4 chapters across the catalog
MSNBC's Joy Reid attacks Kyrie Irving, calling him an "anti-vax poster child" and a "celebrity pawn." She rejects Stefan Marbury's comparison of Irving to Muhammad Ali, citing Ali's 1978 PSA for vaccines as proof they are opposites. The hosts critique Reid's "identity-less" persona and her attempt to "purge" the Ali comparison from the internet to protect her job.
The discussion disputes claims that COVID-19 affects Black communities at significantly higher rates due to biological factors, suggesting instead that socioeconomic status and comorbidities are the primary drivers. As the NBA season approaches, LeBron James faces logistical hurdles as unvaccinated players may be barred from arenas in Brooklyn and San Francisco. The hosts speculate on whether James will maintain his stance or succumb to the "bullet phone" pressure from league sponsors.
Actress Ja'Net DuBois, who played Willona on Good Times, passed away on February 17, 2020. She is credited with writing and performing "Moving On Up," the theme song for The Jeffersons, which was inspired by her personal dream of moving her mother out of the Brooklyn ghetto. DuBois wrote the lyrics as a "promise" to change her family's life, capturing the universal desire for upward mobility and home ownership.
Rapper T.I. explains the strategy of investing in "blighted" properties near major infrastructure projects like stadiums. The hosts compare this to Jay-Z's involvement with the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center, arguing that celebrities are used as faces for gentrification to reduce community pushback. They argue that these projects often displace the very people the artists claim to represent.
