Rob Lee Takes the Hot Seat : Flipping the Tables with Wordsmith

Swell AI Transcript: TruthInThisArt 1112_2023 - Wordsmith.mp3
ROB LEE: Hey, welcome to The Truth in This Art. I am your guest, Rob Lee. And today, it's the second instance of me being interviewed on this podcast. And this one is a little bit different, a little special. I have the great wordsmith here who's going to interview me. And ultimately, this is more than a year in the making. So, you know, about this time, well, about a year in the making, actually. about this time back in 2022, we're recording this in the tail end of 2023, just to set that stage, Wordsmith and I did an interview. And during that interview, we were just kind of chit-chatting and certain details started flowing out, certain similarities. And we determined that we have the same birthday, different years, but same birthday. And there were a lot of those little like similarities and coincidences that I find out in a podcast. from folks, you know, just through the process of connecting. So that's why we're here today. You know, he wanted to interview me. Basically, I guess, you know, check my my aquarium, my Capra quarry and my Capricorn aquarium cusp card. So this is what this interview is going to be. So, yeah, I hope you enjoy putting it out, you know, obviously on that January 20th should be a holiday, should be a national holiday. And yeah, I hope you enjoy it.
ANTHONY PARKER: Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's definitely an honor to take over the seat of today, because normally, as we know, we have a regular host, Rob Lee, who holds things down. He brings these great guests on, pulls a lot of knowledge, unearths some secrets from them as well. But guess what? I'm moving in the box to flip the tables today, and he's got to deal with it. So the hard questions are coming his way. He's on the hot seat. And it's wordsmith extraordinaire is going to be asking the questions. So ladies and gentlemen, let's get right into it. Rob, pleasure to see you. Happy holidays. Please tell everybody how you're feeling.

ROB LEE: Thank you for having me on this illustrious podcast. Yeah, happy holidays. Thank you for that. And it's as I said in this sort of intro, I think, you know, we're putting this out on Jan 20. I feel like that actually should be a holiday. All of these creatives just coming together. But for me, I'm feeling delicious. Like I got my Perrier here, my salsa water, you know, contractually obligated. So I'm feeling good.

ANTHONY PARKER: Well, I'd love to answer. I'm glad you brought up January 20th. That's my birthday as well. That's something we found out when you interviewed me. Originally, we found out we were Aquarius brothers. So this is another thing that's unique about this interview right now. So I want to jump right into it. I think something that we all want to know when people get in on the side of being a podcaster or being on the radio and wanting to interview different talents, what pushed you towards this? Is this a passion thing that Rob Lee, as you were growing up, you said, hey, this is something that I really want to do. I want to interview people. I'm really interested in people's knowledge or opinions. Or is it something you may or just kind of fell into? And once you fell into it, you said, man, I got a love for this and I want to take it as far as I can.

