THE FUNNEL CAKE FIGHT Ft. Jessie Reyez | Episode 146

This week, the incredible Jessie Reyez is here!! Jessie joins Drew to talk about the transition from working horrible teenage customer service jobs to becoming a successful musician and songwriter. They talk about Jessie's unique writing process, showing up to work in roller blades, getting hit on by creepy married men, Moana cosplay, tattoos, getting fired, the power of alchemy, and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Verizon FiOS celebrates the holiday hostess with the mostess. When the whole family's over, you've got Verizon FiOS Whole Home Wi-Fi. Fast, reliable, 100% fiber internet in every room. So your little nephews can blast video games on full volume. Your daughter can stream football under the dinner table. And grandpa can turn on the same movie for the third time. A full house with full Wi-Fi coverage. So everyone can do their own thing. Together, 100% fiber internet for 100% holiday hosts. Switch to Verizon FiOS today. Whole home Wi-Fi included with all FiOS gig plans. Availability varies.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  At Humana, our Medicare Advantage plans are easy to understand and easy on your wallet. Like offering more benefits than you'd get from original Medicare alone. And including dental, vision, and hearing coverage in every plan. And the best part is, every plan has a $0 or low monthly plan premium, which makes it easier to save, too. So this Medicare planning season, plan well with Humana. Learn more at gethumana.com. Humana is a Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.

• 1:02Speaker 02

  When you're that young, your frontal lobe is not developed. So you don't make the smartest decisions. So I didn't make a smart decision. And then it was the closest store to my house. So I was like, fuck it, I'm going.

• 1:11Drew Afualo?

  Calling out of work and showing up at work, but as a patron?

• 1:14Speaker 02

  But I was like, how can I get in and out quick? And I was like, I know. Rollerblades. Rollerblades will get me in and out of there quick. I'm dead ass. I was like 16, so I was like, fuck it, rollerblades. Got some snacks, like, went to the, like, the quick cashier. Anyways, I got a call later that night, and it was the boss. And she was like, it doesn't really seem like you want to work here. And I was like, you're right.

• 1:40Drew Afualo?

  Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Comment Section Show, starring me, your favorite, everybody knows me, who cares about me? Onto the guests. Today, we have the iconic, the legendary, the amazingly talented Jesse Riz.

• 1:56Drew Afualo?

  Welcome to the show, Miss Queen. How have you been? How's life?

• 2:00Speaker 02

  Life is, uh, is good, man. Tired, at it, fucking stressed and blessed.

• 2:05Drew Afualo?

  Right. The only way to do it. Alright, fine, I'll confess something to you, Jessie. Years ago, your song Figures was my number one played song for the year. Alright, it's out there. We put it out there, doesn't have to be weird, we addressed it. Gone. Only weird thing I'm gonna say, unless something else comes back to me.

• 2:23Speaker 02

  Alright, let...

• 2:24Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 2:25Speaker 02

  Bless you.

• 2:25Drew Afualo?

  But I-

• 2:26Speaker 02

  And I'm sorry.

• 2:26Drew Afualo?

  I've been obsessed with you for a very long time. Not in a weird way, in a very honest way.

• 2:31Speaker 02

  Ditto.

• 2:31Drew Afualo?

  This is me being honest.

• 2:32Speaker 02

  Ditto, ditto. I swear, I know, I'm gonna repeat it, but pretend like this is the first time you've heard it. The, the first time, I feel like I watched one of your videos, I was literally amped. Like, I loved it, and I felt so seen.

• 2:43Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I love that.

• 2:44Speaker 02

  It was so sick, and I was tackling my ass off, and the feminist in me was so happy that this guy was getting fucking roasted. And I remember commenting like, I think I was like a heart emoji, and I was like, "You're doing God's work."

• 2:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and when I saw it, shit my pants. That's me being honest too, I lied about the last thing, that's the last weird thing I'm gonna say. Again, unless something else comes up.

• 3:02Speaker 02

  Okay, great.

• 3:03Drew Afualo?

  But I was, I was so fucking fired up, because I've loved you forever, I just think you're an unbelievable vocalist.

• 3:08Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 3:09Drew Afualo?

  And I think you're so special, and amazing, and if we fall in love, oh well. It happens to a lot of people on here.

• 3:13Speaker 02

  Love it.

• 3:14Drew Afualo?

  I'm very charming. I'm a huge, huge fan, obviously, and I just think you're so incredible, and you've, uh, been in the business for a long time, so obviously I'm very familiar with your lore. But for those who aren't, can you tell them a little bit about how you like got into the industry, what kinda drew you to it? Obviously you have a natural, God-given talent, but just like what your process was of kinda like getting into being a vocalist?

• 3:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I loved it since I was a kid. I don't know about natural though, I had to work my ass off to get better, because I used to sound like absolute shit, so-

• 3:43Drew Afualo?

  I don't believe you.

• 3:44Speaker 02

  I swear, I had really bad pitch, and honestly, I still work on it, I still like study vocalists that I admire and like break down runs and, and-

• 3:52Drew Afualo?

  Wow, that's crazy.

• 3:53Speaker 02

  Yeah, and, but that's also why anyone that, that ever hits me, and for example, people that haven't found their passion or their vocation yet, or people that have, but don't feel like they're good and are scared of putting things out, I'm always like, fail faster, man, just fucking learn how to take constructive criticism.

• 4:07Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 4:07Speaker 02

  Tell the people around you that you're not, first of all, learn how to have like good emotional equilibrium, so that you're open enough to take it, but then actually have the like wherewithal to apply it and get better and objectively, um, analyze yourself to how you could get better, but that's what I did when I was younger, and, and I was able to get better, and then- Um was doing talent shows, pretty sure I did a talent show at a mall and then.

• 4:31Drew Afualo?

  Like, how old were you when you did the talent show?

• 4:33Speaker 02

  That long ago, it was like maybe twenty one, twenty two.

• 4:35Drew Afualo?

  Really?

• 4:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:36Drew Afualo?

  That's cool.

• 4:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, crazy.

• 4:38Drew Afualo?

  I love that. Where was it at?

• 4:40Speaker 02

  Toronto.

• 4:43Speaker 02

  Yeah, I joined this thing called the Remix Project that changed my life. It's like a. A program for at-risk youths from like sixteen to twenty four that don't have access to. To studio or mentors or anything like that in that place.

• 4:55Drew Afualo?

  Cool.

• 4:56Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's lit, the Remix Project, I swear by it, um. They're great and that place changed my life, but mainly because it was the first time that. In my life, it'd always been a dream and it'd always been, I had something that wasn't tangible that I couldn't touch. It was always on a s- like on a screen. It was so far away, so far removed. And then when I joined that program, um, it was the first time that I was introduced to like real mentorship.

• 5:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:19Speaker 02

  And someone came to speak, who was King Louis, who's a drill rapper from Chicago who I loved to death.

• 5:24Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:25Speaker 02

  And and multiple people came, but he, uh. Him being in person and being human and having succeeded despite all the adversities that he faced.

• 5:35Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:35Speaker 02

  Made it more of a reality for me to be like, okay, fuck, you could do it. You're human. You bleed like me. You breathe like me. I can do it too.

• 5:41Drew Afualo?

  That's cool. I love that. So how long after you were in the Remix Project, did you end up like? Getting signed or signing to someone or start putting out singles? Like, what order did that happen in?

• 5:52Speaker 02

  The team started slowly started coming together at that point was with my first manager, Mauricio Ruiz, who also told me about the Remix Project.

• 5:58Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 5:59Speaker 02

  And then, um, he was friends with Byron Wilson, who's my other manager who's over there.

• 6:05Drew Afualo?

  Love. And still here. Love that.

• 6:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. And he, uh, works with another artist who was Jeremiah doing publishing for Sun? Publishing for Sun who heard my shit and was like lit. I wanna bring her out and then flew, uh, me and Reese out to LA. For the first time. And I was terrified to sign, cause you hear so many fucking horror stories about.

• 6:28Drew Afualo?

  I know dude, I can only fucking imagine.

• 6:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, and so I was terrified of contracts and I was terrified of, it's so funny, cause you dream of getting signed when you're a kid and then when it hap- when when it's you have the precipice of it, you you. You realize how much is at stake.

• 6:40Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 6:40Speaker 02

  So I was hella nervous, but it was great, cause Jeremiah was really patient and like. Months. Months of me being like, I don't know, I don't know if I wanna do this. And they, he just, he like went out on a limb for me, like made BMG still fork up money for me and sent me to a writing camp in Sweden. While I'm, while you're not signed to the company, when the company is willing to invest in you regardless, is them trying to be like, yo, we really believe in you. And I didn't have anything, I didn't have much out as an artist, anything to merit um investment was strictly based off of someone seeing potential. You know, so it was him seeing potential and willing to risk it. And then I went to Sweden and then wrote a bunch of songs, cause it was a songwriting camp for bigger artists.

• 7:21Speaker 02

  Met these two producers there on like the third, uh first of all, I was really depressed and drinking a lot, so these guys helped me out. Cause they were like, we love you, we wanna pay for you to stay on our dollar. Stay an extra, so the writing camp was paid for by BMG. The extra week, it was the two producers being like, we want you to stay, we'll pay for it, we can work on whatever you want. You could write for others, you could write for yourself, we just have faith in you, and I was like.

• 7:45Speaker 02

  And so I stayed and then that week I ended up writing figures.

• 7:49Drew Afualo?

