Delay is Not Denial - A Candid Conversation w/ THEE Pastor Mike Jr

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Calling all my sweeties to the forefront. I'm your host, Christohne Hazel and this is the Keep It Positive, Sweetish Show. Welcome to the Keep It Positive, Sweetish Show, the place where we he'll grow and learn together.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: Today's guest is gospel artists and senior pastor Pastor Mike Jr.

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Speaker 1: Pastor Mike Junior is someone who many people know through his music and ministry, but today's conversation is about how face shows up in real life, from the impact of Amen to his latest project, Confetti and Conspiracies. This is a chance to hear how he navigates leadership, responsibility, and encouragement without losing this humanity. Kiss Henley, please give a very warm welcome to the one and only Mike Jr.

00:00:44
Speaker 2: How you doing, PMJ.

00:00:47
Speaker 3: I'm excited to be here, man, It's a beautiful day to day. I'm kicking in with you and keep it positive.

00:00:52
Speaker 1: We've got to keep it always always, and I feel like you exude that.

00:00:55
Speaker 2: Your energy is amazing.

00:00:57
Speaker 1: I was telling you before we started rolling this our first time really like sitting down to have a conversation. But I've been a fan of yours and watching you win is like watching one of my own friends. Yeah that I'm so proud of you. You've done so many amazing things. How are you feeling right now?

00:01:11
Speaker 3: I'm excited, man.

00:01:12
Speaker 4: I tell everybody it's been an incredible five or six years. You know, twenty nineteen I kind of started singing and then the career just takes off. But I tell everybody, this is the first year that I've actually enjoyed it. I think that's a trap. I think everybody wants to win. They don't know the warfare that comes with it. You know, when we look at the Bible, we see Joseph getting favored, but his family had to turn on him. We see David getting the crown, but his own daddy didn't think he was good enough to be king. We see Jesus conquering the grave, but he still had to be crucified.

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Speaker 3: You know.

00:01:46
Speaker 4: So a lot of people see and our friend had, our friend doctor Dearius Daniel says, this the front side, which is the victory, but not the backside, which is the pain.

00:01:55
Speaker 3: Yes, it's an.

00:01:56
Speaker 4: Incredible year, and I feel good, and you know that you get to a certain point where everything's slow down, where you're winning, but it's not just the wins you enjoy. It's the journey, yeah, and seeing how it impacts people's lives.

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Speaker 3: So I'm excited about this.

00:02:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you are making a huge imp I receive that. Yes, let's talk about that. So I know you're in Alabama. Are you originally from Alabama?

00:02:18
Speaker 3: Yeah? All I really know is Birmingham, Army brat. You know.

00:02:21
Speaker 4: So I was born in Tacoma, Washington, and my brother was born in Germany. My sister Colorado. So but my parents are from Birmingham. Okay, you know, Yeah, so all I know is Birmingham.

00:02:32
Speaker 3: Man.

00:02:32
Speaker 4: Everybody always tells me, I can't tell you from Birmingham.

00:02:35
Speaker 3: I don't know what I need to break. I don't know what camera I need to look at this.

00:02:40
Speaker 4: We don't date our cousins. I actually got streets. I'm not eating ham and pork like like Birmingham is thriving. Shout out to my mayor around the wood that we are killing it right now. Look Birmingham. Look at who Birmingham has. They have me that's like, yes, we got mayor. They was calling him mayor bay round. Yes, they're not cheaper police going viral. They say, he fine, right now, you're trying to make it sit like everybody in Alabama got dating, they cousin and just got on overalls.

00:03:12
Speaker 3: Like no, we got swagged. We say we.

00:03:14
Speaker 4: Love God love. I love the ham Man two o five.

00:03:18
Speaker 2: Yes, I love the hem not ham Yeah, not the port I love that. Yeah.

00:03:24
Speaker 1: I'm from a very small town where Yeah, you might see somebody dating their cousin.

00:03:28
Speaker 2: I'm from Lord, Yeah, no from I'm from the country. Country to get at. But no, that's incredible.

00:03:37
Speaker 1: Take me through the journey of how we got how you got to be where you are today.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, man, it's crazy.

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Speaker 4: Man.

00:03:41
Speaker 3: I'm a kid who just loved God. Like I'm that kid.

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Speaker 4: I didn't get a chance to run the streets. I ain't get a chance to gang bang.

00:03:49
Speaker 3: I was in.

00:03:51
Speaker 4: Vacation, Bible school, and church every Sunday. I'm a pastor's kid, grandson of a civil rights icon. He walk with doctor King and shutter Worth. So I grew up hearing stories about doctor King and Shuttersworth. And here's what happened, you know. So I always love God, grew up singing, grew up. I'm the irritating kid in Sunday school. They asked, who want to share what they learned.

00:04:11
Speaker 3: I'm raising ooh, I know everything you know.

00:04:15
Speaker 4: So now I started the church when I was twenty five years old, walked into a room.

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Speaker 3: I put twelve hundred seats out.

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Speaker 4: God told me it was going to be crazy, and so at twenty five, I'm looking at all these people.

00:04:24
Speaker 3: Who were like me, dying senseleously.

00:04:27
Speaker 4: I turned to my father and say, I really think God wants me to do something special.

00:04:30
Speaker 3: He just might go for it. We put twelve.

00:04:33
Speaker 4: Hundred chairs out and twelve people came. But we was having the time of our life just preaching. So by twenty five it was ten of us. By twenty six, man, it's like a thousand, two thousand people, and by twenty seven it's five thousand.

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Speaker 3: People in an arena.

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Speaker 4: I don't know who I am as a man, let alone somebody's pastor. I'm doing the best that I know how to do, and we're just growing, growing and growing. And I always wanted to sing. I would write songs and record songs, and I never forget my I passed to shout out to doctor Ari Vernon. He said, Mike, God's gonna do something crazy in life, or do me a favor. For ten years love God, love your family, love your city, love your church, and the world will come looking for you. So I'm sitting here like ten years you done lost your mind. It's go time right now, Like you ever got a word in church? And the prophet was like, I need you to wait.

00:05:21
Speaker 3: No, no, no, no, no, it's now yes, But I don't know why.

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Speaker 4: When he said it, it just hit my spirit. So for ten years I had one of the fastest growing churches in the world and nobody knew who I was. Like I would get invited to be on TVN and invited to be on all these states, and I'd be like, no, no, thank you, and a lot of my friends would be like, boy, you crazy. But in my heart, I heard my pastor say and I felt like that was God through him. I love God, love your family, love your city. He said, in ten years, the world'll come looking for you. That was two thousand and nine. Two thousand and eighteen, we have an incident in our city where.

00:05:56
Speaker 3: The whole city is ripped apart.

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Speaker 4: You know, for the first time in a long time, I was Malcolm X in my city. If something happened, I'm doing protests, we march it. It was almost a thing like when passing Mike, find out it's gonna go down. But for the first time I heard the Lord tell me to be a bridge, you know. And the bad thing about a bridge is it get walked on by both sides. So the black people in my city are saying, pastor Mike, you're not doing enough, you know. And we get to the arena that Sunday. My city is so mad at me that it's empty.

00:06:28
Speaker 3: Wow.

00:06:28
Speaker 4: So in my heart, I'm like, this is it. It's over for us, you know. And I walk on stage that Sunday and I praised him and singing I'm getting ready to see something I've never seen. And I walked up and said, and it's gonna be big. That clip does almost two million views and I don't even I thank God for the young lady.

