Latest / DA CREW Podcast / DA CREW PODCAST SEASON 1_ EPISODE #72_HOST LATONYA M LITTLEJOHN_(SHOW #6)

Transcript

DA CREW PODCAST SEASON 1_ EPISODE #72_HOST LATONYA M LITTLEJOHN_(SHOW #6) · DA CREW Podcast

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M Juna, not tonight, every second Monday, and for a Friday of
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each Monthy, this is she that you don't want to miss. H m
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hm m mmmm. Good evening, good evening, good evening, and welcome
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to another episode of Delay but not denied. This is show number six for
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me and and this is show number seventy two for the Crew podcast. On
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tonight, I will be having a conversation with mister Deontay Ray and for those
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who don't know him, that is my son. That is my pride and
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joy. But before I start, I always like to read a Bible verse,
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and I'm coming from First Thessalonians two and seven. But we were gentle
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among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children, not seeking
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glory verse six, but with care and compassion, like a mother cares for
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her baby. So, UM, before I bring him up, I would
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like to just tell you a little bit about Deontay. Deontay is twenty eight
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years of age. He is a father of a beautiful two year old Kaylani.
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He is a entre entrepreneur. He does videoography photography. Um, if
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you got a phone or a computer that needs speaks to, he's your man
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um, so without overdoing it, you know, I would like to bring
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to the stage, mister Deontay, Ray Deontay, are you there? I
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am what's up? Can you hear me? Yeah? I hear you.
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How are you okay? I'm good? How are you? I am doing
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good? Um? First, I want to thank you for joining me tonight,
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because I know that you could have been doing anything else, but you're
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here with me tonight, and I really truly appreciate that. I appreciate you
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for having me on absolutely. UM. I wanted to talk to you about
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being a young black entrepreneur. Um. You do videoography and photography to time.
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Um, what what does that? What is that like for you?
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For me, it's something fun to do. I've always wanted to be an
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entrepreneur. I just never knew exactly like what that would look like for me.
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So like when COVID happened, my job was basically paying me just to
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sit at home, so it gave me the free time to actually like explore
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and figure out what I wanted to do. So it was kind of just
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like I guess, entertainment for myself and escape and an easy way to like
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make extra money. Okay, I do know that you have done. You
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got a good bit of videos up under your belt. What is it which
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one do you like doing best? The videoography or the photography. I like
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videography better because I feel like it's more creative, like you do more to
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it, and so like I'm always more proud when I make a video because
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I feel like that's more of me that I had to put into it to
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like get it to whereever it is. That's always my preference. Okay,
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um, And again you've taken a lot of pictures. Um. I take
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pride in being your muse when you need me. Um. What what advice
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would you give to a young person that wants to dive into videoography or even
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photography? I would say to just do it. I feel like a lot
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of people are talented but just are hesitant for whatever reason. Maybe they're like
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nervous that they won't work out, or they're I don't think they have the
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time to learn. But the longer you wait, the longer to take to
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get where you want to be. So if you just jump into it and
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make it happen, okay, um. So I know that you are good
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with computers as well. What about computers? And what is it with computers
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that made you dive in to want to explore the ins and outs of how
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they work. I think I've always been interested in learning how stuff works.
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But like when I was doing computer repair, that was like in middle school
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high school time, when I was like was doing that, and for me,
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that was like a way to make money when I couldn't actually get a
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job because I was like too young to work for like part of that,
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So it was just an easy way to make money. And I knew most
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people didn't want to take the time to figure out how to like do whatever
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they needed to do to the computer, whether it was like fising a lot
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of talk screen or like virus removals. So I think there was something good
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for that time. But once I got older, I kind of got away
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from it. I don't think like that field as is as prominent as it
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used to be, just because people aren't like on computers like they used to
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anymore. Right, But yeah, you're a young black male and and as
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you know, um, young black males are somewhat there. They are going
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through changes where we're like being sought after in a bad way. What is
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it that you do to keep yourself away from things that, you know,
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the things that life would have you to try to suck you into, like
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um, drugs and gangs and things like that. How do you keep yourself
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out of a situation like that? Being a young black male? I think
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a big part of it is, like the people I hang around with.
