January 30, 2025 • 33 mins
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
My Next Guest is an Emmy Award winning producer and
the writer, director, and actor known for hit ABC sitcoms Blackish, Grownish,
Mixed Dish. He's also known for directing You People, starring
Eddie Murphy on Netflix, among other things. Of course, now
he's got a new podcast on Audible called The Unusual Suspects,
and it appears that he's taking over my studio. I mean,
(00:26):
I don't even know whatever to think. One and only
Kenya Barris is in the house. What's up, big time?
How are you man?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I'm good, bro. I just want to make a couple
of quick changes.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Oh my lord, that's my book, Just a.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Couple of.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
What could I have done better? What could I have
done better?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Man?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Tell me, how are you? Bro?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
It's good to see you, my brother. Is good to
see you.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
First of all, First order of business, with all that
you've accomplished, with all the great things that you continue
to do in Hollywood and beyond. Here you are are
with a new podcast. Talk to me about this The
Usual Suspects. What it's all about.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I got with Malcolm, we became friends. I approached him
at a restaurant and always my joke is like when
you see a writer in public, it's kind of like
seeing a porn star, you know, because it's like you've
seen somebody who you have this intimate relationship with, you
know what I'm saying, and you don't see him out
And so when I saw him, I was like, oh,
(01:27):
and I was like I did the whole I never
do this, but like, he couldn't have been sweeter. And
we struck up a friendship since then, and we kind
of realized that we looked at things as he's a
million times smarter than me, but we looked at things.
We both like to look at the thing behind the thing,
and we kind of thought we were a couple, but
at the same time not our couple, and we I'm
(01:47):
a huge fan of his revisionist history podcasts and his books,
and we was like, let's get together and talk to
people we both love that other people love but might
not know that they love him, or why they love him,
or who exactly we are. And that's that's kind of
the point behind the podcast.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Wow, that's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Shoot, I wish I would have thought about it my
damn self, But that's why you are who you are.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And I'm just little old me. I'm just little low me.
I mean how much?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
How how interested are you in really really doing this?
Because you're a doer. Some of us are just talkers
for crying out loud. But you've done a lot, You've
accomplished a lot. What is it going to be like
for you to be in front of the microphone? And
not only that, keep in mind that even in the
age of podcasting, it almost seems like a video is
attached to every podcast, So you're going to be seen
(02:36):
and heard more from a literal perspective. And it's not
just your name and people knowing the name and that's
the man who does this great work. But now they'll
see you and they'll know you. How ready are you
for that?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Well, we did it, so it's finished, so so it's
coming out, so we will we will see. I was
I'm you know, I'm I got a little bit more
comfortable being in front of the camera doing blackf but
I still feel like you can rob me with a camera.
Deon Cole says, you can rob him with a snake,
you can rob me with a camera. Like but I
(03:08):
do I do like asking questions. I think that everybody's
story is amazing. You know what I'm saying, even the
time we've spent just talking about just like everybody's story,
if you just sit out and talk to anybody, everybody's
story is amazing. And we got to talk to some
truly amazing people who had truly amazing stories. And one
of the things that we I guess, like the narrative,
(03:29):
you know, thematic that we were looking for everybody's like
is there something that people who have achieved great things?
Is there something in them that we could kind of
find a narrative to. And there were some things I'm saying,
relationships to mothers or surrogate mothers, relationships to you know,
passion compared to compulsion, compared to you know, ambition, But
(03:52):
like in general, it was really just amazing center and
listening to people that we all kind of had our
own like sort of secret private love relate relationship with.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
You know, when I look at you and I think
about the great work that you've done throughout the years,
I guess the question that I think about asking you
often is what would you say you bring to Hollywood,
to television, to movies, et cetera. That's an aberration that's different,
not than what other people have brought.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
A bunch of luck. Now I feel like I think
I you know, you know, and just entire same thing.
I think that you do same thing. I think that
a lot of people do. We come from a different
place that Hollywood was not used to, you know what
I'm saying, And I try to bring the most authentic
version of who I am, the most version of telling
stories and also the most authentic version of other people's stories.
(04:42):
I think that is for me. I don't like to
play the you know, the game of like trying to
say to you know, reach everybody. I want to reach
the people who want to hear the truth. And I
think that's something that we do in this podcast, and
then I, you know, I won't hopefully do just in
the in the work that I do.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Why do you think you've been able to pull it off,
particularly in ways that most people, especially most black folks,
haven't been able to pull off. Obviously, the road or
the obstacles that Hollywood presents and what have you.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
That's a challenging and of itself.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
But you've clearly conquered a lot of the obstacles that
have been placed in the path of many many of
us that hasn't been the case for you, at least
from them from our vantage point, how do you think
you've been able to pull it off?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
I mean, first and foremost, like you know, not just
as a good I mean, you know, obviously God what
I'm saying, Like, you know, I think he has plans
and He's given me, you know, some some blessings and
a destination that has a journey for me. So I
always want to, you know, take that first. I think
that I also feel, like you know, I started from
the bottom I was a PA and work my way up.
(05:47):
I think that's something that doesn't happen as much anymore,
you know what I'm saying. People kind of get thrust
into it and they aren't quite ready because the place
that they're thrust into they haven't seen all the stuff
that can come before. I think working your way up
and learning that, you know, what everybody's job is, what
everybody's name is, that everybody's job is important, and having
respect for that, and just like really really being curious,
(06:10):
Like I'm really really curious about a lot of different stuff,
and so I'm being curious and trying to answer my
curiosities and then do it in an entertaining way. I
think that's sort of if there's been anything that's sort
of been. The thing that I try to do is
like take stuff that people are curious about and how
to answer it back, and not just answer from one
point of view. Make sure you put enough different people
(06:31):
in different characters. Me and Malcolm are different but the
same in some aspects. But make sure you don't come
out from just one point of view. Come at it
from a lot of different points of view, and be
open to like people disagreeing, like you disagree with your
co hosts and people all the time. I think that's
what makes some of the best stories.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
You know, I'm wondering what do you feel about the
advent of podcast and not only that, seemingly everybody having
their own production company in this day and age, venturing
into a world that some would say you've now mastered.
How do you feel about the proliferation of it, just
the activity in the industry now more so than ever before.
(07:08):
Because I imagine somebody like yourself has an idea about
who's qualified to be in this space and who isn't.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
What are your thoughts about that?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
I love it, you know what I'm saying. I love it.
And the reason I love it is, you know, I
you know, I look up you know, I look at you.
The difference between you, a difference between Cam and May's,
the difference between shann and the difference between you know,
Oprah or whoever. You know what I'm saying, people or
you know whatever. And I feel like there's a I think,
finally there's a lot of diversity, and I think it's
(07:39):
really important. I also feel like it will show eventually
that the cream will rise, which I think is really
important because I think that everybody can't do something, and
once everybody thinks they can, it kind of actually makes
the people who can do it a little bit more special.
So in a little bit of an asshole way, I
(07:59):
love that body's trying to do it. I love. One
of my favorite things is like, people are coming from
my house and my house is decent. My boys I
grew up with will be like, man, I should start writing,
and I'm like, yeah, man, because it's just that easy.
