The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Dontay Banks & Kevin Freeman Talk Lil Durk's Indictment, Swizz Mentorship, Wallo. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Breakfast Club Morning.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
Everybody is DJ Envy, just Hilarius, Charlamagne the guy. We
are the Breakfast Club. Lola Rosa is here and we
got some special guests joining us this morning. We have
Dante Banks and we have Kevin Freeman. Welcome, fellas. How
you guys doing this morning?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Tell the people who, well, who y'all are, first of all,
so they get some context.
Speaker 5 (00:23):
I'm Banks, little Dirk's father, and I'm Kevin Freeman. I'm
the executive director for Little Dirk's non profit Neighborhood Heroes.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Okay, well, how was Dirk doing?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
First? And foremo are you doing great and wonderful? I
just seen him this Sunday, this past Sunday, the spirits off.
You're looking forward, you know, this day in court freedom
as you know, that's just going to turn out to be,
you know, releasing him. But he's doing great. Wrong there.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Now you have a story as well. For people that
don't know your story, you want to put them onto
a little of your story. And who quote unquote Big
Dirk is.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Or Big Dirk is known in Chicago, in the streets
of Chicago, not for good, you know, but back in
nineteen ninety three, I got caught in the fares, myself
caught up in the fairs, and I received a life sentence,
and it took me almost twenty four years of twenty
six years to get up out of there. So I
(01:19):
spent most of my life, more life in jail than
I did on the street.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
And you got out at a twenty nineteen and at
the time your son.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Was this huge musician.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yes, So how did.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Coming back into society work with you and your because
I mean you evolved. You've been in there for twenty
four years, twenty six years, and you came home.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So talk about that a little bit. I'm studying right
now today, you study learning. Even with the cars and
the technology of the cars, the telephone, you know, I
hit seeing pick up. You're still I figure all the
rest of whatever. It's just a bit much. I mean,
even with the cars, you know, I put it in
drive and go, you know, make sure that the heat
(01:59):
is working. But everything else is takes some time, you know.
And this is for everybody who's coming out of prison
for that long time. You know, all this's gonna be
new to us. It's gonna take us time to know
adjust to this new society. One of the things I
tell everybody, I spent almost almost about two weeks in
walmarts doing what just each hour you're going from in prison,
(02:24):
you're going from two suits. Now you're going there it's
twenty suits. So you're sitting there trying to figure out
all man so many choices. You go in from one
cereal to a whole sheef of cereal, and you're trying
to figure out, Oh, I never know these cereals existed,
So you're going from hour to hour. It's all adventure.
It's all like going to the musement park. So many
(02:47):
choices where you didn't have choices before, so it takes
time to go through there and really just get some choices.
You're just buying stuff to be buying it because you
can get it now. These type of things here.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
So what was it like? You know, when you were
locked up and Dirky's here? What was out?
Speaker 7 (03:02):
And he's climbing and he's rising as a star and
you're like you're you're seeing it, but you're not seeing it,
but like you're kind of you're calling home, you're feeling it,
Like what was that?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Like? Oh, that was amazing at first I'm on the
phone as any father, would, you know, go to school,
get a trade, go to college, you know, get a trade.
I don't want to hear about this. Everybody said it's
gonna be a rapp but you know, everybody said he's
gonna play ball and different things like this. You know,
that's every kid's dream. So I didn't really take it seriously.
(03:31):
I'm focused on what I know. To be a true career,
you get something up under your belt, and every time
I want to rap, I want to rap. And then
I asked his brother, his older brother, which was d
Thing at the time, Dante Banks Junior. I said, is
he good? You know, is he good? Is he gonna
go anywhere with this? He said, yeah, he's good. And
(03:51):
then it was on one old What was that one
O six in part? I'm in prison and I look
up there I'm being one O six in part and
I said, okay, everybody in prison, he gonna be on
one of those signal parts. So every TV is on
one O six in part. We waiting on them. And
then that's when we found out, Yeah, he got a
little bus, he got busy, got a big.
Speaker 7 (04:12):
Bus, and I see you like even just in talking
about it, You're smiling, and it's just I can't imagine, Like,
you know, just as a parent, it's like I want
my child to be successful and it's happening, and then
you're in a predicament that you're in and seeing it.
Speaker 6 (04:23):
It feels good to know that, like.
Speaker 7 (04:24):
He's carrying the family and things are working out and
then everything that we are, you know, seeing now happens.
How did that feel when you heard when the indictment
come down and things of that nature.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Uh, you know, from being in there and knowing what
he up against. Now you run right there so I
can be with him to help him through this, because
being in affairs ain't no small tasks. You know, this
is a big thing. They don't They don't give no room.
They just snatch you up with it almost and put
you in a hopeless situation. You know, everybody goes in
(04:55):
kind of got to fight their way out to show
and prove that this is what it is. You know,
it hurts to know that he have to go through
what I just went through. I have to deal with
this system now. It hurts real bad. You know, first
losing the oldest son and to the streets, and now
losing him to the government, you know. So that's why
(05:15):
I'm their hands on, lawyer's hands on with him, telling
him every step of what to do now and how
to fight this.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Being a person of faith, you know, you know all
is the best knower and planning. But when you lose
your son, you know, to to murder, and you lose
a son to the to the jail system, how.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Does that make you feel?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Like?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Just your faith? How did that test your faith?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Oh? It does test your faith, and test your faith
in a way that you have to be a parent
to understand what I'm saying here. It really tests you,
you know. But just like you said that faith, you know,
everything belongs to a law. The don't actually belongs to me.
He just used me as a vessel, but it belongs
to him. So I just about to be patient for
what's going on here and trusting him and continue to
(05:56):
make do out with your supplication that he brings about
the victory that we are looking for in a situation,
a relief that we're looking for.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
When you came out, you know, you made it your
business to change right, to make sure you were out
there telling the kids the right way to go about things.
And to try to be a positive in the community.
Do you ever look back and be like, do you
wonder if it was ever Calma, what happened to your
kids because of some of the things that you did,
even though that you changed you a different person? Do
you ever think about that or look at life like that?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Now you try to not as in Karmo, not as
in Karma, but you look at us though, like I'm
on the phone with them, don't visit telling them, don't
go this way, don't go this route. I'm frowning up
on this. I'm talking against this gang bang and selling drugs,
what we're doing to the community. You know, you go
to prison, you become a man. You see things that
you ain't see before. You know, you're enlightened now, you know,
(06:47):
you see your rown. So I'll never want to have
my sons to go down that role. But at the
same time, he don't go down that road. He just
go down the road which rap and different things like
this put him in the same category or just a
little different. You know, they look he's still saying, Hey,
you might not be selling drugs, he might not be
doing these things right here, but they look at a
(07:09):
rapper the same way.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
You know. Also, you know I wanted to ask about
his case so much because the Dirk that we knew,
that I knew personally, he was such into giving back, right.
