Latest / The Breakfast Club / Ain't No Homecoming Like an HBCU Homecoming!

Transcript

Ain't No Homecoming Like an HBCU Homecoming! · The Breakfast Club

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's get, let's get, let's get to it, time to
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  Speaker 1: do it.
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  Speaker 2: I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything
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  Speaker 2: and everybody. You hear that exclusive?
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  Speaker 1: You know she don't lie about that, right? Lauren came
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  Speaker 1: in hot.
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  Speaker 2: Hey y'all, what's up?
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  Speaker 3: It's Lauren LaRosa and this is another episode of The
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  Speaker 3: Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on
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  Speaker 3: all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the
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  Speaker 3: conversations that shake.
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  Speaker 2: The room, baby! Y'all, we are back.
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  Speaker 3: I don't even know how I feel, or not how
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  Speaker 3: I feel.
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  Speaker 2: I know why I feel this excited and.
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  Speaker 3: Enthused and full, because homecoming weekend just went down. And
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  Speaker 3: that is what returning home does for you. But as
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  Speaker 3: far as why I sound like this, it is by
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  Speaker 3: the grace of God. Homecoming just went down, and I
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  Speaker 3: want to get in. Let me take y'all behind the
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  Speaker 3: scenes of the grind real quick.
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  Speaker 2: Let's do it.
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  Speaker 1: Back on the grind.
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  Speaker 3: So, shout out to everybody that celebrated HBCU homecoming this
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  Speaker 3: past weekend. Mines went down both Friday and Saturday, but.
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  Speaker 2: Our big day on the yard is October 10th.
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  Speaker 4: We are.
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  Speaker 3: Always outside on that day, there's a lot that goes on.
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  Speaker 3: You have the Delaware State University football.
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  Speaker 2: Game that happens.
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  Speaker 3: And then you have the Greek plots that go down,
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  Speaker 3: which is like just one big family barbecue of all ages.
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  Speaker 3: So I went, me, my cousins, some of my friends
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  Speaker 3: from school pulled up. And I'm talking about people of
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  Speaker 3: all ages, my aunts, my uncles, out there tailgating, cooking out,
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  Speaker 3: just enjoying their time. And it's a tradition. Like, homecoming
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  Speaker 3: isn't just about the people who are currently in school.
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  Speaker 3: I saw this, like, viral post that's going around where
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  Speaker 3: this girl said, with age limit, does homecoming stop at?
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  Speaker 2: Let's take a listen to that. Y'all, I got a question.
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  Speaker 2: When do y'all stop going to college homecomings?
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  Speaker 1: Girl, shut the fuck up. What you mean, when we
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  Speaker 1: gonna stop going to homecoming? Like, what? What are you
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  Speaker 1: talking about? What do you mean? It's in the word, dumbass. Homecoming.
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  Speaker 1: So let's switch those two words around. Bitch, that means
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  Speaker 1: I'm coming back home, bitch. It ain't just for you bitches,
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  Speaker 1: it's for the alumni's. Okay? We want to party too.
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  Speaker 1: We put the work in. You need to be worried
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  Speaker 1: about them books. Worry about what the fuck adults doing.
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  Speaker 3: See?
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  Speaker 1: In adult business. Stay in the child's place. Act like
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  Speaker 1: we coming here to see y'all motherfucking.
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  Speaker 4: No.
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  Speaker 1: We want to see alumni's. We want to turn up.
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  Speaker 1: 25 and older. 30 and older. Shit happened. 40 and over.
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  Speaker 1: It be 50 year olds in there. You don't run
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  Speaker 1: this shit, bitch. You are new here. You barely even
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  Speaker 1: go here.
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  Speaker 2: She's a content creator. Shout out to her.
