Bozoma Saint John On New Memoir The Urgent Life, My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
Feb 23, 2023
Bozoma Saint John’s story is an inspiring example of resilience in the face of adversity. Writing her memoir, The Urgent Life: My Story Of Love, Loss And Survival—available February 21st – gave Bozoma a chance to reflect on her experiences and share words that encourage others not to be afraid during their own journeys. This heartfelt work chronicles the loss she endured after 2013 when Peter passed away from cancer; it also serves as motivation for readers seeking empowerment through self-help tactics. Bozora’s vision “Urgent…not just about speed but intention" drives home how powerful taking action (no matter its pace) can be at making our lives what we want them to become no matter outside obstacles or hardships received along our path
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Bozoma Saint John On New Memoir The Urgent Life, My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
https://youtu.be/fTgybR3q_JM
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0:00
I am here to testify that I am a
0:02
butterfly today
0:04
yeah I feel it I feel it I feel it and
0:08
I'm I'm flying in my life
0:11
that's right there keep those going
0:12
towards
0:13
keep those going that's the voice of
0:16
power right there HP I know it for a
0:19
fact I witness it for myself we talked
0:21
about this earlier if you ever been
0:23
through love lost and survival this book
0:26
that she has written is made for you
0:28
it's called the Urgent life my story of
0:30
love lost his survival let me give you
0:33
some insight of who I'm speaking about
0:35
this woman has been a business person
0:37
the author a marketing executive she was
0:39
she was the CMO at Endeavor Tracy G she
0:43
was the chief brand officer at Uber
0:45
Tracy G and Heather B she worked for
0:47
Apple music she worked with Beats Music
0:49
alongside Dr Dre and
0:52
another guy Jimmy Ivory there you go
0:58
smack History Month the fit top 50 most
1:01
influential female leaders in Africa
1:03
with the corporate and business sphere
1:04
by Leading Ladies of Africa she worked
1:07
at PepsiCo but let me tell you this
1:09
[Applause]
1:11
she was very instrumental um in the trip
1:14
that I had that I often say changed my
1:16
life when I left for Ghana and how I
1:19
came back are two different people
1:21
because of that experience and I only
1:24
wish I had gone sooner but I'm glad I
1:26
was able to make it and the work that
1:28
she's been doing Serving as a bridge for
1:31
us people from Africa descent here in
1:33
the states and people of Africa born and
1:36
raised has been phenomenal
1:38
um it's been unwavering it's been
1:40
steadfast and I watch it I hear friends
1:43
of Mines Ebro different folks who have
1:46
gone over to Ghana and talked about
1:47
their experiences it really motivated me
1:50
to take that trip when Chance the Rapper
1:51
invited me to come and be a part of this
1:53
amazing experience that he created and
1:56
this is what we officially met we party
1:58
together
1:59
[Laughter]
2:04
but in this book that she's written
2:07
um she really gets in deeper about who
2:10
she is in her journey I told her I knew
2:12
of her but I only knew the accolades now
2:14
I know realize that I know the person so
2:16
I want to welcome her to the show The
2:18
One and Only Boze my Saint James Saint
2:22
John
2:26
welcome to the show thank you so much
2:28
thank you very much
2:30
[Applause]
2:31
you are amazing thank you I'm mad at
2:34
myself I feel like it should have been
2:36
bigger
2:38
you hold a special place in my heart you
2:42
know in in Sam over there too that works
2:44
with you you guys do a lot of great work
2:46
together I know you guys do the New
2:48
Year's Eve event yes I bet you put
2:50
together people come from all over the
2:51
world I know his family um owns the
2:54
island right our Proprietors of the
2:56
island at this event happens on and
2:58
people from all over the diaspora come
3:00
and celebrate and tell the stories and
3:02
and build and bond and make I made
3:05
relationships over in Ghana that I'll
3:07
never forget and that I would never been
3:09
that man right there Sam man just can
3:12
can he get in the camera
3:21
listen Minstrel and uh Sam man they I
3:25
met Mr on the plane and we just started
3:27
talking and we just bonded and it was
3:30
just coming to Ghana just allow us to
3:33
really strip ourselves of our of our
3:36
Shields of the walls that we carry here
3:39
in the state not just physical but
3:41
psychologically right and so anybody
3:43
that I met there was like it felt like I
3:46
was making a brother damn take a seat
3:48
keep it up for Sam man yeah
3:51
Sam's uh uh also a former NFL player had
3:54
to be I don't know if you recognize his
3:56
side right his size right now you know
3:59
and uh Sam um my life my last day in
4:02
Ghana
4:03
I still haven't processed gun it will
4:06
take you some time it's going to take
4:07
some time yes
4:09
um my last day this man offered to drive
4:11
me to the El Camino castles
4:14
um
4:15
where else did we go we went to
4:17
um uh the park with the bridges cocoon
4:20
for us yep um and we stopped on the way
4:23
back to the hotel or to go catch my
4:26
flight we stopped along the side of the
4:27
road and Sam wanted to pick up some
4:30
pineapples for the resort
4:33
and so we went shopping for Pineapples
4:36
uh it's a fresh pineapple not no plastic
4:40
containers never had them before though
4:42
I'm telling you it's worth the stuff it
4:44
was worth the Stop and I sat and I said
4:46
hey man I'm gonna go ahead and sit over
4:47
here and I sat and just kind of observed
4:50
um the scenery and the environment
4:51
around us and one of the things I love
4:53
most of these townships people have
4:56
um um monetarily less than we have but
5:00
they looked happier than most of the
5:01
people I know and that I see in our own
5:04
environment it's real you know and I got
5:05
to shake hands with kids and try to
5:08
communicate with folks you know folks
5:09
spoke English the whole nine so that
5:12
trip we took man it stuck with me in my
5:14
heart so I'm forever indebted to you
5:15
okay so you're a brother to me now okay
5:18
[Applause]
5:19
Sam's all right with Me Sam say
5:22
something man say something man you know
5:24
like you man I mean you said and you
5:27
watch Africa for years right from afar
5:29
and it's the same thing and you know
5:31
I've sat and watch you from afar so I
5:33
was was um with admiration right so I'm
5:37
I didn't grow up in it music or
5:39
entertainment industry I played Sports
5:40
all my life and had the opportunity to
5:42
transition into business and so um when
5:45
the opportunity arose to take you there
5:46
I didn't look at you like I'm taking
5:48
sway it's another black man who's
5:50
essentially you know all got all my
5:52
words together this morning but who's
5:53
been lied to right yeah and so this is
5:56
an opportunity for me to you know help
5:57
him see the truth yeah and so um I
6:00
wanted to give you the raw experience
6:01
not the tourism experience so uh one of
6:04
my family members bought my pickup truck
6:06
over and we took a you know we took a
6:08
little drive out there and uh we got it
6:10
in and uh
6:11
some of the things that happened that
6:12
day I mean some of the things that we
6:14
were able to see some of the people that
6:15
we were able to connect with
6:17
um for me I want to do that a million
6:18
times yeah for a million people right
6:20
because I believe you have to pay it
6:23
forward and you have to continue to uh
6:25
push the agenda that we can go and have
6:27