  No way. That's fucking crazy. Me finding out the lore behind one of my favorite songs ever, love that.

• 7:56Speaker 02

  There was a lot of whiskey involved.

• 7:59Drew Afualo?

  Okay, so I do wanna ask you about like the writing process as a whole and like how does that work for you, cause I think. Past like I'm, I'm obviously like, I love a beautiful song. But I love lyrics, like I'm a very lyric heavy person, like that's like how I love songs. I feel like your lyrics are unbelievable. So I'm curious like how your process goes, like how do you typically, like do you write when you feel inspired? Or do you kinda like brain dump, or do you come back, revisit, that kind of stuff, like what does that look like for you?

• 8:27Speaker 02

  Uh, I hate fighting for it, I hate like brain, like when I have to search for it. It doesn't feel natural and usually in my life like I get knee jerk when I'm really, really emotional, it'll just pour out. Like vomit and the benefit of my.

• 8:43Speaker 02

  Uh, working process is that for me, it's more quantity based. And then I sort out the quality. Yeah, so I'll be in the studio for like full day and like make like five songs and not all five are good. Like four of them might be shit and one of them is worth polishing. And then I'll take that one and invest. Mind you, like that's, I know there's people that, there's, there's much more successful people that will devote five hours to the one, but I have to do it after. Cause I hate committing and then four hours in, I'm like, this is ass.

• 9:14Drew Afualo?

  You can't save it.

• 9:15Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, you can't save it.

• 9:17Drew Afualo?

  This one's dead.

• 9:19Speaker 02

  I prefer that, but then, but then the downside of that is then when it comes time to make an album. It's such a shitty process, cause you there's so many dead songs on the floor that, that you just kinda gotta say goodbye to. Or you put them on a shelf and you say maybe later when the times are right, or you give them to other artists.

• 9:34Drew Afualo?

  How has that been for you? Do you prefer, do you like writing for others too? A lot of my friends who are musicians too, they, they really love writing for other people. Meghan Trainor.

• 9:44Speaker 02

  Oh, I love Meghan.

• 9:45Drew Afualo?

  We, we love an M Train around here. And she's been writing for other people.

• 9:50Speaker 02

  She was one of the early supporters too. She showed love mad early.

• 9:54Drew Afualo?

  I love her, but she's also, she's got real like ethnic in her when it comes to her like, you know what I'm saying? Like her vocalism, like, like her vocalization is just like, the way she sings, she's very harmony forward and shit. And I feel like that's very common amongst minorities, like we, we do love a good harmony. So, I think that's beautiful and amazing. And I also think it's really admirable that you're so committed to the craft of like. I'm just gonna write as many as I can and then I'm gonna be very selective about which ones I pick, like. Does that process typically take you a long time? Do you sometimes sit with two and you're like, ugh, one of these is good, one of these could be good too?

• 10:30Speaker 02

  Yeah, I hate it.

• 10:31Drew Afualo?

  Is that why you kinda shelf them too sometimes?

• 10:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, or, or like shelf them or, I mean, I don't. I don't know, it's just hard, it's like, it's like, it's like choosing between chocolate cake and funnel cake, like I love both sometimes.

• 10:42Drew Afualo?

  And I might like one later.

• 10:44Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:44Drew Afualo?

  I might be in a different mood another time. Have you ever written one that you're like, this is too personal, I can't, I can't release that? Do you write that way?

• 10:52Speaker 02

  I, everything's about my life.

• 10:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 10:55Speaker 02

  But I've always been real, uh, forthright with my shit. Yeah, I've always been forthright with it, so I've never really been, like, the one time that I thought about that I second guessed it and that I had to like, talk to my family prior to it coming out, so they didn't trip out, was Gatekeeper. And that was for other reasons.

• 11:12Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 11:12Speaker 02

  Like, you know, it wasn't so much me concerned about how, how anyone involved would feel, but more so about my, my parents being like, what? What happened?

• 11:23Drew Afualo?

  Like, you're like, I just an FYI.

• 11:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, the worst case scenario didn't happen, but this is what happened, yeah.

• 11:29Drew Afualo?

  Well, and when did you feel like you actually like, man, like, I think I'm kinda like doing this, like, I think I could really do this for real, like, where you feel like you made it?

• 11:38Speaker 02

  I remember the specific, I was at, cause I remember I used to cross the border all the time, cause I lived in Florida at one point. I was bartending there and still trying to make shit happen in Toronto, and I had built a bit of a beautiful musical community in Toronto, so, so it felt like swimming in the deep end for hours in Florida sometimes, trying to get, trying to get, make headway.

• 11:58Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 11:59Speaker 02

  Um, so I would go back and forth a lot, and then the remix project happened and I begged my bar manager to let me back home to audition and shit, so anyways, it was a lot of back and forth. And even when I was at Remix, I was lucky that I was living off tips that I had made while I was bartending and, and being bottle service girl. There was, I had so many jobs, like, I was a personal trainer, I was a receptionist at a gym, I like taught Zumba, I was a lot.

• 12:20Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 12:22Drew Afualo?

  I love a Zumba. You know who loves Zumba? White women.

• 12:29Drew Afualo?

  You know what, more power to you, queen?

• 12:30Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 12:33Speaker 02

  So I used to always just, I'd, I'd like, alternate between whatever the fuck I told them, but often I would just be like, a personal trainer, sometimes bartender, but the more you tell them, the more they fucking ask, or sometimes I would just leave it there, right? And then one time I went and the guy was like, what do you do? And I was like, I'm a musician. I'm a musician. Like I was able.

• 12:53Drew Afualo?

  That's so cool.

• 12:54Speaker 02

  It was it was a lead. It was the first time that I wasn't working like a dub like multiple, multiple titles. It was the first time that I was like, oh, this is my this is my only source of income.

• 13:05Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 13:06Speaker 02

  It was great.

• 13:07Drew Afualo?

  That's fucking awesome.

• 13:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, it was like, the guy was probably like, okay.

• 13:10Drew Afualo?

  Oh, aren't we all?

• 13:13Drew Afualo?

  Me too. Yeah, sometimes I have a very different reaction when I tell people what I do for a living. It's rare that people don't know sometimes, but when I tell them now, like, one time I got asked, they're like, how would you describe what you do to old people? Like to, well, they didn't say old people. I said old people. And I was like, well, people, if they ask me, I just go, honestly, I cuz I've said I make videos on the internet. And

• 13:38Speaker 02

  And they're like porn, you make porn?

• 13:40Drew Afualo?

  Old people immediately think.

• 13:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 13:42Drew Afualo?

  And now, looking back, I think like for rentals that I got denied of, I was like, hmm. I don't know what I think about it. Maybe it's the way I said it. I don't know. But um, I tell people like, honestly, I I make fun of awful men on the internet.

• 13:54Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:55Drew Afualo?

  And then they go, they pay to do that?

• 13:56Speaker 02

  That's a great tagline.

• 13:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and then I go, yep. And then they go, alright, they just kind of give up. Like, they have no further questions. They're like, okay.

• 14:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:04Drew Afualo?

  And I think it's funny too, cuz sometimes like, I've told before, like my grandpa, he still doesn't watch me. Um, he tells me often he doesn't watch me and um, he does have a TikTok, so love that. Um, and he's just always like,

• 14:19Drew Afualo?

  and I need that kind of energy in my life.

• 14:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's grounding.

• 14:21Drew Afualo?

  I think, yeah, I need a, I need a a humbling every now and then.

• 14:24Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 14:25Drew Afualo?

  And also too, I will say, a a way that made me feel like I was actually doing something with this was getting to care to, or getting to take care of my family.

• 14:33Speaker 02

  Oof.

• 14:34Drew Afualo?

  And I feel like you can relate to that too.

• 14:36Speaker 02

  Hundred percent.

• 14:36Drew Afualo?

  You seem very family oriented.

• 14:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, I remember the first check I ever made off of like, a really shitty publishing situation, like the first time I ever sold a song, before Jeremiah was involved.

• 14:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 14:46Speaker 02

  Was a a song written in Camp in Toronto for a Netflix show, for some kid's show on Netflix. What? No, family channel. Yeah, it was something like that. And it was a, it was two hundred and fifty bucks.

• 14:57Drew Afualo?

  Nice.

• 14:58Speaker 02

  And I was, exactly. I was like, yes. And I went home and it was the first time I showed my folks a check for music and they were like, huh? And then I bought groceries and they were like, huh? And it was just, it was great. It's so funny to have those like little, little bookmarks.

• 15:12Drew Afualo?

  Right, and you never forget them either, especially when you grew up with nothing, like I, the first check I ever got, I think was like seventy-five bucks. And it was for like, something fucking stupid, I don't even remember. And I remember when I got it, I was like, oh my god! And I was unemployed at the time, so that was a million dollars to me. I was like, yes, I'm gonna hold on to this forever, I'm gonna hold on to this so desperately. But I'm, I think that's fucking awesome. And I, I love that your family, how supportive was your family of you as a vocalist? Like, did they, did they know you could sing?

• 15:38Speaker 02

  I mean, I sang all the time.

• 15:40Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 15:40Speaker 02

  I would like do shows for my family, I'd never shut up in the shower, and outside the shower, it was a lot.

• 15:45Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 15:45Speaker 02

  But they were worried.

• 15:47Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 15:47Speaker 02

  And my brother's like, a scientist, a very smart man, works at university, like he's, he's, we're starkly different.

