successfully. Niggas is workers. Imperpetuity is how your contract is worded. ⁓ The roots remember even when the trees were tearing, not too much of my name. forget who I am. Howdy loves her Shawnees. S-H-A-W-N. I find it a dog when she put the S at the end. You don't know the show ain't even beginning. I said you don't know. The show ain't even begin. So man, man, what a what a time. What a what a time, man. What a time. So when I talk about literacy There are people that just heard that and are just like, why are you it's not that big of a deal. It's not a it's not a huge thing. He's one of the most prolific rappers to ever do this thing. He's 56 years old. And he's getting, he's still sharp. He's still really good. We've you we've not seen somebody at this part of the game in this at this part of life as sharp. like that and and and able to do that so effortlessly. But there are gonna be people that's gonna miss what makes that special. And it's because not all, not all. Some people be like, I'm I'm very literate and I just don't like this cat. Fair. Super fair. Super, super fair. But I promise you there's a large, large swath of people that don't know what just happened, that don't understand. what he was doing. I don't understand metaphors and similes and entendres and wordplay and schemes. That is the art form. That is the art form being executed at the highest of levels while also embracing hip hop culture where battling is part of that culture. Now, I don't know if they will have a full-on battle. I don't know if that's what Jay-Z or Drake actually want to do. I think this is more of a response. It's a response because a lot of people say Jay-Z's name, and he's very calculated with how he responds to things. So he did his interview with GQ and these other places where he's buttoned up and he talks about things like I don't, I don't know if I liked the Drake and Kendrick beef. I don't know if I liked That it went beyond just rap and bars and we trying to ruin people's lives and all that stuff. And some people are gonna say he's been hypocritical because he's coming back here. I I don't think that he is. ⁓ I think he's responding to something. That's just me. I I I'm not mad if if somebody feels like that, but I mean, Kanye West called his kids retarded, man. Drake actively is campaigning for his spot, his spot while he's alive. Van Lathan made a really good analogy, man. I wish I would have made it because I see it. And it was down there somewhere, but he he got to it and he and he articulated it. But you know, it's kind of like we we we argue LeBron and Jordan so much. And in this, the avatars for it is like, you know, Drake and Braun are. ⁓ unironically, right? But especially because they used to be friends and they had a fallout, but Drake is LeBron in this in in this in this situation and Mike is and Jay-Z is Mike. And as basketball fans, we'll never get to see Mike and Bron play. We'll never get to see what that actually would have been on the court. But you can see Jay-Z and Drake. You can see it. You you can Jay-Z just showed you his his mid post Look over the shoulder, shimmy, f deadly fadeaway. And Drake with three albums and number ones and getting back there, even though the com the commentary might act like he's not there doing too well this year. I mean that's six hundred and fifty thousand is six hundred and fifty thousand sold in this climate. I get it. I mean I under I c we can explain it away, but that's successful. And his sheer force as as a hip hop juggernaut, like it's still on display. Again, did did Kenny do some damage to him? Absolutely. I think he crushed him. But I was also around for Jay-Z to lose to Nas and Ether. And Nas is my favorite rapper. For me, it's Nas, Hove, and ⁓ Those that's my three and the the the the spot smooth, you know. ⁓ But like Jay Z still showing he got a fastball. So I just think it's really interesting. I and I and and like I said, I I don't know how many people gonna nerd out and and talk about literacy and literacy in this country and agency. But I am. This is this is a a a beautiful Venn diagram of things that I care a lot about. And I see it so clearly. The literacy is in the fact of who can and cannot understand what is happening. The agency is in changing that shit. The agency is in not waiting for schools to teach kids better. Or if you're a father or somebody who grew up with hip hop and you got a kid that don't know hip hop, you have it's your responsibility. To instill the merits of hip hop into that child. If we want to keep this thing going, if we want to remain a huge part of black culture, because right now it's very popular. You know, I have a whole thing about K-pop that it would be, wouldn't be very articulate right now, but it's deep down in my soul. There's something interesting to me where, especially when I just saw this group. ⁓ that's kind of a multicultural K-pop group that got some black people in it. And I just thought that was really interesting because all K-pop has done is take black cultural music and put it on like cute Korean people. Now again, I it's music, it's