the life that we so choose to have in
6:29
America and sometimes difficult we can
6:31
have that same life back on absolutely
6:33
man Sam Barrington give that man a round
6:35
of applause Minstrel Raymond came with
6:37
us and we just had a hole in the process
6:40
that we we covered so much hip-hop my
6:42
brain got frequency these guys was
6:44
asking so many questions right yeah and
6:46
uh so that's amazing but can I call you
6:49
what everyone else calls you now or
6:51
what's that both oh yeah okay
6:54
that's fine um
6:57
you were born in Connecticut but raised
6:59
in Ghana right yeah yeah okay what was
7:02
the talk about culturally what's what's
7:04
some of the differences in Ghana being
7:07
raised and Ghana than we experience here
7:09
in the states well I mean when I was um
7:11
a kid like you said I was born in
7:13
Connecticut because my dad was getting
7:15
uh his graduate degrees
7:17
um and when he graduated he is a he's a
7:21
pan-africanist you know and so he comes
7:23
from the same area that Kwame nkrumah
7:25
came from he believes in you know Africa
7:29
for Africans not meaning just those who
7:31
are born on the continent but every
7:32
black person and so for instance like
7:35
you know a lot of Africans have adopted
7:37
English names you know it's like a first
7:40
names when you go to school they call
7:41
you by your English name when you're at
7:43
home they call you your ghanian name and
7:45
he refused to give us any English names
7:46
you know so as soon as he was done uh
7:49
with his school he was like look I'm
7:51
going back to the continent which was
7:53
actually quite
7:54
um a shock I think at the time because
7:57
because what was happening is remember
7:58
when WB Du Bois talk about the town to
8:01
10th yeah what was happening was that
8:03
people were taking the top 10 percent of
8:06
talent right out of the continent and
8:09
putting them in the diaspora so what
8:11
would happen is you would promise them a
8:13
better life somewhere else and so that
8:16
meant that the brain power was leaving
8:18
the continent and going into these other
8:20
places to help build those structures
8:22
right and you were then you know
8:25
promised something that probably wasn't
8:27
going to come to fruition because
8:28
anybody told you that you were going to
8:30
be discriminated against yeah you're
8:31
going to be given less opportunities you
8:33
were going to probably not Prosper the
8:35
way that you dreamed uh if you hadn't
8:38
just stayed on the continent you know so
8:40
after he graduated he went uh he took my
8:43
mom and I back to Ghana to build and he
8:46
ended up being a lecturer at the
8:47
University of Ghana then he went into
8:49
politics so he was in liman's government
8:52
which was then overthrown by J.J
8:55
Rawlings in the military coup d'etat
8:56
which meant that we then had to escape
8:58
Ghana
9:00
um did he go to jail though yes he went
9:02
into he went to jail they captured him
9:04
and he went into jail and my mom by that
9:08
point had me and three girls she was
9:10
pregnant with my with her fourth child
9:12
my last sister
9:14
um and we escaped in the dead of night
9:17
while my dad was in political detention
9:19
they were killing people every day
9:21
torturing them and we didn't know
9:23
whether or not he was alive or dead but
9:25
my mom got us out of the country
9:28
um I still don't know how she did it
9:29
yeah I really did you didn't ask her
9:31
yeah but you know I think that type of
9:33
stuff is hard to talk about okay you
9:34
know it must have been so much trauma to
9:37
leave your home your country you know
9:40
where like you've created all these
9:42
dreams and aspirations you're building
9:43
your family and then something that
9:45
traumatic happens your husband is gone
9:47
you don't know whether or not he's alive
9:48
you got to get these three kids plus
9:51
you're pregnant you got to get out you
9:53
know like that's it's hectic so she
9:56
talks about it a little a bit but I
9:58
think she has kept a lot of the um
10:01
more terrible stuff to herself what was
10:04
it like for you because I know when you
10:06
went to college you talk about
10:08
um you know really immersing yourself in
10:10
on the college campus and really
10:12
straddling the fence of Two Worlds how
10:15
long did that happen for you when you
10:16
immediately came to the back to the
10:18
States yeah yeah pretty immediate I mean
10:19
when we came back
10:21
um for good I was 12. and we went to
10:25
Colorado Springs Colorado which uh damn
10:28
y'all what the cop went from Colorado
10:30
from Ghana to Colorado yeah
10:32
it's always like yeah the end of October
10:35
was almost November and
10:37
um you know the amazing thing though is
10:39
that it it forced me to learn to do what
10:43
I do now which is that I have to find
10:45
connections with people regardless of
10:46
who they are you know it's like I don't
10:49
walk into rooms and just see strangers I
10:51
always see people and I'm just like
10:52
there's got to be something I have in
10:53
common with this person you know and so
10:55
that has actually helped me open up on
10:57
that I mean when I went to Colorado yeah
10:59
they were looking at me crazy because
11:01
what they were used to was seeing the
11:05
kids from Africa with distended bellies
11:07
with the Flies on their eyes had the
11:09
picture on the fridge that said send
11:12
this child one cent for a day so they
11:14
looked at Black Faces every single day
11:17
and assumed that they were less assume
11:19
that their their worth was less than
11:21
their own and so by the time I showed up
11:24
they had all kind of questions but I
11:27
really don't blame them because they
11:28
hadn't been told anything else yeah so
11:29
when they said like is this the first
11:31
time you've worn clothes and I'd like to
11:33
them like you don't know that we created
11:34
thread wow yeah did you know that we
11:36
created fabric that like kente cloth is
11:39
the oldest living type of material there
11:41
is you don't know that you know where
11:43
that they said like oh do you eat monkey
11:45
brains and I'm like you have no idea the
11:47
kind of Cuisine that we have on the
11:50
continent clap that up towards okay or
11:52
they asked about you know like sports or
11:56
music or any other thing that they
11:58
thought was new to me and I'm like no I
12:00
don't know your stuff but you don't know
12:02
mine either so you can't call me like
12:04
the ignorant one yeah yeah yeah but they
12:06
didn't we don't know well they and we
12:10
don't know our stuff these things we see
12:12
that um our our history our legacies are
12:15
being attacked constantly in our
12:17
education programs we see what's
12:18
happening in Florida right now and how
12:21
during Black History Month yes yes yes
12:23
how much is trying to be censored right
12:26
and so when you when you come over here
12:28
what are some of the biggest lies you've
12:31
heard people repeat out Africa oh my
12:33
gosh uh where did I even start but also
12:36
I just I also want to say the fact that
12:38
um you know I realized that we've been
12:40
lied to all of us but we know that yes
12:42
so like why don't we take it upon
12:44
ourselves to educate you know what I
12:47
mean or at least be open to a different
12:48
narrative there's way too much of the
12:51
divisiveness that I still feel you know
12:53
when I tell people that like oh you know
12:55
you should come with me to Ghana and
12:57
they'll be like Oh I thought Africans
12:58
hated black people they hated you know
13:00
African-Americans and I'm just like can
13:02
we stop that please yeah like can you
13:04
you come you come and you tell me
13:06