ROB LEE: I think it's a blend, right? So one of the earlier things I was into, I wanted to be a rapper, you know, I wanted to be a baller, a shot caller, all of that stuff. And back at City College, you know, I was writing rhymes and all of that stuff. And one of the things in writing rhymes, you want to record your stuff, as you would know, obviously, because, you know, you're the guy. But one of the things I would have on me at all the time is this little handy recorder. And I would do these sort of impromptu interviews. I'm talking like ninth grade, like, okay, you know, end of the year, I'm like, yo, so what are we doing? You know, what's what are you looking forward to really quick on the like, like man on the street sort of style interview questions, and really nothing there. And You know, I go back to an interview I did with Paige Hernandez, and, you know, she's in the theater space and we're talking, and this is an interview through The Truth in This Art, we're talking about like, you know, being on stage and so on. And I mentioned that I was an emcee at Masters of Ceremony at like five or six. And she was just like, there's something there you're pointing at. So having that, and so we fast forward to sort of, you know, 2009 when I got started in podcasting in earnest, you know, did these test recordings to kind of play with audio and all of this different stuff. And I remember my first, I discovered podcasts, I discovered like talk radio and things of that nature. But I specifically discovered Kevin Smith's podcast, The Smartcast, and really got into that. And I was like, I could do this. So, you know, I grabbed some, I listened intently to find out what equipment he used. And he mentioned, just in passing, in his podcast that he used the fast track and these different things. I started just kind of buying stuff. I was making decent money at the time, so I was buying different things. I would go to Best Buy, and I think this one trip, I spent like $500 on this interface and some microphones, didn't know what I was doing, and just figuring it out. So, you know, did that for, you know, this sort of podcast journey and grown and developed as a podcaster. you know, for the better part of 10 years and did my 10th anniversary party at Big Improv in Station North. And, you know, I was feeling like you do something for a while. You're like, so what is the next stage? And, you know, this comes we've had, you know, different iterations of what the original podcast was, Mastermind Teams Rock Cast. That's what the original podcast that I did. It was a comedy and news and pop culture podcast. And I was always on. I want to have my own thing and I want to put people on to different stuff in that podcast network, if you will, into our podcast. Which included master my team's broadcast I did another podcast called I'll put you on to and it would be me like showcasing music like new tracks so like we're talking 2011 2010 You know Early J Cole early like all of these different people early Kendrick all of these different people I'm like, yo, you should definitely check this out. I'm on that piff calm doing all of this different stuff, right and So, you know, this this through line of being able to put people on something that might be might be right in front of them. So at this point, you know, really looking at I can do all of these different things. And I briefly was a part of another podcast network, but I didn't want to send over my content because I was like, I need to keep my stuff. I'll partner with you guys. I'll do something with you. So this is 2015. And and I think all of this kind of plays into where I'm at. you know, 2015 or maybe even late 2015. I just remember it was like in maybe it's 2016, but I remember it was around like, you know, Freddie Gray. And, you know, I was it was doing a podcast as part of this podcast network. And these are people who are from out of town, Pennsylvania and so on. They did a lot of this, a lot of negative talking about Baltimore. And that struck a chord with me. And I was like, right. And I was like, I refuse. I refuse. I burnt. Not only did I burn that bridge, like, I took the ashes. And I sprinkled them over. One of those deals like that. 100%. So with that, I knew it struck a chord with me. Right. So. Yeah, at that point, I was doing a few different podcasts, you know, my best of my team's broadcast, another show called Metrocast. And then, you know, I stopped doing those other ones that just really focused on broadcast. And I was like, I really want to show that, you know, me and my co-host at the time, they were from Baltimore. And that we're standing on that. So Trump said that goofy stuff in 2019. I was reactivated. I was brought back in. And that was the point where I was like, I want to disprove this. It's about knowledge, right? So I want to disprove this idea that Baltimore is bad. Baltimore has bad people, blah, blah, blah. And I want to do that through conversations with interesting people. Like, I'm curious about how people do what they do, but I really want to show off sort of my city and these these other cities that I think are are very similar to these other communities that that don't get those shots. So that's sort of what it is in a very long and winding way.

ANTHONY PARKER: OK, I mean, I really love that answer. I love, too, that it seems to me there were sprinkles at times where your gift was kind of bubbling to the surface. And I think when we're young, too, We have hard time as kids listening to adults when they literally kind of give us the blueprint and go, hey, you're good at this or I see something in you. And I think I spoke about it on the podcast with you. You know, it was my mother for me. She stayed in my ear about being an entertainer. You know, she's like, you have this gift for writing music, composing music, for acting, writing plays. That's what you need to be doing. Now I'm trying to play football, you know, and I ran that, you know, into the ground too. I literally tore my Achilles, tore my meniscus and It's what do I do next? And luckily, I had my mother ringing in my ear. So to hear your story and you've had a couple of moments, even if it didn't, I would say ringing your ear all the way where you said, yeah, this is my path because you had those sprinkles early on when you got to that stage where it sounded like you went, hey, you know, I can do this or I want to do this. It clicked for you. So thank you for sharing that. That's something I've always wanted to know, you know, about you and how you started the podcast. So something else I'm sure all of us in the public want to know as well is you've interviewed so many guests over the years. I mean, so many. So this might be tough to dig in the crates and pull this out. But who is your most inspiring guest? And I would say also, who is your weirdest guest? So two different questions in one. Most inspiring and someone who is just completely weird to where it threw you off, but you still love the interview. But it just kind of threw you off and was unique.

