A note for Jeremy: Baby, I just want to thank you for being apart of this special segment. I’m pretty sure you already know but, you are the most amazing person. You really are. You have such a beautiful and forgiving heart. You’re an old soul that shines with every step you take when you walk into any room. You are someone who anybody would be blessed to get to know and without you, this world would be a darker place. I know that may be a cliché thing to say, but it’s true facts. You love hard and you have such a willingness to help others, be there for them, and guide them in the right direction. You always have the most pure intentions for people especially the ones you love and you try your best to be as understanding as possible. My heart is just so full every single day being able to wake up on the side of you and hear you say “grand rising baby”. You’ve been the strength that I’ve needed for so long and without you, I am not sure where I’d be right now mentally or emotionally. You pulled me up from such a dark place and helped me see my worth and I will forever and always be grateful for you. If you’ve ever felt unworthy or as if you have not done your part in this world, just know that for me? You’ve been the best thing to walk into my life. You’ve been an amazing father to our kids and an amazing man to me. Even on our bad days, you still find a way to make me smile. You are my true soul partner and nothing in this world will ever change that. I am excited for my readers to get to know you a little better since I talk about you all the time and you are a main character in a lot of the things that I write, LOL.
What was it like growing up on the West Bank of New Orleans in the 90s/early 2000s?
The best way I could describe that period of time is, fun. I was just a young kid at that time and nothing really came to my mind other than doing something exciting. There were a lot of exciting times to be had in the city at that time. We had the super fair that used to happen inside of the super dome which was pre-Katrina, but that's one of the things that made the city unique and different compared to how it is now. We also used to have six flags, but Katrina did away with that.
What was your favorite childhood memory growing up in the Crescent City?
Most definitely my fondest memory in New Orleans was being apart of a neighborhood organized football league. Within my neighborhood, we had 3 different streets that made up the structuring of the neighborhood. So each street had its own team and each team had to play each other 4 times and which ever 2 teams won the most out of those 4 games would play each other in a championship game. Man that championship game was worth being on TV, YouTube, and all that if it had existed at the time.
Where was your favorite place to spend your time in New Orleans when you were younger and why?
Man, it has to be either being on the ferry or being at City Park. See now being on the ferry for me was like out of body experience. I used go on there with my mp3 player and headphones and just vibe out for hours while the wind from the ferry moving was blowing. Sometimes the wind would blow so hard that if you jumped you could feel the wind push your body back. Fun Fact, I wrote some of my songs on that very ferry. And City Park is a inner and outer body experience. To me I view City Park more as a person rather than just any old park you take the kids to. City Park has its own personality and definitely always stuck to its own roots. I spent so much time at that park and seen every square inch of it. When it comes to my music, City Park has granted me with some of the most deepest thoughts I was able to conjure up. It was like while I was writing my rhymes City Park would help me think of what to say. I guess you can say it was my ghost writer lol. But those places were definitely my favorite places to be when I was in the city.
What was something crucial you had to learn very early as a young child in order to survive in such a dangerous city?
Well, one thing I had to learn quick was awareness. The art of paying attention to what's going on as much as possible was crucial. It's crazy, but it was very vital to someone's chances of survival.
Growing up with 16 other brothers and sisters must’ve been hard, especially with you being the baby boy. Tell me what was something that you and your family weren’t able to do often because there were so many of you. But, on the flip side, what was an advantage you had as a kid having so many other people around all of the time?
Well, one things fasho we couldn’t travel anywhere as a pack. Just simply too many of us. If we were to go anywhere together, it looked like the little clowns in a small car trying to get out, lol. But what we could do was create fun for ourselves within the house. It seemed like everyday; somebody came up with something crazier to do within being in the house with there being so many people. Another advantage having so many people around was that I was able to learn from everyone else’s experiences, things that they went through and the results of the situations they dealt with.
Being that there were so many people at home, what was something you did to escape the chaos?