whether or not you feel hated you know
13:08
don't listen to the talk and the
13:09
narrative because those are still lies
13:11
the people have been trying to feed us
13:12
for 400 years yeah it has the same
13:14
divisiveness if they can keep us apart
13:16
then of course it can control us so for
13:18
me it's like look that's one the next is
13:21
that um actually I got this from the
13:23
current president of Ghana when we met
13:24
in 2017
13:26
um he was here for the United Nations
13:28
General Assembly and in 2017 he was
13:31
petitioning to have 2019 marked as a
13:34
year of return right because it would it
13:36
would
13:37
um cement 400 years since the beginning
13:39
of transatlantic slave trade and he won
13:41
the year returned because he said look
13:43
everybody of African descent in the
13:45
entire world should come back to Africa
13:47
not necessarily to live he wasn't saying
13:49
like you know we're taking everybody
13:51
back he was just like look I need you to
13:52
touch the soil I need you to feel where
13:55
your roots are you know and then you can
13:57
go back out but the thing that he said
13:59
during his speech that um really changed
14:02
my perspective and made me realize that
14:03
as an adult I can do something because
14:05
don't we all feel powerless sometimes
14:07
you feel like Society is so you know
14:10
messed up and you you know it's like all
14:12
of these issues that you're just like
14:14
well we need bigger policies about you
14:16
don't feel like you as an individual can
14:17
do something yes but when I heard him
14:19
say this statement I was like oh I see I
14:22
need to use the power that I have the
14:24
talent I have as a marketer to change
14:26
the narrative he said until the content
14:29
of Africa is respected no person of
14:31
African descent anywhere in the world
14:33
would be respected
14:35
um and I was like he's right yeah and it
14:38
took me back to when I was 12. and all
14:41
of those pictures of the kids with
14:42
distended bellies don't think that just
14:45
because you come from Brooklyn or you're
14:47
from Detroit or you're from Orlando that
14:50
they see you differently than that
14:52
little kid with distended bellies who is
14:54
worth one cent yeah don't ever make that
14:56
mistake so as soon as I heard him say
14:59
that knew my own experiences here I was
15:03
like oh man I've been doing marketing
15:05
for all of these big enormous global
15:08
companies I'm in charge of the marketing
15:10
like I have budgets that are huge why
15:13
can't I use my talent to help change The
15:16
Narrative of Ghana for one yeah Africa
15:19
as a general idea and concept and black
15:23
people as an even bigger one I can do
15:25
that yeah I love it man give it up y'all
15:28
both my sunshine is here Sam Barrington
15:32
is here
15:33
and I tell you
15:35
um I I I'll be I'll be honest with you
15:37
balls I have not my sister uh you know
15:40
my oldest sister my older brother my
15:41
sister's very uh spiritually grounded
15:44
and we we've been trying to find the
15:46
words of
15:48
um this pilgrimage I took you know
15:51
um to to Ghana you know my my we traced
15:55
back our history to uh Ghana Nigeria
15:58
Benin all these Mali on these different
16:00
places I've never felt the feeling I
16:04
felt when I landed in Ghana I'm telling
16:06
you I I can't even put it to words yeah
16:10
it was all I saw was black folks
16:13
everywhere at every stage from
16:16
government on down it was amazing and
16:19
when people looked at me it wasn't with
16:22
any Prejudice no well so do you know
16:25
what that feels like growing up in the
16:27
United States yeah and people were so in
16:31
my case I didn't realize how much how
16:34
influential my career had been in Africa
16:38
so it was so many people coming up to me
16:41
from Ghana it humbled me you know it
16:45
really humbled me I walked with that
16:46
anyway
16:48
um uh so that people can approach me but
16:51
it was uh I'm already you know I want to
16:54
buy property there my auntie my cousin
16:56
Brenda I met her at the hotel we were
16:58
staying at she moved to Ghana maybe
17:00
three years ago after our
17:02
um our big cousin birthday her mother
17:04
passed away and the whole family looked
17:07
at her like what are you doing yeah
17:09
you're gonna move to Ghana do you have a
17:11
plan you know and I told her I was
17:14
coming no one's from the family seen her
17:16
since then hmm
17:17
I got a chance to hug I was the first
17:20
person from the family to see her since
17:22
she left for Ghana and it was so many
17:25
things was happening for me Chance the
17:27
Rapper's family the whole nine Sam the
17:30
whole nine so I've been encouraging
17:31
folks to not only go visit but to invest
17:35
yes my cousin bought property there
17:37
she's Building Homes there why not you
17:41
know why not bring it all back bring a
17:44
lot of it back to Ghana
17:46
um reading your book
17:48
when I start finding out more about you
17:51
I want to um say uh thank you for
17:53
sharing so much I'm I'm wondering the
17:55
Urgent life my story of love loss and
17:58
survival uh when did when did you start
18:01
seeing life through that lens from from
18:03
a place of urgency yeah
18:06
um well
18:07
like we've just been talking about you
18:09
know it's like
18:10
and you said this as well that uh you
18:12
know the accolades yes you know the
18:15
headlines it's like in the business
18:17
world and the corporate spaces I'm known
18:19
as one thing you know it's like somebody
18:22
who's a Trailblazer I go into companies
18:25
I you know I'm not gonna call me
18:27
Unapologetic and blah blah you know
18:28
there's all these like big big big words
18:31
that are used to make it seem as if I'm
18:33
some sort of superhero you know
18:36
um but the reality is I'm I'm a human a
18:40
woman who's been through a lot of trauma
18:42
and loss you know and um I remember once
18:46
somebody was uh trying to I don't know
18:49
probably make me feel good you know and
18:51
they're just like man you know you're
18:52
gonna go down the history books people
18:53
are gonna know you for all your
18:55
accomplishments like it's so amazing and
18:58
I looked at them and it hit me I was
19:00
just like but I don't want to be known
19:01
and praise for my accomplishments I want
19:04
to be known and praise for what I've
19:06
overcome yeah you know the things that I
19:08
was able to experience and then move
19:10
through you know to get to the next
19:12
thing and so I started writing the book
19:15
probably uh
19:18
a couple decades ago in my head okay
19:20
okay through experiences but two years
19:23
ago is when I put pen to paper you know
19:26
and started writing because it just felt
19:28
like especially the start of the
19:30
pandemic you know people were going
19:32
through so much type of loss some
19:34
through you know illness and family
19:36
members and Friends dying but also like
19:38
loss of identity loss of
19:40
Community like you know your whole mind
19:43
was kind of screwed up you were sitting
19:45
at home people were in a panic things
19:47
were happening you know and it just
19:49
brought it to light that uh I wanted to
19:52
write about the fact that yes you can go
19:55
through loss you can go through trauma
19:58
um but you can still survive these
19:59
things and not just survive you can
20:01
Thrive but I would say that the moment
20:03
that I really understood what urgency
20:05
meant was in 2013 when my late husband
20:09
was diagnosed with cancer and for me at
20:13
that time like you know look I was still
20:15
very active you know I've never been a
20:18
patient person yeah I've always been
20:19