00:06:48
Speaker 3: Who clipped it. It was just crazy.

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Speaker 4: And I'm wrestling with anxiety borderline depression at the time, so much going on. I go on so with somewhat of a sabbatical, and I get a phone call saying, hey, I don't know what you were singing, Sunny, but you might need to turn that into a song.

00:07:04
Speaker 3: Wow. I call my guy say, hey, let's.

00:07:06
Speaker 4: Make that a song we're gonna sing at that church anniversary and the rest is history.

00:07:10
Speaker 3: Man.

00:07:11
Speaker 4: But the beautiful thing about that is twenty nineteen is the year being came out. That's ten years to two thousand and nine, when my pastor telling me to wait ten years. So somebody watching right now, they just trust the word of the Lord God ain't done yet.

00:07:25
Speaker 3: Delay. It's not denial.

00:07:27
Speaker 2: Say that. I am a living testimony. It's so crazy.

00:07:31
Speaker 1: The same year two thousand and nine is when I moved to Atlanta.

00:07:35
Speaker 2: To pursue music and acting.

00:07:37
Speaker 1: It wasn't until twenty nineteen that Sisters got green lit.

00:07:40
Speaker 2: Oh wow, yes, year, it's powering.

00:07:43
Speaker 3: Those abilities ten fingers, ten toes.

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Speaker 4: I believe it. And I don't know who's watching right now. They may be in their figurative ten years, you know where they're sitting there, gifted, talented, intellectual God charisma, but it just ain't click yet. Yes, And I just know God has some of us in the season where I ten years coming in twenty twenty six, Come on, like, this is the year God's.

00:08:03
Speaker 3: Gonna do everything I told my church He's gonna do expeditiously and exponentially that He's gonna do a whole lot real quick.

00:08:11
Speaker 1: And he will like I've seen it, like and it's crazy, like when I think about God's goodness and how he literally takes it and turns it around just like.

00:08:18
Speaker 2: That, and you're like whoa.

00:08:20
Speaker 1: And I feel like that's where you are right now. This has been one of the biggest years of your life twenty twenty five, So I can imagine what twenty twenty six is going to look like for you.

00:08:30
Speaker 2: How have you been able to handle it all?

00:08:32
Speaker 1: You know, all the nominations like congratulations, like literally get the broom out man swept at the stellars, sweet sweet, I caught that.

00:08:48
Speaker 3: So good.

00:08:49
Speaker 1: But like with that comes so much more And a lot of people don't understand. Yes, we work for these things, but when it comes, it comes with a different.

00:08:56
Speaker 2: Type of way that we may not expect. Have you had that experience?

00:09:00
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think this was the most prepared ever being though. And I can't remember the first time I want Artists of the Year, I didn't know what to expect when you go in the back.

00:09:10
Speaker 3: Then I get in the truck, I'm like, oh.

00:09:11
Speaker 4: My life in a change, Like I can't remember, like in my head Oprah was gonna call I'll go to the end of taller pair of moved like I just thought. It was like, you know, because in your head I'm doing it's open. And I got back to the room and I came Remember, I just couldn't stop crying because it was this overwhelming anxiety of Okay, what do I how do I do this again? How do I keep it? What do I do next? And and the pressure hits you. And now I told my boys this this morning. I said, I'm so glad God did all he's doing in Daddy's life at this age.

00:09:44
Speaker 3: So now, man, it's like I can't explain.

00:09:46
Speaker 4: I'm it's like I got so many opportunities and shout out to the best publicists in the world. I owe him an apologies named VN. VN calls me and he said, hey, so and SO want you now. I'm good, Well they want you to come here.

00:09:59
Speaker 3: No, I'm fine.

00:10:00
Speaker 4: Hey, guess what we got your interview with my daughter has gymnastics. And everybody around me right now is trying to figure out like, Okay, this is the biggest year of your life. All these doors are open, but you're not going anywhere because some people are blowing up to be seeing some of us are doing our work to go missing. And so for me, I'm trying. My God, I'm trying to go missing. Like I don't cause I see with that spotlight come so much. I never forget. Kurk Franklin said to me, I was, I was, I was blowing up. And I got on FaceTime with him. He said, if the light shining on you it's brighter than the light shining in you Jesus, then the light shining on you will consume you. So for me, I want to display how to win but not lose your house, how to win and not miss a single football game, how to win and every time your daughter hit the back of flips, she look up that you standing right there.

00:10:51
Speaker 3: So for me, it's been it's been easy to handle.

00:10:55
Speaker 4: And here's a word that God introduced in my life because I got a rhythm now, you know, like even with the church, it's like like we had this big year. I didn't to I only perform maybe four times this year, you know, because I was like, nah, I gotta be more stable. Boom or not missing the boys football season. Boom my oldest son dating and is serious, you know, so I need to be there when he come on and look him and it's out like.

00:11:17
Speaker 3: You're good, We're good? Are we still say? Are we still saying I have to got to act? Are we still save?

00:11:24
Speaker 4: So it's been an incredible year, but it's been a it's been an easy year, yeah, because I think for the first time in my life, I'm not trying to be something.

00:11:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, because you are.

00:11:35
Speaker 3: I just am come on, and it's a blessing.

00:11:38
Speaker 2: So that is exactly what is.

00:11:39
Speaker 1: It's a blessing because a lot of people aren't in position. We do get in the mindset like how do I keep thisself?

00:11:44
Speaker 2: What's next?

00:11:45
Speaker 1: And we will literally burn ourselves out trying to keep it up. There is there is a blessing in the normal Okay, I don't have to do that because a lot of times like no, we need to be doing where are the Why isn't anybody calling? So the fact that you're able to say no, I'm okay, it's that is a huge blessing.

00:12:01
Speaker 2: And the fact that you are prioritizing family.

00:12:03
Speaker 1: I think a lot of times when you talk to a lot of successful people, family is what gets sacrificed the most. So I commend you for making sure that your family stays.

00:12:13
Speaker 4: I tell everybody, man, it's I was on a call. I was on a call this week. A lot of people on this call, and they were like, hey, we got so many big plans for you.

00:12:23
Speaker 3: Twenty twenty six is gonna be even bigger.

00:12:25
Speaker 4: We x y z x y z x y z And Tiffany, who's my executive director, she said on the call, I still don't think y'all get I don't think he cared about a lot of what y'all care about.

00:12:36
Speaker 3: And I don't like, I don't like.

00:12:38
Speaker 4: I can't expl Hey, we invited you to Okay, great, God bless you. I go where God calls me to go, you know, even being on this platform, the moment they call, I was like, absolutely, because I can feel God on this. I can feel that you're in assignment and you're in purpose. And what I've discovered is when you have an assignment and you're dealing with people who just have attachment, that's when you become chaotic and toxic. And so for me, I only want to align with people who are in assignment, you know, And so I'm just excited. Man, I can't I can't I can't describe enough what it means, Like I get joy, Like.

00:13:15
Speaker 3: We nominated for the Grammy is that's like huge?