He would call all the time about the things that
he wanted to do for Chicago in the area that
he grew up and the things that he wanted to change,
(07:31):
and how he wanted to give kids an opportunity that
they would think more than the street and have things
to do.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So with his organization.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Is his organization still out there being able to help
or as a lot of those funds and things been
pulled from that?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (07:44):
Absolutely, And so this goes back to twenty twenty. You know,
just this didn't just happened yesterday, you know, sitting down
with Dirk Banks, you know, I remember the day when
he was like, cav you know, this is my my vision,
this is what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Because he was already doing.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
The work, He's like, Okay, but let's let's do it
for real, for real, And we say for real, Foreral,
let's get a registered five oh one C three and
let's really truly you know, look at the impact that
we can make. And one thing that we landed on
and still to this day, it is like dirt, this
is your vision. This is your vision, and it's going
to be our jobs. When I say our jobs, my job,
(08:24):
the board of directors and those that support we're going
to help bring it to life and to be able
to look back and see from twenty twenty and all
the amazing work that he's done. And as you know,
in media, you know a lot of folks don't want
to talk about the great things and the positive things
that individuals are out here doing it.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
He didn't do it for that. He did it for
the fact that he know that.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
He said, keV, these are things that I wasn't able
to experience when I was a kid. So now that
I'm in position to do it, I'm all in, let's go.
I'm the voice. So I'm like, all right, So sitting
with him, I mean all around the clock. When I
say around the clock, I mean, as you know, he's
coming from the studio at three fold in the morning
and he's.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Kind of like, listen, this is what I want to do.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
And I'm digesting and I'm saying, okay, from all the
things that I'm hearing, all the things that I feel
your passion. We created four foundation pillars based off the
things that Dirk Banks was truly invested in wanted to do,
and it started off with neighborhoods, Prosperity, emerging leaders, health
(09:31):
and wellness. So with all those four different pillars, there's
a bucket of work that lives within area. And so
when we talked about real high level, you know, the neighborhoods,
you know, think about all the national disasters that's happened.
You know, takes me back to Houston several times. With
the hurricanes, there's a lot of seniors that had to
go through the destructions of their properties. Where Dirk was like, look,
(09:54):
let's get some boots on the ground down there. Let's
get folks that can help restore their community and store
their homes because you know, it costs money to get
folks out there to cut down trees or stay on
the power company to ensure that these lines are fixed
and safe. You know, when we look at prosperity, you know,
and I could laugh and we laugh about this to
(10:14):
this day. When celebrities or athletes whatever think about doing nonprofits,
you know, you always hear back to school, let's do
backpacks and Thanksgiving, let's do turkeys. And we would say,
you know what, good for those that do that because
it's need helps. But for Dirk, he's a thought leader.
(10:34):
He's like, you know, prosperity to me for back to
school is let's get some financial literacy programs together. So
we took a group of kids that are in our
cohort to learn about financial management. Money management. Shout out
to Bank of America in the City of Chicago Treasurer's
office for spending those hours in weeks with these young
boys and girls to be able to educate them on things.
(10:56):
Like Dirk said, he didn't have, you know, the information
that now that these kids were able to walk away with.
And you talk about those turkey drives, Derk would always say,
you know what care what do people do with these
turkeys that don't got homes of cook them in? You
know what are they doing with them? So we're like, okay,
let's get some hot meals that's ready to be served.
So shout out to the Boston market of the world
(11:17):
where tens of thousands of families got hot meals that
didn't have to wonder and you know how am I
going to cook this turkey? Now that I got it
where I'm I gonna cook it at. So you know
those last two pillars health and wellness, you know, cancer survivor.
Shout out to his wife, India, my sister where they
got together, said we're gonna do a Mother's Day honors
(11:38):
where we're gonna recognize these black women that are going
through cancer. And as you know, unfortunately sometimes that they
go through the route of chemotherapy, they got to shave
their head off. Now you know, we're going into a
beauty supply store to put a unit on your head.
Ain't probably what you want to do right right, but
(12:11):
you know what that would do to one self esteem
going through that. So what we were able to do
is shout out to India and in Kelvin as well,
who's on the management side with Dirk's Foundation, is that
they were able to get celebrity stylists to create custom
units and get hair in advance of Mother's Day. So
now in their day that we recognize them, they can
(12:32):
feel good and we know when you feel good, Deonza,
you look good, you feel good, And that's what we
were able to do. But last, but not least, and
it ties into one of the things that really I
know that lives with Dirk the most is that emerging leaders.
And we talked about those students that Dirk has taken
the time and exposed to his college and career readiness Corehort. So,
(12:55):
going all the way back to twenty twenty two, we said,
you know what, all these young black boys and girls
that got passion, what are you passionate about? Because we're
not going to just say go to college just to
go to college. We want to make sure that there's
programs and opportunities that align to what you're interested in.
And now that we know, now when we go take
these college trips to more House back in twenty twenty two,
(13:15):
we flew them from Chicago to Atlanta and they got
to learn about the programs, they got a chance to
learn about career day where the Atlanta Hawks, their executive office,
had a round table with these young men and educated
them about careers in the NBA and it's not just
about being the basketball player, it's about being marketing, it's
about being hr or even real estate what we didn't
(13:38):
know about, you know. So with that, you know, being said,
you know, and shout out to NASCAR as well, because
after we left the Atlanta, we went over to Talladega
College and NASCAR hosted them for the career Day. But
the list goes on. Year after year. Went to DC,
Dirk gave over three hundred fifty thousand dollars in scholarship funds.
Three hundred and fifty thousand scholarship funds. So students who
(14:01):
are looking to go to Howard and students who are
already at Howard that caught a jam to say, you
know what, I don't know how I'm going to be
able to finish this semester. You know, the Great Scrant
was able to provide those students with an opportunity. Last year,
we came to New York, came to Queens with Saint
John's University. Students had an opportunity to learn about those
programs and then their career day was spent at Sony,
(14:23):
spent at Alamo Records. So everyone can't be the next
little dirt, but everyone can't be that guy behind the production.
And this is exposing these young black boys and girls
that Dirk has been doing for a long time. And
the lights haven't gone off.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Now you can see it, I mean you could see it,
you know, and his faith walk.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
You know, you can see it, you know, and even
when his name his last album or the album before
last almost healed, like you could see that he was
absolutely positively trying to make you know the right moves
and take the right steps to just be a better person.
Speaker 7 (14:53):
I was gonna ask y'all the last thing that he
did before he was taking into custody, it was the
big prayer event that he had and you've received the
keys to the city.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
But the mayor, I believe it was the mayor.
Speaker 7 (15:04):
Got a lot of backlash after he was arrested in
and I think, you know, there were certain people and
things that like step back. So how hard has it
been because the organization is tied to Derek, Like, are
y'all facing opposition or people still like, no, we know
he's a good person.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
You're going to face the opposition just being a young
black artist, a young black man and young black woman.
There's always going to be trials and tribulations. And if
we allow one situation like that to stop us what
we're doing, and we're losing the focus of what his
true mission was.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes, I want to ask.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
You something to uh Dante Man, because looking at your
bio and I love this. You said when you got
released from prison, your bio said, you had to first
forgive yourself for adding to the demise of your community.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
What did that realization?