• 15:53Drew Afualo?

  Your brother's a scientist? That's crazy.

• 15:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, and teaches and stuff too, so it's like, it's cool, but they, then I came along and I, to say I hate school is like, kind. You know?

• 16:06Drew Afualo?

  Putting it like gently.

• 16:07Speaker 02

  Lightly, yeah. And it's just never been for me, institutions, like it's just never been for me.

• 16:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 16:13Speaker 02

  And the first time, actually, I, there's one teacher in my life that I like, always acknowledge and say thank you to, I like, gave her a shout out in my poetry book. Cause it was the only time I ever got a call home, a positive call home, from a teacher, was her.

• 16:26Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I love that.

• 16:27Speaker 02

  Yeah, and she called, and she didn't know till I told her why it was so, um.

• 16:33Drew Afualo?

  Like impactful.

• 16:34Speaker 02

  It's why it was so impactful is because, my house, we only spoke Spanish. My parents would help me with homework, but like mainly with like things that were universal, like math and like, you know what I mean? But, English not really, cause we didn't really, that's, you know, it's not the element.

• 16:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 16:47Speaker 02

  And so the fact that she called to me like, yo, your daughter's skilled, and, cause we were doing poetry and she noticed it, and she was like, your daughter's skilled, and that, it meant so much, cause they wouldn't, they wouldn't have noticed that at home.

• 16:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 16:57Speaker 02

  They wouldn't have known that.

• 16:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 16:58Speaker 02

  You know? And if I, if, if I were to tell them, they'd be like, no, okay.

• 17:02Drew Afualo?

  Let's focus on math, let's focus on math.

• 17:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, so it was sweet that, that, that, that, uh, she was able to, to vocalize that and, and have it be heard.

• 17:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 17:11Speaker 02

  But they were nervous. They were nervous. So the first time I started making money, I know they were like, okay, great. And my mom's so sweet. My mom's like. My mom's like the neighborhood mom. You know, even on the tour, like the tour bus, everyone calls her mom.

• 17:25Drew Afualo?

  She's that. My mom too.

• 17:27Speaker 02

  It's the best. But I say that to like preface. This story because she she one day hit me and she like. Crazy. She wanted to apologize. For something she said to me when I was like twenty four. And I was at it. I was like out grinding, grinding, like I've never been. The hustle in me is different. The dog in me is different. And it's just, I've always been that way. And she saw how hard I was working, but she saw that I wasn't really, I wasn't getting re- reaping any fruits yet. And she says that she was like, honey, like, miha. Listen, like, maybe this isn't for you. Like, maybe, maybe it's not God's plan. Like, she's very spiritual too. So maybe she was like, maybe we have to be open to something else. And I was like, okay, I'm like.

• 18:09Speaker 02

  Give me another year. I'm like, I'm gonna give it another year and we'll see how it goes. And then that year shit started fucking popping off. And she, and the craziest thing is that she said this to me and I'm, and she looked so. Serious and so like it was, it was something that weighed on her. And I was like, ma, I don't even remember. I don't even remember. That's how, that's how so much support and love and like presence and. Kindness she's always just offered me. That it didn't even, it didn't even make a sound. Like I didn't even retain it.

• 18:40Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, especially because of the way she told you too. It's just, it's just out of love. And like care, like she wants to make sure you're, you're good. So it wasn't because she thought you couldn't do it. It's because she's like, sometimes the world works against people like us. Yeah, maybe this isn't in the, in the stars for you. But I think you, you putting a timeline on it is so fucking real too, because I, when I started doing this for a living, I like. Really didn't see much in it at first. I was kinda like, well, I'm like a hundred in TikTok years, so I doubt like I can be a TikToker. Joke's on me, uh, but I was literally like, I don't know about that. And then when it started really like building. I was unemployed at the time because I'd gotten fucking fired before I started.

• 19:19Speaker 02

  Oh, you've been fired too. Perfect.

• 19:21Drew Afualo?

  Hell yeah, girl.

• 19:21Speaker 02

  Yeah, fair time.

• 19:22Drew Afualo?

  You know what's funny is like, when I look back, I've been fired more than once. I thought I only been fired once, but like, the other time. Was when I, the one time I was a server in college. That's one of the worst jobs in the world, like waiter, waiters, waitresses, like. God soldiers for real, like, and I remember after like, working there for like two weeks, I was like. Yeah, I gotta find another job. Like, I'm not nearly like, what's the word? Cause I'm not rude, but like. I don't have the politeness in me to eat shit for very long. So I was like, yeah.

• 19:53Speaker 02

  You're Ben with like, no, no.

• 19:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I was like, given my tongue, yeah, I need to get out of this fucking job. Like, and it, it, the guy that, when my manager fired me. It was actually kind of fucked up because he had me train my replacement, which I didn't know he was my replacement. And my replacement kept leaving in the middle of the shift to go smoke meth in the bathroom. So. And that's not, and that's not hyperbole. I'm being dead serious. Like I, I, at one point followed him and I heard him go.

• 20:18Drew Afualo?

  And then it was going.

• 20:20Drew Afualo?

  Like that. Fucking Breaking Bad in the bathroom. I said, oh, and so I'm covering all his tables. And then I, my manager's like, oh, let's talk after the shift. And I'm like, he wants to hear about the meth head. Okay. So as we're walking, I go, bad news. Think he's on meth. And then he goes, stop right there. Um, so we're letting you go. And I go, oh, oh, well, and I didn't even get to the meth. Didn't even get to tell him, um, bummer. And I remember he just told me like, you don't, you're not taking your waitressing job ser- like, if you wanna move up in the restaurant business, I said, pause. I use this money to buy beer. Like, fuck you mean move up in the restaurant business, girl? What are you talking about? Like, I'm not trying to be a restaurateur. I'm not fucking car me.

• 21:04Drew Afualo?

  I'm here to get fucked up money. Like, that's what I need. I would literally leave work and I would take the bus home. But I would walk across the street and I would go and I would buy like a thirty-two pack, like two thirty-two packs. Mind you. Do as I say, not as I do. I was underage at the time.

• 21:19Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 21:19Drew Afualo?

  But I was using my sister's ID. So I was like, yeah, I'm five, four. No, for sure. That's me. Five, four, one, twelve. Yeah, that's me, King. And I would buy two thirty two bags and I would stop on like the third stop was my friend's house. Get off, go get fucked up. That's what I was doing, the waitressing job.

• 21:34Speaker 02

  And he wanted you to take it serious.

• 21:35Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, he wanted me to move up in the business. I'm good. But uh, he fired me right then and there. Uh, and then the meth head replaced me. And I remember like two days later, he called me and was like, oh, are you not coming in for your shift? And I go.

• 21:50Speaker 02

  What?

• 21:50Drew Afualo?

  Didn't you fire me two days ago? And he goes, no, I put you on call. And I go, that's not what you said. When you fired me, that's not.

• 21:57Speaker 02

  He needed you. He got caught between a rock and a hard place.

• 21:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 22:00Speaker 02

  Not to backpedal.

• 22:01Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 22:01Speaker 02

  How dare he?

• 22:02Drew Afualo?

  Girlfriend who was waitressing at the time there too, she told me the realty and she told me that the meth head was working my shift and then left in the middle of it and they couldn't find him. And then when they did find him, he was sitting in the freezer eating a dessert, like he was plating a dessert for a table. Instead decided to sit down and eat it. So he was in the freezer doing that. And like the one cardinal rule, I remember this at that restaurant was you could not eat the desserts. I don't know what it was about the dessert, but they were like, don't you fucking dare touch the desserts. And they weren't even that good, in my opinion. But he was sitting there just eating it like he was just at home. He's just sitting there like, and they're like, hey, um. So then he just called me and started talking to me like he never fucking fired me. And I was like, by the way, he's on meth. Click.

• 22:47Speaker 02

  No way.

• 22:48Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I was like, well, I guess I'm hanging up my apron for good. I guess waitressing is not in my future. That's not in God's plan for me, is to be a waitress.

• 22:55Speaker 02

  That's funny.

• 22:56Drew Afualo?

  What's the worst job you've had? It sounds like you've had a million.

• 22:58Speaker 02

  Uh, the worst?

• 23:00Drew Afualo?

  For whatever reason. My boyfriend was a personal trainer for a long time.

• 23:04Speaker 02

  No shit?

• 23:05Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. And that one's crazy too.

• 23:10Drew Afualo?

  What's that?

• 23:10Speaker 02

  It's like Canadian Publix.

• 23:12Drew Afualo?

  Okay, so grocery store?

• 23:14Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 23:14Drew Afualo?

  Were you just like cashier?

• 23:16Speaker 02

  Or the cashier.

• 23:17Drew Afualo?

  Why was that one so terrible?

• 23:18Speaker 02

  Cause it was just so monotonous, man. And I tried to make the best of it. Like, I would just like, write songs on receipts and shit.

• 23:25Drew Afualo?

  Mm-hmm.

• 23:26Speaker 02

  But I, like, I've been fired more than, more than twice, more than three times, more than four.

• 23:31Drew Afualo?

  Really?

• 23:32Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 23:33Drew Afualo?

  Just cause?

• 23:34Speaker 02

  Just.

• 23:35Drew Afualo?

  What's the story you tell yourself? I tell myself, I was just too funny for that job, clearly.

• 23:38Speaker 02

  Oh my god.

• 23:40Drew Afualo?

  Clearly, I was just far too entertaining and they can't handle it, so.