Something I used to do to escape chaos all the time was go outside. I was never inside, probably from early in the morning until late at night. If I didn’t want to be home or deal with anything that was going on at home, I was easily able to go outside. And if going outside wasn’t an option, I would TRY to listen music or play the game. It wasn’t a guarantee that I was able to either or.
Who did you look up to the most when you were a kid? The person you were like, yes, I want to be like you when I get older, and why?
Honestly, the person that I looked up to and wanted to be like was my older brother Nikita. The reason being was that this dude could control the energy of any room he was in. It was just pure laughter. The dude was just so natural at making people laugh, it was astonishing. I definitely wanted to posses that type of aura about myself to where I could bring happiness to people without them knowing that’s what I’m doing, lol. So I definitely wanted to be like my brother in that aspect.
What was the turning point in your childhood that took you from an innocent child, to a child who was exposed to a little too much?
Katrina. When Katrina happened was when I think I lost all of my innocence as a child, and at that time I was only 11. Just seeing all of the different things play out the way that it did during Katrina and having front row seats to it, it was definitely a shell shock to my young mind that has shaped me into the very person I am today. I witnessed people getting killed, raped, and robbed of what little they had after the storm passed. There were no lights so at night time the only thing that illuminated the sky was the flames from burning buildings. The moon didn’t even come out for several nights. I had to learn so much in such little time to where I was no longer considered a “kid” at the end of that situation.
What was it like being forced to move to Houston once Katrina devastated New Orleans? What struggles did you have to face in Houston that you didn’t have to worry about when living in New Orleans?
Well, it was definitely an experience like I never had before considering the fact that I had never left out of the state of Louisiana a day in my life up until that point. So, to put it in words, it was quite fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The struggle that I had to deal with was dealing with something that was totally brand new vs dealing with something I’ve known my whole life. So it was really just a culture shock more than anything.
You always talk about how New Orleans is its own everything. Has it’s own culture, language, way of living, etc. Was the biggest difference you noticed with the people and the way they move compared to what you were used to? Do you feel as if you had to adapt to a new way of life, or do you feel like you brought your way of life to a new city and didn’t worry about what other people thought?
The biggest difference I noticed was the difference in accents and dialect. It was a huge understanding barrier at place. At first, communicating with people from Houston was tougher than Japanese arithmetic. It took some time to understand each other but after a while, it felt like a mutual ground was met. Because I really think at first it was a lack of trying to understand vs not understanding at all. I most definitely didn’t feel like I had to adapt to a new way of life, I really just was always being myself as much as possible in any environment.
What type of emotional toll did it take on you having to move to a new city with your family, and without your dad (Rest his soul), who you've said is person who kept the family together?
Well that situation had a tremendous emotional toll on me for the simple fact that everyday of my life was filled with brand new information vs living life of something that I knew like the back of my mind. With the then-current family situation and not having my dad to hold it all together while also having to learn something new everyday, I was constantly under stress. But seemingly I was able to divert that stress in other directions so that it wasn’t destructive with sports, music, etc.
When did you start to take an interest into music? Who was you favorite artist/artists growing up and why?
To be all the way honest, I feel like I’ve always had an interest into music, ever since I was born. I was brought up in a house that constantly had music playing. So there was no separating yourself from it. Basically I was music because that’s all that was apart of my day to day, more than anything. No matter what part of the house you went into, inside or outside, there was always music playing in some type of fashion. My favorite artist/group growing up was Frankie Beverly & Maze and the reason being was that something about the melody of their music spoke to me in a different way without having to understanding any of the lyrics really. It had to take for me to grow up and go back and listen to their music to understand what was being said. So as a kid, it was really the melody that kept me wanting to listen to them over and over.
When did you decide that you wanted to start writing/recording music yourself?
I believe I made that decision when I was 14 years old. Before then, I was making an attempt to try to put my poetry into rap form but I couldn’t find a creative way to put it together until I started trying more and more to make it happen. The more attempts I made, the better I started to get. From that point, I started to take it more seriously.