Speaker 4 (15:50):
When did you get that realization that you had actually
caused a lot of problems in your community? And how
did you know that you know you had to forgive
yourself for adding to it?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
It was actually when I became because you got to
reflect on your path, you got to change a lot
about yourself. So when you're change a lot about yourself,
you start looking within life. Oh, I had these principles,
I had these mores, I had these values. This is
the way I used to think. And you challenge with
these things now because now you see it's not going
to change who I am, my character and my outlook
(16:21):
on life. So these are the things I did. Plus,
one of the biggest things of seeing these young guys
come in to prison coming in, I mean day by day,
every week, they bringing a bus load in, and my
heart just keep going out to them because they don't
know what's going on. They have no idea what they're
up against right here. So you got to start programs,
try to educate them on the legal aspect, start getting
(16:43):
in this court and fighting for your life back. Because
you just sit there affairs, you sit there, that's it.
You got to get up and fight, you know. And
if you don't, and like say, you'll be there for
the rest of your life. Man.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
What is needed to break the generational cycle of just
violence in Chicago?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
We're working on that daily. I mean, Boose is on
the ground daily. I work with an organization called Chicago Cred.
Well we go around in. One of the main things
we're doing right now with the Chicago Cred gun violence,
gun reduce, reducing gun violence in the transforming a way.
But at the same time, we starting now the program
a non aggression teaching them non aggression. You know, it's
(17:24):
hard to tell them young guys to put the gun down,
but know what we're gonna teach them is no aggression.
Don't be aggressive with that gun. You know, only use
that gun to defend yourself. Only use that gun to
defend people who trying to come in your house. But
don't go out looking for nobody. So guys who coming
out of prison, guys who know what it's about, we
got to stay on the ground. We got to give
(17:46):
back We got to be the ones about that change talk,
in that change behavior. We can't be OG's and then
hanging out with a young guys doing just as versus
they doing. You know, we got to get out there
and tell them, and we got to sacrifice. I have
to do this, you know, because a lot of them
gonna be hardheaded, a lot of them gonna push us away,
a lot of I'm gonna tell you out dating, you know,
(18:06):
gonna sit down somewhere. We got to stay on the
front line out there because we got to get them
neighborhoods back to the place where they can be or
kids can come back out and play grandmamas and mamas
can sit on the porch and walk. Stores can be
utilized for not just hanging around there, you know, used
for you know what they use for and be a
pillar of the community.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
So, you know, we just a lack of resources like education,
like lack of opportunity, all of.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
That, all of them, all of them, all of them,
you know. And what we got now with what's going
on in politics is gonna be even harder fight for us.
You know, trying to shut down the board education, you
know education, Yeah, you know, trying to do these trying
to attack the healthcare, trying to attack the veterans. You
know now that the whole American is waking up, So
(18:54):
it puts more of a burden on us to try
to help because people that's already down for the stay down.
We ain't got no opportunities to for him to come
up because the administration ain't giving us the opportunity for
them to come up.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Can you give us an update on on on what
you can on Dirk's case and how it's going on.
I know he go not bond, but can you give
us an update of what's happening and how his fans
can support because it's been really quiet, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah. Now, one thing, like I said, well y'all had
the question, y'all ask Kevin how people looking at him? Now?
It ain't a place I go. It's not a place
that I go a phone called I don't get what
he gets one support. Ain't nobody like turning a back
on him? What saying it nothing negative about other than
you know a love if you love blob here and
(19:37):
now or podcast who's trying to get some type of
recognition about saying something negative about him? But overall ninety.
Everybody's there in a priory support. You get many, many letters,
you know, keep your head, keep going on, You're going
to get up out of this, you know, things of
that nature. Health. So the support is one hundred percent.
And I love that about him because that tells you
(19:59):
what the person he is when no one is trying
to you know, look at his downfall to something that
we can now say, Hey, look at him. We told
you about not this type of thing here. Oh, that's
a beautiful thing now. And one more thing I'd like
to speak. I'm sorry, no, you go ahead. And it's
every time I do bensidim what he called just like
(20:19):
Kevin said, he always got a new idea. I said, man,
get in there and look at this case. Let's get
focused on this. But he got a new idea. Hey,
what do you think about a hospital? What do you
think about a school? What do you think? You know,
it's always something new what he's trying to do up
in there, as far as trying to do out here.
Speaker 7 (20:36):
The help you mentioned like just how he has so
much positive support from fans and people and like people
not backing away from what he's doing in the community.
But I remember in December when they tried to get
the bond that and he was mentioning the prosecutors tried
to paint him out to be like this, like super
dangerous person and you know all those things. How do
you have conversations with him? Because you said he's focused
on new ideas, but are there ever times where he's like, yo,
(20:58):
this is like like I can't believe this is happening
to me right now. And then things like that happen
and he might lose faith or might lose sight, like
does that happen at all?
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Well as as a human you you sitting in there
looking at four walls. You know, you've been told to
stand out for count You've been told these things something
that you ain't normally used to. It's gonna have this
effect on you. Yeah, but you know you always bounce back.
You always look at the greater picture. Cause as a Muslim,
we look it said to ourselves, what a liar is
(21:27):
doing for us greater than what they doing to us.
What a li is doing for us right now, building
us to be a better man, is greater than what
they trying to do to us and trying to tell
us now, So he definitely he definitely a building. He
was telling me that. You know, when he came in,
there was like four Muslims on the block. He said,
(21:48):
Now it's seventeen Muslims on the block. So he in there,
he o, people are converting, converting, you know. Yeah, so
that's a good thing. So he and there, you know,
keeping it going, keeping the work going.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
You know, what do y'all when y'all call out here
and y'all do these press hits, what are y'all hopes?
Speaker 1 (22:04):
What are y'all trying to do? We're trying to bring
a real look, what's really? What is junior? I called him? Junior?
What is him? What are he supposed to be looking?
You know how you pose to view him? Don't take
allegations and make him a fact. Don't take allegations and
making a conviction. You know, allegations are just that, These
(22:26):
are allegations. Give us a chance in court to prove ourselves.
Give us a chance, you know. And this one thing again,
we shout out the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson. When
they try to attack him, he said, don't give it.
The brothers, you guys said, give him his chance in court.
And it's what we actually about give our chance in
court and we approved that all of this there's nothing
(22:49):
but falsehood and lives.
Speaker 7 (22:50):
You know, when you talk about going places and wanting
the conversation to be just fair for him, even if
people are going to have their opinions, how hard is
it for you?
Speaker 6 (23:00):
And you can answer this if you want to. I know,
it's a legal situation.
Speaker 7 (23:03):
So for instance, like I know I've seen reports of
like there were like text messages that allegedly were like
between Dirk and the guys who are who they threw
the murder charges at for the d thing, And then
they have the verse from his song Aha, and they're
trying to pin that like, Yo, this is you saying
what you did? How hard is it to grow up
(23:24):
against stuff like that? Just because legally they're talking about
that every single time he goes in the court.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
It's not hard if you get all the information. But
I will refer I have to refer all of these
things than I have to refer all these things to
the legal team, because you know, this is some of
the things that they would have to answer and give
them deep understanding. He got three great lawyers on the case.
You know, Drew Finley. Yes, he's good. Jonathan out in Chicago,
(23:57):
Brandma and he got the lady, what's Christie O'Connor. So
he got three good lawyers. He out of California, drew
us out of Atlanta, and Jonathan Raymond is out of Chicago.
So they working around the clock. They constantly keep us updated.