ROB LEE: Here's the funny thing. They could be the same person. It can.

ANTHONY PARKER: It can. That's true. Very true.

ROB LEE: And I'm going to, I'll give the answer that they are the same person, but I'll do some honorable mentions, I suppose. And it's a little far back, actually. This would be the The Rebecca Hofberger interview from AVAM, you know, when you're in this idea of who's an artist and what's an artist, which is what I think when it comes to like outsider artists and so on, I think a lot of folks, you know, granted, you know, she doesn't look like you and I, but my point is still there, where this notion of outside artists kind of extending what the idea of what artistry is, what creativity is and so on. So having that, that was a lot of inspiration there. And, you know, in the conversation, I didn't know what I was doing. You know, this was still like early in the pod. And I'm like, how did I get her again? How did I get this person of this caliber? You know, you know, like I found it, this place in the kicker was I'd never been to a van at that time. And she called me and she's like, you've never been to a van, have you? I was like, how did you know? And she was like, you're a little bit of a loser. You know what? You should come be my guest. So I eventually, you know, came after. But sort of the interview was just one of those moments that I think was a career trajectory thing. But also it was like, you know, speaking with her, someone who's been in that industry and, you know, has had that place for close to 30 years. you know, as far as being a place that is representative of Baltimore, representative of sort of different slices of art here, not just the fine art, which is kind of rarefied, but or not even the sort of like only the DIY folks. But it's almost this hodgepodge that I think is really interesting, I think really reflective of Baltimore. So really having that conversation Then on the other side of that is the weirdness of it, the way that that interview went down. She researched me before we did the interview and she had a lot of questions for me. So ultimately. The interview wasn't the sort of standard interview that I do. It was or even what I was comfortable at the time. It was kind of just a conversation that we eventually chopped up. We were talking about Patrisse O'Neill for a while and stand up comedy. She was like, yeah, I found your old website and, you know, I had a funeral of a friend passed. But then I found out about the things you're into. She's like Shinsuke Nakamura. Hell yeah, wrestling. And I was just like, wow. And she was like Patrisse O'Neill. She's like, yeah, I was just listening to, you know, his stand up. And it kind of got me through the blues of this, but I was not expecting that. I was not expecting, especially at that time, for someone to research me and then basically almost counter-interview me. And I had to throw the questions out. That was one of those first instances where I'm just going off the cuff and just improv-ing the entire interview. Another one in terms of the inspiring would be LaFontaine Oliver, who's currently president of WNYC in New York. But one of the things that connects, and I think you'll perk up for this one, he's a Morgan guy. He's running WEAA. So having that, and it was one of those points of You know, when we were talking, we did the interview, I didn't know him initially. And he was referred to me and we ended up chatting it up. And I was like, again, how did I get this dude? And then finding out his background is what it was. I was like, oh, oh, you're like a big person. You're like a real person. I'm I'm just over here knocking crumbs out of my beard and you're a real person. And just some of the things that he was saying, just my approach and how I go about stuff, it was very like, wow, he's like, you're good at this. He's like, do you have any interest in broadcast? And giving me that sort of feedback, those are those sort of pivotal in different ways, but it kind of did the same thing and inspiring and hearing their stories, but also getting that sort of acknowledgement. Um, and the other one I'll say, the last one in terms of the honorable mentions, as far as one of the weirder ones, it would be, um, there, there's a few to come to mind, but one that sticks out is, um, I did an interview with Adam Stab, the graffiti artist. He was great. Cause it was just stream of consciousness. And it was again, one of those sort of, all right, where can I get a question in? And I just never got any questions. And it's just him just like, it isn't my thoughts, brother. It's like a 90 minute interview. And I was like, I'm going to ask one question. He's rolling, man. He was he was ready. He was cued up. And it was fun. It was great. But it was definitely one of those ones that's a little different out there.