• 23:44Speaker 02

  I was too honest.

• 23:45Drew Afualo?

  Yeah?

• 23:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, I was too honest.

• 23:47Drew Afualo?

  To like, upper level management or coworkers?

• 23:50Speaker 02

  Everybody got it.

• 23:51Drew Afualo?

  Everyone's getting hit. Sorry. Everyone's doing it, sorry.

• 23:54Speaker 02

  Nobody's safe, man. Everybody's got choice.

• 23:56Drew Afualo?

  What would you be honest about?

• 23:58Speaker 02

  Like, okay, so the, so the [BLEEP] one, I had dance like three times a week and it was in, it was far as fuck. So, I, I had those days like blocked off and then dance got cancelled or something. And so then I could have gone into work, but I was like, fuck that, I'm not coming in. The fuck? So I didn't, but then I got hungry and let me put, like, you're, when you're that young, your frontal lobe is not developed, so you don't make the smartest decisions. So I didn't make a smart decision.

• 25:00Speaker 02

  And then it was the closest store to my house. I was like, fuck it, I'm going.

• 25:03Drew Afualo?

  You're crazy dude.

• 25:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 25:05Drew Afualo?

  Calling out of work and showing up at work, but as a patron?

• 25:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, but I was like, how can I get in and out quick? And I was like, I know. Rollerblades. Rollerblades will get me in and out of there quick. Like that way, no one will see me.

• 25:17Drew Afualo?

  Are you being serious, Jessie?

• 25:18Speaker 02

  I'm dead ass. I'm dead ass. I was like 16, so I was like, fuck it, rollerblades, got some snacks, like, went to the like, the quick cashier. Anyways, I got a call later that night and it was the boss and she was like, it doesn't really seem like you want to work here. And I was like, you're right.

• 25:32Drew Afualo?

  Well, I don't, obviously.

• 25:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, she's like, and then that was the end of that job.

• 25:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I would have fired you too, I'll be honest.

• 25:39Speaker 02

  That's fair.

• 25:39Drew Afualo?

  If I saw you, if I saw you coming out on a day off and you're in rollerblades, you're fired. Sorry.

• 25:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, no, it's fair.

• 25:45Drew Afualo?

  Sorry. Clearly you think I'm a joke in this joke.

• 25:49Drew Afualo?

  Which I don't blame you for, especially at 16, like, when I was working at the restaurant, I think I was like, probably like 19, 20? And I remember like, I didn't take that shit serious either. I mean, I was good at my job, but it's also like, it's, it's a job, you know what I mean? It's not, it's, and I remember too, the reason why he fired me was because he said like, I wasn't taking it seriously, obviously. And it's because he was trying to convince me to stay there and continue waitressing through the holiday, which was like, I'm not. Yeah, he's like, you could.

• 26:20Speaker 02

  Dying to do it.

• 26:21Drew Afualo?

  He's like, well, I have a couple of shifts on like Christmas Eve and stuff. And I was like, Christmas Eve?

• 26:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 26:27Drew Afualo?

  Girl, I will not be here on Christmas Eve. What the fuck? I was like, oh no, I'm going home, like for school. And I had another job too at the time. And so he was like, you have to take more shifts if you want to take this seriously. I'm like, when I got hired, I told you I can work Monday, Wednesday, Fridays. I told you that. And you said yes. And now you're trying to pressure me into taking more shifts and I can't. So I was like, I literally just can't. And I had a full class load and everything too.

• 26:48Speaker 02

  You're in school too, fuck.

• 26:49Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I was like, I was taking like 24 credits and I had two jobs. So I was like, and I was taking the bus. Give me a break.

• 26:55Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 26:55Drew Afualo?

  And when I went, it was like a nighttime restaurant, so it would open at like, I think first dine-in would be like 6pm. But I would have to go in at 3:00 and I would have to build the salad bar.

• 27:08Speaker 02

  Like prep, yeah.

• 27:08Drew Afualo?

  Prep, do all the prep and stuff. But I was doing it by my fucking self. And I would have to carry these two big ass buckets of like ice that would, I would go to the freezer far as hell, carry both of them back at least six times to fill that whole thing.

• 27:20Speaker 02

  That was the worst job?

• 27:21Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that was one of the worst jobs I've ever had. Let me think. I really had to think. I mean, I used to babysit all the time.

• 27:27Speaker 02

  I used to babysit too.

• 27:29Drew Afualo?

  And I didn't mind that job, but one time I babysit a kid that was so awful that I was like, yeah, I can't do this shit anymore.

• 27:34Speaker 02

  What did he do?

• 27:35Drew Afualo?

  He just would not stop crying, like and and he was a baby. He was probably like two. One or two and he had an older son brother that my sister was like kind of watching him because he was around the same age as my brother. And I was holding the baby. He I couldn't put him down. I couldn't lay him down. I couldn't feed it scream cried for twelve hours straight. Like and I every time I sat down, it would get louder. I just had to keep walking in circles and it was horrifying and he was allergic to everything. The the mom left and goes, by the way, he's allergic to wool and peanuts and this and that and also this and also that. But there's an EpiPen right there. Have a nice night. Hey, okay, have a nice night and she left.

• 28:12Speaker 02

  I know.

• 28:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and then I was like, this is the worst job in the world. I don't know. Customer service is not for the weak.

• 28:19Speaker 02

  It's not for the weak.

• 28:20Drew Afualo?

  Like at all. I don't know how people do it. Especially like baristas or anything like that.

• 28:25Speaker 02

  It's a lot. What? Oh, my god.

• 28:30Speaker 02

  It's just it it's. That was the worst one, but then like it's both ways. It's the it's when you work with idiot.

• 28:42Speaker 02

  Or is it me that makes you it's so dumb that you start to question yourself. It's sometimes like what the fuck?

• 28:48Drew Afualo?

  I feel that.

• 28:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, sometimes it's sometimes it's that wild, but. Oh, my god, I had this one lady with this job I loved. I worked. And I was like fourteen to eighteen, which is like.

• 28:59Drew Afualo?

  It's like a water park?

• 29:00Speaker 02

  It's a water park. Lit lit place and I got it. I think I had just turned fourteen. I'm thirteen fourteen.

• 29:07Drew Afualo?

  That's young as hell.

• 29:08Speaker 02

  I don't know. I was at it.

• 29:10Drew Afualo?

  And you know what? Responsible for people's lives. Love that.

• 29:12Speaker 02

  No, no, no, no. I was I was the cashier at the water park. I was working at like the pizza pizza and like mainly there was a funnel cake next to the pizza pizza and I get free funnel cakes. Free access to the water park and free funnel cakes. I was like, perfect. I love it here. And the managers loved me off. Shout out Eric. Shout out Brian. They were so great to me like. I love them. We stayed friends. When I started cheerleading for the CFL, which is like the Canadian NFL.

• 29:35Drew Afualo?

  I know about the CFL.

• 29:36Speaker 02

  I'd give them tickets and shit. They'd come. So we stayed friends even after. Yeah, they're great. Once I was there, I think I was like the second year working there. So I was like fifteen, I think.

• 29:47Speaker 02

  Fucking lady. I was at, I was, oh my god, I was working and she's with her fucking like children that were like fucking yapping. And she's trying to control them, but also order, I get it, you're stressed, whatever.

• 30:00Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 30:01Speaker 02

  She's ordering some shit and she's like, yeah, this, this, this. And I was like, okay. And then she takes her money and she throws it. Yeah, she throws it.

• 30:09Drew Afualo?

  At you?

• 30:09Speaker 02

  At me. Like not at, but like on the, towards me, but like if I was closer, it would have hit me, but it hit the, it hit the counter.

• 30:17Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 30:18Speaker 02

  And I look at the money and I'm like, this bitch just threw money at me. And I look up at her and I'm like, and I'm trying to, I'm trying to hold it in.

• 30:25Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 30:26Speaker 02

  Oh, I take the money, I take the change and I feel it happening and I'm like, don't do it. Yeah, right. There's no stopping this. This is like a train. This is done. So I take the change and I'm like, and I throw it, I throw it back because she threw it at me and I'm fifteen and petty, like hello.

• 30:41Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 30:41Speaker 02

  So I throw it back to her. This lady looks up and she's like, sees red, starts going off and I'm like, see red, start going off. Now we're arguing at each other over the counter. And then, and then she starts climbing on the counter.

• 30:56Drew Afualo?

  Oh.

• 30:56Speaker 02

  And I'm like, she's arguing down at me and I'm like, I'm popping off to her, I'm like, this fuck, whatever. Everyone's yelling. And she's come, she's significantly bigger than me.

• 31:05Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 31:05Speaker 02

  Significantly bigger than me. I have to say this for, to, to justify what's about to happen next.

• 31:16Speaker 02

  So I back up and I'm like, oh, this fucking lady's about to fucking, like wrestling me. What the fuck is it called when they like, you know?

• 31:22Drew Afualo?

  Like from the top rope?

• 31:23Speaker 02

  From the top rope, yeah, I'm like, sick, this lady's about to, so I reach back because this is, I was working the funnel cake spot that day because you could switch. So the little, the little fryer is right here with the frying thing.

• 31:34Drew Afualo?

  Nice.

• 31:35Speaker 02

  Because she was like, she was coming at me. Don't who this? This is self-defense.

• 31:39Drew Afualo?

  She's all, and based off the advice from my lawyer, this is what happened next. Anyways. Okay.

