EP 1,219 - Rickey Smiley (Comedian) + KNICKS LOSE GAME 1 IN HAUNTING FASHION TO UNLIKEABLE PACERS/USA COLD BLOODED INTIFADA KILLING
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Madison Square Garden, for that to happen in Madison Square Garden and for him to do that gesture, even though it was called back as a two point shot. I know that I'm not alone in saying my inner child came out of my body. When Tyrese Halliburton did that, my inner child came out of my body, stood in front of me and wept. And my inner child was wearing a Bernard King jersey and my inner child had a wristband on this arm.

My inner child had socks pulled up all the way to the bottom of my knee. My inner child cried in front of me last night watching the Indiana Pacers come back from, I believe, 14 points down and win that game in overtime. It was terrible.

Boom, have no fear, the I Am Rap Report Stereo Podcast is here.

for the New York Knicks to the Indiana Pacers in the world's most famous arena again brought back horrible memories, horrible, horrible memories of the ghost of Indiana Pacer and snaggletooth Reggie Miller past plus a terrible, terrible incident in Washington, D.C. Very, very heartbreaking, very, very sad, very, very discouraging.

Incident in Washington, D.C., where two Israeli embassy staff members were gunned down in cold blood by a man screaming, free Palestine, free Palestine. Plus, I got Ricky Smiley, stand-up comedian,

and the host of the number one morning show in the country. Ricky Smiley is joining me, talking about his stand-up comedy special, dropping May 30th and so much more on this fully, fully disruptive, very, very emotional, also very funny, I Am Rap Report Stereo Podcast. Coming up right now, Miles Jordan, a.k.a. The Bleach Brothers.

A.K.A. The Dust Brothers. Start this puppy up with something real nice. Start this puppy up with something real loud. But most importantly, start this puppy off with something real funk. It's the I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast. Biggity, let's go. Boom, have no fear. The I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast is here. Biggity, boom, have no fear. The I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast is in the place to be. Welcome to the Iron Dome of destruction. Welcome to the ziggity zone of destruction. My name is Michael Rappaport, A.K.A. The Inflamed Ashkenazi.

aka the Sultan of Sniff, aka the Gringo Man Dingo. You're now rocking with the very, very, very best. I am Rapport Stereo Podcast coming live, live and direct from New York City where it's feeling like fall. It's not feeling like spring. It's not feeling like a pre-summer day. Right now it feels gloomy. It is a gloomy day in New York City. And how apropos, because the Knicks last night

had one of the gloomiest, gloomiest days in their history. I feel like that was one of the gloomiest days to be a Knicks fan. Game one, Eastern Conference Finals, much discussed, much debated, much anticipated. Eastern Conference Finals versus the miserable Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks led by, of course, Big Body Brunson. Where'd that name come from? Right here. Jalen Big Body Brunson.

I gave him that nickname. No disrespect to my man, Kendrick Perkins. That nickname was spawned from the I Am Rapport Stereo podcast. Of course, Carl Anthony Towns, OG Anjanobi, Mikael Bridges, so forth and so on, versus the unlikable, unlikable Indiana Pacers, led by their mumbling coach, Rick Carlisle. I watched Rick Carlisle in a press conference before the game. I'm just like,

What's up, man? You've been doing this for years. Cut the crap. You're Bill Belichick now all of a sudden? You're like... You know how that worked out. Look how it's working out for Bill Belichick, Rick Carlisle. Get a personality. I know it's the playoffs. I know you're like a serious guy. You shave your head and all that stuff. But lighten up. Okay, you're in the Eastern Conference Finals. Having a little bone broth. What is bone broth? I'm not exactly sure. Ask my wife.

Of course, my wife is the co-host of Rap Reports Reality, Rap Reports Reality podcast where me and my wife, Kibi, discuss all things reality TV, all things popular culture, and some curated, much, much interested podcasts.

uh, people are, are curious about some little tidbits about our relationship. Rappaport's reality, uh, a podcast where we discuss all things reality TV, all things popular culture, and some things from our relationship. Drops like clockwork every single week. Subscribe, rate, and review. Check out Rappaport's reality, where you see a softer side of me, the gringo mandingo. Uh, anyway, game one has come and gone. The Knicks Eastern Conference game,

Finals versus the Indiana Pacers. And it was going well. Things were going really well for the Knicks. Despite some foul trouble for Big Body Brunson. Jalen, Big Body Brunson. The Knicks were playing well. We dealt with the foul trouble of Big Body. We came. We saw. We conquered. We were in control going into the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. And then hauntingly, hauntingly, somehow, someway, we let...

the miserable, unlikable Indiana Pacers back into the game. I don't know how or why. I'm still processing how and why we let them back into the game. But he went nuts. The guy went totally crazy on the Indiana Pacers. Neesmith, who was guarding...