One of your favorite songs of mine is titled “Person of the People”. I’ve probably listened to this song a million times, LOL. Break this song down for us and tell us what it means and what it meant for you personally while writing it. What was the motivation behind writing this song?
The song Person of the People was kind of a letter to myself. I feel like just as the title entails, I am a people’s person. I’ve always been that way since I was younger. I just wanted to make a track to reflect my being that way and the type of toll it actually takes on someone being that particular way. In the title I just decided to flip the saying on top of its head, instead of being a people’s person, I’ve become a person of the people; being a leader. A lot of the content in my music is speaking for myself and for the people as far as where we need to be and the direction we need to go mentally, spiritually, & physically.
The best way I could describe that period of time is, fun. I was just a young kid at that time and nothing really came to my mind other than doing something exciting. There were a lot of exciting times to be had in the city at that time. We had the super fair that used to happen inside of the super dome which was pre-Katrina, but that's one of the things that made the city unique and different compared to how it is now. We also used to have six flags, but Katrina did away with that.
What was your favorite childhood memory growing up in the Crescent City?
Most definitely my fondest memory in New Orleans was being apart of a neighborhood organized football league. Within my neighborhood, we had 3 different streets that made up the structuring of the neighborhood. So each street had its own team and each team had to play each other 4 times and which ever 2 teams won the most out of those 4 games would play each other in a championship game. Man that championship game was worth being on TV, YouTube, and all that if it had existed at the time.
Where was your favorite place to spend your time in New Orleans when you were younger and why?
Man, it has to be either being on the ferry or being at City Park. See now being on the ferry for me was like out of body experience. I used go on there with my mp3 player and headphones and just vibe out for hours while the wind from the ferry moving was blowing. Sometimes the wind would blow so hard that if you jumped you could feel the wind push your body back. Fun Fact, I wrote some of my songs on that very ferry. And City Park is a inner and outer body experience. To me I view City Park more as a person rather than just any old park you take the kids to. City Park has its own personality and definitely always stuck to its own roots. I spent so much time at that park and seen every square inch of it. When it comes to my music, City Park has granted me with some of the most deepest thoughts I was able to conjure up. It was like while I was writing my rhymes City Park would help me think of what to say. I guess you can say it was my ghost writer lol. But those places were definitely my favorite places to be when I was in the city.
What was something crucial you had to learn very early as a young child in order to survive in such a dangerous city?
Well, one thing I had to learn quick was awareness. The art of paying attention to what's going on as much as possible was crucial. It's crazy, but it was very vital to someone's chances of survival.
Growing up with 16 other brothers and sisters must’ve been hard, especially with you being the baby boy. Tell me what was something that you and your family weren’t able to do often because there were so many of you. But, on the flip side, what was an advantage you had as a kid having so many other people around all of the time?
Well, one things fasho we couldn’t travel anywhere as a pack. Just simply too many of us. If we were to go anywhere together, it looked like the little clowns in a small car trying to get out, lol. But what we could do was create fun for ourselves within the house. It seemed like everyday; somebody came up with something crazier to do within being in the house with there being so many people. Another advantage having so many people around was that I was able to learn from everyone else’s experiences, things that they went through and the results of the situations they dealt with.
Being that there were so many people at home, what was something you did to escape the chaos?
Something I used to do to escape chaos all the time was go outside. I was never inside, probably from early in the morning until late at night. If I didn’t want to be home or deal with anything that was going on at home, I was easily able to go outside. And if going outside wasn’t an option, I would TRY to listen music or play the game. It wasn’t a guarantee that I was able to either or.
Who did you look up to the most when you were a kid? The person you were like, yes, I want to be like you when I get older, and why?
Honestly, the person that I looked up to and wanted to be like was my older brother Nikita. The reason being was that this dude could control the energy of any room he was in. It was just pure laughter. The dude was just so natural at making people laugh, it was astonishing. I definitely wanted to posses that type of aura about myself to where I could bring happiness to people without them knowing that’s what I’m doing, lol. So I definitely wanted to be like my brother in that aspect.