ANTHONY PARKER: OK, no, those are some great choices right there. I would say the next thing. I would love to know, and I think a lot of people love to know too, is as podcasting has gotten bigger, how have you seen it, I guess, be an alternative to FM radio and even AM radio, which AM radio is known for being talk radio for the longest. So now you have these three mediums, AM, FM, podcasting, satellite radio as well. I don't want to leave that out. Where do you feel podcasting, I would say, fits in today's society and how does it differ? from those other media formats. I know in my end, I always look at podcasting as being very free form. You don't have to hold anything back. You can be your true, authentic self. You don't have a time limit like you have an FM radio where I got to smash so much into a three minute interview and then play a song, you know. So where do you, you know, do you find it gratifying that podcasting allows you to be very free, very organic? And where do you see podcasting's place in society now and in the future?

ROB LEE: Yes, it's a very, very interesting question for a couple of reasons. One, we're at that period where we get those Spotify wrapped and see like what's been going on with these numbers. Two, since we've we last talked and really over the last like six to seven months, I've been an educator in the podcast space as well, like teaching high school students. So I really had to think about it and revisit it. And I think one, so I think A lot of podcasts like those folks, some of the more popular podcasts, they came from another place, right? Like the people that are they're already known commodities. So people throw Joe Rogan out there, right? This dude has had a television career, a UFC related career, a comedy career, all of this. And podcasting has to be happens to be an extension. And when you look at the of that brand and when you look at the way that he does his, um, his podcast, it's set up. It looks like a radio show. It looks like the setup you would have for Howard Stern or one of those sort of H, um, H two, like B roll feeds. So it's always been that sort of connection. And some of the podcasts I was listening to early, You know, this was when FM radio was doing like, here's our, you know, HD to like extension. We're trying to build this up because all of them is content is content is content. I think you're right when it comes to and obviously FM radio as well and satellite, all of the stuff. I think satellite that step for satellite kind of led to some ways this sort of boom in podcasting because it's just like, you know, the paywall thing, right? With the patrons for our Patreon or getting in exclusively through this platform versus that one. There are some podcasts out there using Rogan as an example that, you know, you want to have you lose that specialness. But it's just like, I'm going to take that big check to be a Spotify specific podcast. And they have some say. So the way that I the way that I approach what I do and what I really enjoy about it is the free form is the with a fair amount of consideration is the freedom that's there, the independence that's there. You know, I don't want to give up that independence. There have been, you know, opportunities to align myself with radio stations and so on. And I'm like, I come as is I'm turnkey, you know, so I'm not against some of the technical stuff doing that and suggestions, but I'm not changing my content.

ANTHONY PARKER: That's because, boy, you an Aquarius.

ROB LEE: That's why.

ANTHONY PARKER: You're going to rebel against the system. We can't fit in a box, man. That's part of the problem. 100%.