Big body Brunson and making it challenging. But Brunson was doing his thing despite the foul trouble. But in the fourth quarter, I think it was with four minutes left. This guy hit one three pointer after another three pointer after another three pointer after another three pointer. And I was watching it with headphones because my wife had fallen asleep. I was watching with my headphones on the TV and she was out cold. And all I could think of is the movie Apocalypse Now.

starring the great Marlon Brando, the great Martin Sheen, of course, the late great Dennis Hopper, directed by the great Francis Ford Coppola. And while it was happening in slow motion, all I could think about is the Marlon Brando line from Apocalypse Now, the horror, the horror, the horror.

And I was like, this can't be happening again. Not with the Indiana Pacers. Not with the Indiana Pacers and Madison Square Garden. This can't be happening again. How could this be happening again with the Pacers, with Reggie Miller doing the play-by-play with TNT? How could this be happening again? We've talked about it. We've exercised these demons. And it happened. It happened again. And...

The whole thing culminated with Tyrese Halliburton. Ty-Reese Halliburton. Ty-Ty. Ty-Ty with the good hair. Curly haired Tyrese. Goofy face. Big burger face Tyrese Halliburton. Came down, I believe, with 7.9 seconds.

And he dribbled and he saw Mitch Robinson and then he backed out and then he launched a three point shot and it went all the way up in the air and it hit the rim and then it bounced all the way back in the air and then fell through the hoop. And all I could think was the horror, the horror.

The horror, why is this happening again? How is this happening again? And then the most shocking moment of it all is when Ty Ty Halliburton, Tyrese with the good hair, goofy faced, burger face Tyrese Halliburton had the nerve and audacity to do the choke sign in New York. The nerve and the audacity to do the choke sign in front of Reggie Miller. And I literally, I literally thought Reggie Miller was going to ejaculate.

I know that it must have been orgasmic for Reggie Miller to see Tyrese Halliburton reenact and the Indiana Pacers reenact another historic comeback in the world's most famous arena. And then we went to overtime and we lost the game. But when Tyrese Halliburton, although he shot a three and was called a two and he did the choke sign, we were done. We didn't even need to go to overtime. Just the fact that they got that game

Close and they they got into the game and tied up the game. We should have just said fuck it. Keep it You got it. We're done. We're not we're not going into overtime and we went into overtime and I believe the score was 138 to 135 and the Knicks lost game one at home in the world's most famous arena and I couldn't scream I couldn't yell because my wife was asleep. I had to eat it and stuff it and the

Memories, the bad memories flooded back into my brain. The bad memories of the Knicks versus the Pacers with Antonio Davis, Dale Davis, Rick Smith, Vern Fleming, being coached by Larry Brown and then being coached by Larry Bird. And then, of course, being coached by Isaiah Thomas and Mark Jackson and Chris Mullen and

and the rest of them, and all the heartbreak, and the loss, and disappointment, and disappointing situations that I, I can only speak for myself, that I have been through as a New York Knicks fan my entire life. I could only take so much. Knicks fans could only take so much. And yes, it was only one game. And if we had one, it would only be one game. But

For that to happen that way in Madison Square Garden, in front of Reggie Miller and Tyrese Halliburton with the audacity to do that in New York City. The horror, the horror. And the memories came back of John Stark's head-butting and Reggie Miller grabbing his crotch in the middle of Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena, the same arena where Ali fought Frazier in

The same arena where Hulk Hogan fought the late great Andre the Giant WrestleMania. The same arena where Frank Sinatra sang. The same arena where Billy Joel did sold out show after sold out show. The same arena where the Boston Bruins beat up a New York Ranger fan with his own shoe. The same arena where Marv Albert iconically said, here comes Willis.

Here comes Willis, here comes Willis, Madison Square Garden for that to happen in Madison Square Garden and for him to do that gesture, even though it was called back as a two point shot. I know that I'm not alone in saying my inner child came out of my body when Tyrese Halliburton did that, my inner child came out of my body, stood in front of me and wept. And my inner child was wearing a Bernard King jersey.

And my inner child had a wristband on this arm. My inner child had socks pulled up all the way to the bottom of my knee. My inner child cried in front of me last night watching the Indiana Pacers come back.

