Hey, what's going on, everybody?
welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
I'm Trevor Noah.
Today is Monday, the seventh of December,
which means Christmas is only 18 days away!
So if you start now, you might finish untangling your lights
in time for Christmas next year!
Anyway, coming up on tonight's show--
somehow, Rudy Giuliani got coronavirus,
Jaboukie Young-White knows the best songs of the year,
and Method Man is on the show as our guest.
So let's do this, people.
Welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
ANNOUNCER: From Trevor's couch in New York City
to your couch somewhere in the world, this is
The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah.
Let's kick things off in India,
the country whose favorite pastime
is baseball played all wrong.
While most us have spent 2020
in sweat pants and perpetually uncombed hair,
a few others have decided
that actually glamour is more important now than ever before.
And if you're really looking to make a statement,
well, this just might be the thing for you.
NEWSWOMAN: Jewelers in India set a Guinness World Record
for most diamonds in a single ring.
Look at that thing.
There are a total of 12,638 diamonds
on this flower-shaped ring,
dubbed "The Marigold," or "The Ring of Prosperity."
The previous record was set with 7,800 diamonds.
Ooh-wee! That ring has almost 13,000 diamonds?
That's the kind of gift you get your wife
if she caught you cheating with every person
she's ever met in her life.
All right, so, that diamond's for your best friend.
And that diamond is for your sister.
And that big one-- that diamond is for the time with your dad.
You slept with my dad?
Baby, you see the diamonds, don't you?
Now, look, I'm sorry, but I don't think this should count
for record number of diamonds on a ring,
because that thing is not a ring.
All right? That's a hand sombrero.
You can't just say something is a ring
because you can stick your finger in it.
I can't put my hand in the muffler
of a Lamborghini and be like,
"Look at my fancy ring!" (imitates engine revving)
The weird thing about this ring is that on the one hand,
yeah, you probably want to wear it
to the most glamorous party in the world.
But on the other hand, you also probably want to wear it
to a bar fight, because one punch with that,
and your enemy is dead.
It's basically brass knuckles, but for the red carpet.
Oh, you want to step to me, Meryl? You want to step to me?
I'll take you down, Meryl. You're not winning this year!
I mean, seriously, what do you even do with that ring?
It's too rich for any event.
There is no event glamorous...
Like, the only event glamorous enough to wear that ring
would be like if there was a wedding between--
I don't know-- the pope and Queen Elizabeth.
And that's not gonna happen.
Unless the queen is out walking her corgi one day,
and then, it breaks loose from the leash,
and then the pope is on the other side of the road
fixing his popemobile, and the corgi runs up to the pope.
And then when the queen catches up to the dog,
the pope is sharing his sandwich with it.
That would actually be a...
an amazing romantic comedy, you know?
This summer, Frankie's breaking one vow for another.
But let's make like a fugitive and move on to Mexico.
It's like Canada, but with hot sauce.
Over the years, Mexico has become synonymous
with drug cartels
and the lengths that they'll go to stay in power.
But now, it looks like
they've traded their triggers for TikToks.
TikTok's algorithm has made many things go viral,
from the latest dance craze, to fun editing software,
to laugh-out-loud memes.
But one disturbing trend surfacing is cartel content.
Experts are warning many clips on the service
are glamorizing drug culture, especially during a year
where the murder rate in Mexico is supposed
to reach an all-time high.
? ?
NEWSWOMAN 2: Where are a lot of these criminal organizations,
in the past, they used to show clips
of strength and violence, like murders or beheadings.
And they've slowly changed their strategy
to show more glamorous, flashy things
and luxurious lifestyles.
That's making things a little bit more appealing to the youth.
Yeah, of course the luxury lifestyles
and tigers are gonna be more appealing than showing murders.
But at some point,
you're gonna have to tell the recruits what their real job is.
All right, dude. Thanks so much
for letting me sign up to the Sinaloa Cartel, man.
So, like, when are we doing the party boat?
Aah! First things first.
You got to chop off that man's head.
Uh, okay.
And then the party boat afterwards?
We'll see if there's time.
But yo, man, this story should not be a surprise.