• 31:45Speaker 02

  So I grabbed the thing and I and I take it out and then she jumps down and I'm going and then everyone was able to stop it before it escalated.

• 31:50Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 31:51Speaker 02

  Because then they all pulled her back and then they pulled me back and then they got her over the counter. And the craziest thing was watching her carry on like nothing. She grabbed her fucking phone, okay? And and carried on with her kids. Like left.

• 32:03Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 32:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I'm like.

• 32:04Drew Afualo?

  Anyways.

• 32:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, and now there's like.

• 32:06Drew Afualo?

  This is great, by the way.

• 32:06Speaker 02

  It's crazy and there's oil and shit on the floor and I'm like shaking because I I thought I was about to have to like fucking defend the shit out of myself. Because she was like over a foot bigger than me, man. And like, there was just, I had no choice.

• 32:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 32:18Speaker 02

  I had no choice. And so.

• 32:20Drew Afualo?

  My back was against the wall.

• 32:21Speaker 02

  My back was against the wall. And then and then the managers come on and they're like, Jesse, what the fuck? And I'm like, I had no choice. My back was against the wall. And they're like, oh, come on. Like, I can't believe this. Like, I've been working there for a year. They're like, you're such a good employee. Like, what the hell? I've been friends with people there. Like, people love me off. I was a favorite. And it was great. And they're just like disappointed and they're walking me to their office. They're like, come on. And they like, take me to the back office and they're like, we can't believe. And they shut the door. They're like, so what happened?

• 32:48Drew Afualo?

  They're like, I'm gonna give her a stern talking to.

• 32:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Don't you worry. And then I sat in there and they're cackling when I tell them the story and they're like, okay, well, like, they're like, just take the day, come back tomorrow. And I was like, all right, cool. And I came back.

• 33:00Drew Afualo?

  Well, that's good that you had supportive managers. That's rare, especially in customer service.

• 33:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, tho- those guys were fucking great. I loved them. They were they were really, really cool. And I worked with good people at that spot for four years. That's why I stayed for four years.

• 33:12Drew Afualo?

  Damn, that is a long ass time. But that's good, though.

• 33:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 33:15Drew Afualo?

  That's good, though, because then you have a like a good job, but you also are surrounded by people who like support you and care about you.

• 33:20Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 33:20Drew Afualo?

  It's like when they don't care about your fucking livelihood when you're working for them.

• 33:24Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 33:24Drew Afualo?

  They're the worst managers in the world.

• 33:26Speaker 02

  The worst.

• 33:26Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and I even, um, I was thinking about like too, like, what's another terrible job I've had? But one of them was being a character. Like, I was right out of college. I was, I was fucking, I s- I say this very loosely, but I was like dressing as Moana and being hired for birthday parties. I don't know what you call that, like a character person? I figured leaning to a skid, you know? Everyone was like, you know who you look like? Yeah, I know Moana, because I'm the first brown bitch you've ever seen that's not Mexican, right? I'll be the biggest Mexican alive. And so I was like, sure, why not? Um, because I don't want to get a real job, so I guess I'll. Like cosplay and can I sing? No, not even a little bit. So my thing was just more so dancing. I was like, let's teach the kids a hula. That's one of the worst jobs I've ever had because,

• 34:08Drew Afualo?

  and not because of the children. Honestly, the kids are like wonderful, like they're so sweet and they they think you're really her and that's like, you know, stupid kids. I'm not her. She doesn't exist. Um, no, but they were fantastic and the moms were so sweet too.

• 34:21Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:21Drew Afualo?

  It was dads. Like dads were fucking creepy. And I don't, you've seen me on TikTok. I don't have it in me. Uh, I did two birthday parties, quit, can't do it anymore. Fucking sorry. And like the way that grown ass men, like when I say grown, grown men, like in their forties, fifties, sixties, they're with their wives and their children.

• 34:42Speaker 02

  There's no, there's no.

• 34:43Drew Afualo?

  Uh-uh. They like wait till you're alone.

• 34:46Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:46Drew Afualo?

  And then they'll make suggestive jokes while you're talking to children. Like it's fucking disgusting. I can't even imagine how it happens when they're like, when they look good, cause like, to be fair, my costume wasn't that great. I'll be honest. So I barely look like her for being honest. So I can't even imagine. And also she's supposed to be a child, like she's supposed to be a child. So, and I had, um, one dad, like the first party I ever worked. Uh, the kids were so sweet and so kind and like they were so excited and I was like talking to all of them. And I remember that one boy was with, he was like, my dad wants to ask you a question. And I was like,

• 35:26Drew Afualo?

  okay, where is he? And then he says, he keeps making suggestive jokes about like the aura that I had and like, it's like pissing me off. It's getting me more mad as I'm, I'm getting mad again, thinking about like reliving the memory. Uh, but he was like, what if I, what if I wanted to call you, Moana? Like, what if I wanted to call you? Like, what kind of nu- what's your, what number would you give me? And then he had his kid ask me twice.

• 35:49Speaker 02

  Ew.

• 35:49Drew Afualo?

  And then I go, and then he goes, I said, call me. And then he goes, yeah, like I think I'm.

• 35:54Speaker 02

  Was his wife there?

• 35:55Drew Afualo?

  I I have no clue, maybe. Either way, I I know he had a wedding ring on, so. You know. And then he's like, how would I go, uh, when he sent his son to me and he was like, oh, like my dad wants to know, like, how would he get ahold of you, like, on the cellphone, I go. Cellphone, I don't know what those are, I live on an island, anyways. Time to go, guys, let's go learn up, like, I just kept making shit up to try and, like, deflect them, but to send your child to me. You're a fucking sicko.

• 36:18Speaker 02

  When you have your wedding ring on.

• 36:19Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, girl, like, I was literally, uh, when I was watching it unfold, I was like, oh, yeah, this isn't the job for me either. Unless you guys wanna watch wanna get active, like. With these, yeah, no, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ruin the fucking party for everyone if one more dad talks to me, I wanna make this a very memorable children's birthday. For everybody involved, including your child. And I remember. The last party I worked, I had just started dating my now fiance. And I had told him, like, that I had a party to do, and I was like, telling him how men are so fucking weird and creepy. And so he came with me. And then was like, standing next to me the entire, like, hovering around me like that, like a fucking Roomba. And I was like, see, he shouldn't have to do that. In order for men to like.

• 37:02Speaker 02

  Respect.

• 37:03Drew Afualo?

  Not be fucking weird, like, hey, time and place, like, we're not at a fucking strip club. This is a lawn. Of your, like, wife's house, like, this, it's just not the time or place. So that's probably one of the worst jobs I've ever had.

• 37:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:15Drew Afualo?

  Other than serving. I'm trying to think, I don't have, I haven't had, I've had a lot of jobs, but there, I feel like. I've always been kinda whatevs about them. Didn't, did you ever work, like, nine to five corporate?

• 37:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, the, the, I was in sales, when, when I was at the gym, I worked at different things, I started as reception. And then I got promoted to sales and then.

• 37:32Drew Afualo?

  How'd you like that?

• 37:34Speaker 02

  I got fired.

• 37:36Drew Afualo?

  Oh, that's another one.

• 37:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's another one, but that one was, again, it was just cuz I was too, I swear to God, it's every, and when I think about it, too honest, like. I'm not gonna say the name of it, fuck it, it was.

• 37:48Drew Afualo?

  I've never even heard of that shit.

• 37:49Speaker 02

  Good Life Fitness, and like. That's so funny, can I get, whatever, anyways, so like, so. I was eighteen or nineteen. Okay, wait, I have to, I have to, I have to give you some context.

• 38:02Drew Afualo?

  Okay, please do.

• 38:03Speaker 02

  Started as reception. And I had a manager.

• 38:09Speaker 00

  Verizon FiOS celebrates the holiday hostess with the mostess. When the whole family's over, you've got Verizon FiOS Whole Home Wi-Fi. Fast, reliable, 100% fiber internet in every room. So your little nephews can blast video games on full volume. Your daughter can stream football under the dinner table. And grandpa can turn on the same movie for the third time. A full house with full Wi-Fi coverage. So everyone can do their own thing, together. 100% fiber internet for 100% holiday hosts. Switch to Verizon FiOS today. Whole home Wi-Fi included with all FiOS gig plans. Availability varies.

• 38:39Speaker 01

  Network freedom and flexibility. That's what you want in a healthcare plan. With a Humana Medicare Advantage PPO plan, you can see any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, including specialists. No referrals, no kidding. Learn more at gethumana.com. See any doctor who accepts Medicare and is willing to bill Humana. Humana PPOs may not be available in all areas. Benefits and costs share may vary. Humana is a Medicare Advantage PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.

• 39:13Speaker 02

  Who was really sweet. She was a really nice girl. Really, really cool. We were homies. Loved her. Then she got promoted to something else. And when she got promoted, all of a sudden, she was a fucking snowman to me. And I was like, why is it so cold? Weird, strange. I, again, I just, I was like, what's going on? Like, what the hell is this? Because it was like, very like stark and quick.

• 39:39Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 39:39Speaker 02

  And she's like, Jesse, like, you don't understand, but like, when you get promoted, like, you just can't really like, associate with the people that are like, you know, like, Vanessa, you kind of like, you just have to, you elevate. And I was like...

• 39:51Drew Afualo?

  We're working out of gym, bitch. What are you talking about?