From, I believe, 14 points down and win that game in overtime. It was terrible. And I thought about Patrick Ewing's finger roll in 1995 in Game 7 in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. I thought about Reggie Miller. What was it? Nine points in eight seconds or eight points in nine seconds. Who knows? I thought about Mario Eli going...

when the San Antonio Spurs decimated us in the finals. I thought about the Knicks being in Houston. We got somehow, some way, we got to game seven in Houston versus Kimmelage and somehow, some way, I don't even know how we got there.

And missing every single shot. John Starks missing every single shot. I thought about Charles Smith pump faking and pump faking and pump faking, getting it swatted and pump faking and pump faking and pump. All those all those images and those bad memories came back to me. And like I said, my inner child stood before me and cried, cried, cried, cried.

That was a tough, tough pill to swallow. And again, it was only one game. But the way it happened and who did it and the fact that Reggie Miller was in the building...

And all the excitement and anticipation and the fact that New York City, for some reason, didn't even do Jalen Brunson, Big Body Brunson. Okay, you want to give a streak for Big Body Brunson or just the starters? Okay. The entire Knicks team all had streets named after them before the game. The entire Knicks team, it was just...

Midwestern Indiana egg in the face. That's what it felt like. Game one in the garden was Midwestern Indiana eggs in your face being thrown at you by Rick Smith, being thrown at you by a shimmering, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy Mark Jackson throwing eggs in your face. Like I said, the Celtics, Boston,

The Knicks and the Celtics, this is not a rivalry. Boston, New York is a rivalry. We stomped. We stomped and stepped over the Boston Celtics. But when you think about great rivalries in the NBA in recent years, the Knicks and the Pacers is a real, real rivalry. There's documentaries, books written about it. There's an entire documentary on ESPN called Winning Time. Great documentary.

that breaks it down to the white meat. And sure, the series went three and three. But the thing about the Pacers is that when they got us, they got us bad. When they got us, they got us. They put our thumb, they put their thumb right in our face and they smudged it in there. And that was another thumb right in the face. They did it.

So now we just have to bounce back. Again, it was one game. It was one game, but we have to now bounce back. But it felt bad. The horror. The horror. The horror.

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Go to square.com slash go slash iHeart to learn more. Games aren't won on sheer will alone. If they were, everybody would get a trophy, wouldn't they? Trust is a game changer for any team. It doesn't matter who or what you're up against. And when you trust the people around you, anything's possible. The coach trusts the players. The players trust each other. It's the same for insurance.

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But with LifeLock, you can help protect it. Act now and save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code IHEART or go to lifelock.com slash IHEART for 40% off. Terms apply. After the Knicks lost, I shut my phone off and for some reason I didn't see or maybe it wasn't in the news or maybe it was in the news and I just didn't see, but I woke up to the crazy news that in Washington, D.C.,

Two Israeli embassy staff workers were shot and killed in cold blood. And I was already down about a meaningless, in the real world scheme of things, a meaningless, devastating loss for the New York Knicks. But to wake up and the first thing that I see was actually a text from Dust Brother Jordan Winter saying something about

This cold-blooded assassination in Washington, D.C., it's needless to say, the day didn't start off very well. And I was already in my fate feelings, you know, my unimportant feelings about the Knicks losing. But to find out about the killing of this beautiful young couple in Washington, D.C., by a psychopath...

Or maybe he wasn't psychopath. Maybe this guy isn't. Maybe you can't call these people. I think this guy wasn't. He was so calm, so cool, so collective. The killer of these two Israeli embassy staff workers in Washington, D.C. And he went back in there and he confessed that he had done it and he took out a keffiyeh scarf. And then when they were arresting him, of course, he said...

I'm doing this for Gaza, free Palestine, free Palestine, free Palestine. And I just couldn't believe that this happened. And everybody has been saying for decades,

19 plus months. And right now we are at the 595th day, 595 days. There are still 58 hostages in Gaza, 595 days. There are still 58 hostages in Gaza, four of whom are American. And I'm sure it's already been celebrated at one of these rallies, just like

October 7th was celebrated on October 8th openly when people came out on October 8th and talked about how exciting it was that the massacre had taken place in Israel. They talked about how exhilarating it was. I know I already saw people celebrating it online, the murder, cold-blooded murder of these two young people

in Washington, D.C. And I'm sure by the time I put up this I Am Rap Poor Stereo podcast, it'll be documented. Somebody will be publicly saying that it was supposed to happen. How could you not think something like this was going to happen? And saying this is what happens with occupations and this is what happens with genocides and all of the other fake, convoluted bullshit that has been coming out

But do not forget that October 8th, while the fighting was still happening in Gaza, do not forget less than 24 hours in New York City, people were screaming and yelling and celebrating and talking about how excited they were that Israel was under attack and Israel was being slaughtered.