00:13:17
Speaker 4: Like so when I say, I'm so excited about that, and I know somebody said, well you know you shouldn't be in it for awards, Okay, thank you, Like are we gonna talk about that stuff? Like it's not about the awards, Yes it is. I want to be recognized, like like why are we so spiritual that we seeing it? Like when I I'm living right, so I can get a crown? Come on, Like think when I when I go to heaven, he gonna give me a crown. And the Bible also says that certain people gonna have more jewels in their crown. So for me, it's not about the award in itself, but when I look at what it does for the people in my life. Like my producer, he said, Pastor, I got him produced for every secular artist you can think of. I never thought my first Grammy nominations would be a gospel album, but now he's able to charge more now. His bidio says, Grammy Award, Grammy nominated producers, and then the writers, they're Grammy nominated writers and so for me, man, you know, like the last award show I left the Stell Awards, I had an artist come up to me and say, Man, one day I'm gonna get me one. I said, you want this one? He was like serious. I said yeah, I said, put it in your studio. He literally came by the room. I gave him the Stellar in his studio right now. It's right, they say, when you record. That's how he stayed motivated. Because to me, I want my life to be I don't want to be. Everything that's visible isn't valuable, you know. So for me, I want to make an impact. And that's what's so precious right now.

00:14:42
Speaker 1: Man.

00:14:42
Speaker 4: So I'm excited about the Grammy nomination and people say, are you gonna win? I don't even care at this point. If we win, we win nominated. And to hear people say Yolanda Adams and Shirley Season c c Wins, Kurt Franklin, Tasha Cobb passed the.

00:15:00
Speaker 1: Like that's ah, that's some company, watch legendary.

00:15:05
Speaker 4: What I ain't gotta way. As long as I get there and like say my name, that's all I need right there.

00:15:12
Speaker 3: The rest is history.

00:15:13
Speaker 1: So I love exciting, know, as you should be not and to go back to the young man that was like, I'm gonna give me one that shows your heart posture, you know, and that it's not a like this doesn't make you you know the trophies.

00:15:24
Speaker 2: Fact you like here to take one. You know what I'm saying that he looks at that when he's in the studio to be motivated.

00:15:28
Speaker 3: That's what I did, man.

00:15:29
Speaker 4: I'm I was the type of person that would have pictures up everywhere. When I say pictures up everywhere, like that's gonna be this, just gonna be this, or even you look at my team Dre who does all my videography, who get all my music music videos?

00:15:44
Speaker 3: He didn't do that.

00:15:45
Speaker 4: We brought a We brought a cheap camera camera I brought him, brought him an HP computer.

00:15:50
Speaker 3: So let's figure it out.

00:15:51
Speaker 4: He's still with me and see Tiffany and see Leslie out to see a t to see in a deal. Everybody kind of started this journey with me. So when so when you get a chance to win like that, it's not just about the artist, and I get what the comp I get what people are saying in the world today like gospel artists should be yes, I got you.

00:16:08
Speaker 3: We won't.

00:16:09
Speaker 4: We want to do this to please God. At the same time, they have to make a living.

00:16:13
Speaker 2: It's a gift, you know, It's a gift everybody.

00:16:15
Speaker 4: And I'm honored that God picked me to help put so many people in position to live their dream, you know.

00:16:22
Speaker 3: So I'm excited about that.

00:16:23
Speaker 2: So I want to know about your creative process.

00:16:25
Speaker 1: Okay, so you got amen, blessed that we just went viral at the gym, going crazy my pre workout and Jesus hit at the same time, and I.

00:16:33
Speaker 2: Lost my mind. But it's so good.

00:16:36
Speaker 1: What is your creative process like when you go in do you already have an idea or do you just get in there and started?

00:16:41
Speaker 4: So everything is extemporandeous. I'm being a preacher, not extenmporadus. Everything is on the spot, So take for instance, Amen. Right, So I'm finna give you the behind the scenes story nobody heard. So we're on tour on the Sprinter and to Vin, she says to me, he's a gospel artist. To then she says, passed I get a song. And I look at him and said, we got to get you a number one song.

00:17:02
Speaker 3: Boy?

00:17:02
Speaker 4: You know a da hair on the way. That was a song that was that was going to be on one of my projects. I was like, ada kill it.

00:17:08
Speaker 3: Boom.

00:17:09
Speaker 4: I looked at Tea. I was like, I gotta get you a song. So then I go through my phone and I find a random track.

00:17:14
Speaker 3: It was like.

00:17:17
Speaker 4: And literally all I say is this is gonna be the year that I break every cycle.

00:17:21
Speaker 3: That the man the main Maine hand on the about that the church says man, And then I ain't thinking. I look up t like he's shaking his head like is that my song?

00:17:33
Speaker 4: I'm like, well, let's see what the Lord says about Let's pray about it.

00:17:37
Speaker 2: I said it might be mine.

00:17:39
Speaker 3: I said, I said, I said, I think it. Let's let's pray about it.

00:17:42
Speaker 4: So we get off the van, we go upstairs, we go perform at the concert. We get back in the van. He looked has the Lord. I said, come man, let me rasp, let me breathe. I wake up. The next morning we get in the van to go to the next city. He said, hey, I said, nah, that ain't that ain't God's will for you.

00:17:57
Speaker 3: It was in my spirit.

00:17:58
Speaker 4: By the yeah, I woke about my sleep like not the church say, and then from there we just kind of flow, you know. And and if I sat down and tried to write a hit song, I don't think I could. Big was randomly in church, I got it. I was preaching about go possess the land, and they was Boom. I said, already minds Art and t L that I got it. I got it, and Boom and so a man o. TJ shout out to Late Boom, one of the best producers the where Late Boom and Curtis Glenn produced that.

00:18:32
Speaker 1: She said, I don't miss nothing like I'm into every part of a song se but.

00:18:42
Speaker 4: The creative process too. I view everything. I asked myself, where do I want to live? And if a creative is watching right now, it's a bless them because it's one thing to be creative, But if what you're creating has no ecosystem, not a not an ego system, but an ecosystem. And I think the reason so much stuff we do works because it's not in an ego. I'm not sitting there like I know what's best, I'm gonna kill it. It's gonna be this so and so. No, like I live in an ecosystem, you know. So when we hit the scene, it was okay, what do I want to look like? I was like three hundred and twenty pounds, you know. So then I was three hundred and twenty pounds and I was like, okay, if I'm gonna make an impact on gospel, I want to look a certain way. I want to look a certain way. So I start working out and eating healthy. I'm lying, had I had the surgery. I had the surgery.

00:19:27
Speaker 3: I'm lying. I couldn't even lie on it. I couldn't even lie. I had to have a certain I tried to eat right. It didn't work. It didn't work. I call profetic. No, I dropped weight.

00:19:39
Speaker 4: And then when it came to the look, I knew what I wanted to look like, so no, call felipe g.

00:19:44
Speaker 3: Then when it comes to the music, how do we want it to present?

00:19:46
Speaker 4: But even with the music, when I saw your video, you and your workout, that's where we.

00:19:50
Speaker 3: Wanted it to live.

00:19:51
Speaker 4: Yes, I was like, I may not get invited on a Sunday morning to do I got it, I said, But people who love God, we don't have nothing that we can listen to when we want to be motivated or when we go into the interview and when I'm getting my mind right, So to see you in there that made my day.

00:20:07
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:20:09
Speaker 1: I love that you talked about where you were mentally, when it's going to be big came out, or when it was conceived, the conception of it. I want to talk about that because a lot of times people feel like when you are a person of faith, you don't deal with any type of mental health issues when it comes to depression and creeping in. How did you navigate that season and knowing that you were doing what you were supposed to be in the bridge and how it's like you feel like it kind of turned on you.

00:20:35
Speaker 4: The biggest misconception about my song Big is I was talking to people that song was me looking in the mirror. I was the lowest I had ever been in life when we did Big Wow. When I say the lowest, the lowest, I'm talking about Christmas twenty eighteen, Christmas twenty eighteen, Christmas twenty nineteen, I ain't have money to buy my kids stuff. You know, I'm pushing this church and I'm pushing the vision, and I've never really been a money preacher. So even now, when you come to our church, you probably won't even see me raise an offering.