Everybody can do it, you should start doing it too,
you know what I'm saying. It's like, I think the
idea of you know, we're in a place where the
media and the tools have allowed people feel like everybody
(08:23):
can do it. Everybody can't do it, you know what
I'm saying. We'll see if I can do it, But
I feel like there are certain people who are good
at what they do, and you got to give everybody
a chance so that it will actually the cream will
rise and people will say, oh, that dude is actually really.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Special when you look at right now.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Particularly, let me transition for a quick second to what
you live in Los Angeles and what it's transpired in
Los Angeles with the wildfires, obviously has been catastrophic, so
many people being displaced, so many people losing their homes,
et cetera.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
You have folks who ain't even.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Political getting a bit political because they're disgusted with the
local government and how they've been doing things of their planning,
being their preparation, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
You could take it anywhere you want to go.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
As this stuff has unfolded over the last few weeks
in Los Angeles and its outskirts of Pacific Palisades and
beyond out to Dina, Let's not forget that. What have
you been what have been your thoughts watching all of
this unfold.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I've had a huge amount of thoughts I'm saying, and
like it's a really big, big, big big It's like
it's it's stopped me from doing a lot of my work.
You know, I had a conversation, you know, with a
couple of filmmakers. If I had if I had time
right now, I would turn a camera on and I
would tell that camera to go and start taping, and
(09:39):
I would call it a tael of two cities. And
I want to see right now, in real time, how
these two cities affected by both fired unbelievable tragedy or
people our stuff, how it's handled, and the difference in
how it's handled. I love to tell that story. That's
one thing I'd love love did. I think you could
(10:01):
almost make a case study out of how it's you know,
the difference of how it's handled. I've also talked to
you know, a lot of friends and people that have
relationships with to try to talk about for my particular
you know what I'm saying. I'm sad for everyone, but
you know, my particular people to advocate like and Altadium
was the first one of you know, if not the
(10:22):
first black middle class enclave where we could have it
and It's one of the only places in America where
you have like historic you know, passed down like grandmothers
gave the houses to mothers, gave the houses to daughters,
you know what I'm saying. And that's one of the
only places that's still in this country you could see that.
I'm very much so concerned that ALTA, you know, some
(10:45):
big development group, black so black Rock, whatever you wanna
call it, is going to come in and they're going
to take it from us, and it's going to be
you know, passing in the hills, you know what I'm saying,
or passing in too, and I feel like I want
to make sure that that place continues to look like
it was, like it looked before it was. You know,
this tragedy happened because I think it's really important that
(11:07):
we had. We saw it happen to us in New Orleans.
We saw it happened. It happened happening to us in Harlem,
saw it happening in Brooklyn, We saw it happen in
you know, Miami, the Venice Canals, We saw it happened.
To the idea that when things happen, we get you know,
we get wiped out and they figure out another way.
So I've I've had some conversations and I'm saying I
(11:30):
have been in some aspects really inspired by the response.
In other aspects, I keep it to myself right now.
I feel like certain people have sort of degalvanized from
a group and sort of been more interested in their
in their path. But I feel like for me, I
really want this to be something that we help the
(11:50):
city and the audience and the guests and the people
who live there, you know what I'm saying. And the
people have been a part of the strategy be able
to look and see that city it looks like the
city that they remember when they you know, when it
was at its heyday. I think the population is at
thirty six percent black. It was well over fifty or sixty,
(12:11):
and gentrification and started shrinking it. I don't want to
look up ten years from now and it's just been
wiped away.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Please consider me a soldier on your behalf and making
sure we keep a spotlight on that kind of story,
because clearly we don't need to just sit back and
let that happen and be quiet about it. Ain't no
question about that. So I'm riding with you on that
one all day every day. I got to ask you
about Hollywood in this regard though. Talking to Rob Lowe
just a couple of days ago, he was talking about
(12:39):
how he's lived in Los Angeles since the seventies and
Hollywood meaning the business in Hollywood, Hollywood itself, you know,
just the business. Uh, that's everywhere, they said, Atlanta, there's
various other places, Detroit, various other places throughout the country,
out the world, even Vancouver, around out lot of stuff
like that. But in Hollywood businesses, you just see the
(13:01):
level of activity dissipating. Does Hollywood have a lot to
worry about because of the government, the local government and
things that are going on in the state of California.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Does Hollywood have a lot to worry about?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Hell? Yeah. I feel like you are in an industry
that is controlling the world right now in terms of entertainment.
Sports controls is the number one, you know driver right
now of entertainment. Are all the entertainment facets, from the
streamers to the linear parts to the cable have quadrupled
(13:33):
ten time fold their contracts, double down, triple down. They
understand the sports is a driving force. I think the
idea of like actual narrative. You know, content is taking
a die. There's been several articles that talked about I
think comedies are down thirty seven percent. I feel like, I,
(13:54):
you know, try to like examine why. I think, you know,
I went to a game the other day and the
Clippers are down a Clipper and the Clippers are down
twenty six in the first by the end end, but
we won the game. And I think that's one thing
that people understood about sports and the while those contracts
in the NBA and NFL, and we we're able to
sort of get the money they want because every night
when you watch a sports game, it's like watching potentially
(14:15):
a hit movie. And there's nothing else in the world
that can give you that promise of that. You know,
I'm saying, you can't promise that with the with the
television show, a promise that on the movie. So I
understand why sports is so important, But I also feel like,
you know, we're seeing a contracting of all the media studios.
You know, it used to be twenty and now we're
saying its game became attracted to this many this and
(14:37):
it's gonna be smaller and smaller. And I feel like
more and more jobs are being lost. You see, when
tragedies like this happen, those are people are gonna move
out of Los Angeles where they going to go. I
feel like, you know, I was looking doing a documentary
on the Great Jerry West. I got to interview Adam Silver.
In basketball, which I'm a huge fan of, it's down
(14:59):
in watching. I think it's down forty eight percent something
like that, you know what I'm saying. And I think the
only reason you can look at that is kids don't
watch aren't watching TV live, right, what I'm saying, sort
if you're really a basketball fan growing up, I watch
my team every know you had to watch them three
four times a week. You know what I'm saying. Football
has a great advantage even though there's a couple of days,
(15:23):
but in general you get one day week. They own
a day of the week, you know what I'm saying.
And it's benefiting from that. Also the thing that I
this is my own person before, like you know, NBA
dominates social media. You can go look at the clips,
which in some aspects probably felt like a really great thing.
But when you're not watching watching your team every week
every night, and you can just look on clips and
(15:44):
see LaMelo's highlights, or see Bronze highlights, or see jobs highlights.
That helps hurts the you know things. And I also
feel like, you know, the globalization of sports, you know
what I'm saying. I think there's a lot of different
things that are affecting what media is. But I do
think that it is we're seeing sparks if it come back.
I was super happy to see East's movie open up. Well,
(16:07):
I'm excited about the Oscars. Maybe bring some excitement to it.
I think if you look at the you know, we've
had to survive a pandemic, a strike, and now these fires,
you know what I'm saying, And now you know, just
in an election, I'm saying, I think there's been some
things that have really stun it and what entertainment is
and having it grow. But I feel like there, hopefully
(16:29):
there is some hope of some things coming back, you
know what I'm saying. I think that we're seeing some
of the right people, like you know, you Chuck Shaq.
I've seen people who actually know the game getting into
it in a different way. They're going to create you
guys are going to create better stuff. So I have faith,
But I do I am worried.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Let me transition to you in this regard multi generational
Coca Cola commercial.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I watched it. That's so Laura London, and then.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I mean I was like, I said, damn, that seems
I'm I mean, that seemed like a Super Bowl commercial.