universal, right? It's it's it's it's out there. It's out there for the world to enjoy. So I'm not, it is what it is. Like, you know, look, you say what you want. Like, rappers want white people to like hip hop because that means that they're gonna buy their albums and go to their shows. Go to any major concert, you're gonna see a lot of white faces. You can't become a global phenomenon. You're not becoming a global phenomenon without these people. Not in the United States. It's just how I mean, we're only 13% of the population. You need other races to kind of enjoy the stuff. And here's the thing hip hop has infiltrated every part of the like global society, right? But if want this thing to continue, we want it to continue to be ours. This also ties into the next part with Wimby, because another foreigner is again at the top of a black American sport where that we used to thrive in. And again, I think as a whole, Black America still has basketball, but that grip is softening, and these other places are trying to catch up. Now, have they caught up, in my opinion? No. We're gonna get there. We're gonna get there. We're gonna get there. We're gonna get there. We're gonna get there. We're gonna get there. See, I need my producer. This is why I need my producer. He would've kept me on track here. Back to Jay-Z. And back to literacy, and back to agency. It's a cultural moment. It will be around. It will last. I'm excited for all parties involved. I'm excited to see if Drake does respond. Or any of the other people that mentioned. I know, I mean, Dame Dash already responded. He, you know. And I try not to talk about Dame Dash a lot because I Dame Dash means something to me or meant something to me. I can't, you know, like they say on Above the Rim, Bernie Mac, they can't erase what we were. And Ken eras who we worship, I don't want to erase Dame Dash and his legacy, man. It hurts. Well, not hurts, because I don't know these niggas. But it is hard as somebody who grew up loving Rockefeller and just Biggs, Hove, and Dame. And Dame was so there. Like he was such a, he was so on it. He was so, had his finger on the button. And just to see what he's devolved into and and Well, Jay-Z has has clearly moved on and has to remind them that I'm gonna continue to spank you. So as we transition to the next topic, I just I do want to just remind though, like read with your kids. Make sure your kids have a handle on literacy and agency. They work together. They work together. Make sure you got one. Like make make like seriously, there there's something to be said about being able to utilize the English language to articulate the things that you want to say. ⁓ yeah. Don't wait for schools to do it. You gotta do it. Read with your kids, man. Make them read to you and tell you what something means. Make them read, I know the paper is becoming out. Make them read the article. Make them come talk to you. No, no AI, like get something, print it out, sit their ass down and read it with them and highlight words that that they don't understand or, you know, schemes and things like that. Do it. Do it for yourself. Anyway, let me put put a button. Put a button on the on this conversation. ⁓ and now let's go to the NBA. So this year the NBA is back on NBC. They brought back the old school jingle, which I love. They brought back the giant ⁓ Larry O'Brien trophies in the middle of the court, which I'm very excited about. ⁓ and then Watching the Eastern and Western Conference Finals where the Knicks just destroyed. They've just been destroying teams. I don't think they've lost in over a month. Eleven and ⁓ like it's swept to, I mean, in grand fashion, and and shout out to Jalen Brunson. ⁓ he he is building his legacy. He is. I gotta give him props. And then on the other side, that alien is here. Victor Wimbyamba is here. Wimby is here. And There's a few things, a bunch of things, actually, that makes Wimby special. Of course, him being 7'5, we argue, I mean, on 2K they got him a 7'4. People have said he's 7'6. I don't know, man, but he's huge and he moves in a way we have not seen a professional athlete move on a basketball court. We just haven't. He has a touch and shot that we have not seen. He has this full package. And he's only gonna get better. But there's something else about Wimby, man, that I think Wim Wimby's not a black American. He he's global. He's grew up watching this stuff. He grew up watching America. He grew up, you know, idolizing the people that he idolized and watching Michael Jordan and watching LeBron James and Giannis and seeing these people and just wanting his shot. What separates Wimby in a lot of ways, aside from his incredible skill set, is his he fucking cares. He cried at the when they won, like on the floor. He like he ran like as soon as Greg Popovich, like he ran to Greg Popovich to like hug him when they got back. Like, like he he he he he's crying in the in the press conference. He's not too cool for school. See, he didn't grow up here. He didn't grow up in our culture where, you know, it's like we gotta be s I just talked about Jay-Z, the the cool of cools, right? Don't