like yo if I want to do something I'm
20:21
going to do right now you know it's like
20:22
hey you want to go see something let's
20:24
go like this minute I'm not waiting for
20:26
anything right but urgency took on a
20:29
different meaning about intention when
20:32
you know you're looking at somebody who
20:34
you love who you've built a life with
20:36
who is facing the end of their life and
20:38
they know it and you know it you know
20:40
and the days are numbered and the thing
20:42
is that like we say it all the time
20:44
right we're like Carpe Diem seize the
20:46
day every day like it's gonna be your
20:47
last you know you never know but it's
20:49
like we don't really live like that yeah
20:51
you say it all the time you do you know
20:53
you say it but you don't really live it
20:56
because if you knew that next week was
20:58
going to be it what would you do
21:00
differently today if I wouldn't be here
21:01
right now
21:03
then you might want to think about that
21:04
sway
21:05
yeah right but my point is that like
21:08
right I'm right yeah right I'm like look
21:10
but but you know it's it's kind of a
21:12
joke but it's kind of serious yeah you
21:15
know it's like I always I say this like
21:17
you know especially because in my
21:19
corporate career again you know it's
21:20
like I've been known as moving from this
21:22
company that company and taking on this
21:24
and taking on that I'm like yo as soon
21:25
as I start to feel those Sunday scaries
21:27
Sunday night comes and I'm like oh I
21:30
don't want to do that thing tomorrow
21:30
morning or I you know I'm going to a
21:32
meeting I'm like I don't even want to
21:34
see these people oh no it's time for me
21:35
to go baby I'm not I'm not sitting
21:38
around feeling those feelings like I'm
21:40
going to live the life I want like I'm
21:43
going to be passionate and that goes for
21:45
jobs that goes for relationships that
21:47
goes for situationships that goes for
21:50
all of the things I'm like if I'm in a
21:52
situation that I don't feel good in what
21:55
am I waiting for why am I gonna waste
21:57
six months for what so you can prove to
21:59
me that I'm right well you like that
22:01
prior to your you know your husband
22:03
being diagnosed with cancer
22:05
um I was always impatient but the
22:09
urgency with intention changed when he
22:11
died when he died yeah yeah you start
22:14
off the book really powerful like you
22:17
start off not only I mean it wasn't just
22:19
his diagnosis your mother yes as well
22:22
and I Met Your Mother I know on the
22:24
plane
22:29
yes powerful beautiful woman yeah
22:32
two-time cancer survivor two-time cancer
22:35
survivor that lets you know that you can
22:37
survive yeah right so all of that
22:40
happened in the same time period yes yes
22:42
yes she had um she was on her second
22:44
bout of cancer she'd been diagnosed in
22:46
January and
22:48
um she was going through her recovery
22:51
um but you know still going through
22:52
chemo and radiation all that and then my
22:54
husband was diagnosed in May
22:57
um and then I was faced with basically
23:00
caring for them both my mom was being
23:02
cared for in New Jersey and Peter was at
23:05
Memorial Salon Kettering here in
23:06
Manhattan where were you in your career
23:09
at that time oh God see this is why it's
23:11
like the highs and lows of everything
23:13
you know it's like life is just like
23:14
that I was at a pretty big high I was
23:17
working at PepsiCo I was running the
23:19
music and entertainment Marketing Group
23:20
I negotiated the deal with the NFL for
23:23
the Super Bowl halftime show and put
23:25
Beyonce on the stage and it was a high I
23:28
mean we won big that year yeah you know
23:30
it was like look we fought for a black
23:32
woman to be on that stage I think people
23:33
think now it's like oh of course it was
23:34
Beyonce I was like no you don't
23:36
understand what was happening okay
23:40
so if you remember the wardrobe
23:43
malfunction yeah Janet Jackson in 2003
23:47
Justin Timberlake correct yeah okay and
23:50
she got blamed for everything
23:52
uh and therefore the NFL in not a um
23:58
direct way but indirect decided that any
24:01
body like her would probably be too
24:04
dangerous to have on the stage that was
24:06
number one so no black woman had been on
24:08
the stage since her so it's been a
24:10
decade next they were like we don't
24:13
think that she will be
24:15
commercially viable Beyonce yes because
24:19
she wouldn't attract the
24:21
the audience that they were going to
24:24
Garner uh so it was a fight it was a
24:27
fight it was a fight to get her on the
24:29
stage and but we did it and then on top
24:32
of it it was like she you know of course
24:35
was doing her thing and Barack Obama was
24:38
being inaugurated that year yeah we all
24:40
went to the inauguration she was singing
24:43
on the stage with you know look if
24:45
you're an artist you know it's like you
24:46
know sometimes you use a backing track
24:47
especially if you're outside and the
24:49
wind is blowing and all that stuff so
24:51
she used a backing track the wind
24:53
carried her voice off so all you heard
24:54
was the backing track and they said
24:56
Beyonce can't sing No I remember and
24:58
then it was like this big conversation
25:00
but now we get the NFL saying oh we told
25:03
you you know like not only is she not
25:06
going to be applying to like the
25:07
customers we have but like she can't
25:09
sing We got this you know big like
25:12
controversy happening so it was a fight
25:15
wow and by the time she got on that
25:17
stage and crushed it crushed it crushed
25:20
it I mean there was no question after
25:22
she was done that not she not only
25:24
deserved to be on the stage with that it
25:26
would be a legendary performance one
25:28
that we talked about for years to come
25:29
so and then we were like not me from me
25:33
I mean it was like everything was
25:33
happening
25:34
and then my mother had cancer and so did
25:37
my husband
25:38
so I was managing all of those emotions
25:41
the highs and lows at the same time hmm
25:43
wow oh man
25:46
Boze my Saint John is here y'all
25:50
one of the things I read in your book is
25:53
around that time
25:55
um
25:56
where you had to deal with your first
25:58
lesson hmm that's what you said the
26:00
first lesson I learned was uh I have to
26:04
face it
26:05
um yeah what did you mean by that
26:07
well that's like uh the boogeyman yeah
26:10
you know or whatever you call that fear
26:13
I think sometimes you know you're our
26:16
natural instinct is like shut our eyes
26:18
and run from it right because that's
26:20
easier I think the thing that is in your
26:23
head
26:24
most of the time is worse than the thing
26:27
that actually is right but let's just
26:29
pretend for one second that it is as bad
26:30
as you think it is the boogeyman is
26:33
uglier smellier scarier than you assume
26:36
you should know what it is like you
26:38
should look him dead in the eye and know
26:40
exactly what you're faced with and then
26:43
you can figure out okay am I gonna run
26:44
am I gonna lay down and play dad am I
26:47
gonna roll under the bed like what am I
26:48
gonna do but you have to face the thing
26:51
and that's what was happening to me you
26:53
have to face his his death yes had to
26:55
face it head on and say okay like this
26:57
is not the life
26:59
I thought I was gonna have I didn't
27:01
think I'd be a single mom I didn't think
27:03
that I would have to be a widow who
27:06
wants that title you know I didn't think
27:08
I would have to explain to my child for
27:10
the rest of her life what her dad was
27:13
like you know or do any of those things