I mean, this is some special stuff right here right now.
That's what I'm talking about with Keny Burch. Talk to
me about that. Tell me about how that came about.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I got a chance. They came to me. They've only
did it once before, they did with the creator of
the Bear. They wanted to do something that scratched over
some generations. I worked with them. I pitched that idea
of like, you know, growing up in the hood, everybody
had that liquor store that they went to and it
served a lot of different purposes. It was, you know,
the thing that kind of almost becomes like a community icon.
(17:33):
And I felt like I wanted to tell a story
that like what happens over the generations. And I think,
you know, interesting enough, Coca Cola is often a sponsor
of that. You know what I'm saying. You go in
there and you do your suicide at the machine, or
you play video games, or you had your first kiss,
or you got your in your first fight, got your bikes,
got your bike still there. So I feel like telling
that story was really special to me, and they really
(17:55):
you know, we had, you know, to get that cast together,
you know, get my sister Lauren in London, and get
the great Omaro Hardwig, you know, pay Hacker. I got
my kid's mom and my kids were in it with
me and saying Lionel voices, I think I think could
be the face of the next generation of black superstars,
and saying to do it under the banner of coke
(18:17):
and under the banner of a store in the hood,
like that was. I was a dream come true. Man.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I don't know if you ever realized.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
I mean, how phenomenal it is that you pulled off
what you pulled off with Blackish. And this is what
let me tell you this little story because Anthony Anderson
is a friend of mine and he came to me
and he talked to me about black as he came
on first take to promote Blackish before before the first episode,
and I'll never forget he and I were talking in
the green room prior to it and I said, bro,
(18:45):
great cast, Ken use that, dude. I'm not worried about
the content. Here's my problem. Look at the world we
live in.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
It the title blackish? Are you sure? Are you sure
that that's not gonna hold it?
Speaker 1 (19:00):
ABC Network Television Blackish? He said, we ain't worried one
damn bit. We're gonna do this. That's what he said
to me. That's what And sure enough, y'all did it?
Did you have any reservations or was that on purpose purposeful?
Speaker 3 (19:17):
The title Blackish?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Did you think in any way that that was going
to galvani or not shun to say galvinis but polarized
or alienate an audience.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Were you ever worried about that at all?
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I wasn't this the network was you know what I'm saying.
The network had us go on a tour you know
what I'm saying to talk about what because people thought
it meant like curse. People thought it might like is
this saying like black shit or just you know what
I'm saying, or like or less than black and whatnot.
And they really didn't come down from I really came
to like, I have six kids, they have their little
friends come over. Well, I looked around the country and
(19:51):
there really wasn't a black or white kid that I
remember left in the you know what I'm saying, Like
even when you go to the hood. You know what
I'm saying, Black kids is dressing and like skaters. I
feel like we're all a little bit of blackish, black,
white black. What I'm saying, there's a black culture has
penetrated the culture in such a way that I really
felt like that was what like we are this country
is blackish. I'm saying, is a little bit of us
(20:13):
is in everything we've done. And I want I'm a
big fan of titles. I think titles matter a lot,
you know what I'm saying, Like when I slid four
year old Virgin, you got what it was immediately. You
know what I'm saying. When I you know, I'm saying
the things that I really love, Like I feel like,
you know, you want a title that sticks out, that
makes noise, it's loud, and I feel like, you know,
same thing I did black af I feel like you
(20:35):
want something that says what it is, you know what
it is in the title, and makes people actually want
to tune in it. What's that story?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
That's that The average Hi restern fan listens an hour
a day. The average high restern hater listens two hours.
You know what I'm saying, When you when you get
people sort of mad, it's all something they want. They
actually want to tune in more and sometime we'll actually
find something that they will know the best way. I think,
you know my grandmother thing. You want to exit a
conversation differently than you enter it. That's a good conversation.
(21:06):
You want people to try to exit this this episode
different than the interest. So they want them to go
into the show feeling a certain way and leave out
feeling about a different way. And then I feel like
that's what true success is.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Do you care about being hated or disliked doing what
you do full.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Of I don't, I'm saying, but I but I do
for my kids, if that makes sense. You know what
I'm saying. I met, I make jokes about the whole
I'm a coloriss. You know what I'm saying, thing like
I saw a joke somebody puts, you know, says like
I'm a colorist and I just did a show based
around my family. My wife is biracial, and the kids
(21:43):
that we make look like the kids that me and biracial.
When we'll make and people were like, you're a coloriss,
I'm like, well, this are just doing a show based
on my feeling. But I understand, you know, the commentary
around and I wanted to talk about that. But I
do feel like when the only time it affects me
is when it affects me kids. When people come and
like you know, leave comments like you're not really black
(22:04):
and things like that, that does affect me because I
feel like they don't they didn't ask to be brought
into this, although they've you know, reaped a lot of
the benefits of it too much time. But I do
feel like, you know, I think that that is and
I think you know better than anybody. You know what
I'm saying, Like you're gonna do you, you know what
I'm saying. And if you do, If you do you
and people don't have some shit to say, then you're
(22:25):
probably not doing it right. Look at Lebron, look at Exactly,
look at George, look anybody who's you know, we're doing everything.
If people just like everything you're doing, you're problem. You're
not doing it right.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
With that being said, you brought up your kids on
a couple of occasions for minders.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
And first of all, you got six kids, right, I'm
right about that, right, you got six kids?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Right? Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Wife? How many? And how many of your kids work
for you? And how do you.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Do you even try to shield them from the kind
of things you just talked about, wanting to avoid them
being subjected to.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Well, my daughter and I just sold a movie yesterday.
She wrote. We wrote the Richard Pryor series, which were
with which I'm umbly she was in the room and
she did an amazing job. She became one of the youngest,
my middle daughter, she became one of the younger.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
First of all, what's her name? Now? How old is she?
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Her name is Leah Barris. Okay, she's twenty three. Amazing
young young writer. She is, you know, just such a
better writer than me. Smart, funny I'm saying, really her
own person. My daughter, Kaylee is runs our social media.
(23:42):
She is She went to usc and very interesting, like
it's full of riz and full of always kind of
telling me, you know how I'm what I'm not doing right?
And I'm corney. My daughter comes to corny and lame constantly.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
My youngest.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
So I got a sixteen and fifteen year old. My
youngest daughter just called me corny. She just called me
corny two days ago.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
It definitely did. It does hurt your feeling because they
can get you. They don't care. My youngest daughter, not
a little bit. My youngest daughter, Lolagosta, she's been. She's
interned at our company. She's at Spelman right now. Four
point zero student. You know what I'm saying, went to
Sierra Canyon with Juju and and Bronni and Rice and
(24:26):
was all part of that, and went out to Atlanta
and is having her culture shock. Aliver bit that my
oldest son Bo, we call him Pops. He's interned there.