This is what happens with every social media app.
First, people use it to connect with people and have fun.
Then, creepy men use it to send dick picks.
Then, it becomes a recruitment tool
for extremists and criminals.
And finally, they promise to fix the platform,
but they just end up adding a "stories" function.
And we're all like "Yay!"
By the way, can you imagine the pressure
of being the Sinaloa Cartel's social media guy?
Hey, everyone, please like and subscribe.
Seriously, though, like and subscribe.
They have my family, man.
So I don't think anything is gonna change here.
And you know what?
I think cartels getting on social media
is actually a good idea.
Yeah, I know, I know. Hear me out.
Because it might get the cartels out of the drug game
and into the sponsored content game.
They're just gonna be having meetings like,
"Oh, Patron, we're ready to smuggle the rest
of that cocaine across the border."
"Are you crazy? And lose our deal with Fenty? Never!"
Now, of course, there is really only one story
that everyone is talking about, all over the world.
COVID-19.
And, yes, it's still real,
even though people are all sick of talking about it.
It's like how white people feel about racism.
Now, there are some places in the world
where the coronavirus situation is improving.
Yeah, great news.
Australia celebrated today as "Freedom Day,"
when restrictions in most parts of the country
were lifted for the first time in months.
And now most of their success has been attributed
to stopping interstate travel.
Unlike the U.S., Where they shut down schools in New York,
but then allow people to travel to Miami,
lick stranger's faces in the club and then come back.
In Europe, France and Germany have announced
that they're expanding their lockdowns
as cases have continued to surge.
In fact, it's gotten so bad
that even Sweden is now on lockdown
after admitting that its hands-off approach didn't work.
Yeah. This whole time, they were telling the world,
"We trust our people to make the right decisions for themselves."
And corona was like, "I also trust your people
to make the right decisions for me."
As for here in the United States,
COVID-19 has finally struck its least surprising victim yet.
The coronavirus has again hit President Trump's inner circle.
This time, it's his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani
who was admitted yesterday
to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington.
NEWSWOMAN: Rudy Giuliani appeared on television
Sunday morning claiming President Trump's fight
to overturn the election results was making progress.
Just hours later, the president revealed
that Giuliani tested positive for COVID-19.
He spoke in Arizona, Georgia
and Michigan, often without covering his face.
I don't want you to do this if you feel uncomfortable.
But would you be comfortable taking your mask off
so that people could hear you more clearly?
Can-can you hear me now?
Man, that woman did not want to take off her mask.
Did you see her? She was like,
"Mother(bleep), I can see the corona on you.
Get out of here with that shit!"
So, yes, Rudy Giuliani has tested positive
for the coronavirus.
Although, he is suing to have that result overturned,
but for now, it doesn't look good.
And the truth is
that Rudy has only got himself to blame for this.
I mean, this dude was going all over the country,
refusing to wear a mask.
What do you expect?
If I go around licking car windshields,
I can't be shocked in I get bird flu.
Or if I go around drinking at bars until 3:00 a.m.,
I can't be surprised when I home with yo mama.
Oh!
And as much as you might have some Schadenfreude
about this thing, Rudy Giuliani testing positive
for COVID-19 is a terrifying new development.
Because you realize, up until now,
we didn't even think that dead guys could get corona.
But look, we all wish Rudy Giuliani a speedy recovery.
I want him to get back to the days
when his hair was melting off of his head.
Nobody wants to make jokes
about Rudy having a deadly disease.
What we want is to make jokes
about how Rudy farted on camera at an election hearing.
Like full-on trumpet blast.
This happened in Michigan on Wednesday,
and I'm pretty sure that you will you hear it,
but you will definitely know it
the moment when it happens
by watching the face of the woman sitting next to him.
I'm just hoping to get an answer to the other questions
about Mr. Barr and others who have disproven a lot of...
-Representative... -GIULIANI: I gave you the answer.
-...do you have a point of order? -The answer that
I gave you is, they didn't bother to interview
-a single witness. -(wind breaking)
Just like you, they don't want to know the truth.
Well, you probably know the truth.