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  Speaker 3: But when I saw that, I'm like, it's no way
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  Speaker 3: sis attends the HBCU. And if she does, she is very,
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  Speaker 3: very new within her tenure. Hopefully it's not tenure. Within
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  Speaker 3: her time on her HBCU campus because... I mean, even
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  Speaker 3: when I was there my freshman year, I remember my
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  Speaker 3: grandfather used to always be like, he wished he could
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  Speaker 3: come back down to Del State and he would tell
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  Speaker 3: me stories about when him and his motorcycle club, he
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  Speaker 3: was a Thunder Guard, anybody that is in the Delaware,
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  Speaker 3: Philadelphia area, know about the Thunder Guards. They're a really
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  Speaker 3: big motorcycle group. But my pop-up, you know, he was
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  Speaker 3: in a Thunder Guard. He also played baseball. They would
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  Speaker 3: come down to Delaware State University all the time because...
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  Speaker 3: During that time when he was coming up and he
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  Speaker 3: was out and about and young and ripping and running,
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  Speaker 3: colleges weren't about us and for us, but there were
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  Speaker 3: these safe spaces like a Delaware State University that was safe.
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  Speaker 3: You had black people from all over who just wanted
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  Speaker 3: to come and fellowship and, you know, scholar and enjoy community.
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  Speaker 3: And Delaware State University in that area was, you know,
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  Speaker 3: was the place to do it. You've had a lot
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  Speaker 3: of famous civil rights activists that have graced our campus
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  Speaker 3: as well. But there is a history about the lineage
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  Speaker 3: and a generational passing down of fellowship and community on campus. So, no,
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  Speaker 3: it is not just for the current students.
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  Speaker 2: Baby, honestly, because I've been a current student. I now
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  Speaker 2: am an alumni.
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  Speaker 3: Homecoming is good when you're in school, okay? When you
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  Speaker 3: are a student, it's a dang good time. But when
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  Speaker 3: you are alumni, it is so different. It is about
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  Speaker 3: teaching people and teaching your children and your family about
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  Speaker 3: fellowship and community and food and just joy.
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  Speaker 2: And safe space.
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  Speaker 3: But also, baby, it is the only time where you
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  Speaker 3: can get back into the swing of life. Having no
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  Speaker 3: cares for at least 24 hours.
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  Speaker 2: You're there.
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  Speaker 3: You're enjoying homecoming. You're enjoying your friends, your bills, your
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  Speaker 3: adult life, all of the things. Everything escapes you. And honestly,
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  Speaker 3: being back on campus this weekend and feeling that with
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  Speaker 3: my friends and with my family. I mean, being home,
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  Speaker 3: I talk to you guys about all the time, like
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  Speaker 3: spending time with family, how that grounds me. But being
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  Speaker 3: back on my campus, I was just so grateful. I just,
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  Speaker 3: I remember literally showing up to Delaware State University thinking
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  Speaker 3: I just, I had this master plan. Like I was
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  Speaker 3: only going to be there for but so much time.
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  Speaker 3: I was going to transfer to FIT in New York and,
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  Speaker 3: you know, become a model and just, you know, everything
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  Speaker 3: will be up from there. And I remember the transformation
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  Speaker 3: that happened the minute I walked on campus and I
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  Speaker 3: saw all them other Black students that were young and
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  Speaker 3: just trying to figure things out.
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  Speaker 2: And the way my life has carried on, that's my
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  Speaker 2: type of carrying on.
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  Speaker 3: The way my life has carried on since then, I was,
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  Speaker 3: I mean, in the moment and even as I got
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  Speaker 3: home this weekend and was driving back to Jersey. I
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  Speaker 3: was just reflecting, like, man, I am so grateful. Not
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  Speaker 3: grateful for everything that God has given me. I am
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  Speaker 3: grateful for that. But I am just grateful for the
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  Speaker 3: life that I've been able to live, the good, bad,
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  Speaker 3: and the ugly. Because some of the experiences, the life
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  Speaker 3: experiences I have, have been the greatest everything beyond anything,
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  Speaker 3: beyond anything. any money I'm making right now, any careers
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  Speaker 3: and stuff, just literally my ability to, if I have
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  Speaker 3: nothing else, if I wake up tomorrow and I have nothing,
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  Speaker 3: the life that I have lived thus far, and I'm
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  Speaker 3: only 34 years old, so God is good because I
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  Speaker 3: know that there's a lot of more life and experiences
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  Speaker 3: that I have coming. But I was literally thinking like,
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  Speaker 3: you know, if I have nothing right now, the life
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  Speaker 3: that I've been able to live, the relationship and the
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  Speaker 3: love that I've been able to be surrounded by and
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  Speaker 3: find within these different spaces and community, I am so
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  Speaker 3: blessed for that. And I think, you know, I mean,
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  Speaker 3: everybody feels after experiencing their homecoming weekend, whether you are
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  Speaker 3: 10 years out of college, 14 years out of college, 20,
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  Speaker 3: 40 years out of college as an alumni member. you,
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  Speaker 3: you understand what I'm talking about when it's like you
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  Speaker 3: leave campus and now it's back to real life and
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  Speaker 3: real life just clicks in. And now you got to
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  Speaker 3: wake up and get in the swing of all the things.