show your emotion. Don't do that. And I get it. I like I'm a part of the American Zeitgeist as well. I'm a black American that came up here and had a father who very rarely showed emotion. It's just something that's taught. My grandfathers never really showed emotion. Like you, you, you're off your square if you're doing that. It is it's like I said, man, it's super interesting. ⁓ let's let's watch Wemby. Let's let's let's let's let's take the gander. What's crazy? Remember before the season started, Wemby was like, yeah, like maybe the sixth seed, something and people are like, You're crazy. That feels like four years. Yeah, they're way ahead of schedule. Like that that's that it that is insane to me. ⁓ after the game, he was asked what he's most excited about. Here's Wemby. I'm most excited about. feeling what I felt when that buzzer went off again and again and again and even more. Really it's you you work all all these hours we put in, it's for these type of emotions. Like I I want that I want to win so bad. It's like my life depends on it. Hope it doesn't depend on it. You're gonna be by the you're gonna be fine, Wimby. ⁓ I'll be honest, fellas. He's emotional guy. I really love to compete. I really love basketball. I never cared that much. Yeah, we know I I'm just saying, like, I wanted to win. You play to win. I don't think you did. I don't think you didn't want to win. No, seriously. I've never heard a guy talk like this. Like it's like even the way he talked about pop, how he has to talk to him. I have to see him was like, this dude is just different. Like, I get it. Everyone plays to win, you care. You you you losses should bother you more than wins make you like I get that whole thing. That one's really just been so raw and emotional and uncut like this. It it's amazing to see, especially at his age too, in his third year. Look at this jump he's made, the jump that his franchise is now made again. Like it really is just crazy to see him talk like this and care this much at such a young age. But I look I Did you cry? ⁓ I a hundred percent cried. Like absolutely I I went live on Instagram. I've never done that. I think I saw a clip of that. I will say that he's twenty two years old. Shout out to to to Lou ⁓ Shout out to Boogie, man. I'm a Kentucky guy, so ⁓ I love Boogie Cousins, ⁓ Beetle and Chandler Parsons. ⁓ great great work on you all show. I mean, I mean, did you see him? Did you see him right after the game? This ain't the finals. This is getting to the finals, right? He wants it, man. He wants it. And he doesn't care that you see him crying. He doesn't care that you know he wants it. I like that's how I w when I lived in shelters, yo. Like and I was like, I wanna, I gotta go to college, I gotta do these things, like that's one of it. And people look at you crazy. You know what I'm saying? But I I I you know, you try to hide it or whatever, you know. ⁓ I'm not successful at all. I don't have doctorate, I don't have master's degrees, like if I didn't have that type of intense focus, right? ⁓ and I just think in America, we just we just sometimes we too cool for school. And he's not. So aside from the fact that he can pull up from twenty-five, aside from the fact that he can handle the ball, he got a handle like KD or working on it, right? He's getting there. Aside from the fact he's only 22 years old, aside from the fact that he's willing to humble himself and go and get training with Yan with with with KG, ⁓ with Tim Duncan and and let those people coach him and push him, or go and hang out with fucking monks. So he can regulate himself in the summer. Like it's coming together. And it's the thing, he ain't even what he's supposed to be yet. He didn't have like he didn't have the best games every game in this last series. He was not just dominant throughout, he had an incredible game one. You know, he had a few decent games he had some some bad the games that he didn't play well, they lost. Even in the closeout game, I think he did enough early and kind of set the tone. I mean, he just punked Chet Holmram the whole game. Chet is number two in the defensive player of the year conversation. Dunked all on his head, claps in his face. Chet was a shell of himself. In the game seven, the kid took two shots. For four points and four rebounds. Chip made third team on NBA. Victor Wimbyamba has hated Chet Holmroom for years and shows it every single time. He is different. He is from a cloth of people like Larry Bird, people that are killers, people like Michael Jordan, people that are killers, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, people that are killers. He's not interested in being friends across the league. He's not interested in he'll respect you. But he's not interested in it. And now, ⁓ we are so lucky to get the Knicks and the Spurs in the finals. You know what else? And Adam Silver, you've had a rough go with the last few months. You've had a rough go. So I gotta give you credit where credit is due. Now we gotta fix this flopping shit. But we gotta give you credit where credit is due. One, congrats on nutting up about tanking. I