ROB LEE: You know, that's a big piece of it for me. Like if I'm able to articulate what my voice is and what my and be able to try things out, that's that's what interests me. That's that curiosity. Now, this is the interesting caveat now over because, you know, I'm friendly with folks in public radio and I know a bit about the industry. And I actually just had a really cool conversation with another Morgan alum yesterday who's in that in that space. And we're we're talking through like For me, it's like I see it. Right. So remember back in 2020, everyone wanted to come out with a podcast because you got a captive audience. People are at home. So a lot of folks already had a podcast that wasn't doing the numbers or they wanted to grow it. They would make attempts to fit this model. I'm going to Joe Rogan my thing. I'm going to try to do the same thing. You're getting rid of your specialness. You're getting rid of what made you unique. And then, you know, Spotify at that time, I believe, was buying up everyone to gain market share. We're going to all of these smaller companies, I guess, like Gimlet or, you know, we're going to buy. We're just going to throw money at it to build it up because they were lagging behind. They're still, I think, a bit behind Apple, but they were lagging behind. But they made a huge investment in it. So people were packaging their unique, independent podcast in a way to be part of that system. And that doesn't feel like podcasting to me. There were some instances where there was an offer for me to do something with an outlet here. And it was just like, well, would you be interested in doing this in this way? I was like, no, not interested in it. I have no problem with repurposing and sharing my content. I'll do that because it's about getting it out there, getting it exposed. I'm not big on a paywall thing. I think, you know, remember back in the day when music used to get broke on the radio?

ANTHONY PARKER: Yeah, by DJs. I mean, I miss it being broke by an actual DJ, you know, it's.

ROB LEE: That's that's a piece of it for me. Like, I want people that are supposed to get it to get it. So those DJs that are breaking it, you know, the people that are listening, they're going to be tuning in because they're a fan of that DJ, how they curate music, what have you. And a lot of that stuff has become undervalued. And I think this is the thing that me and my partner talk about regularly, sort of the death of expertise. And it's a piece of that, like, I do this. I'm not trying to be I'm not trying to be someone who's a marketing guy who wants to do a podcast to diversify my communications. I'm a podcaster.

ANTHONY PARKER: Yeah, man. Good stuff. I mean, no, it's just really good stuff. It really is, man. So something else, man, I wanted to ask you to just want to know about you personally. When you look at your podcast journey, what is the thing that you want people to remember about you the most? Now, you could run this podcast at the end of time. We know that. I think you'll know at some point what you want to do, whether it has an end game, whether it never has an end game. But what do you want people to remember you by? What is going to be your legacy as far as being on this podcast?

ROB LEE: Yeah, this particular podcast, I'll answer that and sort of like the idea, I guess, around podcasting in general for this podcast is that, you know, he was he was he was for the city. He was for the communities. He was for kind of shining a light on folks that are underrepresented who don't get that fair shot to show like, you know, this is what I do. A lot of times, you know, you go through the podcast, you start listening to folks. This was my first interview. Yo, I'm just getting out. I'm an emerging artist. I don't even have a full portfolio yet. Or, yo, you're the first person actually credited me or noticed that I was a creative person and so on. It's illuminations that come out of it. I think that's where that value proposition around what this podcast is. And I think it aligns with who I am as an individual. you know, philanthropic, you know, in that way, as most Aquarius's are, you know, trying to just really put people on. And then more macroly from the podcast thing, it's just, You're being an old head as a podcaster. I've been doing this for 15 years. It's just like, yo, I was doing this before you knew Jax to be that way about it, you know, came into the mix. So just sort of like, you know, it's not like sour grapes or anything, but it's more so like, no, I do this. This is the thing that I've done. And, you know, I know a lot about that, that area. You know, some of the things that you'd be surprised that you hear, you don't look like a podcaster. I was like,

ANTHONY PARKER: What is a podcaster?

ROB LEE: It's usually the audio medium, so what are you saying? Come on. It's like, I almost want to, because I'm really like, I think when people listen to the podcast, when they go through like any of the catalog or have you, they'll see that I'm a little troll. I have a lot of like humor that just kind of pops up. And I almost want to have a button on me that, you know, like the what is it, the easy button that staples used to have. I want to have one. It just has Chris Rock quotes like he speaks so well. I want to just ban that whenever someone's radio voice podcast.