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  Speaker 3: And for me, even in thinking about that, you know,
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  Speaker 3: waking up at three o'clock in the morning, this morning
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  Speaker 3: wasn't my favorite after all that homecoming weekend. But, um,
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  Speaker 3: I just, I woke up and was just like, I am,
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  Speaker 3: I'm grateful that like, I love my life.
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  Speaker 2: I love what I do every single day.
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  Speaker 3: And even on days where I don't love it because
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  Speaker 3: of the life experiences I've had and understanding how to
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  Speaker 3: make the best out of something, how to turn something
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  Speaker 3: into nothing. And just how much I really enjoy black people.
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  Speaker 3: And I wake up every day and I get to
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  Speaker 3: come into a black space and talk about things that
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  Speaker 3: are important to us.
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  Speaker 2: I'm so grateful.
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  Speaker 3: A couple years ago, as grateful as I was to
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  Speaker 3: be in.
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  Speaker 2: LA and doing all these.
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  Speaker 3: Things, my fullness wasn't there. My family gave it to
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  Speaker 3: me whenever I would come back and visit. My friends
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  Speaker 3: always kept me full and as depleted as I felt
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  Speaker 3: trying to figure out my dream in LA. But coming
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  Speaker 3: back over to the East Coast and working in this
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  Speaker 3: Black space and having Black business partners like the Black
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  Speaker 3: Effect Podcast Network and I it's like I appreciate my
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  Speaker 3: time at Delaware State University even more because when I
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  Speaker 3: came there, it opened my eyes to what we as
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  Speaker 3: black people, black creators and black storytellers could do. And
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  Speaker 3: then I think about the time that I've actually spent
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  Speaker 3: out in the world because of who that girl was
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  Speaker 3: at Delaware State University helped to build. And how everything
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  Speaker 3: has just like, I don't know, like God is just
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  Speaker 3: so particular about where he leads you to and why.
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  Speaker 3: And I literally left homecoming like, God, you are so funny.
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  Speaker 3: I had no idea when I was here what you
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  Speaker 3: were preparing me for. But every single thing I've ever
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  Speaker 3: done on this campus, every single person I've ever met
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  Speaker 3: on this campus, every single experience I've ever had on
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  Speaker 3: this campus, I now walk into situations and I'd be like.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I've been here before. I've done this.
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  Speaker 3: Owning a black space and being in a black space
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  Speaker 3: and being with my people. Growing up in your house
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  Speaker 3: is different. Coming from a black family like you literally
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  Speaker 3: you got to know how to cackle. You got to
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  Speaker 3: know how to kiki. You got to know how to
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  Speaker 3: make something. You got to make something shake. But getting
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  Speaker 3: outside of your house and dealing with the world is
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  Speaker 3: so different. And that's why HBCUs are such protected spaces
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  Speaker 3: of fulfillment of joy, because it is that you're in
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  Speaker 3: the world and you're being taught all those hard knock
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  Speaker 3: life moments. But at the same time, it's protected and
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  Speaker 3: it's ours. And my conduct and my appreciation of that,
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  Speaker 3: I think I realized in real time, like, oh, God, like,
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  Speaker 3: you know, you've brought me back into this for a reason.
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  Speaker 3: You brought me back closer to, you know, my alma mater.
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  Speaker 3: And I'm going to keep showing up here and help
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  Speaker 3: and be of influence and do whatever I can do
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  Speaker 3: because I know that that is for a reason.