don't know if that plan is gonna be the best plan, but hey, you give yourself wiggle room. You you're doing something. Two, The Cup, the NBA Cup. These were the teams in the NBA Cup. And you know what? The Knicks beat them. The Knicks beat them. And the Knicks are about to go in being super underdogs. I think the Knicks can win. Listen, I have no dog in this fight. I I we are here. The n the next phase of the NBA is here. Jalen Brunson is here. He's here. Kay Cunningham. They're gonna retool. He's here. ⁓ And OKC ain't going nowhere. That team is stacked. That team is stacked for a decade. Even if they ship Chet out of there, I don't think you should. I think that, well, I don't know. I I would have to run it back. Because Chet is an amazing talent and he has. Chet was with me before Wimby. And it just and then Wimby showed up, man. I i it's it's Cat Williams joke, man, about you know, about a Bentley, yo, like and a Christ of three hundred or whatever. It looked like a Bentley until a fucking Bentley rose up. Wimby's a Bentley. I love hoop, man. I love it. I was always a I was a decent player. I was a decent guard. I had a really good handle. You know, I could have played some mid-tier basketball. ⁓ but you know, I didn't. I, you know, tore my leg up and and and trying to get dropping some weight so I can get back out there. I want to drop about 20 more pounds so I don't mess my leg up again. But this sport, man, it it's the freest I've ever felt. It just brings me that level of joy. And I'm just happy for everybody involved. And Chet Homegroom, what I would say, man, is that you're getting to live a dream. And you got something to bounce back from cause you look visibly shook and sh like you were shook. But story done gotta end here. You can get the better of it. You did block his shot in regulation and you know to go into overtime. Now, you know, the overtime was a different story. But we'll see. These storylines like this is the NBA I love, man, and competing, but people caring. Magic Johnson cared. Kobe Bryant cared. Michael Jordan cared. Cussed his team out for putting him on a minutes restriction when his leg when his foot was broke. They were supposed to ship that entire season when Jordan broke his foot and came back. They didn't want him to play. He said, fuck that, I'm playing. And drugged him to the fucking playoffs. But drug, yeah, I mean. I don't know where we got so super nonchalant about everything, whether it's hip-hop and when a great freestyle comes out and mute like that's the problem. Nothing is sacred anymore. Nothing is worth the jubilation. And that's why the NBA really, really probably wants New York to win. Because I'll tell you, that fucking city wants it. Things are better if the Knicks are good. And I'm not a Knicks fan. I'm not a New York fan. I was born in the Chicago area. I was born in Maywood. I grew up in Oakland. So Chicago and California, two places that are like opposite or in competition or compared to in some way New York. Well New York is like to fuck with Chicago people be like, ⁓ second city. That means second to us. And be no, it don't. It's means second, you know, 'cause Chicago the Chicago fire and we had a second city. Whatever. Like it's a thing. And here's what I know. I'm not a preacher. I'm not even professing to be the greatest Christian of I I believe. ⁓ but I just want to be very clear, because I'm a heathen, I'm I work on it, but you know. But I do know this. When you act like you're too good for something, when you act like too you too cool for something, and you don't appreciate it, God got a way of taking it away. So damn it, you got some great hip-hop this week, and you got some great basketball. Coming up and continuing. Be grateful. Be grateful. It's nothing, nothing wrong with that, man. Nothing at all. I nothing at all. ⁓ I love this episode. I this I know it was a it felt different. It wasn't a scripted. ⁓ but these are just things that was on my heart, man, on my mind. And you know, I hope it comes out well. But give me your feedback, give me your comments. Thank you. And thank you and thank you for listening to Color Commentary. We love to hear from you. So drop us an email at color commentarypod at gmail dot com. the more of you, the the the well you know. The more the merrier. ⁓ I love my I love the people that interact with me in this show. I I don't need tens of thousands of people, right? Like that was what I learned in A-Black Hands was when we got a real core fan base that rocked with us. And they're just special people. And I just feel that way about the people that are here. So I I really mean it. A heartfelt thank you. And if you made it to this, to this part, let me know. ⁓ and if you want to be on the show again, drop an email at colorcommentarypod at gmail.com. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show. Leave us a five-star rating, share it on social media, and join us every Thursday for more color commentary with Dr. Cole. Man, I'm so grateful and honored to be able to do this. Y'all take care of yourselves and take care of each other until next time. Peace out.