And talking about globalized the Intifada. They talked about globalizing the Intifada. It's been on signs. It's been graffitied all over college campuses. It's been said, screamed, shouted, promoted.

Day after day after day after day for 595 days and congratulations. In Washington, D.C., they globalized the Intifada. That's exactly what happened in Washington, D.C. That is the globalization of the violence against Jews.

That's what globalized the Intifada. That's what an Intifada means. It's not some kumbaya. It's not some celebration. It doesn't mean protest. It means exactly what happened in Washington, D.C. You wanted it. You got it. I hope you're happy. I hope you people feel good. I hope you people feel invigorated and excited.

for all of the anticipation, all of the celebration of Yaya Sinwar, all of the cheering for Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around, for all of the Zionists aren't allowed on this part of the campus, no Zionists allowed, for all of the graffiti, for all the screaming, the yelling, the intimidation, all of the harassing, all of the canceling,

of conversations, of shows, of speaking engagements, of the screaming and yelling outside of the Nova Festival, all of the misinformation online, the fake news that gets retracted, the fake news of Israel blowing up hospitals, and then it's perpetrated all over the world and promoted all over the world. And a few days later they go, oh, this wasn't actually what happened. This is what actually would happen.

for creating an atmosphere where wearing a Jewish star is something that Jews need to think twice about. This is where we are, where you can't walk around and feel safe and comfortable wearing a Jewish star. You can't walk around feeling safe and being comfortable wearing yellow pins to acknowledge that 58 hostages are still in captivity for the context, context, context from UPenn, Harvard, Columbia.

We're heads of these higher education. We're heads of these schools of higher learning are up there bullshitting on congressional hearings, talking about context and what's the context and explaining all that. All of that, all of that, every single thing that happened in the last 595 days all over the world, the United States and New York City, globalized the intifada. That's what happened last night.

And the excuses and the double talking and the no accountability and the Harvard being defunded because they let the shit happen and the Barack Obama's and the Ileana Omar's and the Rashida Tlaib's and the coach Steve Kerr's instead of calling exactly what it is, turning it into this Trump political thing when we know

That if the same behavior was taking place on these campuses and it was towards anybody else except for Jews, it would be immediately snuffed out. You got these lunatics running around, these Khalil Mohammeds and that Moween, Mowa, whatever the fuck his name is. And they want this. They scream for this. They celebrated this. They called for this. It happened. Khalil Mohammed. I know these people are happy. They wanted this. That Nardine person,

that Fet, Nerdeen, they wanted this. They wanted this. They have been calling for it. They have been asking for it. They've been chanting it. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. From the river to the sea, Israel won't exist. That's what that means. From the river to the sea, Israel won't exist because Palestine will be free. All these chants, these people, they're happy about it. They're happy about it. And it's sick and it's crazy that it's happening now.

in 2025 in the United States and motherfuckers have sat by and Kathy Hochul still you still Kathy Hochul you still couldn't shut down you still couldn't cut through the red tape Mayor Adams none of you guys could cut through the red tape that these people should not be able to run around with their keffiyeh scarfs the same kind of keffiyeh scarf that that sick animal whipped out

In Washington, D.C. This is not a movement of peace. This is not a resistance. It's a movement of violence. So of course this is going to happen. Of course this is going to happen. But when it does happen, it's just shocking to realize that it did. A couple of people asked me, what should we do? What do you think we should do? And I'll just say what other strong, smart, proud people

Jewish people have told me is that when something like this happens you have to soak it up soak up the reality soak up the reality of the situation just like you have to soak up the reality of the situation every single time an IDF soldier goes down every single time a rocket is launched into Israel the other day during the Knicks game rockets at 3 a.m. in Israel being launched the only thing that you can do is to pray and

The only thing that you can do is to dust yourself off. And the only thing that you could do is continue to stay loud and stay proud and be actively Jewish. A rabbi told me that being Jewish is a participation sport. You have to be actively Jewish. That's the only little sliver of advice that I have is to pray, rap to fill in, read Torah,