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  Speaker 2: You brought me into, like, you know, some of the
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  Speaker 2: biggest rooms ever.
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  Speaker 3: Black, white, or indifferent, but, you know, I'm learning from
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  Speaker 3: Black powerful voices right now about how to do for
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  Speaker 3: us while also doing for yourself. And when I'm at
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  Speaker 3: Del State and I'm thinking about me as a student there,
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  Speaker 3: you know, that's forefront and center, but the world don't
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  Speaker 3: always feel like that.
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  Speaker 2: But I'm just, I don't know, I'm so.
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  Speaker 3: Grateful to be in a space in my life right
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  Speaker 3: now where the world feels like the love the community
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  Speaker 3: and the fellowship that my HBCU raised me in and
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  Speaker 3: it might not be every day but intentionally God has
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  Speaker 3: allowed me to be within these coveted spaces that do
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  Speaker 3: and it was like that was my audition and my
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  Speaker 3: training up of how to value those spaces and how
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  Speaker 3: to sit back and be a student and learn in
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  Speaker 3: those spaces.
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  Speaker 2: And now, you know, here I am. Excellent.
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  Speaker 3: So, you know, shout out to Delaware State University. Uh,
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  Speaker 3: I saw Virginia State. I saw Norfolk State.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I say it wrong.
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  Speaker 3: Sorry, y'all. I saw my older brother, North Carolina Central.
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  Speaker 3: I saw so many different HBCUs that kicked off the
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: homecoming season this weekend. Shout out to us. I know
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: Howard Homecoming is up next. Um, there's a lot of
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: homecomings coming up next. Um, I will actually be at
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: Howard Homecoming. I'm doing a karaoke night at the Hard
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: Rock Casino Sunday, this coming Sunday on October 18th.
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  Speaker 2: So, yeah, y'all pull up on me.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: You can find the information on my Instagram, LaurenTheRosaEverywhere, L-O-R-E-N-L-O-R-O-S-A.
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: But today, as we kick off the latest, we got
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: to give back. So let's get on into the latest. So...
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  Speaker 3: One of the things that I realized this weekend is
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: how much the representation of everything matters.
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  Speaker 2: And y'all probably like, girl, you almost 40 years old.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Ain't no way you don't know representation matters.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: I know representation matters, but I think it hits different
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: when you see students in real time, relate to people,
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  Speaker 3: relate to something and want to follow and do everything
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: with that. Something that they relate to. And you, and
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  Speaker 3: it's like, I understand even more every single day. the
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  Speaker 3: cultural like sensitivity around us and, and how we put
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: out and how we speak about each other and the
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  Speaker 3: things that we do. Just being back on campus gave
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  Speaker 3: this to me. I was literally having a moment. Shout
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: out to Ashley Christopher. She runs an organization out of
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: Delaware called HBCU.
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  Speaker 2: She has a son. His name is Ryan Christopher. He
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: is an amazing young talent.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: He actually goes to the rock nation school of music
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: here in New York from Delaware though. And he, You know,
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: I ran into him. I ran into Madison. Madison is
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: a Delaware State University student. She also is part of
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: the Brown Guard Grinding Internship Program on our social media side.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: And you know, running into them and just talking to
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  Speaker 3: them at homecoming. And I'm just being so excited to,
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  Speaker 3: to be there and to, to see me doing these things.
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: I'm like, it's crazy because I know what it was
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  Speaker 3: like to be the student excited for people to come
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  Speaker 3: back to campus and to see people and to see
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  Speaker 3: people go out in the world and talk about our school.
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  Speaker 3: So there was an HBCU gala that happened. Shout out
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: to stay true to my HBCU, um, Eric Smiley and JC, um, and, um,
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: This gala gives back to people that are alumni that
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: are really impacting the world and keeping and making our
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: mark be alive in real time. So I was awarded
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: one of the awards there along with B. Miller, previously
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: right radar. He's been here on the podcast as well
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: to a hip hop journalist. And my conversation to the
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: people there was a lot of alumni in the room
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: was all about like our responsibility. And I'm like, oh,
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: listen to you talking about responsibility. Like you as an adult.