You know, I talked to them regularly about the case,
(24:17):
and so it's going good. You know, all these text messages,
these things here there on top of all this, and
like I said, give them us day in court and
they approved. You know, what's the what what's the real
truth about these text messages? Right?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
How confident are you?
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Uh as a Muslim? I'm confidence in the law as
a musclim and I just continue to make do uh
that this that we're victorious in this case, and you
know that a lot of grant us the relief that
we are seeking out of this. So looking at everything,
you know it's weak, hm, but we make sure continue
(24:56):
to trust.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
What about with the government, because you know, the government,
as we've seen many cases before, they play a nasty
game where they try to make somebody look crazy so
that the jury looks at them as crazy. From the start,
you know. I mean we see that a lot, a.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Whole lot, and who don't know that the person that's
been in the belly of the beast, you know, I know,
the fixing the game. Like That's why, like I said,
I stay on this case looking at from every angle
because I know they games. I know what they play,
I know their lives, their deception. I know they'll create something,
you know, and create some witness, you know, out of somewhere,
(25:33):
out of the blue, and it's been somebody come along.
Don't nobody know, Like who is this dude? And they'll
put them up there to say some things, you know,
and everybody be like you know, so yeah, I definitely
know about.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
Them and you and your in your bio.
Speaker 7 (25:49):
One of the things that you mentioned in here is
how much time you didn't get to spend with your
kids because of your sentence that you had. Now, like
you know, in present time, hopefully you know perfectly when
Dirk is able to come home, what are you looking
forward to being able to do with him? I know
you lost the thing, but what are you looking forward
to do with Dirk? And like you know, just your
family Now, once y'all get through all the muddy orders,
(26:10):
the same.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Thing we was doing when I got out. You know,
I'm constantly with them now. I don't want to get
my daughters. Man, but I got five children, Yeah, three
daughters and two sons. Then when we get off the
should they be like, you ain't saying nothing about us?
I think. So I got three beautiful daughters and two sons,
one passed away. And one word. What we're looking to
(26:32):
do now is we're on another whole level now, you know,
going to see him talking to him, you know, minds,
I'm now combined now and we're just looking forward to
doing things now with the grandkids, raising them in the
right way, you know, in bedding and putting in them
the things that his experience, my experience, the dudes and
(26:54):
adults in life. So we're just looking to be of
stronger family bond.
Speaker 7 (26:59):
And I know y'all brought up India earlier and we
found out that they were married through like the new
music and the photo on the album. What conversation do
you and Dirk had before he decided to get married,
and like what are you talking to him as dad?
You know what I mean, Like what advice are you
giving him? Or you know how what's that like?
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Okay, now as a.
Speaker 7 (27:16):
Muslim, as a mule, because it's different for you, right right,
you got to get married.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
You cannot like you sleep with a woman that you're
not married to. So these are my conversations to him.
You have to be married. It's a great sin in
Islam if you're not married. We don't believe in for nicasion.
We don't believe in adultery, you know, sleeping outside the
marriage and different things like that. If you're interest in
his sister, then let her know through marriage that you're
(27:42):
ready to take on the responsibility of a husband.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
So yeah, all right, as a Muslim, are you on
him about the content of his music? Like, if you
know he beats his situation and comes home, are you
going to tell him that musically he should go in
another direction?
Speaker 1 (27:55):
He told me, Oh, he told me so, I've I'm
just keep saying I'm to do the life. Every time
I talk to him, he's learning more about his line
and what he's supposed to be doing as a Muslim, say,
and he's saying that, hey, I can't talk about these
things no more. I can't walk this way of life
no more, you know. So he already on point with
(28:16):
all this, you know, and that's one of the things
about you know, prison give you time to really reflect, think,
you time isolation to read, study, So now you're able
to you know, you ain't distracted about these brother things.
You know. This is a this is a star, this
is an artist. He on the planes all the time,
He moving all the time, from the moment he wake
up to the moment he go to steep. He always
(28:36):
doing something. So saying, you know, he took his ship
how they became a Muslim in prison, I mean at
the prison when he came to see me, but then
his life took off from there. So now he got
a chance now to study. So everything that he needs
to know, he learning it right now. So he knowing.
He telling me like said, I can't talk about that
no more. I can't do this no more. I'm glad
(28:58):
that I got married. I'm glad I went this the
ration right here, because he's trying to see now.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Wow, we'll definitely send him and send him our love man,
and tell him that you know, we'll continue to pray
for him, man and support.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Him no doubt, because when I told him about this,
he said, that's beautiful them. They right there, they're gonna
keep it real.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Oh yeah, we've been watching Dirk since the beginning. Literally
literally he dirt been up with vond and everybody. So
it's like we literally watched him grow up.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
And also we can't forget about our main guy, Swiss.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Oh Swiss.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Definitely shout out to that brother man and that is
Swiss is one of his biggest mentors. That's the one
who talks to him, keep him on point, different things,
like he always calls Swiss. They're always talking what direction?
What should I do? You know? And it's good to
have somebody like Swiss in this corner.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
You know, absolutely appreciate you guys.
Speaker 6 (29:55):
I have one more thing.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
I just thought of that video of Willow when he's
talking to Dirk and it went super super viral. He's
telling him, like, you know, not to retaliate for the thing.
And then when ReViral, when all this stuff happened with
the with the case, when you first saw that video
and saw that moment of you like were there in
person or what, but like as a dad, like what
was that feeling like just to see somebody pour into
your son like that?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Beautiful? And I thank you appreciate its exactly. Report you
for that, because this is what we talked about. This
is why we practice no retaliation, because it's only going
to keep it going, you know. So I love that.
I love that you open up like that. So thank
you for that, you know, And I agree.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
I'm sorry he could never he could never follow. It's
so positive and just done so many And when they
were in the studio and him and Gilly were sitting
there because that went so super viral because of everything
with the case, and I was just like Dan as
a dad, I wonder, like you know you watching that,
like that's what's up.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Those the things I said, because we actually, you know,
we lost son. And I don't know if y'all know,
but when you lose a son and Islam, you have
to wash his body. Yes, so we have to wash
his body and washing the body and it's hurting, you know,
and watch my son body to get out out of
twenty six years and then have to bury your son.
(31:21):
You know, That's that's that pain there. It was like
you never get used to it, you never accepted, but
yet you accept it as a Muslim. But it's something
that's always going to be deep in you. So I
don't want them to see another parent hurt like that.
I don't won't see nobody have to go through that.
So it got to stop.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Do you put any blame on yourself?
Speaker 6 (31:39):
Ever?
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Like he was, like, man, because of your choices I
made twenty six years ago, I wasn't here the way
I probably needed to.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Be as a parent. You're gonna always say that, You're
gonna say what could I have did? What can have
did it better? Could I have said anything? Could I
do anything different to stop this? You know? But then
it'slam kicking. You were like everything you were supposed to do.