I'm worried about their not wanting to know the truth.
(laughing)
Oh, man...
oh, man, the look... the look that she gave him.
You know that look she gave him like:
I knew I should have worn a face mask around you,
you smelly bitch.
And it was so loud!
It sounded like his butt was demanding a recount
of his lunch.
Although to be fair, that fart is no worse
than any of the other legal arguments
Trump's campaign has made so far.
In fact, it's entirely possible that that fart was part
of Rudy's legal strategy, you know?
Everyone in the room is gonna be like:
(coughing): Oh, God, all right, fine,
yeah, yeah, just... Trump is president forever.
Just don't do that again. Please.
Trump is president forever.
And before you say, "No, Trevor,
it's never good to fart during a dramatic hearing,"
let me remind you that it works
in all the best courtroom dramas.
-You want answers? -I want the truth!
You can't handle the truth!
(farting)
(farting stops)
Cinematic genius.
All right, we're gonna take a quick break,
but when we come back, we'll talk about how Georgia
is on everybody's mind.
And then we'll look at the year's best in music.
Stick around.
Welcome back to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
On January 20, Joe Biden, the boomer with the Gen Z teeth,
will be sworn in as the next president of the United States.
But whether he'll be able to get anything done
depends on whether the Democrats have a majority in the Senate.
And that depends on what happens in Georgia
one month from now.
So let's check in on the Peach State
with a special edition of Votegasm 2020.
Yes, it's still going.
? ?
Let's talk about the United States Senate.
It's the home of the two least intimidating street gangs.
And right now the future of the Senate
is on the line in Georgia, where Republican incumbents
Kelly Lafleur and David Perdue are both facing
tough Democratic challenges in runoff elections.
So to give Lafleur and Perdue a boost,
the GOP is pulling out its biggest gun,
Donald "Jangle Fats" Trump.
NEWSWOMAN: All eyes on Georgia.
Those two critical Senate runoffs heating up,
the control of the Senate at stake.
President Trump hosted an outdoor rally in Georgia
in support of the two Republican senators
locked in a special election battle.
The rally in Valdosta, Georgia, was the first one
since the November election, and it was very important,
as Republicans try to keep the Senate in their control.
At the urging of Kelly and David,
my administration took historic action to protect
growers of Georgia blueberries,
-peppers, squash and cucumbers. -(man yells)
Who gro... who does cucumbers around here?
'Cause I like cucumbers.
-Can you... I'm the only one. -(cheering)
I like cucumber.
(laughing)
Yo, guys, Trump doesn't care anymore.
I mean, like, he even cares less, but he doesn't care...
He'll just say whatever pops into his mind now.
Who likes cucumbers? Who likes cucumbers?
I'm the only one.
They've got that green skin.
But it's bumpy. It's so green, so bumpy,
like it's got warts.
I had a wart once, but it got removed.
I wanted to put it in a little jar,
but they wouldn't let me.
It would have been my best friend.
And look, of course Trump loves cucumbers.
That's no surprise. I mean, yeah,
he prefers them pickled and surrounded by a Big Mac,
but still, that's a cucumber.
So look, clearly, Donald Trump is only gonna be
of limited help, but the GOP senators
haven't been able to help themselves much, either.
You see, both of them are in hot water
over big stock trades that they made
during the coronavirus pandemic.
And at two debates yesterday,
neither of them handled the issue well.
First of all, Senator Perdue simply skipped his debate,
leaving his opponent Jon Ossoff to debate an empty lectern.
Which actually put extra pressure on Ossoff,
because imagine if you lost to a lectern.
Like, the voters are just like, "Oh, I don't know.
I guess I like the strong silent type?"
And while Lafleur did show up at her debate,
after this exchange, oh, she might wish that she hadn't.
Senator, should members of Congress
be barred from trading stocks?
Look, what's at stake here in this election
is the American dream.
That's what's under attack.
When they attack me for a lie,
a left-wing media lie, conspired with the Democrats by...
this is an attack on every single Georgian
who gets up every day to work hard,
to provide a better life for their family,
who wants to live the American dream.
Wow. Robot Ann Coulter nailed that.
