Narr.O.W. Podcast

In 2020, Black people have accounted for 52.8% of new gun purchases. In this episode, I unpack reasons why it makes sense for Black gun ownership to increase in the United States, especially at this point in time. I'm not saying that Black people should be the aggressors but we should always be prepared to defend ourselves and our families against all undeserved threats to our liberty. Consider it...

Time is the one thing that you cannot buy back. Time gets you memories. It gets you success. It gives you the ability to relax and recharge. Please take the time to engage with yourself and disengage from work and the grind. Tomorrow is not promised. Take time for yourself whenever you need to. No one else will do it for you.

In this episode, I have Laphelle Taylor, owner of Soul Lab Studios, and Vince Jamael, co-owner of The Standard Grooming Co., as guests to discuss entrepreneurship, the impact of Covid on their businesses, and how they maintain their lifestyles while owning businesses. The conversation went so in depth that I'm broke it into two separate episodes. This is part 2.

In this episode, I have Laphelle Taylor, owner of Soul Lab Studios, and Vince Jamael, co-owner of The Standard Grooming Co., as guests to discuss entrepreneurship, the impact of Covid on their businesses, and how they maintain their lifestyles while owning businesses. The conversation went so in depth that I'm breaking this into two separate episodes. Part 2 is coming next.

In this episode, I give you all a glimpse of where I feel the value of a college degree lies; in relationships. Yes, education and critical thinking are valuable but those things alone are not worth what you end up paying at the end of your 4 (or more) years. That degree coupled with being in rooms filled with humans who can push you to the next level is where the true value presents itself. In th...

As we all know, on August 28, 2020, award winning actor Chadwick Boseman passed away after fighting a very private battle with colon cancer. I'm not ready to discuss that yet (and I don't want to kick season 2 off with such a heavy topic) but, the morning after I found out, I decided to watch Black Panther, which I bought right when it became available on Amazon (there are some cool deleted scenes...

Season 2 is almost here. Check out this quick episode telling you what you can expect from Narratives Over Wine & Whiskey this season. This time, I'm going for 600!

This is the final episode of my first season. 30 and out. I was trying to figure out where to "end it," and the number 30 just stood out to me. This episode ties closely into last episode but points out why, even though classism is the truest war, we still must combat racism if we want to be free. Check out the following excerpt for some context before jumping into this, my final episode of the se...

So often, we get caught up with race that we overlook class. While fighting racism is very important in the day-to-day struggles (because no one can think longterm if they're not alive), we have to infuse class into the narrative, with the understanding that those of us who are in the bottom 80% are much more alike than we are different. But, because the powers that be want to keep us at odds, rac...

One of my favorite Rick Ross lines is from the album "Rather You Than Me," where Ross says "I'm happy Donald Trump became the president because you've got to destroy before you elevate." On this episode, I focus in on the way that America is in self-destruct mode and, if we are going to make it out of this period, we have to do it with such intentionality that we almost lose the selfishness that i...

Throughout the month of July, I'm doing a series called BBQ & Bourbon. Now, that's kind of a misnomer. We won't have barbecue each time and all whiskeys aren't bourbon but, as a general theme, those are two of my favorite summertime things and one or the other will be apart of each episode. On this, my first episode, which I recorded on National Fried Chicken Day (there has to be a day for eve...

Last night, two of my favorite artists, Fabolous and Jadakiss, went head to head in a Verzuz battle. While I enjoyed the battle, I also learned a lot from it. The biggest thing I learned was that, to succeed in your own game, you have to play to your strengths when it matters. Practice is practice but, in the game, you do what you do well so you can win. Sadly, Fab, in my opinion, lost the battle,...

As this nation teeters between rebuilding and meltdown, I've been hoping for the former and preparing for the latter. That being said (and as a fan of apocalyptic literature/cinema), I am always being confronted with what mankind would look like if we had limited resources. The thing is, as much as I think about these things and as well-prepared as I think I am, I didn't have a survival kit togeth...

In the past few weeks, I've heard the term "People of color" too much when discussing issues that primarily/exclusively impact black people. And, to be honest, that hasn't just been over the past few weeks. For my entire life, POC or minority has been thrown around as if all communities deal with the same issues and have the same concerns. In this episode, I dive into that. Let's stop being lazy a...

This past week, I had the privilege of having my pastor and friend, Dr. Dorrell Brisoce, on Narratives Over Wine & Whiskey to discuss his first book,  There's A Storm Comin': How the American Church Can Lead Through Times of Racial Crisis. Within a week of the book's release, Dorrell was interviewed by CNN, ABC, and other media outlets. This book, released at what appears to be a reckoning poi...

I have had a few conversations about the end of Kendrick Lamar's song "Mortal Man" from the album "To Pimp a Butterfly." As the final track on the album, Kendrick ends with an "interview" with Tupac Shakur. The interview focuses on black people fighting for their rights. I think he truly speaks truth to power on it, touching on the fact that the youth will be the ones to fight back. It makes me th...

Yes, it is what you see on the surface (the senseless murders of black people by those empowered to do so) and it is deeper than that. It’s the government defecating on the first amendment of the Constitution. It’s the inefficiency of the judicial system to act without bias even when it has evidence proving its biases. It’s states continuing to pour resources on school systems that are lightyears...

We're almost on month three of social distancing. It's been a lot, especially for an extrovert like me. Thank God for phones and FaceTime. On this episode, I got my thoroughest girl with me, Desirée Daniels of ICanYouCanVegan.com. She is my first guest (of many to come). On my twentieth episode, she and I are going to talk about her brand, what she's been doing during quarantine, and how hard it i...

Too many people fail to see the importance of discussing money with their children and understanding money themselves. It is not anything but a tool that provides options. While I'm no financial advisor (nor a parent), I do have some common sense and some suggestions on how to view money, the correlation between money and time, as well ways you can teach children about best practices. Check out th...

America says, "In God We Trust" but America will not trust in the goodness of non-whiteness. The nation worships white supremacy. Devaluing the black body has resulted in murder and trauma since the first African people were brought to the United States (and before, with the genocide of the Indigenous people of the Americas). Check out this episode and leave some feedback and/or a rating on the po...

Have you seen the visual for Wale's Sue Me? If not, you have to. It is powerful. Almost brought me to tears because it was so beautifully done. Shoutout to the director, Kerby Jean-Raymond. He is a visual genius. I'm excited to have found him because now I'll be checking out more of his work. See the video now at NarrowPodcast.com.

I've realized that people don't like playing by the rules they set once someone else begins winning the game. Check out this week's episode and let me know what you think about society's need to always be in the "winner's" position as opposed to letting things play out with someone else in the driver's seat.

Whether we're talking about social distancing or recycling, we often underestimate the impacts our (seemingly) small actions can have on the larger community around us. In this week's episode, I address how that lack of faith has put us on track for a truly broken society if we don't start taking ownership over outcomes.

Too often, people work to move together as opposed to moving toward a common goal from different points of strength. In this episode, I work to examine ways in which those in the black community can work harmoniously to achieve a common goal coming from various areas of strength. We are a diverse group of people with a variety of skills that, if used strategically, can position us to be better off...

Work. Life. Balance. Three words. Individually, each of them have power. Collectively, as a term, they are the key, especially right now. Check this episode out for a few of my tips on how to maintain work life balance when you work from home.