April 13, 2025
Kings Unchained: The Prelude
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What you are about to hear is a raw, unfiltered offering—part love letter, part battle cry, part spiritual reckoning. In this powerful prelude to Kings Unchained, Blakkmomba returns from hiatus, not by plan, but by divine pull. What poured out was over 9,000 words of truth, pain, poetry, and purpose—dedicated entirely to Black men.
This monologue is the heartbeat of Chapter 3 of Momba Raw and Unfiltered. It is the “why” behind Kings Unchained. It is the smoke signal. The code blue. The moment where silence ends, and authentic storytelling begins.
You’ll hear a voice full of reverence, urgency, and love—a voice that refuses to let the world continue to overlook the power, pain, and possibility in Black men.
In this episode, you’ll experience: The spiritual and creative spark that birthed Kings Unchained, a poetic free thought, 9,000-word monologue honoring Black masculinity in all its complexity, a call to witness, protect, and elevate the emotional truth of Black men, the foundation and soul mission behind this season, and a reminder that these conversations are for everyone, not just Black men.
This season is for the brothers who’ve been misjudged, mislabeled, misunderstood.
It’s also for the people who love them, learn from them, raise them, and walk beside them.
Because when Black kings rise, we all rise.
Momba Raw and Unfiltered is available on all digital streaming platforms.
Please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
Let’s flood the algorithm with something that heals.
Let’s unchain these Kings and their stories—one conversation at a time.
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🎶Music Credit
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Transcript
WEBVTT
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Hello kings and queens.
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It's your favorite girl, Blakk Momba, and I am back from hiatus sooner than I expected, to be honest.
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But for those who've been rocking with me these past few years, you probably already know why my spirit moved me to come back.
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I can't explain what exactly triggered it.
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Maybe it was divine timing, maybe it was alignment.
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All I know is something told me drop everything and dedicate an entire season to black men.
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And I listened.
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And when I say this came together fast, I mean fast.
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in two days flat.
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The concept, the visuals, the promos I was in a state of hyper focus.
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All of it poured out of me like a creative fugue.
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I've been doing my absolute best to honor black men.
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I love y'all so much, everything about you your skin, your smiles, your stature, the way you walk, the way you talk, the style, the swag, the soul.
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There is nothing on this earth like a black man and no matter how many times I've been hurt, harmed or disappointed, nothing has ever been strong enough to kill my love for you.
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I'll never stop loving Black men.
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This is my offering, my expression, my way of wrapping my arms around every single one of you, even though they aren't big enough.
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All I have is this voice, and I pray that it's enough.
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Before we dive fully into the season, I want to share the why behind Kings Unchained the mission, the vision, the purpose, the endgame.
00:02:17.012 --> 00:02:28.394
I've written over 9,000 words today, free thought, free expression, complete soul work, and it just flowed out of me.
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I had to force myself to stop and I want you to hear it before I start this new chapter, because knowing the why can shift everything.
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So I thank you.
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Thank you for giving me your ear, your time, your attention today.
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Thank you so much for tapping in with me on my Baran Unfiltered, for diving down rabbit holes with me and trusting me to navigate you to the other side.
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This is one long rabbit hole, but I promise, if you stay locked in, you're going to witness conversations that are transformative, conversations that are necessary, conversations that are long overdue.
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So, without further ado, allow me to officially introduce Kings Unchained, chapter 3.
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Are you ready?
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Sit back, relax and prepare to jump down the rabbit hole with your girl.
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I'll see you on the other side.
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Peace.
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They put you in a trap and call it the hood.
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The hood, a place, a word, a stigma.
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It's the image of blackness that has been formed for you.
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But what does it really mean to live there?
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The word itself holds so much weight, not just physically but mentally.
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The hood is a place that's been used to confine and restrict, to stereotype and label.
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It's a trap, not just in geography but in the mind, a trap of limited expectations, limited dreams and limited access to the world.
00:04:26.930 --> 00:04:31.464
Outside of that box, it becomes a mental state.
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More than a place, it's a label, and that label is meant to keep you small, keep you thinking that this is all you're supposed to be.
00:04:40.992 --> 00:04:44.831
But the truth is there's so much more to you.
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Your essence isn't defined by where you come from.
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Your value is not determined by the environment you're raised in or the challenges you face.
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You are more than your surroundings, more than your circumstances, more than the box the world tries to put you in.
00:05:05.776 --> 00:05:14.112
You were born with a purpose that stretches far beyond the label of hood and it's time to reclaim that power.