00:21:05
Speaker 3: A lot of times it was just bad.

00:21:08
Speaker 4: Mentally, I felt like I was at my lowest Socially, I had lost a lot of friends. Emotionally, I probably was the most immature I had ever been, because you know, when you're hurting, you start to blame, and a lot of times it's hard for you to realize you're the problem. And so when you look back at those lyrics, I believe it's my season. I believe it's my time. I anticipated in God's get rid of me, and so for me, I don't think we talk enough about the pain that comes with purpose. You know, the pain that comes with purpose like this said, and everything I'm seeing you're doing it here's so phenomenal. Like I remember was getting ready to shoot a movie and I walked past here and it was like, that's crystal spot.

00:21:47
Speaker 3: I was like, what, But they don't know the pain that comes with it.

00:21:50
Speaker 4: Somebody's gonna walk by here and literally say, man, I want that. They don't know the note. They don't know how hard it is. They don't know how hard your teamwork. You know, Like like to me, man big was an anthem for so many people during that pandemic because I believe we all were in the most we we were all in the wilderness. We were trying to figure it out. It's twenty nineteen.

00:22:12
Speaker 3: I'm trying to figure Okay, my show just hit Now what now? What now?

00:22:17
Speaker 2: What?

00:22:18
Speaker 4: Like, like what you're going to do the bubble for us? And so for me, that's why I can say twenty twenty five is different for me. You know, I may have lost, I may have lost more personally than I ever lost this year as far as socially like.

00:22:32
Speaker 3: Friends and people and team.

00:22:34
Speaker 4: But I feel stronger than I ever been, Like like I'm at a place now where I can sit back and say, Okay, God, I see you. Like even when it's not going like you want it to, it's like I see you.

00:22:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, I see you.

00:22:47
Speaker 4: Man.

00:22:47
Speaker 3: So I'm excited about that. Yeah.

00:22:49
Speaker 1: I had Tyler on and he had this analogy about a rocket ship and when it takes I'm talking about people who are ascending in their their star is rising. And he said, Crystal, he's like, everybody can't go. And he was like, think about when the rocket goes off, it's the booster that fall off. So and it's so hard because you want everybody to come and it's like as you're going, it's like, dang, I just lost so.

00:23:09
Speaker 2: And so, and like where is everybody?

00:23:11
Speaker 3: You know?

00:23:12
Speaker 1: And to let you know that you're not alone in that That is just something that comes with success and with everybody either they can't handle the elevation and the altitude of where you're going, and then sometimes we got prepared to get there.

00:23:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, when you look at that rocket ship, it can preach all all in and of itself. That rocket ship. You got people in a tower. You can't go up till give you a count down.

00:23:32
Speaker 3: Come on, you know.

00:23:33
Speaker 4: Then once they give you a countdown, they all watch up like you said, and the boosters fall off. But the beautiful thing about that rocket is they go up in that rocket knowing they can't stay up forever. And so for me, I guess that's where I am. It's like, Okay, I'm up here. I'm gonna have to come down at some point. So now the downs don't depress me. And I think a lot of creators become depressed because we're in that rocket and we're going up and now we're trying to figure out how do I stay up here? You're not meant to stay up there. You know, think about this, if your life was all joy, all peace, all prosperity, if you went to a hospital, they would say you flat line.

00:24:12
Speaker 3: That's death.

00:24:13
Speaker 4: Life looks like this medically, this is death and this is life.

00:24:19
Speaker 3: So if all I want to do is win or stay, I can't. I gotta have rhythm. And so for me, man, I'm just I thank God for it. Now.

00:24:27
Speaker 4: That's why now, you know, and I said it earlier, I just I'm gonna have to keep hugging my publichers every time he called me, like he was like, hey, Mike, I got not right now. And it's not because I think I'm all that. I think it's like right now, I see where God is taking us, you know, like even when I look at my team, Like when I look at my team, I see the doors God gonna open for my publishing, the doors God's gonna open for my manager, the door's gonna open for my team. It's okay, I'm finna have to stay in a spiritual place. So when God elevated them, who praying for them? For them and who are doing this? Because I can remember I went to BT Awards this year, right, so I'm at the BT Awards, so it's the it was the it was the best thing in the world for me to go to.

00:25:13
Speaker 3: And I say that because people say you're passor a while. Was that good for you to go to?

00:25:17
Speaker 4: I didn't know the level of impact I was having because I never come outside. So literally, so so I'm so my von is like, I want you to go to I'm not going to that. Passion Mike, I'm not going to that. I'm like, passion, Mike, please cool. So, so you know, when you're standing in that line at the BT Awards, it's like it's people who are celebrities who ain't even celebrities no more because another celebrity came in. So literally, it's so I'm standing there like your next. Then this person walk can't step back, boom next man, I'm seventy five people back. I'm standing next to Glorial like hey how you like, hey, how you doing like cool?

00:25:52
Speaker 3: And were looking at somebody else. I was like, but the best.

00:25:55
Speaker 4: Part was I'm in the line and people looking at me, They're like, hey, man, I love your videos. I'm like, oh, I'm thanking that. Another person walked up. My daughter love a man I'm okay. So then the next pert, hey boy, what's up?

00:26:06
Speaker 3: Man? Hey boy, your tiktoks?

00:26:09
Speaker 4: And so I went home like, hey, this is this is making a difference. It is this is making a difference. And when you do that, it changes your why come on? So now it's like it's a lot of stuff you don't need anymore now because you realize I'm.

00:26:25
Speaker 3: Getting to the heart of people right where y'are. So I'm excited.

00:26:28
Speaker 2: That's so true. I love that.

00:26:30
Speaker 1: It's so funny because there's been times where I've gotten pushed back in that life.

00:26:34
Speaker 2: Two number one shows.

00:26:35
Speaker 3: On pushback crazy.

00:26:37
Speaker 2: How are we getting?

00:26:38
Speaker 3: I was like, hey, let me tell one funny story.

00:26:41
Speaker 4: So I finally get on the carpet at the VG Awards, right, and so we on the carpet, I take you know, you take the picture how your stomach boom?

00:26:48
Speaker 3: So then so Vun my publiciers.

00:26:50
Speaker 4: He's literally like he's walking up to people trying to get him to talk to me. But I guess he don't want me to see. But I'm looking at her. This lady said, I have passionate, he's not big enough. I said, oh God, take like the church. Take me back to the Stellars. I'm the man at the Stellers take anyway.

00:27:07
Speaker 3: They love me.

00:27:08
Speaker 4: But it was so good because for me, like I was, I was standing there when Ky Sannat told the people if my if my boy can't get on, I'm not getting on. I was standing there when the lady up there said, hey, no, Kevin said he wasn't doing it unless Kyle came. If we had that mentality and gospel, come on, that mentality as people that when I get through this door, I ain't I ain't coming unless he come, I'm not.

00:27:34
Speaker 3: And that's the mindset we need. Man.

00:27:36
Speaker 4: So to see all those people in the hug, you know, I can't remember who that was. I met in the elevator and he gave me a big old hug.

00:27:44
Speaker 3: I think it was play Playboy Cardi. Boy said, whoa.

00:27:49
Speaker 4: It's like I said, Man, I'm praying for keep doing your thing and y'all keep him safe. Said man, I'm praying for you, and I'm sitting there.