He's doing, you know, has something. So those four have
worked there. Hopefully my next two will will in some
aspects come and work work with me. But I feel
like that's the greatest thing that I've been able to do,
(24:49):
is to be able to do something. I get to
work with my kids, and I've stolen so much from
them in the stories and the ideas, and you know,
they're my my test group. No matter what I do,
they have to like they're forced to read, listen and
hear it pitches and do all that. I kind of
think like that's something that we used to do a
lot more as black people would get to like work
(25:09):
with our family. And I think, to me, that's the
greatest gift any of this has been given me is
the idea of not only being able to provide, but
to be able to work with them and see them
grow and see them be a part of what, you know,
our hope is a better future.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Why do you think we're not doing more of that
as a people? I don't know what we used to do.
What you just alluded to, the opportunity work.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think the opportunities are not there, you know what
I'm saying, or not as present, you know what I'm saying.
With the American dream has not been as kind to
us as we would like it to be. You know
what I'm saying, We've had to sort of grab it
in a different kind of way, and when it has
we've kind of more so done it to you know,
provide and and and just you know, get by. I
(25:53):
think the idea of the you know, for most of
us have had any kind of real, you know, some
type of success that people would say is is more
than nominal. We're first generation. I got to work with
Tracy Ross and Rashida Jones, who like, are some of
the only second generation successful people I know. But in general,
for most of us, this is first generation. We don't
(26:15):
have a blueprint. Who's been our blueprint of how we sort.
We don't know how to pay taxes and pay paxes
the right way and tax loops and when a stock
is gonna split and we're how to do this, Like
we're kind of figuring it out for the first time.
So I feel like having my kids around so that
when their their time comes up, they have an ability
to do something that I didn't do. Like that, to me,
(26:36):
is everything great.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Great advice.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
I ain't gonna lie to you because I think about
the same thing you got me thinking about it. I'm
thinking about going home having a conversation with my daughters
by like, they gotta get.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
To work for me. They got to get to work
for me.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
They've been holding off long enough. They don't want to
answer to their dad. That's what they They're like, we
gotta deal with you enough. We don't want to deal
with you on a job too. But I'm anyway, I'm
gonna make them anyway before I let you get on
out of here. You brought up to Richard prior project. Right,
I know you mentioned that, but did you whence you
involve a remake of the Wizard of Oz? When'd you
involved with something along those lines as well as It's
(27:07):
a Wonderful Life and what's going on with those two projects.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I mean we're they were ready to go, strike happen.
What I'm saying, we and now everything has to. People
understand that whenever things like you you know you've seen
it happen in sports, or you've happen contract negotia, it
takes everything a step back. What I'm saying, scripts are written,
you know, we're ready to go. We have to you
(27:30):
know it. Right now, it's about getting things casts and
people don't understand how magical actors are. You know what
I'm saying. You can't do anything when actors. So it's
about getting a cast. And budgets are shrinking because the
studios are all contracting, and like they have to look
at you know, what is their spend for this year,
what's their spind for that year. It's it's a lot
that goes into making movie. I don't think people understand,
(27:52):
like you have to not only get the script to
a point when people want to make it. Then you
got to get a budgeted. Then you got to get
the stars. Then the stars have to be available. Then
you have to get a director who's available during the time.
Then you have to make sure that the company in
that quarter has you know, one hundred hundred and fifty
million dollars two hundred million dollars to spend. Then they
(28:13):
have to make sure that they have you know, seventy
five to one hundred million dollars in PA. Then you
have to make sure that you're you're ready in a
place to go shoot. The things that come together to
make a movie happen are it's it's amazing that they
happen the way that they do, because it is a
lot of things that have to fall into place.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
I got you before I get you, Let you get
on out of here. I'm man, you think you know
I'm not gonna let you get on out of here.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
But I'll talking about yourlippers, right, You're not gonna have
to ask you what we've gotten talking about.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
I mean, I didn't expect them to be I didn't
expect them to be as good as they were.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
They still got some work to do. It's nice to
see Kawhi lend it on a court.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I don't know how long that's gonna last, but we
got a hold on it that moment we got what
about that? James Todd lou is a hell of a coach.
He came on this show. He came on this show.
It raved raved about. Uh, you know, Jeff Van Gundy
and what he's brought to the team defense as an
assistant coach. How are you feeling about your Clippers right now?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I'm feeling I'm feeling excellent. I'm feeling excellent. I feel
like every night before we got Kawhi, I feel like
every night we were competitive. Even if we lost, every
night we were competitive. And I feel like tyleru the
ability to get dudes who before they came to him,
who didn't think that they could play on that level.
(29:30):
The ability of not just the coaching that, but what
it takes for a coach to get into the mentality
of a player to make them believe that they can
compete on the highest level and play as a team.
That is an amazing thing to do.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
How the hell is somebody living in Los Angeles and
they find themselves being a Clippers fan and not a
Lakers fan.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
How does that happen?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Why I'm a Laker fan. I'm not a Clipper. Fans
can be Laker fans. Laker fans have to be Clipper haters.
I'm a Laker. I'm I'm a point I'm a Laker fan.
Love Lebron, you know, love jj JJ. Redick is trying
to do love a d rich Paul is my boy.
I kep saying I'm a Laker fan, but my Clippers.
(30:12):
When I started being able to buy tickets from my
family could afford them, they were affordable. The the environment
felt like a real environment, like people who were there
wanted to be there. It wasn't so good seeing glossy.
They were scrappy. I got to go through Lob City,
I got the I got to see the end of
Pool Richardson. I get to now see. I got to
(30:33):
see PG, whose game was like jazz to me. I
got to see you know Harden, who I think might be.
You know when it all goes sitting down, you know,
is he in the top five? You know what I'm saying.
When it's all said and done, I got.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
To know, No, I love them.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
If you want to start talking about stats, you're want
to start talking about stats.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
Somebody stopped that. Come on, come on, stop, can you
stop it? He's not he's top ten, top five, he's
top He's not.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Not to one of the greatest scores in NBA history
of the greatest scorer is no doubt.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
In history, in history, right. And if you have when
you add up all his stats, his stats have to
put him in the top ten. His stats have to
put him in.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
The top ten. You know what, I'm gonna dedicate a
segment on this show.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
It's gonna blow your mind on this show. Blow your mind.
It's gonna blow your.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I'm gonna say, I'm gonna replay it for the NBA audience,
and I'm gonna say, ken you, Barrett said James Harden
top five.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
I say top ten.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Sucking it, I say.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Top ten, top ten, top Ten's.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Logistically he might be in the top five. And if
you just go shooting guards, I am absolutely sure he's
in the top five.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
You know you on camera right, I will say that
right now, you know right?
Speaker 2 (31:51):
And James, James is not my boy. I love his game.
I am saying that basic and he's his When you
look at hististics, they are phenomenal phenomenal. Okay, you know
they are.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
I'm not knocking it. I'm saying I'm saying you peaqued
my curiosity. I gotta go back and look at it
hard about this, and I gotta say, wait a minute, now,
look at you. Can you vantaged point and let's see
if it's right. Look, man, I'm gonna let you get
on out of here. I appreciate it the usually the
unusual suspects. When is the podcast? When is the podcast?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Drop?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
It drops tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Right, Yes, I'm gonna say yes because I don't have
actual yes for the confidence.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yes, it drops tomorrow. I know this for sure. I
was just double checking. But anyway, man, I appreciate you.
I owe you big time.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Man.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I'm sorry they get my day job. Maybe I don't run.