What was the turning point in your childhood that took you from an innocent child, to a child who was exposed to a little too much?
Katrina. When Katrina happened was when I think I lost all of my innocence as a child, and at that time I was only 11. Just seeing all of the different things play out the way that it did during Katrina and having front row seats to it, it was definitely a shell shock to my young mind that has shaped me into the very person I am today. I witnessed people getting killed, raped, and robbed of what little they had after the storm passed. There were no lights so at night time the only thing that illuminated the sky was the flames from burning buildings. The moon didn’t even come out for several nights. I had to learn so much in such little time to where I was no longer considered a “kid” at the end of that situation.
What was it like being forced to move to Houston once Katrina devastated New Orleans? What struggles did you have to face in Houston that you didn’t have to worry about when living in New Orleans?
Well, it was definitely an experience like I never had before considering the fact that I had never left out of the state of Louisiana a day in my life up until that point. So, to put it in words, it was quite fascinating and terrifying at the same time. The struggle that I had to deal with was dealing with something that was totally brand new vs dealing with something I’ve known my whole life. So it was really just a culture shock more than anything.
You always talk about how New Orleans is its own everything. Has it’s own culture, language, way of living, etc. Was the biggest difference you noticed with the people and the way they move compared to what you were used to? Do you feel as if you had to adapt to a new way of life, or do you feel like you brought your way of life to a new city and didn’t worry about what other people thought?
The biggest difference I noticed was the difference in accents and dialect. It was a huge understanding barrier at place. At first, communicating with people from Houston was tougher than Japanese arithmetic. It took some time to understand each other but after a while, it felt like a mutual ground was met. Because I really think at first it was a lack of trying to understand vs not understanding at all. I most definitely didn’t feel like I had to adapt to a new way of life, I really just was always being myself as much as possible in any environment.
What type of emotional toll did it take on you having to move to a new city with your family, and without your dad (Rest his soul), who you've said is person who kept the family together?
Well that situation had a tremendous emotional toll on me for the simple fact that everyday of my life was filled with brand new information vs living life of something that I knew like the back of my mind. With the then-current family situation and not having my dad to hold it all together while also having to learn something new everyday, I was constantly under stress. But seemingly I was able to divert that stress in other directions so that it wasn’t destructive with sports, music, etc.
When did you start to take an interest into music? Who was you favorite artist/artists growing up and why?
To be all the way honest, I feel like I’ve always had an interest into music, ever since I was born. I was brought up in a house that constantly had music playing. So there was no separating yourself from it. Basically I was music because that’s all that was apart of my day to day, more than anything. No matter what part of the house you went into, inside or outside, there was always music playing in some type of fashion. My favorite artist/group growing up was Frankie Beverly & Maze and the reason being was that something about the melody of their music spoke to me in a different way without having to understanding any of the lyrics really. It had to take for me to grow up and go back and listen to their music to understand what was being said. So as a kid, it was really the melody that kept me wanting to listen to them over and over.
When did you decide that you wanted to start writing/recording music yourself?
I believe I made that decision when I was 14 years old. Before then, I was making an attempt to try to put my poetry into rap form but I couldn’t find a creative way to put it together until I started trying more and more to make it happen. The more attempts I made, the better I started to get. From that point, I started to take it more seriously.
One of your favorite songs of mine is titled “Person of the People”. I’ve probably listened to this song a million times, LOL. Break this song down for us and tell us what it means and what it meant for you personally while writing it. What was the motivation behind writing this song?
The song Person of the People was kind of a letter to myself. I feel like just as the title entails, I am a people’s person. I’ve always been that way since I was younger. I just wanted to make a track to reflect my being that way and the type of toll it actually takes on someone being that particular way. In the title I just decided to flip the saying on top of its head, instead of being a people’s person, I’ve become a person of the people; being a leader. A lot of the content in my music is speaking for myself and for the people as far as where we need to be and the direction we need to go mentally, spiritually, & physically.