27:15
I didn't want that but I had to face it
27:18
you know and I couldn't run from it and
27:20
then plus time was running out I didn't
27:22
have we didn't have time yeah so it
27:24
meant that I had to like again I said it
27:26
had to be intentional about
27:28
what we're gonna do you know the big
27:30
things and the little things
27:32
I'm fine and I'm asking you these
27:34
questions specifically because I think
27:36
and I think if listeners who um have and
27:39
I asked that question before the
27:40
interview if you ever gone through love
27:43
loss and survival she's been through it
27:46
and through her experience maybe you
27:48
could learn how to get through yours
27:50
anyone with the child at some point got
27:53
to say hey he's no longer going to be
27:56
here how do you tell your child right oh
28:00
man well it was probably the best advice
28:02
I got actually you know because as a
28:04
parent as a mother as a father
28:07
um you want to protect your kids from
28:08
everything bad you know you don't want
28:10
nothing bad to happen to them and if
28:12
something bad is happening you want to
28:13
cushion it as much as possible protect
28:15
them as much as possible but the best
28:17
advice I got was that I should tell her
28:20
be honest with her
28:22
um use the real words you know because
28:24
if you say like oh Daddy's sick then
28:26
every time somebody has a cold or
28:28
somebody has like a pain in their elbow
28:30
she thinks it's gonna die yeah you know
28:33
so you have to say Daddy has cancer and
28:36
he's going to die
28:38
and she didn't understand the concept
28:40
she was four you know she just turned
28:42
four she didn't know what that meant and
28:44
I think maybe that was one of the
28:45
biggest griefs that I felt early on you
28:48
know even before I passed away I was
28:49
like man she doesn't even know what
28:50
she's losing yeah you know she like I I
28:53
my dad is around uh we have a great
28:56
relationship a complicated one but you
28:58
know it's like he's here and I'm a
29:00
daddy's girl and I was like man she's
29:02
not gonna have that yeah she's not gonna
29:04
have a daddy to tell you you can't move
29:06
in the apartment with that boyfriend
29:07
okay you're saving the family
29:11
you know it's like and the thing is I
29:13
just kept of the future you know I kept
29:15
thinking about like what happens when
29:17
you know yeah what happens when she has
29:18
her first crush yeah you know what
29:20
happens when she wants to go to daddy
29:23
daughter dance what happens when she's
29:25
playing in that game and she wants her
29:28
dad to watch her or what happens when
29:30
she gets married you know like all of
29:32
these things that I was thinking about
29:33
in the future about how to explain to
29:36
her so she understood the weight of it
29:38
but the truth of the matter is that none
29:41
of us not even me I didn't understand
29:43
the weight of what we're about to face
29:44
yeah you know so that's why it's even
29:46
more important to live in the present
29:48
moment so then yes I was like look
29:51
Daddy's going to die we don't know when
29:53
that is but it will be soon
29:55
and you should
29:57
say the things you want to say you know
29:59
hug him as much as you want to I dance
30:02
and do little performances do everything
30:04
you want to do I do it all and of course
30:07
she didn't understand the weight of that
30:09
but I have lots of videos of her dancing
30:12
in his hospital room that she loves to
30:14
watch now you know I have her sitting on
30:17
the floor while he's reading her a story
30:19
you know like all of the things like
30:21
yeah I really wanted her to do them and
30:23
then later on she would have it you say
30:26
that in the book later on in the book to
30:28
make sure you take pictures and do
30:29
videos savor every moment every moment
30:31
do all of the things
30:34
okay I'm opening up the uh Tracy you
30:36
want to talk to them yeah oh my goodness
30:38
you're mesmerizing oh thank you I
30:40
appreciate your essence everything that
30:43
you've endured that given you so many
30:45
lessons that you also share with us I
30:47
really deeply appreciate you very much
30:50
um I want to go back a couple steps when
30:53
you were mentioning how as soon as
30:55
something just feels icky within you're
30:58
like I'm out I don't have time to like
31:00
examine to prove my theory correct
31:04
um and I feel that I do also think that
31:07
there are some times for folks where
31:09
they are maybe chasing more all the time
31:13
it brings me back to Michelle Obama did
31:15
a conversation recently and she was
31:17
talking about how for a lot of young
31:18
people who enter marriages maybe they
31:21
presume it's going to be easier than
31:23
what it is and what she sees is that
31:24
they leave when the going gets tough so
31:27
I'm interested in what is your process
31:30
of discernment when it comes to deciding
31:33
In This Moment do I pivot my perspective
31:36
or do I really just pivot my position
31:39
where I lead yeah oh that's a great
31:42
question so here's the thing is that um
31:45
intuition is such a funny thing it's
31:47
like it's like any other muscle in your
31:49
body you know it's like if you lift
31:52
weights you know do bicep curls you're
31:54
probably going to grow your biceps right
31:56
if you pay attention to your intuition
31:58
it is going to get stronger it's going
32:00
to get louder it's going to get more
32:01
clear
32:02
you know and that is actually the
32:04
difference of understanding what is your
32:06
intuition actually telling you about the
32:08
danger of a situation or about the need
32:10
to move to a different Destiny versus
32:13
like your what I would just call your
32:15
emotions
32:16
you know it's like look you can be in a
32:19
relationship with somebody and get
32:21
pissed off and need to cool off yeah you
32:24
know and some people will be like oh man
32:26
I'm so pissed off I don't wanna and I'm
32:28
out that's all I'm talking about I'm
32:30
talking about the intuition that tells
32:31
you that this is no longer serving me
32:34
this situation I'm in isn't growing me
32:36
it's not supporting me I don't feel
32:39
loved I don't feel encouraged and I need
32:43
to get out that there's a big difference
32:45
between what your intuition tells you
32:47
the thing like I it happens to me in my
32:49
gut yeah it hurts other people in other
32:50
places you know what I mean but you know
32:52
in my gut so I have a very very strong
32:56
intuition and that is why it's like even
32:59
in meeting people
33:00
you know have you ever been in a
33:02
situation where somebody's like oh you
33:04
know such and such a person because they
33:05
do this and they do that and then you
33:08
meet them and you're like um the vibe is
33:10
off right you know what I'm saying but
33:11
guess what you're gonna do oh yeah give
33:13
them your number you're gonna have lunch
33:15
because that person said that they were
33:18
important oh I don't do that I don't do
33:20
that anymore at all it's like as soon as
33:22
I enter a space
33:24
I mean somebody I don't care they it
33:26
could be the president United States and
33:27
I'd be like
33:29
see you later you know what I mean like
33:31
I don't I don't have the need yeah for
33:35
sure no I don't have the need to prove
33:39
my intuition wrong
33:41
um was there a defining moment where you
33:43
went against your intuition that put you
33:44
on this course yeah there have been many
33:47
of them yeah I mean I think for all of
33:48
us who could probably pick up a couple
33:50
things where you're just like I knew I
33:51
shouldn't have done that yep but you did