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UM, I don't hang around too many people, but the people I'm I'm
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around all positive people. It's usually either family or someone that I've been cool
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with ten plus years and like, so, I think it's having good quality
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people around you, having quality family members that like about you, and just
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I guess environment more than anything or community that community is a better word than
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environment. Okay, yeah, have you ever been placed in a situation where
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it could have turned turned to a bad situation and you found a way to,
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um, get out of it? Um? You know, like for
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me, and I don't say this because you're my son, but you are
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a stand up guy. So you know, with that being said, you
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know, people tend to try to prey on people that are doing grateful themselves.
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What do you do to make sure that you're not derailed in anything that
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you do? UM? I think I guess I'm always myself. I don't
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try to be anybody I'm not, so I don't think people expect me to
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be anything else. I think that's that's a part of how I'm never in
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nobody else's mess, I guess. But I think videography, like when you're
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doing like music videos, especially like rap videos, sometimes it could be like
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weird situations, whether the police get called, or just like the artist you're
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working with might have problems with another artist and then that comes up. So
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I think in that situation it was always kind of a risk of something going
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left, which is kind of why one thing that like drew me away from
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it kind of, I guess just the that was getting old just seeing the
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same thing over and over right, Right, How do you separate yourself from,
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you know, being put in the middle of situations where if you're doing
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a video and then something shaky is about to happen, how do you keep
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yourself? How do you keep your nose clean as to say, you know,
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hey, I ain't got nothing to do with this. This on you?
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What what do you do to let them know not to drag you into
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it? Um? I don't think anyone has ever tried to drag me into
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anything just because I'm always myself, so I don't think I ever have to
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say anything. I just be me and so um, everything always works out
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basically. I think that's what works in my favorites by not trying to be
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anything that I'm not or anyone that I'm not. So okay, So my
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next question is are you following the path that you saw yourself on maybe five
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ten years ago? Um, I would say no, because I thought that
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I was like I was in school for information management systems. I wanted to
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do something computer programming related, right, and once I got into it,
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I realized I really didn't like it that much. Um. I thought I
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was working in the cell pall industry just to get through college and ended up
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actually liking it. Right. I don't think that was expected at all.
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So um, but it's worked out for the best. So I don't regret
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it at all, and I do plan to go back to school but do
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something different, possibly in the fall this year. Okay, Well that's news
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to me, and I love it. You know I'm here for that.
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Um. This is so humbling for me just to sit and have a conversation
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with you, because you know you're working you're busy, you always on the
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go or whatever. So being able to sit down and discuss your life's plans
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means more to me than I think you'll ever know. Um, what what
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do you do at Verizon that you what? What do you take from your
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job that you apply to your everyday life? If there's anything that you do
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apply to your everyday life from your job, I think the biggest thing to
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take away is like being able to like disconnect, Like when you go to
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work, you can't bring home to work, so you just gotta be where
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your feet are basically, and then when you get at home, you don't
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brain work home, you just be at home. And so I think being
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able to like separate different situations, it's big. And that's one thing I
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learned from work UM and dealing with the public, not letting people's attitudes get
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to you. So that's that's something else I wanted to talk about. You're
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laid back and reserved, UM. How do you deal with UM customers that
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come in with nasty attitudes or blaming you for something that you have no control
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over it all? How do you how do you handle all that stuff?
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Like that doesn't bother me, I know it's usually in the misunderstanding. So
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I just explained it and maybe it um, But I never I definitely never
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go home that about nothing that happened at working, nothing like that. So
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I've never had a problem like I think, ever since I've had a job,
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I've always been the person that they're saying to deal with like the right
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customers, just because I'm I think me being chill naturally like calms people down
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for the most part, so that's not it hasn't been an issue for me.
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Where would you say you get your chillness from? UM? I guess
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my dad. I don't know. For the most part, he's all okay,
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he's always calm, and he don't talk that much either, so I
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guess him. Yeah. Who would you say is your idol? Who do
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you look up to? UM? We all even you know, in my
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old age, not that I'm old, you know, you know what I
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mean, we always have some body that we look up to, UM who
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not necessarily their opinion means anything because we may not know them personally. But
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who do you look up to? UM? I've always said that to my
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family, like of course, my parents, my uncles, UM. Mostly
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I never really like looked up to celebrities or anything like that. UM,
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more so people, that's actually how to impact in my life. Okay,
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So I want to take a moment and talk about the book that I wrote
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and I made you an author. Um. I took stories that you shared
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in a notebook that you gave me, Um, from when you were in
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third, fourth, maybe fifth grade. Um, becoming an author and not
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necessarily having to write a book. What does that mean to you. I
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really did appreciate that. I thought it was really cool. I know,
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like being the author was a goal of mom when I was a little and
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then I got away from it like when I was older. But I definitely
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thought it was cool. Okay, Um, I can't. Yeah, she
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does love to read, and I applaud you for always putting a book in
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her hand or a pin and a piece of paper, because that is gonna
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take her in more places than you know, tablets and all of that.