What was the motivation behind your project, “Food for Many Thoughts”?
The inspiration behind food for many thoughts was just me wanting to instill a theme of me presenting the most top quality food one mind could consume and sending you home feeling full with the most top quality of music.
What did music mean to you years ago and what does it mean to you now? How has your outlook on music changed from when you first started making music, to now?
I can say that music means the same thing to me now as it did back in the day. I always had a special relationship with music. For a long time it was unspoken, something I couldn’t put into words. But with time and age I was able to gain a better understanding of what music is and how it plays a major part in everything that happens in the world. So definitely I can say that my view on music has changed throughout time and understanding the importance of it, but it has always meant the most to me.
What is one song you’ve written to date that still has the biggest impact on you? The song that made you feel as if you unpacked more than just some words that matched with a hype beat. The song that truly touched your soul and spirit.
The song that had the biggest impact on me has to be take 9 without a doubt. Creating the song, I was damn near having a “that’s so raven” moment to where I had visions of how my musical endeavor would play out and where I would end up at mentally. Just a crazy fun fact, that song took me the longest to put together, almost about a year. But ultimately, the theme that I was going with, was that of a movie; hence the title take nine. If you listen to the song closely, you can hear a story play out as a movie for myself foreseeing me going through my musical journey.
The inspiration behind food for many thoughts was just me wanting to instill a theme of me presenting the most top quality food one mind could consume and sending you home feeling full with the most top quality of music.
What did music mean to you years ago and what does it mean to you now? How has your outlook on music changed from when you first started making music, to now?
I can say that music means the same thing to me now as it did back in the day. I always had a special relationship with music. For a long time it was unspoken, something I couldn’t put into words. But with time and age I was able to gain a better understanding of what music is and how it plays a major part in everything that happens in the world. So definitely I can say that my view on music has changed throughout time and understanding the importance of it, but it has always meant the most to me.
What is one song you’ve written to date that still has the biggest impact on you? The song that made you feel as if you unpacked more than just some words that matched with a hype beat. The song that truly touched your soul and spirit.
The song that had the biggest impact on me has to be take 9 without a doubt. Creating the song, I was damn near having a “that’s so raven” moment to where I had visions of how my musical endeavor would play out and where I would end up at mentally. Just a crazy fun fact, that song took me the longest to put together, almost about a year. But ultimately, the theme that I was going with, was that of a movie; hence the title take nine. If you listen to the song closely, you can hear a story play out as a movie for myself foreseeing me going through my musical journey.
What is the ultimate goal that you were trying to achieve through your creative and timeless music?
My ultimate goal was to make sure at some point in one’s life, I was able to make them expand their thoughts and perspective on life in a positive light.
Should we be looking out for any new material from you in the coming years?
Yes, I will be providing new material though the name of the project is untitled at the moment. It is still In the kitchen brewing and being harvested for later deliciousness.
Now that you’re older and have experienced life a little more, what motivates you now? Not just to create music, but what motivates you in life period?
I would like to give a big shout out to my spirit. At this point in my life, I feel like my spirit is the main thing that allows me to keep pushing forward and persevering and fighting through a lot of the situations that I deal with. As you grow older, one may or may not take the time to get to fully know themselves but, if someone does come around to it, they’ll realize that they are who their spirit is. And I’ve discovered that my spirit is a fighter. My spirit has a calm and calculated rage about itself. But also, possess a tranquil peace about itself as well, keeping me balanced.
Tell us what drew your interest into Philosophy and listening to Alan Watts? Philosophy is not for everyone and it’s not a “hot topic”. At the time when you found this, were you looking for answers to something more or was it purely for entertainment and/or a learning experience?