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  Speaker 3: Let's take a listen to my speech.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you guys for having me. JC, smiley. Thank you
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  Speaker 2: guys for honoring me.
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  Speaker 3: I think, you know, when I'm saying thank you to
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: Delaware State University, to everybody that's here, one of the
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: biggest things I'll say is, like, don't be afraid to
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: reach out.
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  Speaker 2: So before, I mean, a lot of you guys know me.
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  Speaker 3: You literally watched me grow up.
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  Speaker 2: Here on campus, a lot of y'all.
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  Speaker 3: But once I left campus, and you know, life had
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: its ups and its downs, and I talk a lot
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: about my mom battling.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: Stage four brain and lung cancer, and making it through it.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: I mean, beating cancerous ass.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: If I can cut a spiral.
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  Speaker 3: But JC was one of the people that I reached
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  Speaker 3: out to.
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  Speaker 2: When I was trying to figure.
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  Speaker 3: Out, like, yo, I need to feed her the right way,
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  Speaker 3: and have conversations the right way. When I'm doing stories,
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: I'm breaking news. I reach out to a lot of
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: Delaware State University graduates. Don't be afraid to reach out.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of my work and my money, but.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: Also my joy and my wholesomeness has come from being
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: an HBC graduate and being centered in this space. And
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: it does so much for you. Don't be afraid to
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: reach out. The ability to reach out, the ability to
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: have family starts here on this campus. And it started
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: when you were here on this campus. And I just
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: want to remind everybody to not forget that. It is
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: such a big thing. I talk about Delaware State all
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: the time. I talk about Delaware all the time because
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: one of the things that I know I can count on,
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: regardless if I have a Breakfast Club title or not,
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: is my family. You guys are my family. Delaware State
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  Speaker 3: University is my family. Women's Team Delaware is my family,
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  Speaker 3: but I'm fine, and I really appreciate you smiling. and
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  Speaker 3: JC for not only just giving me this award tonight,
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  Speaker 3: but also championing me from the beginning, way.
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  Speaker 2: Before Breakfast Club, way before TMZ.
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  Speaker 3: Like, you know, being this young, ambitious girl on campus
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  Speaker 3: who was just trying to figure out everything, but was
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: not settling for no. These two were here early on
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  Speaker 3: and being like, all right, what.
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  Speaker 4: You want to do?
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  Speaker 2: We got this video.
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  Speaker 3: We got this, you know, whatever they had going on,
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  Speaker 3: they put me in it. So, you know, it starts
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: at home. And if it starts at home, that means
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: you've got to get back from home. That's one of
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: the messages I'm going to leave you with. I do
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: a lot of work now just talking about Delaware State
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: and showing up whenever Dr.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Allen or my uncle Tony Tucker calls me.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Because Delaware State University, we have an eye on us
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: right now. Deshawn Jackson being my head football coach and.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: A lot of these conversations. I saw this on the
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Forbes list not too long ago. We have an eye
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: on us. And that means we need a lot of support.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: So you are alumni. We have an alumni stadium that
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: is being built.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: Right now we have one alumni that's donated to that stadium.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: Don't be afraid to reach out, but don't also forget
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: that reaching out means that that is your home and
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: you've got to take care of home first. So thank
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: you guys for this honor. Don't forget that we also
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: have to give back, give back, give back. It is
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: really important.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: Because if we talk about it, if we say this
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: is home.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: And we dress up and look good for homecoming, we
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: make the people want to come here. They come here,
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: we've got to teach them along the way. If we're
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: teaching them anything, it's Don't forget to take care of them.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: So thank you guys so much. And I'm going to
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: put this somewhere in my office or somewhere.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: Because they can think Delaware don't got nothing, but we.
