How and Why you should "Do The Knowledge."
A convo about Deante Kyle, the Grits and Eggs Podcast and the importance of Black awareness in art & media.
Detroit to Portland is crazy work. (Backstory)
I lived in Portland, Oregon, from 2022 to 2024 to learn about the advertising world. It was a fish out of water story to say the least. Portland, Oregon, was NEVER on my 2022 bingo card. I was in an apprenticeship for six months at the best and baddest motherfucking independent advertising agency in the world called Wieden + Kennedy. Filled with creatives, beers, and middle fingers. This is a band of misfits ready to fuck shit up and make jaw-dropping, award-winning and culture-shaping work.
I had no interest in advertising at all. When I thought of ads, I thought of “commercials and pop-ups that show up on my YouTube videos” (I recommend YouTube Premium to all, this is not a paid advertisement lol) So, walking into ads was just some shit to do and where I could potentially be creative. Honestly, it was just the perfect opportunity to get out the hood fr. Music wasn’t moving like it used to so it was just the right time to make a shift.
I needed to do some research on Portland. I knew about it from the show Portlandia and the lofi community on SoundCloud, which I was deep in back in 2016. I thought of Portland as a rainy city, filled with chill people wearing flannel and riding bikes, you know, like a lofi song! I knew Elijah Who, one of my favorite producers that I’ve ever worked with, lived out there. So I’m doing a battle strat beforehand. Sounds like it’s gonna be a lovely chill six months.
However, my research on some of the backstory around Portland raised an eyebrow to say the least. Portland, Oregon’s history is entrenched in systemic racism, exclusion, and displacement of its Black residents. When Oregon joined the Union in 1859, it became the only state with a Black exclusion clause written into its constitution, banning Black people from living, working, or owning property in the state. Earlier laws even authorized forced removal and public whippings of Black settlers. Portland itself functioned as a sundown town well into the 20th century—Black people were unwelcome after dark, and the threat of violence or police harassment loomed large.
Racially restrictive covenants, redlining, and housing discrimination confined Black Portlanders to specific areas like Albina. The 1948 Vanport Flood (also known as the Columbia River Flood), caused by a failed levee and a lack of emergency warnings, destroyed homes and displaced thousands, mostly Black Portlanders, with little government effort to help them rebuild. Later, urban renewal projects like the construction of I-5 and the Memorial Coliseum razed entire Black neighborhoods.
Gentrification continues that legacy today, pushing out longtime Black families in the name of “revitalization.” Portland’s pattern of racial injustice also includes police violence, state neglect, and the powerful presence of white supremacist groups like the Neo Nazis. White tee’s, cuffed sleeves, Doc Martins, Iron Crosses and SS bolts, the whole motherfuckin’ nine. The Ku Klux Klan was active in Oregon in the 1920s, influencing elections and shaping policies. These ideologies helped shape Portland’s demographic makeup, contributing to its low Black population.
Even today, Portland’s “progressive” image often masks deep racial disparities in policing, education, housing, and healthcare. Black Portlanders frequently feel tokenized in liberal spaces while facing systemic inequities that go unaddressed. Portland’s history as a sundown town, its exclusionary laws, and its ongoing cycles of displacement and neglect aren’t relics of the past; they’re part of a present reality that continues to define the Black experience in the Rose City.
Coming from Detroit, a predominantly black city (the black population in Detroit, Michigan, based on the 2020 Census is 80.38% black), and going to a place that has barely any black folks (the black population in Portland, Oregon, based on the 2020 Census is 5.67% black) is crazy work. So, obviously the first thing I’m thinking of is, “damn, nigga am I gonna get lynched out here? Wtf?” I was scared. Of course, with the “I’m going to live in a new city” jitters, but also with a target on my back that I didn’t actively think about often.
I’m Tiiiide.
Like I mentioned in my first post called “What is The Atwater Project?”, there has been an honest conversation with myself that I’ve been embarrassed about regarding not appreciating and being proud of my blackness and the gift of being raised in a predominantly black city. (Fr, it’s really embarrassing. lol) I bring that up to say that it made more sense that I would die in the hood to someone who looks like me based on proximity, rather than being in a white city and dying at the hands of someone white.