00:27:54
Speaker 3: So I get home.

00:27:55
Speaker 4: I tell the boys I prayed real quick with Playboy Cardi and the boys like yeah, you know. So for me, I always wanted to be the person that when life got thick for people.

00:28:07
Speaker 3: I was a safe place.

00:28:09
Speaker 1: Come on, Yes, I love that, and honestly, it just it's a reminder of how Jesus was a lot of times he was in places like where are you with them? Why are you going to the house and having dinner with them? You're not going there to do what they're doing. You're going there to be light. You know exactly what he was. And I wish more people operated.

00:28:26
Speaker 4: They don't get it. Threads is when I tell I'm so tired of threads.

00:28:30
Speaker 3: It's so missing.

00:28:32
Speaker 4: Everybody wants to judge and condemn. But if Jesus was here, he would not be a rock city church. He would not be a change. He would be on peach tree. He would literally be at the bottom. He would be investment in Birmingham. Yes, and so for me, man in twenty twenty six, I'm saying, Lord, grace me with the anointing to go to places people won't go. But here's the crazy part. Not because those places are wild, yeah, but because of the fiery darts that are gonna come from people who should be praying for me. Come on, And that's the hardest part. That's the hardest part. I can tell you so many stories where I receive so much love and places that I probably shouldn't have been, and more hate and places I should have been, And so we just got to get over that.

00:29:17
Speaker 2: We do.

00:29:17
Speaker 1: Let's talk about that, cause I've never really understood that, and I have a lot of especially in this climate, so many of my friends and peers are searching for hope and they are so turned off by the Christian community and how we carry ourselves. Not boxing everybody in but as a whole. We're supposed to bringing people closer to us and wanting to christ to want to be more like us and be like, yo, what is something about them?

00:29:42
Speaker 2: Like what they doing over there? Like they're really serious?

00:29:44
Speaker 1: And I had one friend saying like, I look at y'all and it's like, y'all just not really serious about it.

00:29:47
Speaker 2: It's a lot of like, oh, yeah, I go.

00:29:49
Speaker 1: To church on Sundays, but I'm in the club tomorrow, you know what I'm saying, Like living my life, however, I want to Then another friends like, yeah, I'm just not really sure what I believe. And I do feel like there's a lot you just preach on this Sunday. I don't know if it was a recent clip about how a girl come major coming from the club, you know, And I do believe that like once you start to learn more about God, you do kind of change the way you dress.

00:30:10
Speaker 2: But if you don't know, you don't know.

00:30:12
Speaker 1: And you're not supposed to judge people based off that we're supposed to bring welcome.

00:30:16
Speaker 2: The men say, feel welcome, and then they'll.

00:30:17
Speaker 1: Start looking like, Okay, wait a minute, So thisun was suppsed dress it'reupposed.

00:30:20
Speaker 2: To do, but not judging them and pushing them away.

00:30:22
Speaker 1: Because I feel like we pushed so many people away.

00:30:25
Speaker 4: It's a lot of great Christians out here. Like I tell everybody, you only hear about the planes that crash, not the ones that land come on and so a lot of times the Church and Christian get a bad rep because we hear about the ones that crash, not the ones that land. And so for me, man, it's some incredible churches here in Atlanta, some incredible churches all over the country. But I think what happens now is I feel so sorry for the new school Christian because they're being condemned by the church and their peers so so so so we said something with Grandma said something. When she was in church, she would say, please be patient with me.

00:31:04
Speaker 3: God ain't through with me yet, right.

00:31:07
Speaker 4: But there's no patience now, man, there's no patience now. Like I got this one young cat that we inbox a lot, and he watched me every Sunday. Every Sunday. He's gonna send me a video in my inbox, and I promise that he might be smoking weed every Sunday. Ap, you killed that today, Bro, you killed that the day and I played it one time. I never get the person in my office, Like, I can't believe he sent you that like that. I said, One, he's watching church. Two, he's trying to get closer to God. Three and his state is legal. Come on, I said, So, how are we gonna condemn him? And so for me, that's what I don't think we need to.

00:31:48
Speaker 3: You can't.

00:31:49
Speaker 4: You can't evangelize and criticize at the same time. And so for me, I'm trying to walk this fine line of Hey, guys, I love God. I'm serious about my faith. But then I think a lot of people are like, I love God, I'm seriously about my faith.

00:32:04
Speaker 3: But I want to go out with my friend.

00:32:06
Speaker 4: I want to do so and so, and what I tell people now is it may not be a sin to go there, just know it may kill your witness.

00:32:13
Speaker 3: And that's the danger.

00:32:14
Speaker 4: Now, it's not a sin to go out, it's not a sin to put on a nice dress and go kick it with your girl. You just have to decide now is this going to kill my witness? And when we just fine, what your assignment is and what your purpose is, that determines where you.

00:32:29
Speaker 2: Can and can't go.

00:32:31
Speaker 3: So it ain't about not it's not about being fake. It just kills your witness.

00:32:35
Speaker 4: It's almost like somebody like right now we get done taping and then big dogs say, man, here go a cigar. And I grabbed a cigar and we sit here and we got a Bible open.

00:32:46
Speaker 3: All we do is talking about God.

00:32:48
Speaker 4: Smoking a cigar not a sin, but to somebody who may be unbelieving, it may kill my witness. So that's why sometimes I get invited places people want me to do certain features.

00:32:58
Speaker 3: They want me to do something like.

00:33:00
Speaker 4: As bad as I want to do that, yeah, I don't want that to kill my.

00:33:03
Speaker 2: Witness, my goodness, you know.

00:33:05
Speaker 3: And so that's that's the thing.

00:33:07
Speaker 4: But I think when you say it like that it makes more sense than you fake.

00:33:11
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

00:33:13
Speaker 4: So for me, like I learned that lesson the hard way, you know, like I tell everybody, it's a lot I wish I could get back.

00:33:18
Speaker 3: You know, I was young.

00:33:21
Speaker 4: And and you know, when you first get saved, you you hell five you sire boy?

00:33:26
Speaker 3: You walk around? Don't cuts around me, don't don't. Don't you do it? Put that out around me? Don't you do it? You know how you first get saved?

00:33:34
Speaker 4: You ain't want to interview nobody, your manager telling you?

00:33:38
Speaker 3: Am I talking to it?

00:33:41
Speaker 2: You?

00:33:41
Speaker 3: Hey, when you first get saved? Oh my hey, we got soing something?

00:33:45
Speaker 4: No no, oh no, oh no oh no, we're not doing that.

00:33:49
Speaker 3: That was me.

00:33:51
Speaker 4: That was me, Like, because when you first get saved, all you know is how to be religious. You don't understand the depth of your relationship. And so when so the first thing you do is you change your clothes. You know, things I used to do, I don't do no more. Now your girl you got you got on the whole tune, you hot, you got on a.

00:34:11
Speaker 3: Whole turnel neck. Right, you got to be saved, hear me? And so now I think there's.

00:34:17
Speaker 4: A generation attack right now, but now it's a generation who like, I don't want to look like that, yes.

00:34:26
Speaker 2: And I think that's what it was for me.

00:34:28
Speaker 1: It's like and even like, I'm so happy to be to your wards bringing it back. They made it formal tire because everybody was naked and I was one of them, and I was like, thank you Lord. We got some clothes on, and it was like, can I be set apart? And that was part of it, like love fashion, Yeah, but I am hot right now.

00:34:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know.