You try to the best of your ability, but that
struggle goes with thank you all the time.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Well, thank you all for joining us. Dante Banks, Kevin Freeman,
thank you so much, and please keep us updated when
you can.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yes, sir, we'll do. And I appreciate you all from having.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Us, Absolutely appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Some morning it's the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Good morning, wait till ass up in the morning.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
The Breakfast Club
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Breakfast Club Morning.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
Everybody is DJ Envy, just Hilarius, Charlamagne the guy. We
are the Breakfast Club. Lola Rosa is here and we
got some special guests joining us this morning. We have
Dante Banks and we have Kevin Freeman. Welcome, fellas. How
you guys doing this morning?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Tell the people who, well, who y'all are, first of all,
so they get some context.
Speaker 5 (00:23):
I'm Banks, little Dirk's father, and I'm Kevin Freeman. I'm
the executive director for Little Dirk's non profit Neighborhood Heroes.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Okay, well, how was Dirk doing?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
First? And foremo are you doing great and wonderful? I
just seen him this Sunday, this past Sunday, the spirits off.
You're looking forward, you know, this day in court freedom
as you know, that's just going to turn out to be,
you know, releasing him. But he's doing great. Wrong there.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Now you have a story as well. For people that
don't know your story, you want to put them onto
a little of your story. And who quote unquote Big
Dirk is.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Or Big Dirk is known in Chicago, in the streets
of Chicago, not for good, you know, but back in
nineteen ninety three, I got caught in the fares, myself
caught up in the fairs, and I received a life sentence,
and it took me almost twenty four years of twenty
six years to get up out of there. So I
(01:19):
spent most of my life, more life in jail than
I did on the street.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
And you got out at a twenty nineteen and at
the time your son.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Was this huge musician.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yes, So how did.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Coming back into society work with you and your because
I mean you evolved. You've been in there for twenty
four years, twenty six years, and you came home.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So talk about that a little bit. I'm studying right
now today, you study learning. Even with the cars and
the technology of the cars, the telephone, you know, I
hit seeing pick up. You're still I figure all the
rest of whatever. It's just a bit much. I mean,
even with the cars, you know, I put it in
drive and go, you know, make sure that the heat
(01:59):
is working. But everything else is takes some time, you know.
And this is for everybody who's coming out of prison
for that long time. You know, all this's gonna be
new to us. It's gonna take us time to know
adjust to this new society. One of the things I
tell everybody, I spent almost almost about two weeks in
walmarts doing what just each hour you're going from in prison,
(02:24):
you're going from two suits. Now you're going there it's
twenty suits. So you're sitting there trying to figure out
all man so many choices. You go in from one
cereal to a whole sheef of cereal, and you're trying
to figure out, Oh, I never know these cereals existed,
So you're going from hour to hour. It's all adventure.
It's all like going to the musement park. So many
(02:47):
choices where you didn't have choices before, so it takes
time to go through there and really just get some choices.
You're just buying stuff to be buying it because you
can get it now. These type of things here.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
So what was it like? You know, when you were
locked up and Dirky's here? What was out?
Speaker 7 (03:02):
And he's climbing and he's rising as a star and
you're like you're you're seeing it, but you're not seeing it,
but like you're kind of you're calling home, you're feeling it,
Like what was that?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Like? Oh, that was amazing at first I'm on the
phone as any father, would, you know, go to school,
get a trade, go to college, you know, get a trade.
I don't want to hear about this. Everybody said it's
gonna be a rapp but you know, everybody said he's
gonna play ball and different things like this. You know,
that's every kid's dream. So I didn't really take it seriously.
(03:31):
I'm focused on what I know. To be a true career,
you get something up under your belt, and every time
I want to rap, I want to rap. And then
I asked his brother, his older brother, which was d
Thing at the time, Dante Banks Junior. I said, is
he good? You know, is he good? Is he gonna
go anywhere with this? He said, yeah, he's good. And
(03:51):
then it was on one old What was that one
O six in part? I'm in prison and I look
up there I'm being one O six in part and
I said, okay, everybody in prison, he gonna be on
one of those signal parts. So every TV is on
one O six in part. We waiting on them. And
then that's when we found out, Yeah, he got a
little bus, he got busy, got a big.
Speaker 7 (04:12):
Bus, and I see you like even just in talking
about it, You're smiling, and it's just I can't imagine, Like,
you know, just as a parent, it's like I want
my child to be successful and it's happening, and then
you're in a predicament that you're in and seeing it.
Speaker 6 (04:23):
It feels good to know that, like.
Speaker 7 (04:24):
He's carrying the family and things are working out and
then everything that we are, you know, seeing now happens.
How did that feel when you heard when the indictment
come down and things of that nature.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Uh, you know, from being in there and knowing what
he up against. Now you run right there so I
can be with him to help him through this, because
being in affairs ain't no small tasks. You know, this
is a big thing. They don't They don't give no room.
They just snatch you up with it almost and put
you in a hopeless situation. You know, everybody goes in
(04:55):
kind of got to fight their way out to show
and prove that this is what it is. You know,
it hurts to know that he have to go through
what I just went through. I have to deal with
this system now. It hurts real bad. You know, first
losing the oldest son and to the streets, and now
losing him to the government, you know. So that's why
(05:15):
I'm their hands on, lawyer's hands on with him, telling
him every step of what to do now and how
to fight this.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Being a person of faith, you know, you know all
is the best knower and planning. But when you lose
your son, you know, to to murder, and you lose
a son to the to the jail system, how.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Does that make you feel?
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Like?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Just your faith? How did that test your faith?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Oh? It does test your faith, and test your faith
in a way that you have to be a parent
to understand what I'm saying here. It really tests you,
you know. But just like you said that faith, you know,
everything belongs to a law. The don't actually belongs to me.
He just used me as a vessel, but it belongs
to him. So I just about to be patient for
what's going on here and trusting him and continue to
(05:56):
make do out with your supplication that he brings about
the victory that we are looking for in a situation,
a relief that we're looking for.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
When you came out, you know, you made it your
business to change right, to make sure you were out
there telling the kids the right way to go about things.
And to try to be a positive in the community.
Do you ever look back and be like, do you
wonder if it was ever Calma, what happened to your
kids because of some of the things that you did,
even though that you changed you a different person? Do
you ever think about that or look at life like that?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Now you try to not as in Karmo, not as
in Karma, but you look at us though, like I'm
on the phone with them, don't visit telling them, don't
go this way, don't go this route. I'm frowning up
on this. I'm talking against this gang bang and selling drugs,
what we're doing to the community. You know, you go
to prison, you become a man. You see things that
you ain't see before. You know, you're enlightened now, you know,
(06:47):
you see your rown. So I'll never want to have
my sons to go down that role. But at the
same time, he don't go down that road. He just
go down the road which rap and different things like
this put him in the same category or just a
little different. You know, they look he's still saying, Hey,
you might not be selling drugs, he might not be
doing these things right here, but they look at a
(07:09):
rapper the same way.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
You know. Also, you know I wanted to ask about
his case so much because the Dirk that we knew,
that I knew personally, he was such into giving back, right.