• 39:53Speaker 02

  I was floo- I couldn't believe it. I was like, is this, are you serious?

• 39:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 39:57Speaker 02

  All right, cool. Cool, I can be a snowman too, no problem. Because I was still trying to show her love, whatever. After that, I'm like, ice, ice. And then she got tight, cause then she could feel me switch it too. And now I had, I wasn't beholden to her, cause she's not my manager anymore, so she can't ask me like the fuck, all I have to be is civil. She was tight, whatever. Now we're, now it's not beefing, we're civil, but we're not cool like we used to be. Then I worked there for a year and then I get promoted to sales. Then I start working sales. When I got promoted, all of a sudden, the snow melted and she starts trying to like buddy buddy with me again and I was like nah, the nah. The ship has sailed like, I can't, not, retroactive, what?

• 40:37Drew Afualo?

  You're a freak, you're a weirdo.

• 40:38Speaker 02

  You're dumb. And she was kinda butthurt about that and I was like, whatever, it is what it is. I was still cool with everybody else there. This new girl came on, real sweet girl. Her name was Kathy. That's who got me into cheerleading, into professional cheerleading. But she um.

• 40:55Speaker 02

  She, it was her first week and she was pacing, cause she was so nervous about getting in trouble, cause she didn't collect enough leads. Have you ever worked sales?

• 41:04Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I have worked in sales, but not at a gym.

• 41:06Speaker 02

  But you know, like leads and you, you know, you have the team building shit. So she had to, we all had to collect a certain amount of leads for the week in this box where people take in names. And then it's alleged that someone gets a free membership.

• 41:22Drew Afualo?

  Gotcha.

• 41:23Speaker 02

  But what people don't know is that, okay, wait, so she's, she's saying that shit and she's like, oh my god, Jesse, I'm so nervous, it's like eight PM on a fucking Friday. She's like, I got a wedding on Saturday and I'm gonna have to take this box to the wedding to collect leads at the wedding. And I was like, no, the fuck you don't. No, you don't. Listen, it's a scam, like they're not giving away a free fucking membership at the end of the week. They collect all these boxes together, they might do it at the end of the year, like it's not a, you're fine, you don't have to take the box to the wedding. And collect leads at the wedding. And she's like, okay, she's like on the verge of tears, I'm trying to calm her down. And then my other manager, the old one, walks out of the back closet.

• 42:06Speaker 02

  Cause that's where the gym music was and I didn't know she was changing the music. And she walks out and I, and she had heard everything and she was like, you know, Jesse, and I was like, she's like, you know, you could get fired for slander. And I was like, okay, bye. And she leaves and then the next day I start my day and they call me into the office and my new manager wasn't in there. Cause usually when you're gonna get fired, you have, you need a manager and a witness. My manager knew I was money, like I was a, I was good. And she, and like after the fact, I found out that she refused to be in the room.

• 42:36Drew Afualo?

  When it happened?

• 42:37Speaker 02

  When it happened, she refused to be the witness, cause she tried to save me, but they were like, no, cause she had her, cause this one had already reported me. And then, and then had office and it was a whole thing. Anyways, they fired my ass and I and I, and I went to my aunt and cried and cried. I was so disheartened. Cause I was about to switch into PT. Cause I had, I'd climbed there. And then that week I went to the competitor across the street and I got a job. There for like two years.

• 43:06Drew Afualo?

  What's your sign? A Gemini, yeah. Yeah, that was my guess. I thought it was gonna be my guess. If it wasn't that, it was a Scorpio in my head. I couldn't, especially Scorpio women. Gemini women, oh yeah. I'm a Virgo.

• 43:19Speaker 02

  Oh, my mom's a Virgo.

• 43:21Drew Afualo?

  Period. I love that. I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do one more story really quick. Everyone's gonna have to hear me out. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. What I was gonna say was about your, uh, story about getting fired at the gym. It's very similar to me getting fired at the NFL, cause I worked at the NFL.

• 43:35Speaker 02

  Shut up.

• 43:35Drew Afualo?

  Before I did this, yeah, girl.

• 43:37Speaker 02

  What'd you do at the NFL?

• 43:38Drew Afualo?

  Social media.

• 43:39Speaker 02

  No way.

• 43:39Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and they hate when I say this and I'm gonna say it again, cause it's my fucking show. One of the reasons they fired me was cause they said they couldn't trust that I knew how to grow a following. Grow a following? Turns out I do.

• 43:52Drew Afualo?

  If you were taking my ideas, you guys could have had that. Um, glad they didn't though. But when I did get fired, I got fired by my manager who, um, hated me and made sure to tell me often, like, it was just like a slow breaking down of me, um, over time. And I was already planning on switching teams, like that's what I wanted to do. So like the last meeting I had with her, she was berating me in private like she always did. And then I told her, I was like, Okay, so like, I would like to switch teams, I think, at the end of the season, like, I just don't think this works in this capacity anymore and it, and I was like, I just, I can't thrive in an environment where someone like genuinely doesn't wanna see me succeed, like I, I can't really grow in that kind of environment and I don't think you're happy either.

• 44:36Drew Afualo?

  Maybe it's for the best, like whatever. I was trying to like be very cordial and civil about it, but this was the first time I like had really stood up for myself, like, which is shocking for me personally. And so she was like, well, you know, as soon as I said that, it was like a, and I said, and the next time you talk to me, I want there to be someone else in the room.

• 44:53Speaker 02

  You said that?

• 44:53Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, cuz I told her, I just don't think you're gonna talk to me the way you do if someone else is here. And then as soon as I said that shit, she was like, alright, why don't we just take the day? Let's just breathe, let's just like take a minute. All this shit and I'm like, alright, but like I've made up my mind, like in my head. And I went home. Next day, mind you, at this time, I live in Lake Elsinore, so that's in like the IE. And I was driving to Culver City. For six days out of the week, so I was driving two and a half hours one way. And then two and a half hours the other way. So I was driving to fucking Vegas every day, like that's how much I was committed to this job. And so then the next day going to work, it's like a Wednesday.

• 45:34Drew Afualo?

  And I'm working, I work all day, then at 5pm, she like slacks me, hey, can you come to the conference room so we can finish our conversation from yesterday? And I go, yeah. I take my laptop, go in there cuz she always, I always like take notes or whatever. And I go in there and there's another woman in there, so I figure, cuz I told her,

• 45:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 45:51Drew Afualo?

  I figured cuz I said, I don't wanna speak to you alone anymore, I wanna speak to someone else. That that's why, I figured it was HR, I figured that's why she was there. So we sat down and then, I was like, I had my laptop open and I was like sitting there and then no one was really saying anything, I was like,

• 46:07Drew Afualo?

  I'm Drew, right, and she's like, hi, I'm so and so, like, um, I'm with HR, and I'm like, okay. She goes, okay, so we're gonna be talking about how um, we are letting you go. Like, we're gonna be terminating your position, like I had no way of knowing that she was gonna do that shit to me, like I had no fucking way of knowing, like I was like, oh, let me close that, cuz obviously don't need to take notes on that, do I? So I was like sitting there and I was like, mhm, just like internalizing it. And processing openly and I remember thinking like, Like as she's talking to me, the lady's talking to me, my evil manager not saying anything. She was evil. Her not saying anything, she's just sitting there, like staring at her and she's looking at me and I'm looking at her. So we're just sitting there and then after she finishes talking, she goes, do you have anything you wanna say? And I go,

• 46:53Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, um, if you were gonna fire me, you couldn't have done that before I drove here, like, You guys couldn't have done that before I came here? And then she goes, well, you're not being fired, you're being let out. That's what they kept, they kept correcting me over and over again, the verbiage, right? Cause it's important. And then she's like, well, you know, I think we're just like the HR lady, I think told the manager, like, don't talk, I'm gonna talk the whole time, you shouldn't say anything. But I knew she wanted to be there, cause she wanted to watch me get fired. Cause she like felt good about it, like she was like really feeling good about herself. And so she was like, I go, I don't know, I just feel like we could have, you could have mentioned that to me yesterday when we talked for two hours, I feel like you could have mentioned this part. And then she was like, we've had many talks.

• 47:36Drew Afualo?

  That was the one thing she said in that entire meeting, I'll never forget it. Her stupid glasses too, she had glasses, not stupid. Silly ass glasses anyways. And then she says that and I go, as soon as she said that to me, I go, we've never talked about you finding a way to fire me legally. We never talked about that. And then we're just looking at each other. And then the HR go, girl goes, I think we're getting off track, I think we need to be focused, I think we need to like, Do you have any other questions besides that, uh, before I continue? I go, yeah, can she leave? I'd rather be alone. And then she was like, yeah, yeah, no, yeah. And then she just got up and left and that was the last time I ever saw her. Good fucking riddance. But the funny thing is too, even after that, like my manager at the time, like she was so micro aggressive towards me, like constantly.

• 48:22Drew Afualo?

  And I remember when I left, they had security waiting for me.

• 48:25Speaker 02

  Oh, they had security waiting for me too.

• 48:27Drew Afualo?

  Which is cra- I know that's standard, but it's also nuts because You could have waited again, it was, this was five, or no, it was like four o'clock, so I get off at five. And you had them wait right there and wanted, cause she wanted other people to watch me get fired. And pack my shit and watch everybody watch me. I'm like, you're evil dude. You already fucking got me bitch. You fucking fired me like. It's fine. What's funny though is because it was so hard for me to work there. One thing I always say and when I look back, I'm like, you know what? When I look back, I should have known something was off because it's really easy for me to make friends. And for some reason there, it was really hard for me to make friends. I was really trying. I was doing my best. I was giving my best jokes all the time.