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Religion became a cage disguised as salvation.
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Religion can be a beautiful thing when it connects you to a higher purpose, but too often it's used as a tool to control.
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It's fed to you with strings attached, used to bind you in a way that keeps you in that same loop.
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It teaches you to obey, but not necessarily to question.
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It teaches you humility, but not always self-love.
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It teaches sacrifice, but often without teaching you to also honor your worth.
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Religion should never be a chain.
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It should never teach you to deny yourself or silence your pain.
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It should never hold you back from your true potential.
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Faith should lift you up, not hold you down.
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We need a faith that empowers us to rise, to break chains, to step into our divine purpose.
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Loyalty turned into a leash disguised as love.
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Loyalty is supposed to be about standing by those who stand with you, but too often loyalty becomes an expectation, a burden that weighs on your heart, and it's easy to get caught in loyalty to the wrong things or people who don't have your best interest at heart.
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Loyalty becomes a trap when it forces you to stay small, to compromise your worth or to bend for people who don't bend for you.
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Loyalty should never come at the cost of your peace, your dignity or your growth.
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Loyalty starts with yourself.
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If you can't be loyal to who you truly are, to your dreams, to your value, then how can you be loyal to anyone else?
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They taught you silence with strength and numbness, survival.
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This is one of the most dangerous traps, because when you stop feeling, when you stop acknowledging your emotions, you stop being human.
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You become a robot, a machine programmed to endure and to carry out without ever processing or reflecting.
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They teach you not to cry, not to show weakness.
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They tell you don't express, don't let them see you hurt.
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But where is the strength in hiding yourself?
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Where is the power in pretending to be something you're not?
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Emotions are a part of you.
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They are not a weakness, they are your truth.
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When you embrace your emotions, you embrace your humanity.
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Yet they tell you to shut up and keep moving.
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They tell you that emotions are a distraction.
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They tell you that feelings are the enemy.
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Do you know that every time you swallow that pain, it becomes a part of you not to heal but to rot?
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What if those feelings that pain, those very emotions we try so hard to bury, are the key to our freedom?
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What if embracing them is the way out of the trap?
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What if your emotions, those raw and real parts of you, were the answers to the questions you've been asking your entire life?
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What if the man you've been waiting for, strong life?
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What if the man you've been waiting for strong, whole, healed and authentic is already inside of you, just waiting for you to give him space to rise?
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They make you feel like you have to be all things at once Provider, protector, leader.
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And sure you can do all of that.
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But what they don't tell you is that in order to provide, protect and lead, you first have to be whole.
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You have to be healed, you have to be in touch with yourself, because if you're broken, you can only give pieces of yourself.
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If you're hurt, you can only protect parts of others.
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And if you're not being true to yourself, you can't truly lead anyone.
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You can't inspire anyone, you can't make a real impact.
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And that's the game they've been playing.
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They want you to play the part, but they don't want you to realize that the part is a lie.
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They don't want you to see that the trap is an illusion, a system designed to keep you busy, distracted, tired and numb.
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And when you're numb, you stop questioning, you stop asking for more, you stop dreaming.
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What would it look like if you took off the armor and let yourself breathe?
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What would it look like if you stop holding it all in, if you stop trying to save everyone else first and allow yourself to heal.
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What if you allowed your scars to show, ours to show?
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What if you wore them with pride instead of shame?
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Imagine the freedom, imagine the peace, imagine the possibilities, because you, brother, are meant for more than survival.
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You were born for greatness.
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Not the over-polished, over-filtered, media-sanitized version of you, not the villainized, feared, misunderstood version either.
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But you, the real you, the laughing you, the grieving you, the healed you, the broken you, the raw you, the divine you, the little boy in you, the god in you.
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Real power comes from self-awareness, from knowing when to stand firm and when to bend, from knowing when to be strong and when to be tender.
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Strength is not just about what you can hold on to.
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It's also about what you can let go of.
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Your emotions are the tools that guide you through that journey.
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So don't hide from them, don't bury them.
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Let them help you heal.
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But what does that even mean when you've never seen a man love out loud, when you've never seen a man heal in public, when you've never seen a man affirm another without feeling threatened?
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What does it mean when you've only seen men escape?
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Escape through women, escape through work, escape through war, escape through worship, escape through the weekend, escape through 2K, cod or Madden.
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Escape through trucking, escape through drug, alcohol and sex addiction.
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Escape through suicide.