I'm not my own boss with everything like you something
just not with everything.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
So that's what I owe you, big time man. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
I appreciate you having me. I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
All one and only. Can you barriss right here with
stephen A
My Next Guest is an Emmy Award winning producer and
the writer, director, and actor known for hit ABC sitcoms Blackish, Grownish,
Mixed Dish. He's also known for directing You People, starring
Eddie Murphy on Netflix, among other things. Of course, now
he's got a new podcast on Audible called The Unusual Suspects,
and it appears that he's taking over my studio. I mean,
(00:26):
I don't even know whatever to think. One and only
Kenya Barris is in the house. What's up, big time?
How are you man?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I'm good, bro. I just want to make a couple
of quick changes.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Oh my lord, that's my book, Just a.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Couple of.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
What could I have done better? What could I have
done better?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Man?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Tell me, how are you? Bro?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
It's good to see you, my brother. Is good to
see you.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
First of all, First order of business, with all that
you've accomplished, with all the great things that you continue
to do in Hollywood and beyond. Here you are are
with a new podcast. Talk to me about this The
Usual Suspects. What it's all about.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I got with Malcolm, we became friends. I approached him
at a restaurant and always my joke is like when
you see a writer in public, it's kind of like
seeing a porn star, you know, because it's like you've
seen somebody who you have this intimate relationship with, you
know what I'm saying, and you don't see him out
And so when I saw him, I was like, oh,
(01:27):
and I was like I did the whole I never
do this, but like, he couldn't have been sweeter. And
we struck up a friendship since then, and we kind
of realized that we looked at things as he's a
million times smarter than me, but we looked at things.
We both like to look at the thing behind the thing,
and we kind of thought we were a couple, but
at the same time not our couple, and we I'm
(01:47):
a huge fan of his revisionist history podcasts and his books,
and we was like, let's get together and talk to
people we both love that other people love but might
not know that they love him, or why they love him,
or who exactly we are. And that's that's kind of
the point behind the podcast.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Wow, that's a great idea.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Shoot, I wish I would have thought about it my
damn self, But that's why you are who you are.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And I'm just little old me. I'm just little low me.
I mean how much?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
How how interested are you in really really doing this?
Because you're a doer. Some of us are just talkers
for crying out loud. But you've done a lot, You've
accomplished a lot. What is it going to be like
for you to be in front of the microphone? And
not only that, keep in mind that even in the
age of podcasting, it almost seems like a video is
attached to every podcast, So you're going to be seen
(02:36):
and heard more from a literal perspective. And it's not
just your name and people knowing the name and that's
the man who does this great work. But now they'll
see you and they'll know you. How ready are you
for that?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Well, we did it, so it's finished, so so it's
coming out, so we will we will see. I was
I'm you know, I'm I got a little bit more
comfortable being in front of the camera doing blackf but
I still feel like you can rob me with a camera.
Deon Cole says, you can rob him with a snake,
you can rob me with a camera. Like but I
(03:08):
do I do like asking questions. I think that everybody's
story is amazing. You know what I'm saying, even the
time we've spent just talking about just like everybody's story,
if you just sit out and talk to anybody, everybody's
story is amazing. And we got to talk to some
truly amazing people who had truly amazing stories. And one
of the things that we I guess, like the narrative,
(03:29):
you know, thematic that we were looking for everybody's like
is there something that people who have achieved great things?
Is there something in them that we could kind of
find a narrative to. And there were some things I'm saying,
relationships to mothers or surrogate mothers, relationships to you know,
passion compared to compulsion, compared to you know, ambition, But
(03:52):
like in general, it was really just amazing center and
listening to people that we all kind of had our
own like sort of secret private love relate relationship with.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
You know, when I look at you and I think
about the great work that you've done throughout the years,
I guess the question that I think about asking you
often is what would you say you bring to Hollywood,
to television, to movies, et cetera. That's an aberration that's different,
not than what other people have brought.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
A bunch of luck. Now I feel like I think
I you know, you know, and just entire same thing.
I think that you do same thing. I think that
a lot of people do. We come from a different
place that Hollywood was not used to, you know what
I'm saying, And I try to bring the most authentic
version of who I am, the most version of telling
stories and also the most authentic version of other people's stories.
(04:42):
I think that is for me. I don't like to
play the you know, the game of like trying to
say to you know, reach everybody. I want to reach
the people who want to hear the truth. And I
think that's something that we do in this podcast, and
then I, you know, I won't hopefully do just in
the in the work that I do.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Why do you think you've been able to pull it off,
particularly in ways that most people, especially most black folks,
haven't been able to pull off. Obviously, the road or
the obstacles that Hollywood presents and what have you.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
That's a challenging and of itself.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
But you've clearly conquered a lot of the obstacles that
have been placed in the path of many many of
us that hasn't been the case for you, at least
from them from our vantage point, how do you think
you've been able to pull it off?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
I mean, first and foremost, like you know, not just
as a good I mean, you know, obviously God what
I'm saying, Like, you know, I think he has plans
and He's given me, you know, some some blessings and
a destination that has a journey for me. So I
always want to, you know, take that first. I think
that I also feel, like you know, I started from
the bottom I was a PA and work my way up.
(05:47):
I think that's something that doesn't happen as much anymore,
you know what I'm saying. People kind of get thrust
into it and they aren't quite ready because the place
that they're thrust into they haven't seen all the stuff
that can come before. I think working your way up
and learning that, you know, what everybody's job is, what
everybody's name is, that everybody's job is important, and having
respect for that, and just like really really being curious,
(06:10):
Like I'm really really curious about a lot of different stuff,
and so I'm being curious and trying to answer my
curiosities and then do it in an entertaining way. I
think that's sort of if there's been anything that's sort
of been. The thing that I try to do is
like take stuff that people are curious about and how
to answer it back, and not just answer from one
point of view. Make sure you put enough different people
(06:31):
in different characters. Me and Malcolm are different but the
same in some aspects. But make sure you don't come
out from just one point of view. Come at it
from a lot of different points of view, and be
open to like people disagreeing, like you disagree with your
co hosts and people all the time. I think that's
what makes some of the best stories.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
You know, I'm wondering what do you feel about the
advent of podcast and not only that, seemingly everybody having
their own production company in this day and age, venturing
into a world that some would say you've now mastered.
How do you feel about the proliferation of it, just
the activity in the industry now more so than ever before.
(07:08):
Because I imagine somebody like yourself has an idea about
who's qualified to be in this space and who isn't.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
What are your thoughts about that?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
I love it, you know what I'm saying. I love it.
And the reason I love it is, you know, I
you know, I look up you know, I look at you.
The difference between you, a difference between Cam and May's,
the difference between shann and the difference between you know,
Oprah or whoever. You know what I'm saying, people or
you know whatever. And I feel like there's a I think,
finally there's a lot of diversity, and I think it's
(07:39):
really important. I also feel like it will show eventually
that the cream will rise, which I think is really
important because I think that everybody can't do something, and
once everybody thinks they can, it kind of actually makes
the people who can do it a little bit more special.
So in a little bit of an asshole way, I
(07:59):
love that body's trying to do it. I love. One
of my favorite things is like, people are coming from
my house and my house is decent. My boys I
grew up with will be like, man, I should start writing,
and I'm like, yeah, man, because it's just that easy.