• 49:08Drew Afualo?

  No friendship. I had like two friends there, but like one of them was a buddy from college and the other one was like an older woman. But all of the other people who worked in the facility, the front door girl, the lady in the bathroom, the security guy, they loved me. And so the security guy, when he was waiting for me, he goes, I'm sorry. And I was like, hey buddy, kicking me while I'm down. You know what I mean? That's, I know that's really sweet, but it makes me feel bad. But I was like, it's alright. No, it's totally fine.

• 49:39Drew Afualo?

  I was really proud of myself for not crying in the meeting, cause I wanted to, but I was so angry. Uh, that I didn't. And then as soon as I sat in my twenty fifteen Prius. I started sobbing. And then I went on my Instagram and I deleted every single thing that could have possibly tied me to the NFL at all. Like I deleted every single, every trace of it. I got rid of all of it. And then I called my mom, she didn't answer. I called my sister, she didn't answer. So then I was like, alright, fine, I'll call my dad. So I called my dad and then I told him and then the first thing he said to me was, congratulations. And I said, I got fucking fired. Yeah, and I told him, I was like, I think I got fired when I was talking to him on the phone. And he was like, congrats, that's so great.

• 50:20Drew Afualo?

  And I was like, is it? Doesn't feel like it. And he goes, you hated that job. Cause like all of them knew. They knew I hated that job.

• 50:26Speaker 02

  That's a just sweet, immediate knee jerk response.

• 50:29Drew Afualo?

  Right. And it was what I needed thankfully. I did cry the whole fucking way home. I cried in that two and a half hour traffic I sat in. I was just sobbing the whole way home. No, and then not too long later, I started doing this. So it's like, everything happens for a reason.

• 50:43Speaker 02

  Everything does, man. You can't ever connect the dots forward, but you can always connect them back.

• 50:47Drew Afualo?

  Right. I truly feel like too, I always tell uh, my family this and like everyone around me, like the universe always has my back. Like I was like, my ancestors are always looking over me. They're watching over me constantly. And sometimes when I don't listen to them, they have no choice.

• 51:02Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 51:03Drew Afualo?

  But to shove me off the fucking path like.

• 51:05Speaker 02

  Those who don't hear must feel.

• 51:07Drew Afualo?

  Right, and me being, me being a Virgo too, I don't deviate from paths often. So like, when I have a course, I study it unless I have a backup plan or another backup plan or another. So, I had no backup plan and I wasn't planning on leaving even though I kept saying I would. And so, they had to kick me off the path and they Spartan kicked me off that hoe.

• 51:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 51:25Drew Afualo?

  Shit, sandal to the chest, man. I was like, okay, oh no, for sure. Yeah, no, fire me. It's okay. No, totally fine. Uh, but thankfully they did. And then, uh, not too long later, I started posting on TikTok. Now, look, I'm talking to you. All's well that ends well. I love that. Okay, so, I'm gonna read one TikTok. We didn't even talk about the topic. But that's just how much we've been king. I love that for us. Okay. So, this first one, okay, wait, the topic is, uh, society's double standard when it comes to expectations of men and women.

• 51:52Speaker 02

  What double standard?

• 51:53Drew Afualo?

  In dating and the workplace. Well, we did talk about the workplace.

• 51:55Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 51:56Drew Afualo?

  So, we were kind of on topic. Anyways, so, in this video, a man is interviewing a woman, asking about red flags when the woman asks him, what's your biggest red flag? And a woman, immediately he says tattoos. If I see a tattoo on her, it's over. Cause girls that get tattoos are usually more promiscuous. Not gonna take a promiscuous girl seriously. Well, men who say that can never get. It's funny, cause they call women whores and it's like, well, clearly she's not that good at her job, cause she won't sleep with you. They're like, oh slut. Okay, I'll sleep with everyone but you, apparently. This one says, never seen a woman that looks better with a tattoo. Tattoos are the most obvious sign of the pursuit of external validation.

• 52:38Drew Afualo?

  Also, the bright dyed color hair too. The more natural the woman looks, the more likely she's the one to eye on for long term.

• 52:44Speaker 02

  To eye on for long term.

• 52:47Drew Afualo?

  And that's, yeah, until he said that, I wasn't on board, but.

• 52:50Speaker 02

  So well-written.

• 52:53Speaker 02

  It's prolific.

• 52:53Drew Afualo?

  It's profound, honestly.

• 52:55Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 52:55Drew Afualo?

  Do you, do you have a lot of tattoos? Do you have any tattoos?

• 52:57Speaker 02

  I have three, I have this one.

• 52:59Drew Afualo?

  Cute.

• 53:00Speaker 02

  I've got it with my dad, it matches. Like, he's got a little smiley face and then I've got my parents right here.

• 53:05Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I love that.

• 53:06Speaker 02

  And then I got one on my foot that matches with two of my homeboys. That's like a little dog. That's a long story.

• 53:12Drew Afualo?

  I'm sure it is, it's probably a fun story too, your life is crazy.

• 53:17Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I have, I have, um, obviously I have this like hand arm tattoo, but.

• 53:21Speaker 02

  The hand tattoos, they're so pretty.

• 53:23Drew Afualo?

  Thank you, all and all my tattoos are cultural, so all of them are Samoan tribal, I have one down my back too, and then I have one on my neck and then one on my side, but the one on my side is like a tribal, like it's a moon, but it has Samoan tribal inside of it, and that one's for our mom, like we got sibling tattoos, me and my sister and my brother, uh, because we're like, she always says I love you to the moon and back, so we got that. And then the one on my neck is for my dad, like we all got the same ones too. My dad's very first tattoo was like a stick and poke in Samoa that says a hundred percent Samoan, and it's like tiny as fuck, and it's on his like left shoulder blade. And it's so funny because he hates that tattoo, like he, and it's so faded and raised, it's awful. Cause he got it when he was like fourteen, which was a million years ago.

• 54:07Drew Afualo?

  Uh, and so my dad hates that tattoo, and then one time when me and my sister were drunk, we were talking about tattoos and then we were like, what if we got, and Daisy goes, what if we got one that said seventy-five percent Samoan, because my dad's a hundred and we're seventy-five? And then I was like, that's hilarious dude, and that was like two years ago, and then we did it, like we, my brother's is huge, it's on his shoulder and it's literally in the biggest font I've ever seen in my life, and then me and Daisy have little ones on our neck, and I was like, that's how you know we're never that serious, because we're literally, we tattooed a bit on us, on ourselves, because we thought it was funny.

• 54:40Speaker 02

  It's good, it's great.

• 54:42Drew Afualo?

  I love a silly ass tattoo, I think they're fun.

• 54:44Speaker 02

  They are fun.

• 54:45Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and I think.

• 54:46Speaker 02

  Fuck haters, that's crazy.

• 54:49Drew Afualo?

  You can't get a bad bitch with tattoos, just say that, be a lot faster. Do you get any hate online? I'm sure you do, you're a woman existing and you're talented, so obviously. And you're not white, so obviously, yeah, they're working against you too.

• 55:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, uh, I do, but I've learned to, I've always had thick skin. And I, I, it's just, and it's such a gift to have it, because it, it makes you, it just makes you stronger, but also lets you get better, like people try to, people try to throw jabs and it's like, yo, you don't even know, that's why I felt so seen watching your videos, like the way you cackle is the way I receive them.

• 55:26Drew Afualo?

  I love that.

• 55:26Speaker 02

  For real, like bitch, you can't sing, I'll be like, but I'm eating.

• 55:31Speaker 02

  But I'm living off this.

• 55:34Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 55:34Speaker 02

  You're mad.

• 55:35Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 55:35Speaker 02

  And here's what's even worse, suppose you're right and I can't, and I'm living off this, you're mad.

• 55:42Drew Afualo?

  So you're mad either way.

• 55:44Speaker 02

  You're mad either way.

• 55:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're mad no matter what.

• 55:46Speaker 02

  You're mad either way.

• 55:47Drew Afualo?

  I say that every time men tell me I'm not funny. I'm like, well, one of us is funny. So, oh, we should check tape. Let's check our record, let's check the trophy wall and see. I always think that too, but I I never, I feel the same way you do, it's like, someone who's doing worse than me in life is never gonna give me valid criticism about mine. Especially not my job.

• 56:07Speaker 02

  No, and if anything, you'll mo- it's like you're li- you're, you have no idea the fa- the favor that you're doing.

• 56:12Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 56:13Speaker 02

  No idea the favor that you're doing to me.

• 56:14Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 56:15Speaker 02

  Every time that you throw me something negative, like, the way.

• 56:17Drew Afualo?

  Period.

• 56:18Speaker 02

  Alchemy is a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing, and when you know how to do it, that shit just, it's you're just fanning a fire, bro.

• 56:27Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 56:27Speaker 02

  That's all you're doing, so fan me up.

• 56:30Drew Afualo?

  That's funny, my, I've talked to my friend Taffy about it before, she's very spiritual too.

• 56:36Drew Afualo?

  Yes, she's so sw- witchy and spiritual, she's my, my witch mother in training. But she's even told me before, and I hold this very true to this day for myself too, she said like, when I tell you the universe and God don't play about me, I would stop fucking with me if I were you. They don't play about me. That's why I'm like, when you wrong me.