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: Got this award. So I appreciate that.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: So if I have any Delaware State University students or
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: not students, alumni, look, I still think we go there.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: If I have any Delaware State University alumni listening in
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: that want to give to that stadium, that is a
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: true thing. I was at a conversation to honor Deshaun
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: Jackson kicking off homecoming during the week last week, before
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: last weekend. And we actually featured that conversation here on
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: the latest with Lauren, the Rose of the podcast. You
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: guys can go back and listen to that. And our president, Dr.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: Tony Allen said, said something that like really it messed
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: me up man he was talking about the fact that
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: we have this whole you know alumni stadium that is
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: about to launch basically and no real alumni that have
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: given back we have one alumni that has given back
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: to this alumni stadium so i am truly truly truly
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: i'm i'm I'm putting you on a task. I'm putting
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: all of us to task. Let's go back. Let's give
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: money back. You know, this not only has to do
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: with a athletic stadium and resources for the athletes, which
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: is important, but also, you know, it trickles down into
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: scholarships into people, young students being able to come and learn.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: and matriculate through Delaware State University uninterrupted, which we know
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: is also very, very important.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: So you can visit desu.edu.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: And find out more information there about the alumni scholarship
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: and ways that you guys can donate.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, tell them Lauren La Rosa sent you.
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: Now, I want to take this episode as we close
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: out to show y'all, or to expose some people, talk
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: about influence, expose some people to some really, really great
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: HBCU alumni voices in a celebrity world. You may not
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: have even known are HBCU graduates. So let's get into
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: all things celebrity and HBCU. So up first, we got
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: my girl Nene Leakes. Now, I was celebrating Nene Leakes
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: because she had a big return to Real Housewives.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Bravo.
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: Not on Real Housewives the show, but on Real Housewives
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: Ultimate Girls Trip. You know, they're celebrating over 20 years
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: of Housewives as a franchise and You can't talk about
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: the Real Housewives without talking about Lanithia Leakes, but you
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: also can't talk about HBCUs without talking about her as
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: well because she previously attended Morris Brown College in Atlanta.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: In Atlanta.
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: You know, she did leave college while there, but Nene Leakes,
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: she's one of ours. She's a HBCU grad. Let's take
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: a listen. Nene Leakes, we know, is the mother of
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: of Housewives I was gonna say of uh I was
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: gonna say is the mother of Real Housewives of Atlanta
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: but it's not just that like when the franchise was
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: very very very very new and I I don't remember
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: it in it in its inception um I forget what
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: year I started watching the Housewives I do know when
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: I started watching Portia was still with Cordell so it
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: was pretty early on that probably that was that was
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: in the some of the opening you know few seasons
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: but there had already been seasons prior to that um
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: But NeNe Man and her one-liners, her comebacks, her life,
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: you know, getting to watch her marriage with Greg, God
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: Rest His Soul, was so iconic for the franchise and
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: what she did and how she literally carried the show
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: on its back. And the reason why I think, you know,
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: I know I, listen, I got very emotional watching NeNe
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: Leakes return to The Real Housewives in any capacity. And
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: I know some of the other women from the other
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: franchise on this ultimate girl trip did as well, too,
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: is because when we think about reality television, no matter
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: if you like it, if you love it, if you
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: hate it, when we think about what reality TV has
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: been able to do and become as a vehicle and
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: business for women. and how we've watched it over the
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: years is something pretty amazing to think about. I mean,
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: you think about NeNe Leach, you think about Kim Kardashian,
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: you think about Portia Williams, you think about so many
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: different women who, Lisa Vanderpump and everything that she's been
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: able to do with like, you know, television and restaurants
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: and the life that she built, like, It's pretty amazing
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: to see how, you know, what started out as just
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: like an experiment to follow women in their integral stages
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: of being housewives, like legit women in the house.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Some having to work, some having to stay home.
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: What that has blossomed into, thanks to the likes of
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: television and, you know, the.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: the growth of television now.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: Into streaming and the internet and these businesses that these
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: women have been able to build in parallel with the
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: fact that they appear on this platform with all of
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: these viewers day by day. And I told y'all, BDOT,
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: Brian Miller, Brian BDOT Miller, formerly of Rap Radar, notably,
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: you know, sat next to Elliot Wilson during some really,
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: really pivotal interviews for The Crown and Rap Radar from
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: Jay-Z to Drake, also HBCU graduate, Delaware State University graduate, actually.