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I mean, those things are fun or whatever, but you know, being
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that father that makes sure she she knows things that her age is. I
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took my hat to you for that because when you were that age, you
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just like her, you knew a lot and it's amazing to see a smaller
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version, well, the female version of you all over it again. Um,
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what would you say to any young black male out here who's trying to
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build a career and be a father at the same time. I think that's
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one of the things you have to balance as well, Um, and just
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make the most of the time that you do get Like I've always, uh
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with my worst schedule, I've always gotten home late. I didn't always spend
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like most of the daytime with her, but right I would take vacations sometimes
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and well I guess you would say staycations and just like spend time with her,
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and so I think that helped build the relationship with her over time.
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Okay, Um, yeah, she's she's a beautiful girl. She is a
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beautiful girl. Um, she's smart, she is. I mean, she's
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such a joy to be around. And again, like being your mom,
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it's like watching you all over again in a sense, because you were more
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talkative at that age than you become as an adult. I don't know,
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you know, if she'll change growing up or whatever, but I mean you
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and her to me are like one and the same, and I love it.
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So I applaud you, you know, even being a father and being
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in your daughter's life and still maintaining things that you're trying to do for yourself
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personally. So m you know, I know you just got off work.
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I'm not trying to keep you. Is there anything that you would like to
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share or encourage somebody that maybe wanting to it into videoography, photography or even
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going back to school and they don't know what route to take. Is there
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any advice that you may have that you would want to give them. Yeah.
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I don't think it's specific to like videography or school, but I think
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just in general, if there's something that you want to do, like actually
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write down goals and stuffs you need to take to get there, and reach
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out to someone that's already doing it, and then you will. They'll take
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you away further, like having somebody like in that field already to like kind
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of help guide you through the process. Okay, Um, So initially when
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I brought you on, I wanted to just brag on you, like the
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whole thirty minutes and just give you your flowers. But I do want you
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to know that I love you, I'm proud of you. You you light
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up my life like you are my reason like in everything that I do,
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I think of you. So you know, I hope that I have lived
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up to being the mother that you needed me to be. In a time
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such as this, I want to say I want you to continue to walk
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in your purpose, keep your head held high, and know that no matter
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what the situation. And I've always told you from eight to eighty, as
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long as I'm here, if you need me for anything, I don't care
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what it is. I got you. I appreciate it. I mean,
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you know, I try to instill the same thing with Daja, you know,
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but you know she she's your stepsister, so she has her own parents
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or whatever, So our relationship is a little different than the relationship that I
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have with her. But nonetheless, I love you both the same. Um.
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I'm just humbled that you're here with me on tonight, and I would
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love to have you to come back if you ever want to share anything.
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Um, if you're doing anything big photography, videoography, if you are still
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in the business of fixing laptops and phones, how can somebody reach you if
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they want to get your services? Um, yeah, I said, I
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know you don't do social media like that, but I really Yeah, A
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big thing was for me to get off of social media. I think people
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spend so much time on it and it's just draining. But I guess the
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best way to reach me is my Instagram Mandy shot see that. Okay,
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Well again, I thank you for coming on my show tonight. UM.
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It's been fun. I've enjoyed having you here and talking to you. UM.
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I don't know if you're reading any of the comments, but UM,
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there there's been some great comments just for you to to say. I mean
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to go along with what I'm saying to you. You know you're a humble
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young man. UM. You're doing everything that in the right way. You
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know you're not taking anything in a negative way, and you know you you
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are walking in your purpose. And I couldn't be more proud. So again,
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I thank you for coming. UM. I want to thank the viewers
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for watching tonight. UM. This has been fun for me. UM.
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I'll be back on the second Monday of July I and the fourth Friday of
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July. UM, so make sure you come and tune into delay but denied
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the podcast. UM, and I when I leave, I like to just
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let you know that even if you're delayed, you're never denied, what's meant
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for you will always find you, so just continue to walk in your purpose.
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And I thank you all for watching Tonight good Night every second Monday,
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and fourth Friday of each Monthey that you don't want to miss