ANTHONY PARKER: I don't, there's no such thing as far as when you're on the radio, there's no face. It's all about the voice. I mean, you have a podcast, people mix it up. Sometimes you can see one another. Sometimes you can't. I think in general, people, when you start listening to the radio, you know, it's more of a voice thing. You're listening to the voice, you know, you're, that's the whole point of radio. It's, you have the different medium of TV is you want the visual to go with the audio. The radio is the audio. That's what you're focusing on.

ROB LEE: One thing I want to throw in there real quick, because you mentioned television, and I definitely want to touch on this assessment that I have. One of the other things that's really cool about podcasting, getting into it, low cost. It's a low cost entry point. If you've got a good idea and you can get some decent mics in an audio interface or even a USB mic connected to your computer, you can get out some stuff and then you grow. It's like when people are getting tools. I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Gran Torino. Yeah, it was really good, man. And he had that line in there about getting tools. He's like, you collect this over a lifetime. And it's like that. Now, a lot of that sort of, you know, we want to copy and ape what other people do. it leads to you going broke. So you'll see people get all of this equipment. Like how many roadcaster sales did you see? You look at those videos, notice that everyone has like the same gear. It means they're probably sponsored by someone. But the idea of someone who doesn't know that and can't read between the lines of how these things go, they'll just throw a bunch of money at something. They may not have the stamina to be a podcaster, to to be in that industry. So you've bought you know, mirrorless cameras and a roadcaster were already in the thousands at this point, you know, and you could do a setup that is less than $100 if you're just trying to just go with something, figure it out and grow from there. That was what I did. I mean, it's like 300. But again, things are much less than they were 15 years ago. So, you know, and that's what I try to impress upon, like the students I'm teaching. It's like you can do this off of your phone. You know, I don't like to do it off my phone, but you can. And, you know, that's sort of the thing that's really interesting about it. It's like it gives anyone the opportunity to have a voice. And if you want to blow it out and do something really cool and have something really interesting. Yeah, sure. But to do one, you don't really need all of that.

ANTHONY PARKER: Yeah. I'm so glad you put that in there because I think it's important, especially for our young, I would say, podcasters and people that want to get into this field. That's probably the question that they're definitely going to ask the most is where do I start? You know what I mean? So I'm glad you're teaching your kids that. I'm glad you dropped this on the podcast and put that information out there. I do want to wrap things up with this one last question, and it has to do with 2024. Where do you see this podcast going in 2024? Is there going to be any changes? Is there any big guests that you want to reveal or keep secret? But how do you see yourself evolving every year? I know that's something big with me is I'm always seeing going into a new year. You know, what is the new challenge? How do I want to be better? How can I be a best version of myself better than the last year? Doing a podcast over 10 years, we changed so much in decades. So just again, like, what do you going into 2024? What are some changes that you feel are needed or that you want to make to your podcast? Because I know you're probably always assessing things and always analyzing things. I already know how we get down. So it's tiring sometimes, I'll tell you. But tell us, all the viewers out here, what can we get from you in 2024?