• 56:55Speaker 02

  In God's hands.

• 56:56Drew Afualo?

  I feel bad for you. Whatever's coming for you, it will come. It may take, she may take her time, but she will arrive. So I always think, whenever something happens like that, I always think like, this was for a reason and this was on purpose. For a good reason and on purpose. When I got fired, I, oh, I struggled to tell myself, but I was telling myself, this is for a reason and this is on purpose, like, for a specific rea- and thank fucking god. Oh my god, thank god.

• 57:17Speaker 02

  It's so great to train yourself that way, cause it's so hard to do it in those moments.

• 57:21Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 57:21Speaker 02

  To like advocate for yourself that way.

• 57:23Drew Afualo?

  Especially in this industry.

• 57:24Speaker 02

  Especially in this in, oh my god, especially in this industry, but it serves you so much to train your brain if you don't naturally have that. I got a lot of that from my parents, like my parents just put me in situations where I had to have thick skin.

• 57:36Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 57:36Speaker 02

  Like.

• 57:37Drew Afualo?

  Me too. I always tell people when they're like, they try to insult me, I'm like, oh, you guys haven't, you haven't met my mom, so. I'd hang out with her, that shit's chill, that's child's play to me, bitch. You know what I mean? That's level one.

• 57:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:51Drew Afualo?

  I was like, damn, is that it?

• 57:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:53Drew Afualo?

  Well, no wonder you think I'm so fucking mean.

• 57:57Speaker 02

  I'm not mean, I wish, that's the other, whatever, it's fine, they're not our tribe.

• 58:01Drew Afualo?

  When you, when you.

• 58:02Speaker 02

  It's not mean.

• 58:03Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 58:03Speaker 02

  It's funny, you don't get it.

• 58:04Drew Afualo?

  That's why I'm saying, you guys don't get it, you don't get it. That's why a lot of times, that's a lot of white people don't like it either, that's why I was like, you need to hang out with more minority people, your skin will toughen up too.

• 58:14Speaker 02

  Don't get it.

• 58:14Drew Afualo?

  I was like, my family thrives off roasting each other, like, that's like, something fun that we do together.

• 58:20Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 58:21Drew Afualo?

  We sit in a circle and we make fun of each other. And I had to get funny, and I had to get funny fast, bitch, what the fuck? I was drowning out there when I was a kid.

• 58:28Speaker 02

  That's funny.

• 58:29Drew Afualo?

  And then what's worse in my family is like, if you start taking it a little too personal, like, you're like, whatever, whatever, they're like, oh, someone's mad, are you mad?

• 58:37Speaker 02

  Double down.

• 58:38Drew Afualo?

  Oh, no joking with her, she's mad.

• 58:40Speaker 02

  Double down.

• 58:41Drew Afualo?

  Can't do it. I was like, the humiliation was eating me alive, I had to get good.

• 58:44Speaker 02

  Oh, my god.

• 58:46Drew Afualo?

  Anyways, to wrap us up, I know we talked about all kinds of things. But I'm so glad we got to touch on your music in the beginning, sometimes I get so wrapped up in King, I forget to ask about your artistry, but just to kind of dovetail back to the beginning. Uh, what would you say is your best piece of advice for any sort of, any aspiring artist in general, not necessar- they don't necessarily have to be a vocalist, because you're not just a vocalist. Obviously, you're a poet too. And you're just an artist in general, I feel like you have so much art, like, to put out into the world, that's beautiful and withstanding. So what would you say is your best piece of advice for people who would love to, you know, essentially make a living off of their art, or be able to put it out into the world?

• 59:26Speaker 02

  Can fail faster, because time is gonna pass you by anyway. And so many people get paralyzed by indecision, and they fucking like pussy footed up, like, they're just, they're scared, and and the, when you really break it down to brass tacks, what you're really afraid of is being perceived.

• 59:41Drew Afualo?

  Mm-hmm.

• 59:41Speaker 02

  And if you're scared about people seeing you, if you really, if you really think about it, the people that are seeing you. Aren't even working on their own shit. Cause if they were, they wouldn't they wouldn't even be paying any attention to you and whatever failure might be in front of you or behind you, so. It it's it's kinda fucked up, but when you think about it that way, you're like, who the fuck are you to be judging me? When you're not even focused on your own shit. So what am I even ultimately scared of? So fuck that, let me just focus on my own shit and and if you do fuck up, it's fine. Again, you have to, this doesn't come like overnight if you're not naturally like this. You train yourself to be that way to like, try something, if it doesn't work, keep it fucking moving. Try something again, if it doesn't work, keep it fucking moving and then and then the more nose you get, if you could keep your enthusiasm up.

• 1:00:25Speaker 02

  The hundreds know might be like the one right before the yes, that might change your life. You know, and you and and you're not gonna get better unless you try like. LeBron didn't come out the fucking womb playing like he does, you know, you have to work at it, so that also comes with it, but. Fail faster and learn to objectively criticize yourself and surround yourself with a team, cause it's impossible to do great things alone. Yeah, and then tell and then make sure you you you cultivate a culture of um. Honesty. And telling your people, yo, I I got thick skin, you need to tell me. What I'm fucking up here, how do I I'll get off stage and I'll be like, how do I do what went left, what went right, so we could like finesse and you know what I mean?

• 1:01:08Speaker 02

  That shit is so, cause that's how you get better. Cultivate that sort of culture where everybody can be very forthright with criticisms and. Apply it to yourself.

• 1:01:16Drew Afualo?

  With love, obviously, it's.

• 1:01:19Speaker 02

  But but learn to do that and then and then also learn to celebrate the small ones, because the universe reflects your level of gratitude. Yeah, and sometimes we forget, cause then we get there and then and then the little problem that you would have been stressing about when you had no money or when you were just getting started, now you're like, oh, that ain't shit. But it is. But it is, and you have to celebrate even the small ones, you have to celebrate them. Fail faster, celebrate shit, gratitude and have thick skin, and if you're gonna cry, cry, but wrap it up.

• 1:01:45Drew Afualo?

  I love that. I think you're so fucking awesome. I think you're so incredible and so talented. And I think you're a gift to this world and the industry especially, and me. Oh my gosh, I got to have you today. So, thank you so much. I appreciate you. I think you're just unbelievable.

• 1:02:00Speaker 02

  You're lit. Doing God's work.

• 1:02:02Drew Afualo?

  As are you.

• 1:02:04Speaker 02

  I don't want God's work.

• 1:02:05Drew Afualo?

  And you guys saw that on camera, so you guys got that. But, thank you all so much for joining us on this episode of the comment section. Thank you to my amazing guest, Jessie Reyes. Uh, for those of you that maybe were born yesterday and um, don't follow you, where can everybody find you?

• 1:02:20Speaker 02

  Xvideos.com, just kidding. Um, J E S S I E R E Y E Z everywhere. Jessie Reyes. Just have a song that came out with Ari Lennox that's called Just Like That. That's a little free D D geek. Go enjoy that.

• 1:02:32Drew Afualo?

  Love, amazing, fantastic. Also, I did want to mention really quick, your collaborations are insane. I think your collaborations are fucking incredible. I thought Imported was also one of my favorite songs.

• 1:02:42Speaker 02

  Shout out Black, that amazing motherf- I just got a verse from him.

• 1:02:45Drew Afualo?

  Oh, period.

• 1:02:46Speaker 02

  Did you see that? And uh, he sent it in the group chat.

• 1:02:49Drew Afualo?

  Do you have anything else you want to promote at all? Shows and at all?

• 1:02:51Speaker 02

  Yes, I'm going on tour with Jenei Cole uh, next week, right? Two weeks? December, front half of December. Uh, yeah, and then um, may or may not be working on a new album. Ooh. And, but I have a long fucking catalog, a big catalog.

• 1:03:06Drew Afualo?

  Yes, she does. It's extensive. And it's fantastic, from top to bottom. Not in a weird way. Say that so neutrally. No bias whatsoever.

• 1:03:17Drew Afualo?

  Thank you all so much for joining us on this episode of the comment section. Don't forget, new episodes drop every Wednesday. You can stream the audio on all streaming platforms, or you can watch the video for free and exclusively on our favorite platform, Spotify, which is actually perfect, because Jessie Reyes is all over Spotify. You can watch this episode, you can listen to her discography, and you do it because I said so, with love though. Anyways, thank you again for joining us. Thank you to my amazing guest Jessie Reyes. I'll see you next week. Bye!

• 1:03:53Speaker 00

  Verizon FiO celebrates the holiday hostess with the mostess. When the whole family's over, you've got Verizon FiO's whole home Wi-Fi. Fast, reliable, 100% fiber internet in every room. So your little nephews can blast video games on full volume. Your daughter can stream football under the dinner table. And grandpa can turn on the same movie for the third time. A full house with full Wi-Fi coverage. So everyone can do their own thing, together. 100% fiber internet for 100% holiday hosts. Switch to Verizon FiO's today. All home Wi-Fi included with all FiO's gig plans. Availability varies.

• 1:04:23Speaker 01

  Network freedom and flexibility. That's what you want in a healthcare plan. With a Humana Medicare Advantage PPO plan, you can see any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, including specialists. No referrals, no kidding. Learn more at gethumana.com. See any doctor who accepts Medicare and is willing to bill Humana. Humana PPOs may not be available in all areas. Benefits and costs share may vary. Humana is a Medicare Advantage PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.