00:34:48
Speaker 4: But to me, it's like that, like I'm gonna tell you something nobody knew and I'm gonna give you an insight. Right when we got ready to drop bid, it was in the system as p m J, my mute pastor Mike Junie was gonna be the preacher. PMJ was gonna be the artist, and I'm sitting at home right and they was like, no, we gotta be PMJ and shout out to my team.

00:35:08
Speaker 3: They were so prophetic.

00:35:09
Speaker 4: They said, you're gonna be one of the biggest gospel artists in the world.

00:35:12
Speaker 3: And if they called you past.

00:35:13
Speaker 4: To Mike Junior, You're not gonna be able to walk in certain rooms. I was like, Okay, we'll be PMJ. I called back two days they said, I want to be pasting my junior. And it's like, I said, I want them to know who I am when I walk in. And so now I think that's where we are. And I don't mind taking shots now because I'm realizing the grade of gold, you know, Like even the clip I said, if they if that girl walked in my church half naked and I walked up in Huggard, the first thing you know that he must be sleeping well, or the first thing they gonna say. Or And for me, it's like, because I'm in the trenches, you know, I talked to drug deals. Somebody got it and noticed I ain't say X. I talked to people who ain't out the life. Yes, who say passing my baby Mama made me start watching, and I like, literally we were laughing today. Because I want to change my phone number. I don't know if I can, like, because I'm the type of person that I get an inbox. Two days ago, this lady inboxed me my son twenty two. He's still in the streets, he said, but he always sending me your tiktoks. Wow, I said, yes, man, I said, what's his number? She's like, you're gonna I said, bro, and literally standing outside fool y'all ain't gonna be this end word on the phone like and I'm just sitting there looking like what up.

00:36:31
Speaker 3: He's like, hey, man, we be watching your TikTok. Bro, you be God damgno.

00:36:36
Speaker 4: And I'd be like, man, I said, your mom hit me up. He was like man, he walked off to himself. I said, man, you know what you're doing is only one way that's gonna end, right, maybe two?

00:36:44
Speaker 3: I said, the second option is a blessing.

00:36:46
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:36:46
Speaker 4: He's like you right, you said, But I said, man, what you want to do? And then I'm sitting there and I'm like, look, this is my number.

00:36:52
Speaker 3: You hit me? And he texted me what one time?

00:36:54
Speaker 4: Like, bro, pray for me and to me though, that that's what God called us to be, not these mega passers that that that by default, because a lot of people watch us, we became. But when you meet certain people, man, you got to reach them where they are. And I just I just don't want to be that. I can tell you going to hell, but are you gonna? Even Jesus fed him before he talked to him, and in essence he met a need. So for me, you know, I want to be comfortable in places people want go. You know, I want to I want to be able to say, hey, I had to perform in Houston one time and we in there. When I tell you, I knew I was going to hell. Like I knew I was going straight to hell. Like here we in Houston and it's got dang. It's people on stilts, like ladies on stilts dancing and everybody drunk. Just during the pandemic. Everybody drunk in Houston. They supposed to be in their cars. They supposed to be in their cars, right, and they like it's a concert. I'm like, why am I here? There was like we act the station in the station. Everybody stations that they want to pass some mic. So I'm talking about they ended the person before me, put your mother, and I'm like, I'm like I'm next.

00:38:08
Speaker 3: They're like you closing.

00:38:09
Speaker 4: I'm like Jesus and God rest us all. The Senator came up gave me like the key to the city. And then I got to say, y'all ready anybody loved God every and this back when they had to blow their horn because couldn't nobody get out of the car. Everybody got out the car in a pandemic came to the front of the gate. I end up praying for people, hands lifted, people, tears and they eye and I'm sitting there and I'm like, had I been religious?

00:38:35
Speaker 3: Out Of'm like that ain't no place for me. But let me free.

00:38:37
Speaker 4: You do firemen run to the fire, all away from the fire. So if I'm light and their darkness, yes, I'm supposed to sit back and be like, no, they gotta stay dark or do God assign certain people to go into those places? And I think it starts with a certain level of transparency, and you got to have a level of freedom. Yeah, and that's why I say, God, grace me not from what's gonna happen in darkness, but from all the people who got light. Yeah, and that's the problem.

00:39:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, you are preaching. I said all that to say you don't have to wear a turnle neck.

00:39:11
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you. You know it's I'll be in Miami all the time and my friend y'all come down. I'm gonna do a birth day and my friend's wife she goes. Now, you know that's the first lady, She's like, you can't wear that around her? And then I feel like I had on the appha with my back. Guy, she goes, Chris had her backout today.

00:39:34
Speaker 4: I thought you were saved, Like I can't with outfits listen, Like that's crazy that girl.

00:39:40
Speaker 2: You are so funny.

00:39:46
Speaker 1: No, literally, like and I think it's also when I be fasting, but like certain things are distasteful to me now, so like because I like.

00:39:54
Speaker 2: Stop like I was like I said language and.

00:39:57
Speaker 1: You're like, oh my, you know, because certain things are more sensitive to my spirit now than before. I working in costumes in the TV and film industry, sailor like and you're around there all the time. So like my mouth was so bad and work I'm still working at sometimes like I don't cause like I used to, but I'll get upsetting, It'll come out.

00:40:15
Speaker 4: And it'll like be that what you gotta get to the point I cussed an instantly, God forgive me, forgive me.

00:40:22
Speaker 1: Literally, I'm like.

00:40:26
Speaker 4: And see, I'm gonna say this too though, like even with you, like you're telling language language language. I think the people who you interact with daily should become more like you. And you've become more like christ.

00:40:41
Speaker 1: No, seriously, that's how it's know Mike literally my other manager saying, she was like, because you because I did an interview while I was fasting.

00:40:50
Speaker 2: She never do that.

00:40:51
Speaker 1: I was like literally in tears the whole interview because like I was just open and I left and I was like, oh my god.

00:40:57
Speaker 2: I was like, was that too much? Like what did I say? Because it's like a yeah, literally, I was saying so Christal would have never said.

00:41:04
Speaker 3: God was like I got for you today.

00:41:07
Speaker 1: I got you, yes, And she was like no, because you I read my Bible in the morning. She said, I'm doing this and like she said, but I wasn't doing that before I.

00:41:15
Speaker 2: Started working with you. Wes going to church reading his Bible. Herman, same thing. We're going through fifty fifty two weeks in the Bible.

00:41:22
Speaker 1: Because and it's like people ask it she really like who She's like, No, that's really hers, you know, like she's really who she is. But no, you're absolutely right, And I see it. It's reflection all around me.

00:41:34
Speaker 4: And so when I say things like the people who interact with you, so to somebody watching who saved, but you got a lot of people around you.

00:41:42
Speaker 3: The people who interact with you.

00:41:44
Speaker 4: Yeah, should grow, but you shouldn't be at a place where you can't be around people who have not started growing.

00:41:50
Speaker 2: Yet, exactly.

00:41:51
Speaker 4: And that's that's what I'm saying now, Like when you go on that movie set, you don't have the I don't need you on a movie set like this movie ain't saved. I need you on that said bringing ten people out with yes. And that's where I believe God is doing right now.

00:42:05
Speaker 1: Man.

00:42:06
Speaker 3: Even in the industry, you're seeing it.

00:42:07
Speaker 4: Man, You're seeing more and more rappers talk about God, more and more R and B singers sing about God, and athletes now in their press conference talking about God.

00:42:17
Speaker 3: I got.