Check on your friends, check on your family, and stay loud and stay proud. Because despite the craziness that Jews are going through right now, despite the craziness that Israel is going through right now, and it's every fucking day, it's every fucking day. It's exhausting every single day. There was this news report that was posted, put up by the BBC and NBC and so many mainstream news outlets

media outlets the other day that within 48 hours, 14,000 babies in Gaza are going to die. And then 48 hours later, it doesn't happen. And nobody acknowledges that this fake news, this propaganda has already been put out there and people run with it. And then you are confused as to why somebody would feel emboldened to shoot two

people in Washington, D.C. in cold blood. It's all of that. It's all of that. But as far as what we can do, the only thing we can do is to stay loud, stay proud, stay actively Jewish. And as overwhelming, as frustrating, as demoralizing, as heartbreaking as this time has been, and whatever I'm going through is minuscule compared to so many other people, the only thing that we can do

is to remind ourselves that Jews are going nowhere and Israel is going nowhere. We've seen it all. We have heard it all. Just stay loud, stay proud, and never, ever, ever doubt that the Jews are going nowhere, Israel's going nowhere, and the unbreakable spirit, the unbreakable light in Jewish people is real. It's more real than ever before. ♪ The Epiport Podcast ♪

You already know Square from your favorite neighborhood spots, and the folks who run things behind the scenes know that there's more to Square than meets the eye. What started as the point of sale at your favorite coffee shop, deli, and salon is capable of so much more. These rapidly scaling businesses are breaking ground on new locations, building loyal followings, covering cash flow gaps, and setting their teams up for success. All with Square. Wherever your business is growing, Square meets you there.

Go to square.com slash go slash iHeart to learn more. Games aren't won on sheer will alone. If they were, everybody would get a trophy, wouldn't they? Trust is a game changer for any team. It doesn't matter who or what you're up against. And when you trust the people around you, anything's possible. The coach trusts the players. The players trust each other. It's the same for insurance.

You should have a team that works hard to earn your trust every day, and that's the Hartford. With 215 years in the game, they help protect millions of customers with their business and personal insurance and employee benefits. The Hartford is showing up day in and day out for the people who count on them when the game is on the line. A small business getting ready to open, a driver taking on the road, an employee growing their family, and that's just scratching the surface. The Hartford puts in the work.

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Again, genesight.com for more information and to move forward on your journey to mental wellness.

All right, Ricky Smiley joining me on the I Am Rap Report Stereo Podcast. It's funny having somebody who I know is so versed in radio, podcasting, and media for 2025. I'm excited to talk to you. I appreciate you coming on the show. I'm excited about your new Hulu stand-up comedy special, which is going to be premiering May 30th. You're prolific, and...

You do all sorts of stuff. You're an author. You're a comic. You're a radio host of a ginormous, ginormous syndicated radio show, the number one morning show in the country, which is crazy. Ricky Smiley on the I Am Rapport Stereo Podcast. How you doing, man? Good.

Man, it is a pleasure to meet you. I've been a fan of yours for years, man. And man, you be sending people straight, man. I absolutely love you. And thank you for being a stand-up guy when it comes to very, very important issues. And thank you for having me on your show. I'm trying. I'm trying, man. I appreciate it. I just want to jump into it. First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. You've been very public. You've been very open. You wrote a great book.

about the loss of your son, living with loss and moving forward with faith. How were you able to transition from such a tragic, unprecedented situation and pivot and pull off a special, which again is premiering on Hulu May 30th? How were you able to transition from that? Well, first of all, thank you for your condolences, man. My son was a comic. My son was a headliner.

We did shows together. Wow, I didn't know that. We toured together. Yeah, I had my son on stage since he was almost eight years old. First time he walked on stage. So we had been doing it. So I have to do it for him. Brandon absolutely loved comedy. He loved stand-up. He loved my comedy, but he liked Faison Love and Roy Wood Jr. and Eddie River. He liked them more than he liked me. Hey, it happens. It happens. Ha ha ha!

But he did have certain jokes that I would do that he liked. And I just have to do it for him because it always feels like we're on stage together because we always work together. We have so much fun doing what we did. So and then you have to do it for people that have suffered also. You know, you have to think about the mothers and the people that have lost kids due to violence with absolutely no resources and money.

People that have lost more than one kid, much is given, much is required. You know, my son died on a Sunday, Wednesday, I was back on the air.

The funeral was on Saturday, but I don't have nothing to do between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. Get up, get on the show. You know, we have a duty to serve, to help the community. There's important issues out here, and I can deal with my son's death after I get off the air. So it just has to be done. And remember, at the end of the day, all of this stuff is only a test. You know, sometimes God allows you to go through stuff to see how you're going to handle the situation. Are you going to make it about you?

Or are you going to continue to serve or whatever? You know, while we grieve, but still serve. No, I understand. I understand. Like I said, your book, Living With Loss and Moving Forward was heavy. Obviously, stand-up comedy is supposed to be funny, but so much of...

great humor comes from pain in your special that you have coming out. Do you talk about the loss of your son? Are you able to sort of use the really, really real tragic situation and somehow pull off anything funny out of it? Yeah, I wasn't able to, but here's the good news. At the end of my special, you could see a clip of my son's performance.