Everybody can do it, you should start doing it too,
you know what I'm saying. It's like, I think the
idea of you know, we're in a place where the
media and the tools have allowed people feel like everybody
(08:23):
can do it. Everybody can't do it, you know what
I'm saying. We'll see if I can do it, But
I feel like there are certain people who are good
at what they do, and you got to give everybody
a chance so that it will actually the cream will
rise and people will say, oh, that dude is actually really.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Special when you look at right now.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Particularly, let me transition for a quick second to what
you live in Los Angeles and what it's transpired in
Los Angeles with the wildfires, obviously has been catastrophic, so
many people being displaced, so many people losing their homes,
et cetera.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
You have folks who ain't even.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Political getting a bit political because they're disgusted with the
local government and how they've been doing things of their planning,
being their preparation, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
You could take it anywhere you want to go.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
As this stuff has unfolded over the last few weeks
in Los Angeles and its outskirts of Pacific Palisades and
beyond out to Dina, Let's not forget that. What have
you been what have been your thoughts watching all of
this unfold.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I've had a huge amount of thoughts I'm saying, and
like it's a really big, big, big big It's like
it's it's stopped me from doing a lot of my work.
You know, I had a conversation, you know, with a
couple of filmmakers. If I had if I had time
right now, I would turn a camera on and I
would tell that camera to go and start taping, and
(09:39):
I would call it a tael of two cities. And
I want to see right now, in real time, how
these two cities affected by both fired unbelievable tragedy or
people our stuff, how it's handled, and the difference in
how it's handled. I love to tell that story. That's
one thing I'd love love did. I think you could
(10:01):
almost make a case study out of how it's you know,
the difference of how it's handled. I've also talked to
you know, a lot of friends and people that have
relationships with to try to talk about for my particular
you know what I'm saying. I'm sad for everyone, but
you know, my particular people to advocate like and Altadium
was the first one of you know, if not the
(10:22):
first black middle class enclave where we could have it
and It's one of the only places in America where
you have like historic you know, passed down like grandmothers
gave the houses to mothers, gave the houses to daughters,
you know what I'm saying. And that's one of the
only places that's still in this country you could see that.
I'm very much so concerned that ALTA, you know, some
(10:45):
big development group, black so black Rock, whatever you wanna
call it, is going to come in and they're going
to take it from us, and it's going to be
you know, passing in the hills, you know what I'm saying,
or passing in too, and I feel like I want
to make sure that that place continues to look like
it was, like it looked before it was. You know,
this tragedy happened because I think it's really important that
(11:07):
we had. We saw it happen to us in New Orleans.
We saw it happened. It happened happening to us in Harlem,
saw it happening in Brooklyn, We saw it happen in
you know, Miami, the Venice Canals, We saw it happened.
To the idea that when things happen, we get you know,
we get wiped out and they figure out another way.
So I've I've had some conversations and I'm saying I
(11:30):
have been in some aspects really inspired by the response.
In other aspects, I keep it to myself right now.
I feel like certain people have sort of degalvanized from
a group and sort of been more interested in their
in their path. But I feel like for me, I
really want this to be something that we help the
(11:50):
city and the audience and the guests and the people
who live there, you know what I'm saying. And the
people have been a part of the strategy be able
to look and see that city it looks like the
city that they remember when they you know, when it
was at its heyday. I think the population is at
thirty six percent black. It was well over fifty or sixty,
(12:11):
and gentrification and started shrinking it. I don't want to
look up ten years from now and it's just been
wiped away.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Please consider me a soldier on your behalf and making
sure we keep a spotlight on that kind of story,
because clearly we don't need to just sit back and
let that happen and be quiet about it. Ain't no
question about that. So I'm riding with you on that
one all day every day. I got to ask you
about Hollywood in this regard though. Talking to Rob Lowe
just a couple of days ago, he was talking about
(12:39):
how he's lived in Los Angeles since the seventies and
Hollywood meaning the business in Hollywood, Hollywood itself, you know,
just the business. Uh, that's everywhere, they said, Atlanta, there's
various other places, Detroit, various other places throughout the country,
out the world, even Vancouver, around out lot of stuff
like that. But in Hollywood businesses, you just see the
(13:01):
level of activity dissipating. Does Hollywood have a lot to
worry about because of the government, the local government and
things that are going on in the state of California.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Does Hollywood have a lot to worry about?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Hell? Yeah. I feel like you are in an industry
that is controlling the world right now in terms of entertainment.
Sports controls is the number one, you know driver right
now of entertainment. Are all the entertainment facets, from the
streamers to the linear parts to the cable have quadrupled
(13:33):
ten time fold their contracts, double down, triple down. They
understand the sports is a driving force. I think the
idea of like actual narrative. You know, content is taking
a die. There's been several articles that talked about I
think comedies are down thirty seven percent. I feel like, I,
(13:54):
you know, try to like examine why. I think, you know,
I went to a game the other day and the
Clippers are down a Clipper and the Clippers are down
twenty six in the first by the end end, but
we won the game. And I think that's one thing
that people understood about sports and the while those contracts
in the NBA and NFL, and we we're able to
sort of get the money they want because every night
when you watch a sports game, it's like watching potentially
(14:15):
a hit movie. And there's nothing else in the world
that can give you that promise of that. You know,
I'm saying, you can't promise that with the with the
television show, a promise that on the movie. So I
understand why sports is so important, But I also feel like,
you know, we're seeing a contracting of all the media studios.
You know, it used to be twenty and now we're
saying its game became attracted to this many this and
(14:37):
it's gonna be smaller and smaller. And I feel like
more and more jobs are being lost. You see, when
tragedies like this happen, those are people are gonna move
out of Los Angeles where they going to go. I
feel like, you know, I was looking doing a documentary
on the Great Jerry West. I got to interview Adam Silver.
In basketball, which I'm a huge fan of, it's down
(14:59):
in watching. I think it's down forty eight percent something
like that, you know what I'm saying. And I think the
only reason you can look at that is kids don't
watch aren't watching TV live, right, what I'm saying, sort
if you're really a basketball fan growing up, I watch
my team every know you had to watch them three
four times a week. You know what I'm saying. Football
has a great advantage even though there's a couple of days,
(15:23):
but in general you get one day week. They own
a day of the week, you know what I'm saying.
And it's benefiting from that. Also the thing that I
this is my own person before, like you know, NBA
dominates social media. You can go look at the clips,
which in some aspects probably felt like a really great thing.
But when you're not watching watching your team every week
every night, and you can just look on clips and
(15:44):
see LaMelo's highlights, or see Bronze highlights, or see jobs highlights.
That helps hurts the you know things. And I also
feel like, you know, the globalization of sports, you know
what I'm saying. I think there's a lot of different
things that are affecting what media is. But I do
think that it is we're seeing sparks if it come back.
I was super happy to see East's movie open up. Well,
(16:07):
I'm excited about the Oscars. Maybe bring some excitement to it.
I think if you look at the you know, we've
had to survive a pandemic, a strike, and now these fires,
you know what I'm saying, And now you know, just
in an election, I'm saying, I think there's been some
things that have really stun it and what entertainment is
and having it grow. But I feel like there, hopefully
(16:29):
there is some hope of some things coming back, you
know what I'm saying. I think that we're seeing some
of the right people, like you know, you Chuck Shaq.
I've seen people who actually know the game getting into
it in a different way. They're going to create you
guys are going to create better stuff. So I have faith,
But I do I am worried.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Let me transition to you in this regard multi generational
Coca Cola commercial.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I watched it. That's so Laura London, and then.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I mean I was like, I said, damn, that seems
I'm I mean, that seemed like a Super Bowl commercial.