33:53
it anyway and then look at you you know
33:55
yeah but then but the thing is the funny
33:58
thing is that my intuition has been so
34:01
right on so many things that other
34:04
people told me that was a bad idea I
34:06
mean and I could just talk about my
34:08
career and that would be enough yeah you
34:10
know like literally until
34:13
no let me think about this
34:15
actually I don't think there's any job
34:16
I've ever taken
34:18
that people are like that's a good idea
34:20
and I know that sounds crazy because no
34:23
not even Netflix because Netflix I took
34:25
that job in June of 2020 at the end of
34:28
June we were three months into the
34:30
pandemic I was already the chief
34:32
marketing officer of endeavor which is a
34:34
parent company for a lot of big
34:35
companies that people know it's like WME
34:38
which manages a lot of artists and
34:40
actors and athletes they own the UFC
34:43
they own New York Fashion Week they own
34:45
IMG like it was a big job a very
34:48
comfortable job on the CMO we're going
34:49
to go public like I mean it was like
34:51
everything was fine and then Here Comes
34:53
Netflix and they're you know courting me
34:56
and made me the offer and people were
34:59
like girl it's a pandemic the panoramic
35:02
the Panasonic you don't want to change
35:05
anything you know like what you gonna do
35:07
and then my other CMO friends because
35:09
you know it's a little community of us
35:11
they were like you know the pressures of
35:14
this job you know the job is about 24
35:16
months 36 months is usually the life
35:18
cycle of a CMO it's a high pressure job
35:20
and and they were like you want to go
35:22
into a job where you don't know anybody
35:24
you won't see any of your team you won't
35:28
be able to you know get in rooms with
35:30
people so they know your intention your
35:33
black woman in these jobs you know what
35:35
it's like
35:36
and you want to go over there you'll be
35:38
out in six months why would you do that
35:40
that's what they told me but I talked to
35:44
Ted sarandos and read Hastings who are
35:46
the co-ceos of Netflix and I knew I had
35:48
to go I knew it was the job I knew it
35:50
was the next place to be and everybody
35:52
thought it was a bad idea
35:54
except for you not not your intuition
35:57
exactly exactly so that's really the
35:59
difference for me is that um I
36:01
understand why people feel like how am I
36:05
going to be able to tell or like but but
36:07
the the issue is that you just haven't
36:10
honed your intuition enough yeah it's
36:13
not strong enough so give it some space
36:15
you know allow for the small decisions
36:17
that are your intuition to lead the way
36:19
try those when you gain confidence in
36:22
that then you can get to the bigger
36:24
stuff you don't have to go for the big
36:25
stuff right away yes but train it don't
36:28
don't drink cow's milk
36:30
go away clog your chakras you won't give
36:33
you access to your intuition okay I mean
36:36
that's the problem
36:38
see I know what I'm talking about that's
36:40
right apple cider vinegar okay 100 yeah
36:43
yeah sometimes people say much but I'm
36:45
gonna agree with that okay
36:47
Billy hey
36:49
thank you thank you for the Embrace this
36:52
morning that hug was just everything and
36:54
I appreciated on so many levels
36:57
um so I felt your energy from the time
36:59
you walked in as you said and for the
37:01
little bit that you've been able to
37:02
share in such a short time I have to go
37:04
back to what you said about your dad and
37:07
I too um I was a daddy's girl and um I
37:11
heard what you said about your mom and
37:12
I'm wondering to me what stuck out is
37:15
that your dad decided not to change your
37:17
names and I was like yo the boldness and
37:19
the pride and that man you have to that
37:23
has to rub off yeah and and with a kid
37:26
from a young age and then your mom I
37:28
just I hear Survivor am I spirited in my
37:31
heart would you say those were the two
37:33
things that maybe you have gotten from
37:35
your parents oh absolutely I think sense
37:38
of identity
37:39
she has been so so strong I mean both of
37:41
them um like you said in different ways
37:44
right because for my dad even with the
37:46
name thing yeah like that was a very
37:49
strong decision because at the time
37:50
think about culture you know and
37:52
everybody's naming their kid all these
37:54
English names and he's like
37:55
no I'm gonna go with tradition you know
37:58
and he didn't give us like their their
38:00
differences in names in Ghana it's like
38:01
they're the day names which everybody
38:03
has right it's like you're born on a
38:05
certain day of the week and you're a
38:07
woman or a man you get a name right so
38:09
I'm a FIBA I'm a girl born on Friday Sam
38:12
is Kofi is man born on Friday
38:16
um that is a common name and then you
38:18
probably have like a family name which
38:20
is passed on from an uncle or an aunt or
38:22
somebody like that
38:24
um my dad was like oh yeah no we're
38:26
going with like the family names the
38:28
hard names the names you know you can't
38:31
you like if you mess up we know we don't
38:33
trust you that's that's the kind of
38:35
thing oh yeah he was that serious about
38:37
it and not only that he had English he
38:39
had an English name and he abandoned it
38:41
he was like I'm no longer going to be
38:42
called George can you imagine African
38:44
man named George get out of here you
38:45
know what I mean so he was like I'm done
38:47
with that and my mom was Evelyn and she
38:49
was like yeah I'm done with mine too so
38:51
they both abandoned their names now the
38:54
thing about my parents is that by the
38:56
time we got to Colorado Springs Colorado
38:58
um in this very white environment
39:02
they knew of course we were at um
39:04
formative times in our lives right their
39:06
kids were so I was 12 13 14 15. and as
39:10
you can imagine it's like at that age
39:11
remember what you were like at that age
39:12
you just want to fit in you don't want
39:14
anything different about you you know
39:15
what I mean but here we were in this
39:18
place where I couldn't be blonde I
39:20
couldn't be white I couldn't be like
39:22
anybody else and I remember actually a
39:25
very specific day it's it's burned into
39:28
my memory forever
39:30
um I was gonna have like my first black
39:33
sleepover you know I finally broken in
39:36
finally these little white girls were
39:38
like okay well come to your house
39:42
so finally you know it's like I've
39:44
broken into the inner sanctum of these
39:47
white girl clicks and they were gonna
39:49
come over
39:51
and I gotten home and I was so nervous
39:54
and you know it's like I was just trying
39:56
to get the Nintendo together and the
39:58
things you know to like play right and I
40:00
could smell my mom cooking some food in
40:04
the kitchen and I was like
40:08
yeah
40:12
[Music]
40:17
I remember the exact moment my mom is
40:22
knowing like she's not a easy woman
40:25
she's not she's not gonna be over here
40:28
cowering she is yeah there it is look
40:31
you don't tell you know what I mean you
40:34
know what I'm saying without me saying
40:35
it okay so it took every bit of Courage
40:37
for me to go into the kitchen yeah
40:40
oh yes and I said Mom
40:43
would it be possible today
40:45
for us to just order some pizza from my
40:48
friends because they won't eat this food
40:50
that we eat
40:52
and she turned to me and she said okay
40:55
now when you go to their house
40:58
you eat their food and you speak their
41:00
language when they come to our house
41:03
they will eat our food and they will
41:05