So as the credits roll, it's a split screen. So as the credits roll and on one side, there's my son and I on stage together performing. And he comes out and do about seven minutes. And it's good to see him move around and to hear his voice and express himself and do his jokes or whatever. And the whole special was dedicated to him. But yeah, I kind of stay away from it.

On stage because I don't have the material. I can't think of anything. I can think of funny things and how weird people was, you know, around the funeral and stuff like that. I just haven't put that together yet. But I was able to dedicate it to him. And you can actually see him on stage with me. I can't wait. Yeah. Hey, man, listen. I don't brag on my stuff. I don't.

I've been doing Comedy Central. You remember I was hosting Comic View on BET. Man, this is my best work right here. And it was fun from beginning

To the end. I never saw it until last night. I did a premiere in Atlanta, here in Atlanta last night, and I saw it for the first time. And I was actually shocked. Dave and Len Talbert really put this stuff together and made it happen. And it will be a classic forever. And it was shot on film. Oh, wow. It looks ridiculous.

Yeah, man, it looked really good. The pages of Hulu has put a page up so you can go and watch clips now. So I'm just grateful for the opportunity to perform, you know, you know. Yeah, I get it. You've been doing stand up for so long, you know, and the business of stand up has changed. You know, I feel like we're in a stand up comedy boom, which is great. You know, there's so many platforms to put out, you know, material. Obviously, everybody puts up clips and stuff.

You know, there's Hulu and there's Netflix and there's YouTube. And how has it changed for you in terms of, you know, having those outlets of, you know, putting up clips? I mean, you know, getting a special on Hulu. Like, how has it changed for you since you first started in the business as a stand up? Well, man, it was like the older comics from the 90s. We had to learn how to catch up to the Internet. And the younger comics had to learn how to catch up to being a live performer.

You see what I'm saying? Like the guy, the new internet comedian, they had to learn how to perform, but we had to learn how to perform first and then learn how to work the phone and the apps. Right. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, it is definitely different from the 90s. The 90s was a hot era where...

Comedy club owners would coach comedians. Nobody's coaching comedians anymore and giving them techniques and coaching them when they make mistakes on stage. Like we got coached in the 90s, you know, Bernie Mac, Dale Hughley, Seth, Steve.

George Wallace, Carl Strong, somebody will pull you to the side and make a critique that will help you. You don't see a whole lot of that nowadays. I agree. But the camaraderie with comics back in the 90s was the best. You remember Def Comedy Jam and Showtime at the Apollo and all that stuff, you know, in our era when we were just getting our feet wet or whatever. It was the best. It was like a fraternity. It was like a brotherhood.

especially the New York comics. I don't know, being from Alabama,

I had a special bond with the New York comics, the AG White. And I just remember them taking me out, Tracy Morgan, and taking me out for pizza. And we writing jokes and working on stuff, trying to get on Uptown Comedy Club, trying to, you know, audition. He's been there. Whoever had a room. And it was like a freaking fraternity back then. And our comics stuck together. And if there were beefs, they were private.

And they were dealt with behind closed doors. And I just really miss the 90s. And I just hope that we can all get back to what comedy was in the 90s because it was the best. Do you find that you're not like a vulgar, you keep it like PG-13, you're not like dark, dark, dark. But in general, with cancel culture, you know, so many things could get taken out of context. You could say the wrong thing on the wrong night. It could get posted online.

You could say the wrong thing on the radio and, you know, all hell could break loose. Do you find cancel culture messes with your flow and things you want to say, not say? I mean, you keep things above the belt. But in general, what is your take as a comedian on cancel culture? They suck. They're too sensitive. All I need to play is Little League football. It toughens up a little bit. I don't care what they say. They're not going to change my game because I have a fan base.

I have to stop worrying about... I'm glad you asked that question. I have to stop worrying about counselor culture and play to my base. There are people that like my comedy and like the stories that I tell. And if it hurts your feelings...

I don't know what to tell you. It's comedy. I talk about myself. I talk about black people, white people, fat people, skinny people, tall people, short people, or whatever. Everybody gets on, you know, and people can't have selective outrage. You know, some things you get outraged about and other things you're okay with it. And so all this stuff is crazy. If something is funny, I'm going to say it. I don't give a damn what they think. And that's just,

I'm sorry. You know what I'm saying? So I just really, man, you go back and look at Eddie Murphy's Delirious and Eddie Murphy's Wrong and Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live, you'll really be damn upset or whatever. And I really missed it. I missed that in the game and I want it back.