ROB LEE: Yeah, and thank you for that. That's a great question, because I actually had a meeting today discussing that a bit. And you know, is, as you know, because as you mentioned, you're like, I already know what you're going to say, bro. I already know what you're thinking. That's right. But but it literally is is one of those things of trying to figure out, like, all right, how do I want to tweak this? So over the last so this would be season nine, even though like my seasons are kind of broken up every six months or so. So I've kind of changed that cadence one year, one season. So twenty twenty four is going to be the four years going to be season nine. And I kind of did a little bit of that in this this most recent year, what have you. But prior, it's been like split into six month periods. So over the last couple of years, back in what, 2022, I did 300 plus episodes. It's a lot. This year, probably about half that. Next year, 2024, I want to cap out at about maybe 100, maybe 75. But in that cap, I want to do more serialized, really hyper-focused and curated stuff. I'll give you an example. In this this most recent season, the season that wrapped season eight, the the month your interview was in, I put your interview out. I was being very intentional. I had like the when your interview dropped, I had the I had Kokai on there that same week. And then that was in the middle of sort of this jazz month of interviews. So I was like, there's some jazziness here, so I'm going to just fit this here. And in that jazz month, it took me almost three years to get to that period of being able to get one, the number of musicians and jazz champions, folks in the industry and bringing them all together for a really concentrated, hyper curated month of interviews. And I'm just so proud of that month because it's just this is what I want this to be really curated in this way of like, come on this journey with me. That's what it is. The podcast is an invitation. And that's really I'm leaning more into that. So going into 2024, I got some some names that are popping up. Some comedians are going to be sort of the first month. that right now I've kind of gone through the first quarter of the year and I got a piece of advice about I want to see a little bit more of you in it. So it's kind of like what does Rob like is kind of the thinking. So I like comedy. So the first month is going to be stand up comedians, folks that are in that space. That second month, I'm wavering a little bit, but I think I've focused keyly on just like black figures in like radio in the radio space. So I got like folks in content. I got folks that like I got Max Meyer coming on who from D.C. Radio is a legend in the industry. And, you know, March, we'll see what's coming there for March. Like, you know, I might be working with a big convention around that time, so they might take up my entire March. We'll see what happens. But, you know, it's it's about really connecting and looking at like, all right, One, does this still interest me? That's that's the first person I'm trying to satisfy, because I can't tell what everyone thinks. Everyone else is a little fickle. But, you know, if I'm interested in it, as they say, or as I say, you can't fake enthusiasm. And one of the other things that I want to do, like Last year, well, this season, I was doing this Fridays for Philly. So I would do interviews in Philadelphia and put those out on every Friday. I'm going to do more stuff with that. I'm going to do more stuff in D.C. because D.C. radio, they love you, boy. And then, you know, then on the other side, I'm looking at two other cities, quote unquote, black cities like this. You know, 2023, I went to New Orleans twice and did some interviews down there because that Baltimore, New Orleans connection is real. And so now it's the same thinking with why I went up to Philly as well. So I want to bring in a couple more cities to really spread what I'm doing into these other markets, because I see some kinship and similarity between Baltimore and these cities. So one of the other cities that's been earmarked has been Detroit. And then I'm looking at Atlanta, but I think Detroit is definite. Atlanta is possible. Atlanta is big. And I do the kind of big is black. But Detroit is definitely similar. So I want to do that. So kind of spreading it, having very intentional and hyper focused curation and probably, you know, one to one and a half interviews per week. That's what we're looking at for twenty twenty four.

ANTHONY PARKER: All right, man. Thank you so much, man, because Rob, you're you're a treasure to the city out here. Thank you for just representing. Thank you for unearthing a lot of talent, because we know out here it's a lot of suppression that goes on, but also a lot of talent, unfortunately, doesn't rise to the top out here in Baltimore. Some are undoing some. Those that don't live out here just don't give us the space to shine and give our talent. So you're one of the brothers out here. who are really just giving a lot of people a chance, whether you're just starting your career and you feel that they're interested and they need to have a voice, you give people that. Or people like myself who's later on in their career and they're more moving to a stage of doing a lot of community work, which is where I'm at now, while I'm still living out my passion. So on behalf of myself, the viewers, all the guests that came on and yeah, I'm speaking for everybody. We all just want to thank you, man. We love you. We appreciate you. Keep rocking. You're on season nine. We're going to get you to 10 and hopefully you'll give us another 10 after that to hit a smooth 20. Then hopefully you can ride off into the sunset, you know, but I want you to have a great 2024. And on top of that, man, I just wish nothing but the best for you, man. And I'm pleasured and it's been an honor to interview you on your own podcast.

ROB LEE: Thank you so much. This has been this has been wonderful. Let me close out again. Thank you, Wordsmith. This has been dope.

ANTHONY PARKER: Man, you're welcome, brother. Hey, man, you are my Aquarius brother, so.