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: He was there with us It was me and my boyfriend.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: I say us, me and my boyfriend at the gala.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: But he was here on the podcast giving us some
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: of his takes in his conversation. His takes always go viral.
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: They get the people going.
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: But BDOT was one of the journalists when I came
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: into Delaware State University and I told people that, you know,
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: I was into having conversations around entertainment and hip hop
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: and all the things. They were like, yo, you need
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: to know who BDOT is. I met him after I graduated, like,
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: sometime down the line. But I remember walking up to
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: him and being like, hey, B-Dot, I'm Lauren. I went
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: to Del State, and people told me I should know you.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: And he's been big bro ever since. Now, I know
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: y'all know this next voice, Megan Thee Stallion. Yes, HBCU grad. Okay,
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: she does not play about her education. She talks about
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: it all the time, how she graduated from Texas Southern
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: University in Houston. She had a bachelor's of science degree
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: in health administration. She graduated and completed that program back
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: in 2021. So let's get into Meg Thee Stallion talking about,
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: I mean, this has to do with health. mental health
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: and learning that everything does not have to be everything
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: in my lauren hill voice everything don't got to be
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: okay all the time she was sitting and talking to
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: miss michelle obama and her brother craig robertson in the
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: on the in my opinion podcast let's take a listen I.
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: Used to feel like when I have a bad day,
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: I have to do something to fix it. Like maybe
• 22:36
  Speaker 4: I need to call my therapist and I need to
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: tell her everything that's going on right, right now.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: And you need to tell me something that's going to
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: fix it right now. Make this go away.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Make this go away.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: Make it feel better.
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: And then I used to think like, okay, well, I
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: just can't think about it. I have things to do,
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: which I do. So I can never like just wallow
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: in how I feel.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: But that's how I used to feel.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: Then I started learning like there's nothing anybody's going to
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: be able to say to me that's going to fix
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: it in 10 minutes.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: So I've learned to just feel what I'm feeling.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: If it's pain, if it's sadness, I have to express it.
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: I might get under my bed and cry.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: I don't know, but I have to feel it.
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: I've went through a lot of different emotions over the years.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: And still, even talking about being happy sometimes make me emotional.
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: I must be going through all these things because I'm
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: supposed to be some kind of example of how to
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: be tough and how to be strong. So I never
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: wanted to.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: Cry or, like, feel. And last but not least, I'm
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: going to include my girl, K. Michelle. Okay, K.
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: Michelle just literally took over our television waves again. Speaking
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: of Real Housewives of Atlanta, on the Real Housewives of Atlanta,
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: it was such a big deal when it was announced
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: that Kay Michelle was going to be on the show.
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: I love Kay Michelle in the reality TV space. I
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: love Kay Michelle in general. But, you know, in this
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: episode that I'm flashing back to, I was very honest
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: about the fact that I think Kay Michelle is one
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: of the biggest in her genre.
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: I think she is super influential.
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: But I don't think that this season that just passed
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: the Royal Housewives of Atlanta was what she needed. I
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: think next season we'll see her do better and kind
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: of utilize that platform a bit more because she knows
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: her influence.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: Okay, Michelle.
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: Now, she knows she that girl. She's also a HBCU alumna.
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: She went to Florida A & M University. That is
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: a HBCU in Tallahassee. And she attended there. She was
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: on a music and yodeling scholarship. She was also Miss FAMU,
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: which she talks about a lot as well, which is a,
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: that is a collegiate. honor to become Miss of your
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: school Miss Sophomore Miss Delaware State Miss Florida A &
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: M like I literally when I'm at homecoming when I
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: was just at homecoming anytime I run into any of
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: our old Misses from when I was on campus I
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: still call them by their titles just out of respect
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: like hey Miss DSU and I was Miss Black and
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: Gold so I still get a lot of respect from
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: the alphas on our campus as well too it is
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: such a it's a thing you know you run you
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: win but people respect it Let's get into my girl, K.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: Michelle. K. Michelle, we know K.