00:42:18
Speaker 4: I have so many athletes now who inbox me and they be like pee man like And it's crazy because I thought I thought people were watching church, but they'll get that forty second clip then go find a sermon forty seconds and so now they hit me. I just did Angel Reese's podcast and I told her, I said, man, and I'm gonna say the same thing to you. There's a generation of young girls who need an example.

00:42:43
Speaker 3: And that's who God calling you to be, exactly.

00:42:46
Speaker 4: And that's when I say, now you have to ask yourself, Okay, does that, even though it's not a sin, does it kill my witness?

00:42:53
Speaker 3: Because I don't think we realize.

00:42:55
Speaker 4: Sometime I had a conversation with a couple and they were going through a lot. Man Is, one of their children came out to them and so they were it was a lot, like when I tell you it was a lot, And I asked, I asked them, I said, what did you deal with when you were growing up? He's like, man, I was out here, I had fifty eleven women, YadA, YadA, YadA.

00:43:13
Speaker 3: I was doing X y Z. I said, can I free you real quickly? He said yeah. I said, well, you know that's lust.

00:43:19
Speaker 4: I said, So what you're saying is when you were coming up, although you slept with a whole lot of women, that's lust. I said, So, if we're really talking about generational you can't determine how lust shows up in the next cycle exactly. I said, So you might need to have a level of grace. And so for me, I think if all of us had this level of grace for every person in their personal walk, and that's where I catch hell at right there, because it'd be like Pastor Mike you're doing too much?

00:43:46
Speaker 3: But is he not deserving of love? You know what I'm saying? Like, is he not deserving? Is she not deserving a love?

00:43:53
Speaker 4: I asked myself sometimes if this were to happened to me, how would I treat it in my house? I start being so religious in the streets and so for me, man, I think there's a remnant of Christians who are rising, who are unapologetically saved, but they have this heart for people like never before and the patience to help them as they grow.

00:44:15
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, I did La Craze podcasts a year ago. That's my dog, but I got well, I say, drug through the mud because I wasn't where I am now in my walk then. And I think that's what people forget. They forget the journey of walking with Christ. It's like what I was okay with doing two years ago. I wouldn't dare do it now, you know, because I've grown with Him and I revere him and I fear him and.

00:44:38
Speaker 2: I take it very serious. But people forget that they weren't saved all their lives. And it's like the grace.

00:44:44
Speaker 1: If we have the grace and also the memory to remember why I ain't always been like this all my life, so let me have grace to pull them with me. And it's like, hey, I've been where you are, Like, I know what it feels like to lust and to want to have these urges and do these things and actually do them.

00:44:59
Speaker 2: You know. I actually got on TikTok today.

00:45:01
Speaker 1: I've been a year abstinence, celebrated my one year and version of abstinence, and I was very open. I was like, you know, a lot of times we don't talk about we talk about, oh, yeah, I've stopped having sex and this is great, but we don't talk about them days where we like struggling. And I was like, and there's signs where like there's other things you have to let go of as well. And I said, and I failed it those days, I said, I held onto the absence. I said, but now I said, six months, I'm good on that. I said, But I said, if you fall, don't give up. Just get up, I said, because a lot of times we make it seem like, oh, you're done because you said you were doing this and you feel and yep, you're out of there. Like no, get up and keep God knows your heart. Get up and keep trying, and I think that frees some people today. They are like, oh my god, thank you. I'm gonna keep I'm not gonna give up. I'm gonna keep going.

00:45:43
Speaker 3: Failure is so powerful.

00:45:44
Speaker 4: Like I was sitting down with a group of people, because everybody sees all my wins, they say things like, man, you're killing it, Stellar's, Grammys, dumbs you Church everything, You got a million fucks, and they like, I said, but I failed too, Like one of my biggest failures in the last two years is how I handle the situations. You know, there was a situation I had one time where I didn't feel like I was being treated a certain way. And so, you know how you're knew in the industry. You don't know nobody, and you start feeling all these things, and then people in your ear telling you this person said that and this person did this, and then you start paying attention nobody, and so now you get defensive and you get aggressive, and now you start you start firing your shots back. And I said some things online about Ti Trivin one time. I'm like, he shouldn't have did it, He shouldn't have did YadA yadda at the court.

00:46:33
Speaker 3: That's my hero.

00:46:34
Speaker 4: I said it every time, like that's the only artist that motivated me to do everything.

00:46:39
Speaker 3: That was my goat. That was my goat.

00:46:41
Speaker 4: I won the award, and I told everybody to night I won the award like everything you see me doing was a reflection of two people tied Tripping and Ken Jones. Those are my goats, you know. But out of pain and hurt and then people in your ear saying this, and now now you get out there and you say something and now boom, Then I end up having apologize. But I potentially damaged that relationship forever.

00:47:04
Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying. He's in his own right to never speak to me again if he'll want to, you know.

00:47:07
Speaker 4: But but what I try to show people is that yes you see these winds and yes you see that, but I've gotten it wrong.

00:47:13
Speaker 3: Come so many times.

00:47:15
Speaker 4: You know, even when it comes to my sons, like my oldest son, he kind of feeling itself. At one point, before I know it, I'm yelling, I'm fussing, I'm cussing like I'm still young. You know how he looking at me lifting weights now like I'm looking at her looking at him.

00:47:29
Speaker 3: And then I had to come back.

00:47:30
Speaker 4: But I told my church, I said, I failed at this, I said, but I went back in that same room as at Xander. I'm sorry, I said, Dad, just it's hard for me, you know, And it was like I understand. So I think if more people would share their failure. I wish I could get that moment with tie back. You know, I wish I could get certain things, but I wish I could. I wish I could go back and not do this. I wish I could go back, but since I can't, here's the thing, beautiful thing about failure. If I tell you how I failed, I just gave you speed, because the experience isn't the best teacher, it's the hardest teacher. I just told you in ten seconds what it took me ten years to learn. So now you can be better than me faster. And so for me, man, I'm in this season now, especially in twenty twenty six, it's like I want everything God God for me now because I feel like I'm in a place where I can handle not just what comes with it, but the ripples of what it calls. And that's what we don't talk about, you know. We know about the light that come and the fame, but it's the ripples. It's the it's the not realizing that the moment you got saved and got serious, you don't even realize.

00:48:39
Speaker 3: People stop calling.

00:48:41
Speaker 4: Or it's the ripples like oh, she's saved now, or the boom, she ain't doing that now, we can't have fun with you, ain't fine no more, or you.

00:48:50
Speaker 3: Realize this is gonna bless you.

00:48:51
Speaker 4: It's another group text, like whoa, when did y'all get another group text?

00:48:57
Speaker 2: All right now? And like what's going on? I don't know. Yeah, I'm glad.

00:49:02
Speaker 3: I'm glad. I absolutely absolutely, it.

00:49:05
Speaker 2: Is all right. That's so true. Gosh, Yeah, you're so right. Yeah, and it's okay.

00:49:11
Speaker 3: It's okay, we're gonna be all right.

00:49:12
Speaker 4: We are because I'm learning now the best version of me is sometimes the isolated version of me.

00:49:18
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. You know.

00:49:22
Speaker 4: When I tell you I'm having the time of my life right now, I'm back playing my PlayStation. Me and my boys, got our group thread. We be sending memes. You know, the people around me I really believe.

00:49:33
Speaker 3: Got my best interests out.

00:49:36
Speaker 4: I also got a circle now that when I want to be wild, I can be wild, and wild for me ain't bottles and and we wow. For me is I just want to watch something laugh, you know, like everybody, I don't care who you are. Everybody saved. Got seven screenshots of means they can't post. I just need two friends who can let me send that. That's wild for me. I'm out there now, like I'm out there now like hey, because we so say you know you Yeah, I just need to because.