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The trap is louder than the truth.
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And yet here you are still standing, breathing, building, trying.
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You were never supposed to survive, but you did.
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You still are.
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You don't need to be perfect to be powerful.
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You don't need to be silent to be strong.
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You don't need to be cold to be respected.
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You don't need to numb everything just to get through the day.
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You don't have to be defined by what broke you.
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You don't have to carry pain just to prove you're still a man.
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Who are you outside the struggle?
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What do you want beyond the drama?
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When was the last time you saw yourself not just as a fighter, but as a dreamer, a lover, a creator, a king?
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They teach you how to trap pain, not process it.
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They teach you how to perform strength, not embody it.
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They teach you how to show up for others, not for yourself.
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They call you angry but you're grieving.
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They call you aggressive but you're aching.
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They say you're dangerous, but you're divine.
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You are touch-starved, affection-deprived boys who learn love through punishment and power through violence.
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You are not your past.
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You are not a statistic.
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You are a story still unfolding, a soul that deserves peace.
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You are a king unchained.
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This space is for you, A place where we remember what was stolen, reclaim what was lost and redefine what it means to be a black man in a world that only fears your reflection.
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Welcome to the unlearning, welcome to the remembering, welcome to the healing, welcome to Kings Unchained.
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This season is for the brothers who've been unseen, unheard, unloved.
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Kings I'll never know but feel deeply connected to.
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They are out there.
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That realization hits me like a tidal wave.
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There, that realization hits me like a tidal wave.
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There are countless souls over 8 billion of them in this world.
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Sometimes that vast number makes me feel like an NPC in a simulation, like I'm mentally living in a virtual reality where purpose and possibility are hidden until they reveal themselves like an easter egg.
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We don't know what we don't know until we know it, and that is why we need more storytellers lending power through their voice, and not just any storytellers, but those who aren't afraid to speak up for what's uncomfortable, what's unseen and what's underrepresented.
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We need to hear your story.
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Even if the world may never listen to it, someone, somewhere, will hear it and it will change them.
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And when that happens, you'll never know how far your story will travel, how many lives it will impact or who it will set free.
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That's the power of your voice.
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I don't take it lightly that there are people in 23 countries and countless cities tapping in to hear me talk Like what?
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And still I ask myself who are these people listening to me talk about pain, purpose and life as I see it?
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Because I can talk, and I tell people every day that this is why I started a podcast, so I can talk as much as I want to.
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I may come off jokingly when I say I talk a lot and that's why I started a podcast, but truthfully, this podcast became my vessel, a space to transform pain and purpose into something that not only can be felt, but heard and remembered in a world that silences truth.
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And who's going to stop me?
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Anyway, you can mute me, you can turn me off right now, and I won't even know.
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And guess what?
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That's perfectly okay.
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That simply means that this podcast isn't for you, and that's fine.
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I know that I'm not everybody's cup of tea, but I am for the out there.
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Tuning in Numbers don't lie.
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There is an audience for everybody, a lane for every single one of us.
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When I first started this podcast journey, people said everybody in, they mama's mama got a podcast or it's just a trend, and ain't no telling what those close to me thought.
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But I didn't let that stop me.
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I chose to jump down the rabbit hole hot and heavy.
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Just because it's crowded doesn't mean there's no room.
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Look at traffic in places like Boston, chicago or LA it's heavy right.
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Still, people find a way to move, they merge, they push through, they create space.
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That's exactly what I chose to do Find a way to swerve, take up space, claim it and create my own lane.
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I didn't wait for permission.
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I didn't follow any set blueprint.
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I didn't let anyone tell me if I belonged or not.
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I did not follow the traditional rules of podcasting.
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I don't have a 10-step plan.
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I don't have a six-month editorial calendar or topics planned out for the next six months.
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I move when my spirit tells me to.
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I speak when it hits me.
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I record only when my energy is aligned with my voice.
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I never know when I'm going to record or with whom, or even what I'll talk about, until something moves me deep inside, like this project did.
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There's no true format here, only raw, unfiltered expression, free thought.
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I call myself an unprofessional professional.
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My calendar might not always align, my calendar might not always align, my studio may not shine with perfection, I'm forgetful even when I write things down or set an alarm.
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But I am real.
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I am a real person just like you, a perfect imperfection.
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I know my heart, how I move and why this platform, my space.
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It reflects exactly that.
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I let the content speak for me because it is me.
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My audience is full of real people who want to hear real voices, voices that resonate with their experiences, their struggles and their victories.