He would call all the time about the things that
he wanted to do for Chicago in the area that
he grew up and the things that he wanted to change,
(07:31):
and how he wanted to give kids an opportunity that
they would think more than the street and have things
to do.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So with his organization.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Is his organization still out there being able to help
or as a lot of those funds and things been
pulled from that?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (07:44):
Absolutely, And so this goes back to twenty twenty. You know,
just this didn't just happened yesterday, you know, sitting down
with Dirk Banks, you know, I remember the day when
he was like, cav you know, this is my my vision,
this is what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Because he was already doing.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
The work, He's like, Okay, but let's let's do it
for real, for real, And we say for real, Foreral,
let's get a registered five oh one C three and
let's really truly you know, look at the impact that
we can make. And one thing that we landed on
and still to this day, it is like dirt, this
is your vision. This is your vision, and it's going
to be our jobs. When I say our jobs, my job,
(08:24):
the board of directors and those that support we're going
to help bring it to life and to be able
to look back and see from twenty twenty and all
the amazing work that he's done. And as you know,
in media, you know a lot of folks don't want
to talk about the great things and the positive things
that individuals are out here doing it.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
He didn't do it for that. He did it for
the fact that he know that.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
He said, keV, these are things that I wasn't able
to experience when I was a kid. So now that
I'm in position to do it, I'm all in, let's go.
I'm the voice. So I'm like, all right, So sitting
with him, I mean all around the clock. When I
say around the clock, I mean, as you know, he's
coming from the studio at three fold in the morning
and he's.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Kind of like, listen, this is what I want to do.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
And I'm digesting and I'm saying, okay, from all the
things that I'm hearing, all the things that I feel
your passion. We created four foundation pillars based off the
things that Dirk Banks was truly invested in wanted to do,
and it started off with neighborhoods, Prosperity, emerging leaders, health
(09:31):
and wellness. So with all those four different pillars, there's
a bucket of work that lives within area. And so
when we talked about real high level, you know, the neighborhoods,
you know, think about all the national disasters that's happened.
You know, takes me back to Houston several times. With
the hurricanes, there's a lot of seniors that had to
go through the destructions of their properties. Where Dirk was like, look,
(09:54):
let's get some boots on the ground down there. Let's
get folks that can help restore their community and store
their homes because you know, it costs money to get
folks out there to cut down trees or stay on
the power company to ensure that these lines are fixed
and safe. You know, when we look at prosperity, you know,
and I could laugh and we laugh about this to
(10:14):
this day. When celebrities or athletes whatever think about doing nonprofits,
you know, you always hear back to school, let's do
backpacks and Thanksgiving, let's do turkeys. And we would say,
you know what, good for those that do that because
it's need helps. But for Dirk, he's a thought leader.
(10:34):
He's like, you know, prosperity to me for back to
school is let's get some financial literacy programs together. So
we took a group of kids that are in our
cohort to learn about financial management. Money management. Shout out
to Bank of America in the City of Chicago Treasurer's
office for spending those hours in weeks with these young
boys and girls to be able to educate them on things.
(10:56):
Like Dirk said, he didn't have, you know, the information
that now that these kids were able to walk away with.
And you talk about those turkey drives, Derk would always say,
you know what care what do people do with these
turkeys that don't got homes of cook them in? You
know what are they doing with them? So we're like, okay,
let's get some hot meals that's ready to be served.
So shout out to the Boston market of the world
(11:17):
where tens of thousands of families got hot meals that
didn't have to wonder and you know how am I
going to cook this turkey? Now that I got it
where I'm I gonna cook it at. So you know
those last two pillars health and wellness, you know, cancer survivor.
Shout out to his wife, India, my sister where they
got together, said we're gonna do a Mother's Day honors
(11:38):
where we're gonna recognize these black women that are going
through cancer. And as you know, unfortunately sometimes that they
go through the route of chemotherapy, they got to shave
their head off. Now you know, we're going into a
beauty supply store to put a unit on your head.
Ain't probably what you want to do right right, but
(12:11):
you know what that would do to one self esteem
going through that. So what we were able to do
is shout out to India and in Kelvin as well,
who's on the management side with Dirk's Foundation, is that
they were able to get celebrity stylists to create custom
units and get hair in advance of Mother's Day. So
now in their day that we recognize them, they can
(12:32):
feel good and we know when you feel good, Deonza,
you look good, you feel good, And that's what we
were able to do. But last, but not least, and
it ties into one of the things that really I
know that lives with Dirk the most is that emerging leaders.
And we talked about those students that Dirk has taken
the time and exposed to his college and career readiness Corehort. So,
(12:55):
going all the way back to twenty twenty two, we said,
you know what, all these young black boys and girls
that got passion, what are you passionate about? Because we're
not going to just say go to college just to
go to college. We want to make sure that there's
programs and opportunities that align to what you're interested in.
And now that we know, now when we go take
these college trips to more House back in twenty twenty two,
(13:15):
we flew them from Chicago to Atlanta and they got
to learn about the programs, they got a chance to
learn about career day where the Atlanta Hawks, their executive office,
had a round table with these young men and educated
them about careers in the NBA and it's not just
about being the basketball player, it's about being marketing, it's
about being hr or even real estate what we didn't
(13:38):
know about, you know. So with that, you know, being said,
you know, and shout out to NASCAR as well, because
after we left the Atlanta, we went over to Talladega
College and NASCAR hosted them for the career Day. But
the list goes on. Year after year. Went to DC,
Dirk gave over three hundred fifty thousand dollars in scholarship funds.
Three hundred and fifty thousand scholarship funds. So students who
(14:01):
are looking to go to Howard and students who are
already at Howard that caught a jam to say, you
know what, I don't know how I'm going to be
able to finish this semester. You know, the Great Scrant
was able to provide those students with an opportunity. Last year,
we came to New York, came to Queens with Saint
John's University. Students had an opportunity to learn about those
programs and then their career day was spent at Sony,
(14:23):
spent at Alamo Records. So everyone can't be the next
little dirt, but everyone can't be that guy behind the production.
And this is exposing these young black boys and girls
that Dirk has been doing for a long time. And
the lights haven't gone off.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Now you can see it, I mean you could see it,
you know, and his faith walk.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
You know, you can see it, you know, and even
when his name his last album or the album before
last almost healed, like you could see that he was
absolutely positively trying to make you know the right moves
and take the right steps to just be a better person.
Speaker 7 (14:53):
I was gonna ask y'all the last thing that he
did before he was taking into custody, it was the
big prayer event that he had and you've received the
keys to the city.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
But the mayor, I believe it was the mayor.
Speaker 7 (15:04):
Got a lot of backlash after he was arrested in
and I think, you know, there were certain people and
things that like step back. So how hard has it
been because the organization is tied to Derek, Like, are
y'all facing opposition or people still like, no, we know
he's a good person.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
You're going to face the opposition just being a young
black artist, a young black man and young black woman.
There's always going to be trials and tribulations. And if
we allow one situation like that to stop us what
we're doing, and we're losing the focus of what his
true mission was.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes, I want to ask.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
You something to uh Dante Man, because looking at your
bio and I love this. You said when you got
released from prison, your bio said, you had to first
forgive yourself for adding to the demise of your community.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
What did that realization?
Speaker 4 (15:50):
When did you get that realization that you had actually
caused a lot of problems in your community? And how
did you know that you know you had to forgive
yourself for adding to it?