Not saying that it wouldn’t be possible or probable, but to be fair, I don’t think about white people. I think Black. I saw only Black folks around me. I grew up with Kwame Kilpatrick as a mayor. I wrote a paper in school on Coleman A Young. Joe Louis is my great uncle. I didn’t go to school with white people until I got into high school. All my references are Black. Most of my favorite songs are by Black artists. So obviously, if I’m thinking about my untimely demise, I’m going to die by someone or something related to my Blackness, right? And it’s not even a bad thing, it’s just what it is. You know? Am I cooning or cooking rn? lol Lemme shut up. (I’ll come back to this some other time lol)
During my stint in Portland, growing as a copywriter, the late and ever-prolific Jim Riswold told me that to be a better writer, I need to read and write every day. I love to do both, but back in the city, I didn’t read as much as I'd like. Mainly self help books, “How to Get Rich” and books and shit that makes you feel good as if you already applied the knowledge the moment you walk out of the bookstore. He recommended many books on philosophy, mainly because he was a philosophy major. I learned a lot about Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche, and other existentialist philosophers.
Philosophy was a fascinating topic to learn about. Learning about the why of the world is something I love to dive into, but oftentimes I felt as if a lot of the media that I consumed wasn’t centered around empowering Black folks. I did some shopping at Third Eye Bookstore (damn near the only black-owned book store in Portland). I got a lot of good reads, some from Cornel West and from clinical psychologist, Dr. Joy DeGruy with “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome”, a read on how the multigenerational trauma of slavery and systemic racism continues to impact the behaviors, beliefs, and self-perceptions of Black Americans today, and many, many others. (Shoutout to Michelle and Charles!)
I was enamoured by so much writing that felt like it was made for me. However, niggas wasn’t trying to read EVERYDAY fr. Dog, like the feeling of getting as much literature on us and the beautiful and dark history behind us can be draining. I got really familiar with RBF. Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) is a term coined by Dr. William A. Smith to describe the cumulative psychological, emotional, and physiological strain that people of color, particularly Black folk, experience as a result of constant exposure to racial microaggressions, discrimination, and systemic racism was on me heavy.
I was tired dog. Niggas ain’t choose to be black, but I’m so grateful that I’m black, you know? I wanna learn about everything in regard of our history, but I was in desperate need for the constant push of Black support and Black content into current that still has a reminder of what we wake up for. I gotta get back to the hood.
Woke Up in the Morning and to God be the Glory.
Before I knew I was headed back to Detroit, TikTok started COOKING when I came across the person this post is about, Mr. Deante Kyle. From what I gathered, Deante was a truck-driver, making a decent living with it, has some kids, you know things that most Black folks aspire for. The thing that stood out to me though was his passion, eloquence and amount of love that he has for Black people. When I tell you this man makes, THUMB STOPPING content. Whether he’s going in depth on the intricacies of a Freddie Gibbs album or speaking on the inner workings of the The Isis Papers by Dr. Frances Scott Welsing, Deante is one of those people that happen once in a lifetime in the social media space. Name one other person you know that goes viral off of TikTok that, talks Hip Hop, empowers Black folks and keeps it 100% authentic?! In 2025?? In this economy?!?!
Numbers of black folks in droves enrich the comment section, video after video, telling Deante that he needs to start a podcast. They couldn’t be more right. At in a months time, the “Grits & Eggs Podcast” was born. Joining Deante is the infamous man behind the camera “Big Ice Cup Kat!” and many other names that float around the Grits & Eggs ecosystem. A team was built in real time, merch got made, they showcasing music from different artist’s submissions throughout the country, people call in and leave voicemails, emails and just tons of support. What we’re seeing in real time is community being made. Deante and the team, embodies the spirit of many panafrican political leaders before us with a modern twist that couldn’t be more refreshing to see in this day and time.
There was one episode in-particular on March 2nd of 2024, around the time I found out I was geting laid off from my damn job, episode 17 of the podcast was released and entitled “The Auction Block.” I watched that hour and seven minute episode at least 5-6 times throughout the whole month of March before I moved back to Detroit. Just saying “MMMMM” after every point Deante made. I can’t describe the feeling of seeing and hearing something so validating. It feels as if most of the time on social media, you have your perspective and then you have the “worlds” perspective, i.e. the algorithm. Most days, if you let it, you can muddle out your own perception and go with what the world wants you to believe. On G&E, that’s never the case.