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That is why your voice matters, because through every note of truth that you share, the narrative changes, life changes, the world changes, one story at a time.
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It won't be through role models or celebrities or entertainers.
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Their lives are so far removed from mine and I don't begrudge them that.
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But there is a way to elevate your status in life and stay humble, but most aren't.
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Their lives don't reflect or look like mine.
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Yet we say representation matters.
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Well, where are the people that look like me, live like me, everyday people living the human experience just like me?
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Your testimony is vital, even if I never hear it directly.
00:20:16.615 --> 00:20:21.787
Someone else will, and when they do, they will pay it forward.
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Your words, extracted from the depths of your experience, give life to someone who is struggling to dispel the distractions and the noise.
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They give someone the strength to break mental shackles, unchain themselves from curses passed down through generations and reclaim their crown in pursuit of their purpose.
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That's how we grow.
00:20:45.491 --> 00:20:57.413
That's how we change the narratives, that's how we rebuild communities and stop allowing the powers at be to water down our divine DNA.
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We grow through meaningful connections, relevant connections, quality connections, light field connections.
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We grow when we have steady access to people, places and things that nourish our soul.
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That is what keeps the fire burning when life goes full bar, when everything seems to spiral into chaos and has it not?
00:21:23.207 --> 00:21:27.641
Do you not see what is happening in your country and in others around the world?
00:21:27.641 --> 00:21:32.150
Do you not walk outside your door and feel the hostility in the air?
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Everyone is on edge, waiting for that spark.
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Paranoia is embedded in us.
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I was blessed to be an 80s baby where I could ride my bike across town if I wanted, stay out with friends until the street light came on.
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We didn't need constant supervision, because the community was the supervision Word would get home before you did about you misbehaving, because somebody was always watching.
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You knew what was up when you heard your first and middle name when you walked in the house.
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Lord, have mercy if a neighbor walks you home, but those days they're gone.
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We don't trust nothing or anyone.
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Nobody is safe and anybody can get it.
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If you don't see or recognize this, I can't help you.
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It's clear to see and it's either denial or willful ignorance.
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Either way, I can't work with either.
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The world as we know it has a cancer upon it and it has metastasized, and that's why transparency and authenticity is more important than ever, so that we can get to the root of things, dig it up and grow up, elevate and start anew.
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But the truth is so many of us go unseen, so many go unheard.
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People are suffering life's attack in silence, with no one to lean on, no one at home, no one at school, no one in our immediate circle who can truly understand our pain.
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And that kind of silence, that abandonment, it hurts in your soul, it leaves a scar that time alone cannot heal.
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I believe that someone out there right now needs your voice, needs to hear what you have to say, so that they can find their own.
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That is what it means to be a light, to illuminate a path in the darkness, even if just for a moment.
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It's why I step up to this mic each time.
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This is my purpose, my mission, the reason I talk so damn much, the why, to the why I get so raw with you all and challenge your sensibilities.
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This is why I'm dedicating this season to the fellas, the brothers in the struggle, to the forgotten kings who often go unseen, unheard, the ones who are constantly misrepresented by narratives that only speak of their failures, their pain and their shortcomings.
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I want to help these kings shine their light, amplify their voices and shift the narrative so, instead of being trapped by negativity, they can reclaim their power.
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These are kings who have been shackled by the world's judgment, kings whose emotions have been weaponized against them, who've been forced to wear masks just to survive in a system that tells them to be nothing more than a statistic.
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And if no one has told you lately, you matter.
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Your silence does not make you weak, your vulnerability does not make you soft.
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Your truth is not too much.
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You deserve to be heard, you deserve to be held, you deserve to be honored.
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So this season, I'm passing the mic not only so that you can speak, so that you can be felt, because that is what moves culture, that is what saves lives.
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When your words reach someone who has been isolated by their struggles, when your story touches their heart, that is when real change starts.
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I want to take a moment here and remind you that every challenge, every setback, every moment of silence has led to this powerful opportunity.
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We are connecting through stories.
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We are forming a network of voices that break through the barriers of isolation.
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We are the ones who turn pain into purpose and darkness into light.
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I look back on my own journey, on days when the weight of the world felt too heavy, when I felt like a mere bystander in my own life.
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But even in those moments of despair, I found a spark, a spark that told me to speak, to share, to not let these wounds define me.
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Every time I step into this space, I share not just my successes but also my scars, so that others may know that they are not alone.
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