Speaker 1 (15:58):
It was actually when I became because you got to
reflect on your path, you got to change a lot
about yourself. So when you're change a lot about yourself,
you start looking within life. Oh, I had these principles,
I had these mores, I had these values. This is
the way I used to think. And you challenge with
these things now because now you see it's not going
to change who I am, my character and my outlook
(16:21):
on life. So these are the things I did. Plus,
one of the biggest things of seeing these young guys
come in to prison coming in, I mean day by day,
every week, they bringing a bus load in, and my
heart just keep going out to them because they don't
know what's going on. They have no idea what they're
up against right here. So you got to start programs,
try to educate them on the legal aspect, start getting
(16:43):
in this court and fighting for your life back. Because
you just sit there affairs, you sit there, that's it.
You got to get up and fight, you know. And
if you don't, and like say, you'll be there for
the rest of your life. Man.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
What is needed to break the generational cycle of just
violence in Chicago?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
We're working on that daily. I mean, Boose is on
the ground daily. I work with an organization called Chicago Cred.
Well we go around in. One of the main things
we're doing right now with the Chicago Cred gun violence,
gun reduce, reducing gun violence in the transforming a way.
But at the same time, we starting now the program
a non aggression teaching them non aggression. You know, it's
(17:24):
hard to tell them young guys to put the gun down,
but know what we're gonna teach them is no aggression.
Don't be aggressive with that gun. You know, only use
that gun to defend yourself. Only use that gun to
defend people who trying to come in your house. But
don't go out looking for nobody. So guys who coming
out of prison, guys who know what it's about, we
got to stay on the ground. We got to give
(17:46):
back We got to be the ones about that change talk,
in that change behavior. We can't be OG's and then
hanging out with a young guys doing just as versus
they doing. You know, we got to get out there
and tell them, and we got to sacrifice. I have
to do this, you know, because a lot of them
gonna be hardheaded, a lot of them gonna push us away,
a lot of I'm gonna tell you out dating, you know,
(18:06):
gonna sit down somewhere. We got to stay on the
front line out there because we got to get them
neighborhoods back to the place where they can be or
kids can come back out and play grandmamas and mamas
can sit on the porch and walk. Stores can be
utilized for not just hanging around there, you know, used
for you know what they use for and be a
pillar of the community.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
So, you know, we just a lack of resources like education,
like lack of opportunity, all of.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
That, all of them, all of them, all of them,
you know. And what we got now with what's going
on in politics is gonna be even harder fight for us.
You know, trying to shut down the board education, you
know education, Yeah, you know, trying to do these trying
to attack the healthcare, trying to attack the veterans. You
know now that the whole American is waking up, So
(18:54):
it puts more of a burden on us to try
to help because people that's already down for the stay down.
We ain't got no opportunities to for him to come
up because the administration ain't giving us the opportunity for
them to come up.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Can you give us an update on on on what
you can on Dirk's case and how it's going on.
I know he go not bond, but can you give
us an update of what's happening and how his fans
can support because it's been really quiet, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah. Now, one thing, like I said, well y'all had
the question, y'all ask Kevin how people looking at him? Now?
It ain't a place I go. It's not a place
that I go a phone called I don't get what
he gets one support. Ain't nobody like turning a back
on him? What saying it nothing negative about other than
you know a love if you love blob here and
(19:37):
now or podcast who's trying to get some type of
recognition about saying something negative about him? But overall ninety.
Everybody's there in a priory support. You get many, many letters,
you know, keep your head, keep going on, You're going
to get up out of this, you know, things of
that nature. Health. So the support is one hundred percent.
And I love that about him because that tells you
(19:59):
what the person he is when no one is trying
to you know, look at his downfall to something that
we can now say, Hey, look at him. We told
you about not this type of thing here. Oh, that's
a beautiful thing now. And one more thing I'd like
to speak. I'm sorry, no, you go ahead. And it's
every time I do bensidim what he called just like
(20:19):
Kevin said, he always got a new idea. I said, man,
get in there and look at this case. Let's get
focused on this. But he got a new idea. Hey,
what do you think about a hospital? What do you
think about a school? What do you think? You know,
it's always something new what he's trying to do up
in there, as far as trying to do out here.
Speaker 7 (20:36):
The help you mentioned like just how he has so
much positive support from fans and people and like people
not backing away from what he's doing in the community.
But I remember in December when they tried to get
the bond that and he was mentioning the prosecutors tried
to paint him out to be like this, like super
dangerous person and you know all those things. How do
you have conversations with him? Because you said he's focused
on new ideas, but are there ever times where he's like, yo,
(20:58):
this is like like I can't believe this is happening
to me right now. And then things like that happen
and he might lose faith or might lose sight, like
does that happen at all?
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Well as as a human you you sitting in there
looking at four walls. You know, you've been told to
stand out for count You've been told these things something
that you ain't normally used to. It's gonna have this
effect on you. Yeah, but you know you always bounce back.
You always look at the greater picture. Cause as a Muslim,
we look it said to ourselves, what a liar is
(21:27):
doing for us greater than what they doing to us.
What a li is doing for us right now, building
us to be a better man, is greater than what
they trying to do to us and trying to tell
us now, So he definitely he definitely a building. He
was telling me that. You know, when he came in,
there was like four Muslims on the block. He said,
(21:48):
Now it's seventeen Muslims on the block. So he in there,
he o, people are converting, converting, you know. Yeah, so
that's a good thing. So he and there, you know,
keeping it going, keeping the work going.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
You know, what do y'all when y'all call out here
and y'all do these press hits, what are y'all hopes?
Speaker 1 (22:04):
What are y'all trying to do? We're trying to bring
a real look, what's really? What is junior? I called him? Junior?
What is him? What are he supposed to be looking?
You know how you pose to view him? Don't take
allegations and make him a fact. Don't take allegations and
making a conviction. You know, allegations are just that, These
(22:26):
are allegations. Give us a chance in court to prove ourselves.
Give us a chance, you know. And this one thing again,
we shout out the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson. When
they try to attack him, he said, don't give it.
The brothers, you guys said, give him his chance in court.
And it's what we actually about give our chance in
court and we approved that all of this there's nothing
(22:49):
but falsehood and lives.
Speaker 7 (22:50):
You know, when you talk about going places and wanting
the conversation to be just fair for him, even if
people are going to have their opinions, how hard is
it for you?
Speaker 6 (23:00):
And you can answer this if you want to. I know,
it's a legal situation.
Speaker 7 (23:03):
So for instance, like I know I've seen reports of
like there were like text messages that allegedly were like
between Dirk and the guys who are who they threw
the murder charges at for the d thing, And then
they have the verse from his song Aha, and they're
trying to pin that like, Yo, this is you saying
what you did? How hard is it to grow up
(23:24):
against stuff like that? Just because legally they're talking about
that every single time he goes in the court.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
It's not hard if you get all the information. But
I will refer I have to refer all of these
things than I have to refer all these things to
the legal team, because you know, this is some of
the things that they would have to answer and give
them deep understanding. He got three great lawyers on the case.
You know, Drew Finley. Yes, he's good. Jonathan out in Chicago,
(23:57):
Brandma and he got the lady, what's Christie O'Connor. So
he got three good lawyers. He out of California, drew
us out of Atlanta, and Jonathan Raymond is out of Chicago.
So they working around the clock. They constantly keep us updated.