speak our language that woman didn't
41:07
speak English to them the entire time
41:09
they came okay
41:11
look my mom speaks four languages she
41:14
didn't speak English not one time and
41:16
then my little friends were like I
41:17
thought your mom spoke English she was
41:19
like she does she's not gonna speak it
41:21
to you but the thing that it taught me
41:23
in that moment come on was the value of
41:25
my own identity I am telling you I did
41:27
not walk into any room without it moving
41:30
towards me oh there you go because I
41:32
understand
41:34
I know that I don't have to assimilate
41:38
to your value you're going to assimilate
41:42
to mine when I'm in the room and so for
41:44
me it's like that and look I'm sure at
41:47
the time she said it she was probably
41:49
trying to hold down her anger you know
41:51
kind of feel like this place that we've
41:53
come to is going to make my child feel
41:56
like she's not worthy of our things
41:58
right not worthy of our culture
42:01
you know and so she took that moment to
42:04
teach me the lesson I never forgot it
42:05
never
42:06
Boles my Saint John come on man and
42:09
You're Dead all right what did she cook
42:11
that day though what did she cook and
42:13
then the woman had the nerve she was
42:16
cooking actually something pretty easy I
42:17
think she was making like jollof rice
42:18
and chicken she decided to make some hot
42:20
pepper soup oh burn these little kids
42:23
mouths
42:24
they were all turning red and tears
42:27
incredible sleepovers
42:31
Ryan they probably drank milk you know
42:34
irony yeah exactly blocked off all their
42:38
intuition they couldn't tell any
42:40
difference
42:41
one of my one of my my I have a
42:43
stepfather who's from Ghana and so yeah
42:46
yeah girl uh and from the and he
42:48
migrated to the Bay Area so when when he
42:51
when he first I was still in my mother's
42:53
house when they when they came back to
42:55
the house because they had their own
42:56
situation and he used to cook man he
43:00
made some of that hot pepper soup yeah
43:02
and you ate it it took a long time but
43:05
after a while it was I craved it yeah he
43:08
made a peanut butter yes
43:12
and he did a fish
43:15
yeah yeah oh yeah man he was killing it
43:18
with this good food good food excellent
43:20
this is what I'm talking about yeah
43:21
people need to understand yeah it's good
43:23
food yeah good flavor you can't get that
43:25
around the corner no you really can't
43:27
get that an Uber Eats
43:31
um Bozeman I know our time is running
43:32
short but I want to read something that
43:35
um
43:35
um a quote that you I believe you
43:37
started the book with and then it's
43:38
towards the end
43:40
it says it's a Diane Ackerman quote that
43:43
uh that you love about getting to the
43:45
end of life and not having just lived
43:47
the length of it but the width of it too
43:49
you said that's what I want to fulfill
43:51
every day every inch with gratitude so
43:54
great there isn't room for fear or doubt
43:57
so I'm gonna um what is the coldest in
43:59
the beginning of the book right let me
44:00
see do you know what about off head yeah
44:02
okay go ahead this is just a ploy to get
44:05
you to say no but you you mean you got
44:08
it yeah it's like I don't want to get to
44:10
the end of my life and just have lived
44:12
the length of it I want to live the
44:14
width of it what does that mean um
44:17
to you well I think we are all um hoping
44:22
for long life you know we all hope to
44:24
get to 90 100 years old maybe you know
44:27
we're eating well and working out and
44:30
watching you know how we interact with
44:34
each other so that we can have a long
44:35
life right that's always the goal we
44:37
want a long life and that is what's been
44:39
put into our heads and so when life is
44:42
cut short sometimes it feels unfair it
44:45
feels like you didn't get the chance to
44:46
do everything
44:48
I don't want to live my life like that I
44:50
don't want to just live the length of it
44:52
the width of it means that every moment
44:55
is so filled with exactly what I want
45:00
you know all of the joy and love and
45:05
inspiration that I can Bottle Into the
45:08
days so that if I were to go tomorrow I
45:10
would not have a regret yeah that my
45:12
life would be fulfilled regardless of
45:14
the number of years and that's the way I
45:16
want to approach it and sometimes it's
45:18
not about like oh I want to go like
45:21
climb Mount Everest today you know or
45:23
like oh I gotta like have these big
45:25
goals no it's like being in this room
45:26
with you
45:27
you know meeting Heather B like you know
45:30
feeling like I she did get excited
45:32
yesterday I got excited together it was
45:36
just Mutual that's why I said the
45:37
husband a lot it meant a lot to me and
45:39
I'm like and I will take this moment and
45:41
it will sit with me you know like today
45:44
such a beautiful day Sam is here I'm so
45:47
excited that he is you know it's like I
45:49
want my days to feel full to the
45:52
bursting to feel like the width of it is
45:55
expanding and that's how I approach my
45:58
life now
45:59
I love it I'm honored to have you on
46:01
this show okay
46:03
John Sam Barrington thank you brother
46:05
it's good to see you again yeah you
46:08
changed my life you know I'm gonna put
46:10
it to words eventually you know and
46:12
you're a younger man than me but that
46:14
doesn't matter you know what I mean so I
46:16
had an amazing experience with you and
46:18
we wore black sweaters today that's all
46:20
Kendra
46:23
that's crazy
46:26
um can we also ask people to come to
46:28
Treasure Island and that's what I was
46:30
about to understand
46:34
so so we're hanging out in Ghana imagine
46:37
this night you know it's us Minstrel
46:40
Raymond um
46:45
it's Jay Ivy who's now a Grammy award
46:48
winner
46:52
it's Michael Blackson yeah did I say
46:55
Dave I said Dave Chappelle we're all
46:57
hanging out Leticia Wright was there
47:00
everybody
47:03
there and we're standing outside of this
47:06
one club uh that we were hanging out in
47:09
and there's some kids running up on me
47:11
to take pictures Sam was like they just
47:13
want money it's like no they know me all
47:15
right
47:16
and they bring the picture up and I'm
47:19
like so excited I'm in the vibe and Bose
47:21
is standing there and I'm like yeah
47:23
balls I can't wait till next year's
47:25
Treasure Island New Year's Eve yeah you
47:29
gotta make the list
47:33
delicious clothes
47:38
okay so I figure if I get you in front
47:41
of Heaven B
47:42
maybe I could get in next year
47:47
they are we are in charge of the list as
47:50
she and she told you it was close
47:52
listen my responsibility on that list
47:55
probably like one percent yeah
47:58
okay okay
48:01
no but that's that's because of an
48:04
extreme amount of trust and what's crazy
48:07
is you know a lot of these people I was
48:09
meeting for the first time so as I'm
48:11
sitting down and I'm getting to know
48:13
this person I see the the story the
48:15
lineage right and how this person
48:17
actually got there and they could recite
48:19
the first time they ever heard her speak
48:21
about Ghana you get what I'm saying and
48:22
so now we make it a fashion we'll meet
48:24
somebody and within that first 20
48:26
seconds you've been in Ghana yet you've
48:29
been to Africa yet because you can wow
48:31
me you can tell me about all the things
48:33
that you've done you can tell me about
48:34
all the places that you've been but
48:36
there's a disconnect if you haven't been
48:38
back home yeah you get what I'm saying
48:41
and here's the thing you talk about the
48:43
power of the dollar in Ghana