You mentioned something about beefs and if people have beefs and comics have beefs, since you came into it and now being on the radio and the internet and you have a huge following on social media, how do you personally balance dealing with...

So many people that you know, like your radio show, you know, in the morning, people want to kiki. There's so much fucking gossip going on. There's so much content. There's so much, you know, fake news, real news. How do you balance? You know, I read something you said about click.

over clout. How do you balance doing that? Because in the morning on your radio show, you got to talk about the shit that's going on. I was listening to you guys this morning to get my head in your flow. How do you guys balance where you don't want to take things too far, but you want to talk shit, essentially? Because everybody, I don't care who you are, what your religion is, what your faith is, especially comedians,

Everybody likes to talk shit. How do you find that balance? You know, we'll read the story and we'll just kind of, but we never attack anybody on our show. Just like totally attack and tear down people.

or whatever, and allegedly, here's what happened, here's the news, and we try to go more funny than just attacking somebody or attacking somebody's character, unless they did something to women or unless they did something to kids or unless they did something to senior citizens. That's when we'll go in. Anything outside of that, we don't go in. We report the story.

We talk about it. Well, if that was me, I would have done something different in that situation. And then we start making jokes about what we would have done. Nobody ever feels uncomfortable coming on our morning show or coming on our morning show to confront us about something that we have said. So we don't do the controversy. So I would never ask any questions to any guests that would make them feel uncomfortable because I would like my guests to come back.

Yeah, I hear you. I think it's rude to do that to people because like you said, you want them to come back. It's like inviting somebody over to your house and then asking them to take out the trash or, you know, sort of bamboozling them. You know, Ricky, in the last seven days, I have heard the word freak off and baby oil more times than I need to hear ever again in my life. I don't want to hear freak offs.

Baby oil, baby oil, freak-offs, lotion, astragalus. How are you guys breaking down and dealing with every single day of the Puffy trial? Yeah, well, we don't really talk about it that much. Al Frieda's just reading in the news and read whatever the trending report is. And we just kind of keep it moving because there's so much other stuff to talk about because I think everybody's having freak-off fatigue lately.

You know, freak off fatigue right now. You know what I'm saying? The funniest thing Ply said was, I thought I was freaky. He said, I thought I was handling business. He was like, dang. But I feel bad not only for Cassie, for any women, for women in this country and all around the world that has been abused, mistreated, taken advantage of, sexually assaulted.

All of that stuff, man. And I just hope that something good comes out of all of this stuff and make people more aware of, you know, things that's going on with sexual assault and abuse. And I just hope that we all learn something from it. Yeah, because this is crazy. And I agree, the freak off fatigue thing.

is real. I mean, but just the amount of coverage and the amount of TikTokers and social media, now everybody's a courtroom reporter. I mean, like in the last week, everybody's a courtroom reporter. I've never seen anything like that. Obviously, you know, with social media, anybody could get involved. What are some of the other things that you guys have been sort of following on the show that you're having fun with? Oh, yeah, we talk about policies in the Trump administration.

Gary with the T that's on my monitor, always talking about one of the Atlanta housewives or housewives of platonic or below deck. You have we have the brand that does the hot spot. Yeah. We talk about things that's trending in hip hop and pop culture, which is a great segment, by the way. Great segment. You know, anything with Kanye West or anything.

T-Pain, Jamie Foxx. We have comedian Special K on the morning show. That's a hell of a writer. Special K and comedian Rita Brent. We just have a well-balanced show.

We've been really trained. We have morning show boot camp to make sure that our stuff is tight. You know what I mean? Yeah. We are tight and not hanging out on the mics too long. And that's why we're successful, because we're disciplined, trained, and we try our best to do the right thing. I think that's important, and I respect that. Speaking of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, I don't know if you know this about me, Ricky, but I am a hard body karate, big time Real Housewives fan.

I believe Portia used to be, didn't she do the show for a while with you? Yeah, she did. She would come and fill in on the morning show, but we, we started that show dish nation. Right. Yep. And, uh, and sometime like if Brett was out or whatever, Portia would come and do the morning show and fill in. But, uh, it's been a pleasure to work with her. Uh, she's really sweet. Uh, I'm good friends with Portia, good friends with candy, good friends with Shamil. We were just texting each other a few, uh,

earlier this morning. So, you know, we all work together in Atlanta and have a good time, uh, in front of the camera and, and off the camera or whatever. But I just wish you could be in a car with Porsche, Shamia and myself. When I tell you, you will be in that car that I would dare you to drive with all three of us in the car. We have a great time together. Those are my real friends, colleagues, and sisters, you know, tiny, you know, um,

Tamika from Escape or whatever. It's just a big circle of friends that just come over to the house and eat a big pot of pinto beans and cornbread and smoked turkey necks. Like, we'd be on some simple stuff and having a good time. So if ever you're in Atlanta, man, you hit me up. I would love that. And when you said being in a car with you and Shamia, I mean, with you, Porsche, and Shamia, I don't think you really understand, Ricky, how much I love the housewives.