You know, I talked to them regularly about the case,
(24:17):
and so it's going good. You know, all these text messages,
these things here there on top of all this, and
like I said, give them us day in court and
they approved. You know, what's the what what's the real
truth about these text messages? Right?
Speaker 2 (24:32):
How confident are you?
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Uh as a Muslim? I'm confidence in the law as
a musclim and I just continue to make do uh
that this that we're victorious in this case, and you
know that a lot of grant us the relief that
we are seeking out of this. So looking at everything,
you know it's weak, hm, but we make sure continue
(24:56):
to trust.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
What about with the government, because you know, the government,
as we've seen many cases before, they play a nasty
game where they try to make somebody look crazy so
that the jury looks at them as crazy. From the start,
you know. I mean we see that a lot, a.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Whole lot, and who don't know that the person that's
been in the belly of the beast, you know, I know,
the fixing the game. Like That's why, like I said,
I stay on this case looking at from every angle
because I know they games. I know what they play,
I know their lives, their deception. I know they'll create something,
you know, and create some witness, you know, out of somewhere,
(25:33):
out of the blue, and it's been somebody come along.
Don't nobody know, Like who is this dude? And they'll
put them up there to say some things, you know,
and everybody be like you know, so yeah, I definitely
know about.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
Them and you and your in your bio.
Speaker 7 (25:49):
One of the things that you mentioned in here is
how much time you didn't get to spend with your
kids because of your sentence that you had. Now, like
you know, in present time, hopefully you know perfectly when
Dirk is able to come home, what are you looking
forward to being able to do with him? I know
you lost the thing, but what are you looking forward
to do with Dirk? And like you know, just your
family Now, once y'all get through all the muddy orders,
(26:10):
the same.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Thing we was doing when I got out. You know,
I'm constantly with them now. I don't want to get
my daughters. Man, but I got five children, Yeah, three
daughters and two sons. Then when we get off the
should they be like, you ain't saying nothing about us?
I think. So I got three beautiful daughters and two sons,
one passed away. And one word. What we're looking to
(26:32):
do now is we're on another whole level now, you know,
going to see him talking to him, you know, minds,
I'm now combined now and we're just looking forward to
doing things now with the grandkids, raising them in the
right way, you know, in bedding and putting in them
the things that his experience, my experience, the dudes and
(26:54):
adults in life. So we're just looking to be of
stronger family bond.
Speaker 7 (26:59):
And I know y'all brought up India earlier and we
found out that they were married through like the new
music and the photo on the album. What conversation do
you and Dirk had before he decided to get married,
and like what are you talking to him as dad?
You know what I mean, Like what advice are you
giving him? Or you know how what's that like?
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Okay, now as a.
Speaker 7 (27:16):
Muslim, as a mule, because it's different for you, right right,
you got to get married.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
You cannot like you sleep with a woman that you're
not married to. So these are my conversations to him.
You have to be married. It's a great sin in
Islam if you're not married. We don't believe in for nicasion.
We don't believe in adultery, you know, sleeping outside the
marriage and different things like that. If you're interest in
his sister, then let her know through marriage that you're
(27:42):
ready to take on the responsibility of a husband.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
So yeah, all right, as a Muslim, are you on
him about the content of his music? Like, if you
know he beats his situation and comes home, are you
going to tell him that musically he should go in
another direction?
Speaker 1 (27:55):
He told me, Oh, he told me so, I've I'm
just keep saying I'm to do the life. Every time
I talk to him, he's learning more about his line
and what he's supposed to be doing as a Muslim, say,
and he's saying that, hey, I can't talk about these
things no more. I can't walk this way of life
no more, you know. So he already on point with
(28:16):
all this, you know, and that's one of the things
about you know, prison give you time to really reflect, think,
you time isolation to read, study, So now you're able
to you know, you ain't distracted about these brother things.
You know. This is a this is a star, this
is an artist. He on the planes all the time,
He moving all the time, from the moment he wake
up to the moment he go to steep. He always
(28:36):
doing something. So saying, you know, he took his ship
how they became a Muslim in prison, I mean at
the prison when he came to see me, but then
his life took off from there. So now he got
a chance now to study. So everything that he needs
to know, he learning it right now. So he knowing.
He telling me like said, I can't talk about that
no more. I can't do this no more. I'm glad
(28:58):
that I got married. I'm glad I went this the
ration right here, because he's trying to see now.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Wow, we'll definitely send him and send him our love man,
and tell him that you know, we'll continue to pray
for him, man and support.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Him no doubt, because when I told him about this,
he said, that's beautiful them. They right there, they're gonna
keep it real.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Oh yeah, we've been watching Dirk since the beginning. Literally
literally he dirt been up with vond and everybody. So
it's like we literally watched him grow up.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
And also we can't forget about our main guy, Swiss.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Oh Swiss.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Definitely shout out to that brother man and that is
Swiss is one of his biggest mentors. That's the one
who talks to him, keep him on point, different things,
like he always calls Swiss. They're always talking what direction?
What should I do? You know? And it's good to
have somebody like Swiss in this corner.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
You know, absolutely appreciate you guys.
Speaker 6 (29:55):
I have one more thing.
Speaker 7 (29:56):
I just thought of that video of Willow when he's
talking to Dirk and it went super super viral. He's
telling him, like, you know, not to retaliate for the thing.
And then when ReViral, when all this stuff happened with
the with the case, when you first saw that video
and saw that moment of you like were there in
person or what, but like as a dad, like what
was that feeling like just to see somebody pour into
your son like that?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Beautiful? And I thank you appreciate its exactly. Report you
for that, because this is what we talked about. This
is why we practice no retaliation, because it's only going
to keep it going, you know. So I love that.
I love that you open up like that. So thank
you for that, you know, And I agree.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
I'm sorry he could never he could never follow. It's
so positive and just done so many And when they
were in the studio and him and Gilly were sitting
there because that went so super viral because of everything
with the case, and I was just like Dan as
a dad, I wonder, like you know you watching that,
like that's what's up.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Those the things I said, because we actually, you know,
we lost son. And I don't know if y'all know,
but when you lose a son and Islam, you have
to wash his body. Yes, so we have to wash
his body and washing the body and it's hurting, you know,
and watch my son body to get out out of
twenty six years and then have to bury your son.
(31:21):
You know, That's that's that pain there. It was like
you never get used to it, you never accepted, but
yet you accept it as a Muslim. But it's something
that's always going to be deep in you. So I
don't want them to see another parent hurt like that.
I don't won't see nobody have to go through that.
So it got to stop.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Do you put any blame on yourself?
Speaker 6 (31:39):
Ever?
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Like he was, like, man, because of your choices I
made twenty six years ago, I wasn't here the way
I probably needed to.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Be as a parent. You're gonna always say that, You're
gonna say what could I have did? What can have
did it better? Could I have said anything? Could I
do anything different to stop this? You know? But then
it'slam kicking. You were like everything you were supposed to do.
You try to the best of your ability, but that
struggle goes with thank you all the time.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Well, thank you all for joining us. Dante Banks, Kevin Freeman,
thank you so much, and please keep us updated when
you can.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yes, sir, we'll do. And I appreciate you all from having.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Us, Absolutely appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Some morning it's the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Good morning, wait till ass up in the morning.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
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