48:45
um
48:46
I don't I I haven't seen a period of
48:48
time of course I'm only 32 years old but
48:50
I haven't seen a period of time where
48:52
black people are so infatuated with
48:54
business and investing if you want to
48:56
see your dollar go far bring it to
48:57
Africa you know what I'm saying I think
48:59
um I believe it was maybe J Cole or um
49:03
maybe it was J Cole or maybe it was
49:05
Kendrick Lamar who spoke on it but if
49:06
you want to see your dollar go far go to
49:08
Africa there's a lot of Virgin
49:10
investment opportunities where it's like
49:12
they're desperate for the capital
49:14
they're desperate for their leadership
49:16
and here's the thing if you come there
49:18
and you're ready to invest and you look
49:20
like them it'll be one of the most
49:22
comfortable you know situations you've
49:24
ever seen because a lot of times what
49:26
happens is you get in business here in
49:27
America I've been running my company for
49:29
five years but you get in business here
49:31
in America sometimes unfortunately black
49:34
people we suffer from a cognitive bias
49:35
and we see a white person and in
49:37
business we think they're more
49:38
trustworthy yeah yeah but you go into
49:40
rooms with them speak on it listen you
49:42
get in the room with them and they're
49:44
smiling you think everything's sweet and
49:46
the first opportunity to get the chance
49:48
to you're gonna get your cut you're
49:50
gonna get your neck cut and you're gonna
49:51
be like you know what bro it's just
49:52
business you know what I'm saying so if
49:54
I'm gonna have those experiences I want
49:56
to have them with my own people and um
49:58
you know you talk about Treasure Island
49:59
and uh again just stories in the line
50:03
time is you know I reached out the bowls
50:04
back in 2018 17. 17. so all right so
50:08
yeah you're trying to give yourself a
50:09
break
50:11
and the gentleman who
50:13
told me about Bose told me to reach out
50:15
to him the guy who introduced me and
50:18
that guy is no longer living oh you see
50:20
so if I missed meeting that guy I was in
50:23
New York when I met him that's a crazy
50:24
thing the same the same year the Super
50:27
Bowl that that you had Beyonce it was
50:29
here in New York when I met the
50:30
gentleman so and it's just crazy all
50:32
these things coming back together so he
50:34
told me about the guy matt24 who's doing
50:36
an amazing job out in the Bay Area with
50:38
toasted life
50:40
um Matt said hey man you know because
50:41
Matt he knows how I feel about Ghana my
50:43
dad is from Ghana I've been back I think
50:45
I leave in seven days that'll be trip
50:47
number 19. you get what I'm saying about
50:50
it yeah I'm over there you know before I
50:52
pick up and go to Cali right go to Ghana
50:55
I'm gonna go across the water I'm gonna
50:57
go across the Atlantic I'm gonna go to
50:58
Ghana I mean there's no excuse you can
51:00
fly 13 hours I'm sorry 10 hours from DC
51:02
will United and so um he said man you
51:05
need you really need to check her out
51:07
you really need to see she's doing some
51:08
really special things in Ghana and so I
51:10
dm'd her but you know the algorithm my
51:12
DM just ain't
51:26
no but seriously and so what was crazy
51:29
is that same gentleman he told me hey
51:31
man jidenna coming over this was back in
51:33
2018. all right okay is your dinner
51:35
doing some crazy things in Ghana I think
51:37
at the time he probably had about 20
51:39
people he was bringing and you know he
51:40
sponsored the trip so I called my Pops I
51:43
say you know my pops that's big Sam I
51:45
say hey you know this guy he bringing
51:46
some people in can you host them at
51:48
Treasure Island so since then jidenna
51:50
and my family been real tight and so
51:52
literally in August of this past year I
51:55
get invited to the spot budget dinner
51:56
I'm speaking to some kids for him he
51:58
said hey man pop over to this spot with
52:00
us Bloom bar shout out to bloom bar and
52:02
Ghana he said pop over to the spot I'm
52:04
like bro I really don't want to go you
52:06
get what I'm saying I got to be at
52:07
Treasure Island at seven in the morning
52:09
so I go you know I'm in about 45 minutes
52:12
is that I'm leaving out he introduced me
52:14
and bows together and so all the lives
52:17
that were changed on New Year's wow
52:19
listen his Precision you know what I'm
52:21
saying it's efficiency so talking about
52:23
being ready for these things
52:25
yeah but you got to get ready you gotta
52:29
be ready you can't be drinking that damn
52:30
milk yeah
52:38
farmers in America are going to be
52:39
talking to you
52:40
waiting outside this is all through
52:43
alignment and I'm gonna tell you reach
52:45
out to me personally if I can help you
52:46
have an experience back in Ghana you
52:49
know my family owns Treasure Island and
52:51
I'm telling you and and no we're gonna
52:53
make sure swear on the list whatever
53:13
just for clarity a Treasure Island is
53:16
located where so when you fly into Ghana
53:19
the main airport that everybody flies
53:21
into the airport code is ACC that stands
53:24
for a crowd that's our Capital so
53:25
Treasure Island is probably about 100
53:28
miles maybe 75 miles east of Accra and
53:32
um the commute is a little difficult
53:34
because uh the highway system in Ghana
53:36
is still developing but it's still a
53:38
decent ride so it'll take you about two
53:39
and a half hours to get a Treasure
53:41
Island so it's one if it's the only
53:43
Resort in Ghana that's not landlocked so
53:46
it's actually situated on the island and
53:48
uh we went public with it in 2019 and
53:51
and slowly but surely I actually met
53:53
Ebro there in 29. he broke my brother
54:03
they both came they came to the show and
54:05
promoted Ghana they were trying to get
54:07
me to come like that's right before well
54:09
I guess I would have got held up at the
54:11
door now
54:17
you brought it and um I talked to Ebro
54:19
since I've been back and said because
54:21
Ebro and I are from the same place oh
54:23
yeah yeah so yeah we pretty much grew up
54:26
together in the business of tremendously
54:29
proud of him I smile when I see him
54:32
because I know how far he's come but um
54:36
I gotta go to work right now y'all thank
54:39
you thank you thank you Sam thank you
54:41
thank you thank you let's get the book
54:44
citizens live show is at 1203 it's 12
54:46
hours
54:47
you want them to go over there with you
54:52
now I have to go to another appointment
54:54
oh okay okay of course of course the
54:59
Urgent life my story of love lost and
55:01
survival by Bozeman St John this is a
55:04
book you all must read yeah I cried I
55:08
laughed I cheered for this person right
55:11
here she's an amazing Spirit Sam you you
55:14
own a place in my heart you and Minstrel
55:16
Raymond y'all my brothers you may not
55:19
know what that mean but no I know okay
55:22
you know all right deeper than it looks
55:24
yeah okay let's keep it all right all
55:26
right love y'all thank you citizens for
55:28
tuning in we'll be back tomorrow who we
55:30
got tomorrow DB don't we got somebody
55:34
uh we're gonna be with uh Fred the
55:36
godson's wife Leanne 38 special and then
55:38
also Samara Joy oh Samara Joy the Grammy
55:41
Award winners you'll be here yeah
55:42
that'll be tomorrow
55:44
yeah that was crazy crazy amazing
55:47
amazing boss you got to come back we
55:49
gotta okay come back all right okay we
55:52
gotta talk about all the fun stories
55:54
okay all right she probably Beyonce do
55:56
the Super Bowl we have nothing left to
56:00
say
56:01
foreign
56:05
[Music]
#Arts & Entertainment