I mean, this is some special stuff right here right now.
That's what I'm talking about with Keny Burch. Talk to
me about that. Tell me about how that came about.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I got a chance. They came to me. They've only
did it once before, they did with the creator of
the Bear. They wanted to do something that scratched over
some generations. I worked with them. I pitched that idea
of like, you know, growing up in the hood, everybody
had that liquor store that they went to and it
served a lot of different purposes. It was, you know,
the thing that kind of almost becomes like a community icon.
(17:33):
And I felt like I wanted to tell a story
that like what happens over the generations. And I think,
you know, interesting enough, Coca Cola is often a sponsor
of that. You know what I'm saying. You go in
there and you do your suicide at the machine, or
you play video games, or you had your first kiss,
or you got your in your first fight, got your bikes,
got your bike still there. So I feel like telling
that story was really special to me, and they really
(17:55):
you know, we had, you know, to get that cast together,
you know, get my sister Lauren in London, and get
the great Omaro Hardwig, you know, pay Hacker. I got
my kid's mom and my kids were in it with
me and saying Lionel voices, I think I think could
be the face of the next generation of black superstars,
and saying to do it under the banner of coke
(18:17):
and under the banner of a store in the hood,
like that was. I was a dream come true. Man.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I don't know if you ever realized.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
I mean, how phenomenal it is that you pulled off
what you pulled off with Blackish. And this is what
let me tell you this little story because Anthony Anderson
is a friend of mine and he came to me
and he talked to me about black as he came
on first take to promote Blackish before before the first episode,
and I'll never forget he and I were talking in
the green room prior to it and I said, bro,
(18:45):
great cast, Ken use that, dude. I'm not worried about
the content. Here's my problem. Look at the world we
live in.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
It the title blackish? Are you sure? Are you sure
that that's not gonna hold it?
Speaker 1 (19:00):
ABC Network Television Blackish? He said, we ain't worried one
damn bit. We're gonna do this. That's what he said
to me. That's what And sure enough, y'all did it?
Did you have any reservations or was that on purpose purposeful?
Speaker 3 (19:17):
The title Blackish?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Did you think in any way that that was going
to galvani or not shun to say galvinis but polarized
or alienate an audience.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Were you ever worried about that at all?
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I wasn't this the network was you know what I'm saying.
The network had us go on a tour you know
what I'm saying to talk about what because people thought
it meant like curse. People thought it might like is
this saying like black shit or just you know what
I'm saying, or like or less than black and whatnot.
And they really didn't come down from I really came
to like, I have six kids, they have their little
friends come over. Well, I looked around the country and
(19:51):
there really wasn't a black or white kid that I
remember left in the you know what I'm saying, Like
even when you go to the hood. You know what
I'm saying, Black kids is dressing and like skaters. I
feel like we're all a little bit of blackish, black,
white black. What I'm saying, there's a black culture has
penetrated the culture in such a way that I really
felt like that was what like we are this country
is blackish. I'm saying, is a little bit of us
(20:13):
is in everything we've done. And I want I'm a
big fan of titles. I think titles matter a lot,
you know what I'm saying, Like when I slid four
year old Virgin, you got what it was immediately. You
know what I'm saying. When I you know, I'm saying
the things that I really love, Like I feel like,
you know, you want a title that sticks out, that
makes noise, it's loud, and I feel like, you know,
same thing I did black af I feel like you
(20:35):
want something that says what it is, you know what
it is in the title, and makes people actually want
to tune in it. What's that story?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
That's that The average Hi restern fan listens an hour
a day. The average high restern hater listens two hours.
You know what I'm saying, When you when you get
people sort of mad, it's all something they want. They
actually want to tune in more and sometime we'll actually
find something that they will know the best way. I think,
you know my grandmother thing. You want to exit a
conversation differently than you enter it. That's a good conversation.
(21:06):
You want people to try to exit this this episode
different than the interest. So they want them to go
into the show feeling a certain way and leave out
feeling about a different way. And then I feel like
that's what true success is.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Do you care about being hated or disliked doing what
you do full.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Of I don't, I'm saying, but I but I do
for my kids, if that makes sense. You know what
I'm saying. I met, I make jokes about the whole
I'm a coloriss. You know what I'm saying, thing like
I saw a joke somebody puts, you know, says like
I'm a colorist and I just did a show based
around my family. My wife is biracial, and the kids
(21:43):
that we make look like the kids that me and biracial.
When we'll make and people were like, you're a coloriss,
I'm like, well, this are just doing a show based
on my feeling. But I understand, you know, the commentary
around and I wanted to talk about that. But I
do feel like when the only time it affects me
is when it affects me kids. When people come and
like you know, leave comments like you're not really black
(22:04):
and things like that, that does affect me because I
feel like they don't they didn't ask to be brought
into this, although they've you know, reaped a lot of
the benefits of it too much time. But I do
feel like, you know, I think that that is and
I think you know better than anybody. You know what
I'm saying, Like you're gonna do you, you know what
I'm saying. And if you do, If you do you
and people don't have some shit to say, then you're
(22:25):
probably not doing it right. Look at Lebron, look at Exactly,
look at George, look anybody who's you know, we're doing everything.
If people just like everything you're doing, you're problem. You're
not doing it right.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
With that being said, you brought up your kids on
a couple of occasions for minders.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
And first of all, you got six kids, right, I'm
right about that, right, you got six kids?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Right? Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Wife? How many? And how many of your kids work
for you? And how do you.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Do you even try to shield them from the kind
of things you just talked about, wanting to avoid them
being subjected to.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Well, my daughter and I just sold a movie yesterday.
She wrote. We wrote the Richard Pryor series, which were
with which I'm umbly she was in the room and
she did an amazing job. She became one of the youngest,
my middle daughter, she became one of the younger.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
First of all, what's her name? Now? How old is she?
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Her name is Leah Barris. Okay, she's twenty three. Amazing
young young writer. She is, you know, just such a
better writer than me. Smart, funny I'm saying, really her
own person. My daughter, Kaylee is runs our social media.
(23:42):
She is She went to usc and very interesting, like
it's full of riz and full of always kind of
telling me, you know how I'm what I'm not doing right?
And I'm corney. My daughter comes to corny and lame constantly.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
My youngest.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
So I got a sixteen and fifteen year old. My
youngest daughter just called me corny. She just called me
corny two days ago.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
It definitely did. It does hurt your feeling because they
can get you. They don't care. My youngest daughter, not
a little bit. My youngest daughter, Lolagosta, she's been. She's
interned at our company. She's at Spelman right now. Four
point zero student. You know what I'm saying, went to
Sierra Canyon with Juju and and Bronni and Rice and
(24:26):
was all part of that, and went out to Atlanta
and is having her culture shock. Aliver bit that my
oldest son Bo, we call him Pops. He's interned there.
He's doing, you know, has something. So those four have
worked there. Hopefully my next two will will in some
aspects come and work work with me. But I feel
like that's the greatest thing that I've been able to do,
(24:49):
is to be able to do something. I get to
work with my kids, and I've stolen so much from
them in the stories and the ideas, and you know,
they're my my test group. No matter what I do,
they have to like they're forced to read, listen and
hear it pitches and do all that. I kind of
think like that's something that we used to do a
lot more as black people would get to like work
(25:09):
with our family. And I think, to me, that's the
greatest gift any of this has been given me is
the idea of not only being able to provide, but
to be able to work with them and see them
grow and see them be a part of what, you know,
our hope is a better future.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Why do you think we're not doing more of that
as a people? I don't know what we used to do.