I actually had an old friend that introduced me to Alan Watts. It randomly came up in conversation and he suggested that I listen to a lecture of his and when I started listening to what he was saying, it was as if I had someone to verbalize the thoughts that I had for so long. To be honest, what he was saying wasn’t shocking to me, the shocking part was the fact that he was able to put into words what I wasn’t capable of putting together to explain my thoughts. It started of as curiosity with Watts, and then it transformed into a learning journey.
You always speak about the ego and about how sometimes you fight with your ego. What do you think is your biggest struggle when it comes to fighting your ego and trying to find balance?
My struggle with my ego is that it always tries to be in control of things it cannot control and if anyone has ever experienced that, they would know that trying to tame or control the ego will drive you crazy. Another struggle I had with my ego was that it tried to make me identify myself as it. At a point in time I had an identity crisis because of that but ultimately overtime, I learned that the essence of one’s true self is their spirit. Coming to that conclusion, made my ego envious. My ego didn’t want to ride shotgun, it wanted to be in the drivers seat and the fact that I put my ego on the passenger side, and made strides to put my spirit in the drivers seat it constantly tried to convince me that my spirit is not worth being in the drivers seat. I had to learn to suppress my ego but not completely because I learned overtime that the ego is an essential tool for survival.
What is the one thing that you’ve learned about life that plays a crucial part in the man that you are today?
I definitely learned to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt. As a precept , I was always the person that gave anybody the benefit of the doubt until they proved me otherwise. But as I got older I realized I had to put a screeching halt to that way of being. Being a genuine person, sometimes that generosity gets exploited. And as a genuine person, I genuinely did not want to be the person to be constantly exploited.
What has been the most difficult reality you’ve had to face in life since you’ve been an adult?
The most difficult reality that I had to come to terms with was having to navigate through life without both of my parents since the age of 17 (RIP to them both). Not being able to go to them for advice or help with the hard times in this adult life has been a struggle, but one that I’m pushing through as best as I can.
For about eight years you were single and able to do your own thing, which, in the times we live in now is kind of rare. Most of us right after high school were either having kids, already had kids, or going off to some big university and even there, probably finding someone to build a life with. What did you learn about yourself during this long stretch of being able to spend time with yourself?
While being single, this was the time when I decided to go on my personal journey of finding out who I really was. Now, a lot of people get confused when you hear someone saying that they’re trying to find out who they are. Essentially, I’m not talking about me as the person, Jeremy, but who I really was down to my core. The understanding of that goes beyond the flesh. But I don’t wanna take y’all too deep, so we will stop right there, lol. But ultimately what I learned from that time was who I really was in my spirit and that helped me build even more confidence in myself, know my worth and helped me learn what I really wanted out of life which ultimately helped me dodge many bullets/failed relationships before they could even get started.
What was going through your heart and mind when you found out you were going to be a father for the first time?
I was extremely excited but also nervous and slightly scared. Basically I was a bundle of mixed emotions. Excitement was because I’ve known my whole life that I was going to be a great father and have always been prepared to be a father. The nervousness and scaredness came from trying to figure out how to shield my child from all of the evils in the world right now.
What have you learned about yourself as a person now that you’ve been a dad for the past 4 years?
I learned that I needed more patience than I ever possessed before. Striving for and obtaining patience is key.
What has been the most challenging and rewarding things about being a father?
The most challenging thing is coming to terms with knowing that my kids will be ridiculed by society because of how different they will be from everyone else. The most rewarding thing is just being able to come home from work after a long day and see my kids smiling at me.
What has been the most challenging and rewarding things about being a spouse especially after you spent so long being single?
The most challenging thing about being a spouse is that I don’t have that alone time to myself that I used to have but the most rewarding thing is knowing that I have a lifelong supporter, lover, and eternal friend in my spouse.
What is some advice that you’d give men of color at your age right now who are feeling lost/alone?
My advice I would give to anybody of any age is to make sure you take the time to find out who you really are. I mean down to the core. I feel like that's extra important because if we don't figure that out at one point or another, we will constantly feel lost or get caught up in trying to fit into something you have no business trying to associate yourself with. I'm sure people would wanna know how to find oneself and the answer is simple. Just spend time with yourself with no distractions.