An abhorrent amount of the media/conversations that circulates through the diaspora often feel vapid, dense as fuck and so damn annoying that just makes me kiss my teeth. To all of my black creatives reading this out in the world. While I believe it is important for us to have moments of catharsis throughout our lives in many different ways, you still hold a strong responsibility towards how you produce your works. Whether you believe it or not. Though you should express yourself freely, it might behoove you to be knowledgable on how you express yourself when speaking to our community. We need you right now to show up authentically yourself because at the current time, we are in a vacuum chamber of distraction after distraction and we just want to engulf ourselves into it.
Our spaces, our narratives, our stories, our ideas, even our fucking language is co-opted, bastardized and appropriated in numerous ways. Repackaged and rerocked. I don’t give a fuck what outside company thinks of us, I’m here to think about how WE think of us. How WE want to show up for us. How WE want to empower us. Nothing more and nothing less and thats a call to action to every Black creative with tenacity to leave this world better than we found it. It’s not going to be easy. But there’s no such thing as easy or hard. There are only things that are simple and challenging. Somethings that are simple, ain’t easy and somethings that are challenging ain’t hard. It takes power and an unwavering energy to move through the noise.
So, you wanna know how to “do the knowledge?”
You listen.
You learn.
You watch.
You immerse yourself in what you want to know.
You empower the people around you.
You love the people around you.
You work.
You sow.
You reap.
You stay informed on this world.
You stay woke.
Not the watered-down “woke” that got hijacked by the news cycle and weaponized by folks who never understood it to begin with. I’m talking about how we meant it. Awake. Eyes open to injustice, ears tuned to the frequency of our ancestors, hearts beating loud enough to remind us we’re alive on purpose.
Because one thing’s for sure, two things for certain: we’re only here for a brief amount of time.
And that’s the real kicker, ain’t it?
Existence is absurd. This whole setup dog, being thrown into a world without instruction, trying to find purpose in a system designed to erase us, it’s wild af. But still, we choose. Every day. We create meaning with our works, our music, our movements. We sculpt identity out of dust and memory and make it look GOOD, you hear me?
There’s no manual for being Black in a burning world, but there is meaning in choosing to show up anyway. In choosing love. In choosing your people. In choosing to say something true when silence would be easier. Show up loudly. Intentionally. That’s what I’m trying to do. And I hope you are too.
My biggest goal in life is to build infrastructure and institutions to empower creatives across the globe. And I believe this will be true. I already gave it to God.
So what are you going to give?
What do you want to say?
What meaning are you going to carve out of the chaos?
Be like Deante Kyle and the G&E team. Waking up, working, staying disciplined, authentic, and being a representative for your people. With a sense of vigor and tenacity, that even when we get knocked down in the face of adversity, anybody going against you can hear you scream to the rooftops the one quote that’ll fuck their heads up every time:
We back.
Follow the Grits & Eggs Podcast today and shoutout to Deante Kyle and the G&E team, for merch and all things related to them go to deantekyle.com for more info!
Y’all be eazy!
- Jay²
[P.S. I made a blackity black ass playlist called “red, black and green” hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it!]
Listen, The way that you described your first encounter with Deante Kyle And Big Katt and the G&E podcast was so accurate! I had the same experience it was exactly the way i discovered them as well. I watch it so much now that my 8 year old daughter begs me to watch it with me at night. Thank you for this read, and after purchasing my ticket to the Meet and Greet a few moments ago this confirmed that I made the right choice! I enjoyed this so much , you are an incredible writer. You inspired me just now as I too share a passion of books and writing that I have longed stepped away from but it has always been in my heart. I look forward to reading more from you! Oh, would you consider curating a reading list of black literature you’d recommend for the culture?
Great read! Wasn’t aware of Portlands past, so thank you for sharing that. The G&E podcast has enlightened me in so many ways too. I’m glad that others are recognizing them because they are the truth!