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: Michelle, huge R & B singer, country music artist as well, too,
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: formerly of Love & Hip Hop. She took a break
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: from reality TV and came back on to reality TV
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: with this season of The Housewives. Now, a lot of
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: us are really excited because, again, she had been off
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: reality TV, but she is great television, okay? K.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Michelle, the one-liners. She gets you what you need.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: But I think for me, I was really excited because
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: I felt like the housewives, even though it gets catty
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: and get a little crazy, I felt like it was
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: just a bit more elevated than what I had seen,
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: the situations I had seen her in on Love &
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: Hip Hop. But also, too, Kate Michelle is different now. Like, she's,
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: you know, it's been some years since Love & Hip Hop.
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: She's married. You know, she's in her country music bag.
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: She's always been in her business and music bag, but
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: there's just new heights in records that she's setting for herself.
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: And.
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: She's just it's just above the BS at this point.
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: So I was excited to see how she navigated telling
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: the story about the marriage that she's currently in. And,
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: you know, she talks a lot about her health and
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: the fact that she had to remove certain things from
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: her body after botched surgeries because she almost lost her life.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: Like there to me is just a lot more of
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: a purpose to K. Michelle.
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: And her mission on reality TV now than what we
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: had saw before. So I was excited to see that.
• 26:09
  Speaker 3: Another reason I was excited, speaking of Portia Williams, was
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: because it seemed like Portia and K. Michelle were going
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: to literally take over and own the show as friends.
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: And I was excited for that because, you know, meeting Portia,
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: knowing Portia, getting to interview her, the girl has a
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: damn good time. And I've only ever interacted with her
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: in a professional setting. Damn good time. k michelle from
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: everything i've ever seen with her even though she's has
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: she's had her times on reality tv where it wasn't
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: all fun and games child but k michelle is also
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: a good time as well too and the cast of
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: real housewives of atlanta has has gone through so many
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: changes that people were just excited to see two pinnacle
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: women of reality tv on the show together So that
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: has been another episode, a homecoming HBCU honoring edition of
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: the latest with Lauren LaRosa, the podcast. Now, I want
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: you guys to understand if you are listening to this,
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: if you did not attend the HBCU, we forgive you.
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: Come on through our homecomings. Have a good time. I
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: took my cousins with me this year.
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: And I mean, this is like the second year some
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: of them have come, but the first year for others.
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: And it's always amazing to see them experience what I
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: experienced all four years in college and to hear them
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: after like.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: Yo, that was lit.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: I should have went to HBCU. And I'm like, y'all
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: have no idea. Like, this is just homecoming. You guys
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: don't even understand what it's like to do, you know,
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: the talent shows and even some of the classes. I
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: remember debating in my marketing classes of, like, you know,
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: case studies and different things. Like, just the overall experience
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: of living away from home with all these other people
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: who look like you. If you can donate to an
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: HBCU this year, if you can visit an HBCU, take
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: your child to visit an HBCU, if you're going back
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: to college and considering a school, consider an HBCU. I...
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: Can't stop talking about my school, Delaware State University, enough.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: You guys know I am from Delaware. And that is
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: not the only reason why I talk about it. I
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: talk about it because literally it changed my perspective on
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: so many things that, you know, I am now realizing
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: as a 34-year-old adult who was well into my life
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: and my career, it made me... It gave me that
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: balance that I needed. Like, I learned a lot in
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: my household. I learned a lot from my family.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: But.
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: you got to get some things outside the household too
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: and I was blessed enough to be at an HBCU
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: surrounded by so much family and community um mentors I
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: was running into mentors at homecoming trying to have my
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: red cup but just blessed.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: Uh to be a part of all of that and
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: it is truly a.
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: Spiritual journey of no other to be HBCU graduate and
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: return back to homecoming so Happy homecoming season, y'all. Be
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: safe out there as you travel and make it to
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: all these other homecoming seasons. I may see you guys
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: at some of these schools. Y'all got to follow me
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: on Instagram to see where I'll be next. I know
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Hampton's coming up as well, too. Yeah, Hampton coming up, too.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: I might be there, too.
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: I tell y'all every single episode, y'all could be anywhere
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: with any old body talking about all the things, but, baby,
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: y'all choose to be right here with me, my lowriders.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: I appreciate y'all, and I'll catch you in my next one.