And I've met so many. The reason why I was bringing up Portia, because, you know, I've done a Watch What Happens Live, and I've actually never met Portia. And in my opinion, she's one of the top 10 housewives ever. So but when all this drama is happening with the housewives, and for me, you know them like I even the ones that I know, I like to keep it like.

Like, I love the show so much and I appreciate the show as a show so much. I never want to know sort of what's going on behind the scenes. When you're like Shamia and Portia, based on what I'm seeing now, they're having problems in their long term relationship. I didn't know they were friends for such a long time. How do you deal with that? But like it's playing out for fans like myself and I mean, rabid fans like myself when they're having this public feud.

Well, I didn't even know they was having a public view because I'm friends with them. So I can't watch it because it'd make my freaking nerves bad. Like the minute, the minute I see Candy Burris cry or something, or somebody does something personal to her, I have to turn the TV off because like, it really mentally affect me because I'm a real, I'm a good guy that want to help and see, I'll get on the phone and start calling people like, what's wrong? What can I do to help? And it was like, Hey man, uh,

We taped that eight months ago. We're fine. You know, stuff like that. And so it's hard to watch. I can't watch because I'm one of those type of people that avoid controversy. I got you. Yeah, it gets real. So I had to start watching it because it had me in my feelings. I got you. I'm sure because you know them. And like, I mean, it has me in my feelings and I don't even know them personally. I just know them literally personally.

as a fan so shout out to Shamia and uh Portia and uh you know like I said I always want to see them get along how did you wind up getting the special on Hulu I'm pivoting back to your special you're you know getting a show a stand-up comedy special what was the process of doing that did you sell it beforehand did you make it and then sell it how did you get your show on Hulu

Made it and sold it. Nice. Good for you. Paid for it. Paid for it. Paid for the rights to use certain music that I had to use. Walked it in there. They said, we like it. We want it. We're going to put it on almost immediately. My team, their team did the contract. And here we are. Where, you know, comedy is so, like we were saying earlier, comedy, there's so many comedy clubs. How did you build this set together?

and keep it sort of private and not get, you know, footage leaked? And what do you like to do to sort of work out your bits, you know, before you, you know, take it to stage to be shot?

You know, I would do a lot of the stuff during karaoke. And a lot of the stuff that I did at karaoke came off the top of my head. I was like, whoa, I could do that. I could perform that on the weekend. That was funny. See, I was hosting karaoke in Birmingham at the Stardome. You know, the comedy club Stardome. It's a big-ass comedy club, probably the largest comedy club in the country.

it would be packed. They love karaoke. So I was in between Axe Trout stuff here and there and started putting it together on weekends. I did a lot of comedy clubs, you know, the Funny Bone, the Improvs.

And working that stuff out. And I worked on that stuff for years. And you can look at it when you see the special. That's not two or three months or six months. That's years of perfected material. And I did an hour and 30 minutes. 30 minutes of it didn't even make the cut. So I can take that 30 minutes, put some new stuff, and do another one. Wow. I can't wait. I can't wait. May 30th.

on Hulu. I appreciate you, Ricky. I appreciate you taking the time. And like I said, May 30th on Hulu, Foolish, your next comedy special. You could listen to Ricky every single morning all across the country. The number one syndicated radio show in the morning. I don't need to say urban. I don't care. It's the number one radio show in the morning. And if you want to read a book that will absolutely touch your heart,

You could read Living With Loss, Moving Forward With Faith. Anyway, Ricky, I appreciate you joining me again, May 30th, Foolish on Hulu. And you can listen to Ricky every single morning. The great, prolific, long-time, iconic Ricky Smiley joining me on the Iron Rapport Stereo Podcast. I appreciate you, Ricky. Thank you, man. And thank you for being an OG, man. We came up in the 90s, baby. We still here. Exactly. Exactly. Going nowhere.

Yes, sir. Thank you, man. Thank you, Ricky. Anyway, I'm done. Tell a friend to tell a friend about the I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast. Subscribe, rate, review. I want to thank Ricky Smiley. Make sure you check out his upcoming special, Foolish, dropping May 30th on Hulu. And just stay safe, stay sane, and stick together. Stay safe, stay sane, and stick together. I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast. I'm out.

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