00:50:04
Speaker 3: I can't post it.

00:50:06
Speaker 4: But I'm to say I can't post that, but it don't mean I ain't liking it.

00:50:10
Speaker 3: And everybody just need to be honest, be honest.

00:50:14
Speaker 4: And so I got a group now where I can literally be like boom yeah.

00:50:19
Speaker 3: So now man, I think, but that's balance. Think about this. Even when it comes to sound, if I was to put my hand over the mic, it messes the sound up.

00:50:28
Speaker 4: So you would have to take that audio to a person who can eq it. So if you're gonna have a good circle, that circle should be the EQ to your life. You know, somebody who lets you get your high, but then somebody who handles your low, somebody in your trouble you can keep you balanced.

00:50:42
Speaker 3: So I'm in a good place.

00:50:44
Speaker 2: I love it.

00:50:44
Speaker 3: I love that.

00:50:45
Speaker 2: PMJ Man I have enjoyed this.

00:50:53
Speaker 1: We're gonna close out the episode with positive outcomes.

00:50:56
Speaker 2: And this is when our audience members right into us. Okay, and we're gonna get all right. So let's see. This is from Shashi White.

00:51:04
Speaker 1: She says, how do I handle those shifts in my friendships as I grow spiritually, emotionally and gracefully without hurting anyone's feelings? Wow, that's kind of what we just talked about shifts, because it happens honestly without hurting anyone's feelings.

00:51:19
Speaker 3: That's impossible.

00:51:20
Speaker 2: Yeah, some feelings will get hurt, even when you don't mean to, when it's not your intention.

00:51:25
Speaker 1: Shashi, I would say, as you're growing, the people who are supposed to be around you will cling to you. The people who are not will fall off, and hopefully at some point you can be the light how we talk about whatever that is to draw them back to you. But I wouldn't worry about hurting people's feelings when you're growing closer to God.

00:51:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, and your intentions are here.

00:51:43
Speaker 4: I would tell her, like you said, not worried about hurting people's feelings when you're trying to get closer to God, but also making sure you're not contributing to the feelings. So that's when I was talking about that grace. Like I had a homeboy who hit me last night, probably like one o'clock.

00:52:00
Speaker 3: You doing chilling. He was like, man, we don't talk no more.

00:52:02
Speaker 4: He said, I'd be willing to hit you, but you know you you like passing my junion big, big.

00:52:07
Speaker 3: Time, like he's.

00:52:08
Speaker 4: Man you like, And I was like, nah, I said, mat, I say hit me trying to be funny. I'm still the same, Like it's YadA YadA, YadA, you know. And then but the kind of you can almost see a relief come off of them because it's not just people always think when I get saved, it's not hurting people from feelings from your from you being saved and your success, because I also believe there's a level of success that comes when you get in God's will, and so a lot of times people can almost kind of detach and project what they're feeling on you. And so what I'm trying to do now is make sure I don't contribute to it.

00:52:42
Speaker 2: Right, that's so good.

00:52:43
Speaker 4: You're gonna make me feel bad because I'm saying I don't need to do that. Man, I understand that's different. I know I was the life of the party because some of us saying that we was really good at it. We got to talk about that now we were really good at it. Now you was out that glimpse of yours a minute ago, you said.

00:52:57
Speaker 3: Because I was that girl out. If I'm a I was the party.

00:53:02
Speaker 4: Like when I say the party, when I got the era, Michel Mike like, so now it just ain't the same. But like I tell him, if you come over here, I'm still the life of the party.

00:53:13
Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, it's better. Over it.

00:53:14
Speaker 2: It is better.

00:53:15
Speaker 3: I'm excited.

00:53:16
Speaker 2: I love it. I'm the same way.

00:53:18
Speaker 1: I'm still a life of the party, but in a different way and different way.

00:53:21
Speaker 2: Not invite people. They already know. It's gonna be a good time, good food. You can still have your drink. Whatever we're gonna do.

00:53:27
Speaker 1: I'm not partaking it, but we're gonna have space, we're gonna have good fun, and we're gonna go home.

00:53:33
Speaker 2: But it's like you just you grow and you mature.

00:53:36
Speaker 1: And I mean, if I'm still doing what I was doing five ten years ago, are we really growing?

00:53:40
Speaker 3: Are we really you know?

00:53:42
Speaker 4: And I think that's just a shift, and I would tell her you shifted baby girl from being the thermostat the thermometers into the thermostat. You know, now you set in the temperature, so it's gonna get hot. I'm gonna leave this quote. My son said me because he loved DC young Fly. I don't get hot in that kitchen. Yeah, but they still gonna have plates.

00:53:59
Speaker 3: So let him get through their feelings. Let them go through it and just love them through it.

00:54:03
Speaker 2: I love it.

00:54:04
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Is there anything that we I didn't even read the cards with you. I was like, so, is there I don't know what we're supposed touch on. I hope we touched on it.

00:54:15
Speaker 2: Is there anything you have coming up that we can support you with?

00:54:18
Speaker 4: A man, just support everything pastor like Junian music and I'm excited about that. I'm not sure if it's the air during the Grammy window. If you're a Grammy voter, that'd be great. But more poorly, man, just continue to share the messages. You know that that means the world to me, you know, like it means the world to me to take the gospel, which is the good news the places that people never thought they would go, you know, and if you don't mind.

00:54:46
Speaker 3: If you're watching right now, you don't know.

00:54:47
Speaker 4: Jesus, Man, falling in love with God is the best thing I've ever done. I heard a person say one time, man, I can't wait to be successful. I'm gonna drive a Bentley. And I looked at him and told him even if Bentley needs an all change, which means it's possible to be saved successful and still need another dip. And if you watch it right now, man, wherever you are, man, you can just say, Lord, come into my heart. I am a sinner in need of a savior. I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that you rose from the dead with all power you and and right now you're not just positive, you saved. And that's the greatest decision you can make in your life. That's what means a lot to me.

00:55:24
Speaker 2: Wow, thank you man, that was beautiful. Thank you so much.

00:55:28
Speaker 1: Listen anytime you want to come back, Yeah, please come back.

00:55:31
Speaker 2: This is amazing.

00:55:32
Speaker 4: I'm gonna come back. But we're not gonna act like twenty minutes ago. She didn't just say I was talking to Tyler. That was fine, that blessed me, that never left me. I'm prophesied that's gonna be my conversation. But you know, me and me and Drake were talking and we were we were just talking about the great thing on the jet.

00:55:49
Speaker 3: We were just talking. No, I can't wait to come back.

00:55:54
Speaker 1: That's a blessing that I could. I was just talking to Tyler. It's so funny because I'm talking like, yeah, I was just talking to Brock.

00:55:59
Speaker 3: I'm like, it's levels. I'm just talking to his level, his level.

00:56:05
Speaker 2: Yes, so sure, thank you. This is phenomenal. Yes, thank you guys. Oh my goodness.

00:56:14
Speaker 1: Wow, that was such a powerful conversation and a reminder that faith doesn't have to ignore reality to still bring hope. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to this episode of Keep It Positive, Sweetie, don't forget to subscribe, Share this episode with someone who could use a little positivity, and remember, as always, stay blessed, stay encouraged, and.

00:56:34
Speaker 2: Remember to keep it positive. Sweet I love you guys. Thank you for tuning in. I'll see you next time.