What you just alluded to, the opportunity work.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think the opportunities are not there, you know what
I'm saying, or not as present, you know what I'm saying.
With the American dream has not been as kind to
us as we would like it to be. You know
what I'm saying, We've had to sort of grab it
in a different kind of way, and when it has
we've kind of more so done it to you know,
provide and and and just you know, get by. I
(25:53):
think the idea of the you know, for most of
us have had any kind of real, you know, some
type of success that people would say is is more
than nominal. We're first generation. I got to work with
Tracy Ross and Rashida Jones, who like, are some of
the only second generation successful people I know. But in general,
for most of us, this is first generation. We don't
(26:15):
have a blueprint. Who's been our blueprint of how we sort.
We don't know how to pay taxes and pay paxes
the right way and tax loops and when a stock
is gonna split and we're how to do this, Like
we're kind of figuring it out for the first time.
So I feel like having my kids around so that
when their their time comes up, they have an ability
to do something that I didn't do. Like that, to me,
(26:36):
is everything great.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
Great advice.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
I ain't gonna lie to you because I think about
the same thing you got me thinking about it. I'm
thinking about going home having a conversation with my daughters
by like, they gotta get.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
To work for me. They got to get to work
for me.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
They've been holding off long enough. They don't want to
answer to their dad. That's what they They're like, we
gotta deal with you enough. We don't want to deal
with you on a job too. But I'm anyway, I'm
gonna make them anyway before I let you get on
out of here. You brought up to Richard prior project. Right,
I know you mentioned that, but did you whence you
involve a remake of the Wizard of Oz? When'd you
involved with something along those lines as well as It's
(27:07):
a Wonderful Life and what's going on with those two projects.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I mean we're they were ready to go, strike happen.
What I'm saying, we and now everything has to. People
understand that whenever things like you you know you've seen
it happen in sports, or you've happen contract negotia, it
takes everything a step back. What I'm saying, scripts are written,
you know, we're ready to go. We have to you
(27:30):
know it. Right now, it's about getting things casts and
people don't understand how magical actors are. You know what
I'm saying. You can't do anything when actors. So it's
about getting a cast. And budgets are shrinking because the
studios are all contracting, and like they have to look
at you know, what is their spend for this year,
what's their spind for that year. It's it's a lot
that goes into making movie. I don't think people understand,
(27:52):
like you have to not only get the script to
a point when people want to make it. Then you
got to get a budgeted. Then you got to get
the stars. Then the stars have to be available. Then
you have to get a director who's available during the time.
Then you have to make sure that the company in
that quarter has you know, one hundred hundred and fifty
million dollars two hundred million dollars to spend. Then they
(28:13):
have to make sure that they have you know, seventy
five to one hundred million dollars in PA. Then you
have to make sure that you're you're ready in a
place to go shoot. The things that come together to
make a movie happen are it's it's amazing that they
happen the way that they do, because it is a
lot of things that have to fall into place.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
I got you before I get you, Let you get
on out of here. I'm man, you think you know
I'm not gonna let you get on out of here.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
But I'll talking about yourlippers, right, You're not gonna have
to ask you what we've gotten talking about.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
I mean, I didn't expect them to be I didn't
expect them to be as good as they were.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
They still got some work to do. It's nice to
see Kawhi lend it on a court.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I don't know how long that's gonna last, but we
got a hold on it that moment we got what
about that? James Todd lou is a hell of a coach.
He came on this show. He came on this show.
It raved raved about. Uh, you know, Jeff Van Gundy
and what he's brought to the team defense as an
assistant coach. How are you feeling about your Clippers right now?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I'm feeling I'm feeling excellent. I'm feeling excellent. I feel
like every night before we got Kawhi, I feel like
every night we were competitive. Even if we lost, every
night we were competitive. And I feel like tyleru the
ability to get dudes who before they came to him,
who didn't think that they could play on that level.
(29:30):
The ability of not just the coaching that, but what
it takes for a coach to get into the mentality
of a player to make them believe that they can
compete on the highest level and play as a team.
That is an amazing thing to do.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
How the hell is somebody living in Los Angeles and
they find themselves being a Clippers fan and not a
Lakers fan.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
How does that happen?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Why I'm a Laker fan. I'm not a Clipper. Fans
can be Laker fans. Laker fans have to be Clipper haters.
I'm a Laker. I'm I'm a point I'm a Laker fan.
Love Lebron, you know, love jj JJ. Redick is trying
to do love a d rich Paul is my boy.
I kep saying I'm a Laker fan, but my Clippers.
(30:12):
When I started being able to buy tickets from my
family could afford them, they were affordable. The the environment
felt like a real environment, like people who were there
wanted to be there. It wasn't so good seeing glossy.
They were scrappy. I got to go through Lob City,
I got the I got to see the end of
Pool Richardson. I get to now see. I got to
(30:33):
see PG, whose game was like jazz to me. I
got to see you know Harden, who I think might be.
You know when it all goes sitting down, you know,
is he in the top five? You know what I'm saying.
When it's all said and done, I got.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
To know, No, I love them.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
If you want to start talking about stats, you're want
to start talking about stats.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
Somebody stopped that. Come on, come on, stop, can you
stop it? He's not he's top ten, top five, he's
top He's not.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Not to one of the greatest scores in NBA history
of the greatest scorer is no doubt.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
In history, in history, right. And if you have when
you add up all his stats, his stats have to
put him in the top ten. His stats have to
put him in.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
The top ten. You know what, I'm gonna dedicate a
segment on this show.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
It's gonna blow your mind on this show. Blow your mind.
It's gonna blow your.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I'm gonna say, I'm gonna replay it for the NBA audience,
and I'm gonna say, ken you, Barrett said James Harden
top five.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
I say top ten.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Sucking it, I say.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Top ten, top ten, top Ten's.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Logistically he might be in the top five. And if
you just go shooting guards, I am absolutely sure he's
in the top five.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
You know you on camera right, I will say that
right now, you know right?
Speaker 2 (31:51):
And James, James is not my boy. I love his game.
I am saying that basic and he's his When you
look at hististics, they are phenomenal phenomenal. Okay, you know
they are.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
I'm not knocking it. I'm saying I'm saying you peaqued
my curiosity. I gotta go back and look at it
hard about this, and I gotta say, wait a minute, now,
look at you. Can you vantaged point and let's see
if it's right. Look, man, I'm gonna let you get
on out of here. I appreciate it the usually the
unusual suspects. When is the podcast? When is the podcast?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Drop?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
It drops tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Right, Yes, I'm gonna say yes because I don't have
actual yes for the confidence.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yes, it drops tomorrow. I know this for sure. I
was just double checking. But anyway, man, I appreciate you.
I owe you big time.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Man.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I'm sorry they get my day job. Maybe I don't run.
I'm not my own boss with everything like you something
just not with everything.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
So that's what I owe you, big time man. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
I appreciate you having me. I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
All one and only. Can you barriss right here with
stephen A
Host
Stephen A. Smith
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