What are you most thankful for in your life right now?
I am most thankful for the family that I’ve created and the fact that I’m going to be able to build up, nurture, and provide the love, the protection, and the lessons that will be needed to make sure that we thrive.
What will be the catalyst in your life that will make you say, damn, I have finally made it?
When I achieve the goal of becoming the best version of myself.
Do you have any final words of wisdom to leave us with? People you’d like to shout out/give thanks to?
First, I want to give the most tremendous shout out to my soon to be wife. Baby you are so talented beyond words and your creativity inspires me to be a better artist and a better man. You're such a quality woman and it shows in your work you put together with these interviews. Thank you for being my biggest groupie lmao. I definitely gotta thank my mother and father in law for coming together and making such a beautiful and talented human being. I wanna shout out to my kids because nobody gives a shout out to their kids for some reason but they also help me be a better man which in turn will make me a better artist or anything at that. And lastly I just wanna give shout out to all my brothers and sisters and the rest of my family. Even though we don't talk or communicate that much I still got love for you rather its close or at a distance.
My final words of wisdom is a line from my Food For Many Thoughts Poem: Don't let anybody tell you what you wont be, or else you wont be able to succeed or perceive the things you wanna see in life. When ya mind goes left, make it right.
My ultimate goal was to make sure at some point in one’s life, I was able to make them expand their thoughts and perspective on life in a positive light.
Should we be looking out for any new material from you in the coming years?
Yes, I will be providing new material though the name of the project is untitled at the moment. It is still In the kitchen brewing and being harvested for later deliciousness.
Now that you’re older and have experienced life a little more, what motivates you now? Not just to create music, but what motivates you in life period?
I would like to give a big shout out to my spirit. At this point in my life, I feel like my spirit is the main thing that allows me to keep pushing forward and persevering and fighting through a lot of the situations that I deal with. As you grow older, one may or may not take the time to get to fully know themselves but, if someone does come around to it, they’ll realize that they are who their spirit is. And I’ve discovered that my spirit is a fighter. My spirit has a calm and calculated rage about itself. But also, possess a tranquil peace about itself as well, keeping me balanced.
Tell us what drew your interest into Philosophy and listening to Alan Watts? Philosophy is not for everyone and it’s not a “hot topic”. At the time when you found this, were you looking for answers to something more or was it purely for entertainment and/or a learning experience?
I actually had an old friend that introduced me to Alan Watts. It randomly came up in conversation and he suggested that I listen to a lecture of his and when I started listening to what he was saying, it was as if I had someone to verbalize the thoughts that I had for so long. To be honest, what he was saying wasn’t shocking to me, the shocking part was the fact that he was able to put into words what I wasn’t capable of putting together to explain my thoughts. It started of as curiosity with Watts, and then it transformed into a learning journey.
You always speak about the ego and about how sometimes you fight with your ego. What do you think is your biggest struggle when it comes to fighting your ego and trying to find balance?
My struggle with my ego is that it always tries to be in control of things it cannot control and if anyone has ever experienced that, they would know that trying to tame or control the ego will drive you crazy. Another struggle I had with my ego was that it tried to make me identify myself as it. At a point in time I had an identity crisis because of that but ultimately overtime, I learned that the essence of one’s true self is their spirit. Coming to that conclusion, made my ego envious. My ego didn’t want to ride shotgun, it wanted to be in the drivers seat and the fact that I put my ego on the passenger side, and made strides to put my spirit in the drivers seat it constantly tried to convince me that my spirit is not worth being in the drivers seat. I had to learn to suppress my ego but not completely because I learned overtime that the ego is an essential tool for survival.
What is the one thing that you’ve learned about life that plays a crucial part in the man that you are today?
I definitely learned to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt. As a precept , I was always the person that gave anybody the benefit of the doubt until they proved me otherwise. But as I got older I realized I had to put a screeching halt to that way of being. Being a genuine person, sometimes that generosity gets exploited. And as a genuine person, I genuinely did not want to be the person to be constantly exploited.
What has been the most difficult reality you’ve had to face in life since you’ve been an adult?
The most difficult reality that I had to come to terms with was having to navigate through life without both of my parents since the age of 17 (RIP to them both). Not being able to go to them for advice or help with the hard times in this adult life has been a struggle, but one that I’m pushing through as best as I can.
For about eight years you were single and able to do your own thing, which, in the times we live in now is kind of rare. Most of us right after high school were either having kids, already had kids, or going off to some big university and even there, probably finding someone to build a life with. What did you learn about yourself during this long stretch of being able to spend time with yourself?
While being single, this was the time when I decided to go on my personal journey of finding out who I really was. Now, a lot of people get confused when you hear someone saying that they’re trying to find out who they are. Essentially, I’m not talking about me as the person, Jeremy, but who I really was down to my core. The understanding of that goes beyond the flesh. But I don’t wanna take y’all too deep, so we will stop right there, lol. But ultimately what I learned from that time was who I really was in my spirit and that helped me build even more confidence in myself, know my worth and helped me learn what I really wanted out of life which ultimately helped me dodge many bullets/failed relationships before they could even get started.
What was going through your heart and mind when you found out you were going to be a father for the first time?
I was extremely excited but also nervous and slightly scared. Basically I was a bundle of mixed emotions. Excitement was because I’ve known my whole life that I was going to be a great father and have always been prepared to be a father. The nervousness and scaredness came from trying to figure out how to shield my child from all of the evils in the world right now.
What have you learned about yourself as a person now that you’ve been a dad for the past 4 years?
I learned that I needed more patience than I ever possessed before. Striving for and obtaining patience is key.
What has been the most challenging and rewarding things about being a father?
The most challenging thing is coming to terms with knowing that my kids will be ridiculed by society because of how different they will be from everyone else. The most rewarding thing is just being able to come home from work after a long day and see my kids smiling at me.
What has been the most challenging and rewarding things about being a spouse especially after you spent so long being single?
The most challenging thing about being a spouse is that I don’t have that alone time to myself that I used to have but the most rewarding thing is knowing that I have a lifelong supporter, lover, and eternal friend in my spouse.
What is some advice that you’d give men of color at your age right now who are feeling lost/alone?
My advice I would give to anybody of any age is to make sure you take the time to find out who you really are. I mean down to the core. I feel like that's extra important because if we don't figure that out at one point or another, we will constantly feel lost or get caught up in trying to fit into something you have no business trying to associate yourself with. I'm sure people would wanna know how to find oneself and the answer is simple. Just spend time with yourself with no distractions.
What are you most thankful for in your life right now?
I am most thankful for the family that I’ve created and the fact that I’m going to be able to build up, nurture, and provide the love, the protection, and the lessons that will be needed to make sure that we thrive.
What will be the catalyst in your life that will make you say, damn, I have finally made it?
When I achieve the goal of becoming the best version of myself.
Do you have any final words of wisdom to leave us with? People you’d like to shout out/give thanks to?
First, I want to give the most tremendous shout out to my soon to be wife. Baby you are so talented beyond words and your creativity inspires me to be a better artist and a better man. You're such a quality woman and it shows in your work you put together with these interviews. Thank you for being my biggest groupie lmao. I definitely gotta thank my mother and father in law for coming together and making such a beautiful and talented human being. I wanna shout out to my kids because nobody gives a shout out to their kids for some reason but they also help me be a better man which in turn will make me a better artist or anything at that. And lastly I just wanna give shout out to all my brothers and sisters and the rest of my family. Even though we don't talk or communicate that much I still got love for you rather its close or at a distance.
My final words of wisdom is a line from my Food For Many Thoughts Poem: Don't let anybody tell you what you wont be, or else you wont be able to succeed or perceive the things you wanna see in life. When ya mind goes left, make it right.
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