Because if you're trying to dodge a question,
you just pivot to the American dream.
She's got to be a role model for all the kids in Georgia.
Billy, did you flush a cherry bomb down the toilet?
Look, Mr. Johnson, what's at stake here
is the American dream.
That's what we got to be talking about.
You're right, Billy. You're right.
And you got to love how shady rich people
always try to act like attacking them
is attacking everybody.
If you take away my helicopter parking spot,
you're taking helicopter parking spots away
from every American in this country.
Now, let's be clear. Even though Georgia
went narrowly for Joe Biden this year,
it is still a very red state.
And the Republican candidates do have an advantage.
But ironically, Trump might be hurting their chances
more than he helps.
For Republicans looking at Georgia, there are questions now
about whether the president's baseless claims
of a stolen election could actually depress turnout
for those really important runoffs.
When the president was down here in Valdosta,
uh, in a crowd that attracted thousands of people,
he told them conflicting messages.
He said the election is rigged,
hey, to go out and vote January 5
for these two senators.
So what message does that...
does that leave these loyal supporters of his with?
It leaves many of them confused.
NEWSWOMAN: This is exactly the kind of thing
that Republicans are concerned about.
They are worried that the president's message
on election fraud could essentially backfire
for Republicans
if he convinces voters that it's not worth their time
to go out and cast their ballot on January 5,
because the fix is in.
That's right. Because they indulge
Donald Trump's bullshit claims of fraud,
Republicans might have suppressed their vote so much
that they could lose their Senate majority.
In fact, you might say that Trump has put Republicans
in quite the pickle.
-TRUMP: I like you cucumbers. -My man!
All right, when we come back, Jaboukie Young-white
wraps up the year in music.
And Method Man joins us on the show.
Stick around.
Welcome back to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
So, 2020 is almost over.
And we can all agree that this has been
a pretty perfect year.
So much great stuff happened, and nothing bad.
And for the rest of the month, we'll be remembering
all of 2020's best moments.
Today, Jaboukie Young-White takes a look back
at the year in music.
? ?
Music. It's like podcasts, but with beats.
And in the year 2020--
when the world was ravaged by a deadly virus,
music was a place of comfort.
But that doesn't mean music wasn't affected.
Tours were cancelled.
Bass players were forced to wash their hands for the first time.
Even music's biggest awards shows
were forced to have virtual performances.
Band members had to play six feet apart.
Lady Gaga was forced to perform as the character Dot
from A Bug's Life.
We stand Dot. Gay icon.
But coronavirus wasn't the only thing
tearing America apart in 2020.
America had a real racial reckoning,
and music artists used their platform
to call for change
and post little black squares on Instagram.
But one band in particular got ultra woke.
NEWSWOMAN: Recently, country band Lady Antebellum
changing its name to Lady A
but now in a legal dispute
with a Black soul artist, Anita White.
WHITE: I have built this name
for decades before they were born.
And I've been building it, and I'm an independent artist.
We grind every day to do what we do.
And Black folks,
indigenous people of color, of this land,
we grind even harder.
Wow. Okay, that is so messed up.
First of all, Black people didn't hear about you
until you tried stealing that Black lady's name.
Second of all, if you're going to actually change your name,
change your name.
Don't just abbreviate the problematic part.
Like, for example, my name used to be Tim Plantation,
but I changed the bad word,
and now it's Jaboukie Plantation.
But many musicians did properly honor
the struggle against police brutality.
Artists marched in the streets with Black Lives Matter
or hosted benefit concerts to raise money.
But if you ask me,
the thing that was the greatest support
for Black lives this year was this.
This record
is in honor
of George Floyd,
and I really hope we can see more unity
and more peace.
So, shout-out to his family.
(echoing): ? I have a dream. ?
? ?
Of course, you can't talk about 2020
without referencing the smash hit "WAP"
by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion.
Now, I can't get the rights to play that song
because of basic cable,
but I was able to get into a studio
and record a version of my own that gets the vibe across.
? There's a crow in this blouse ?
? You're messing with a wet-ass pussy. ?
Mm! I love that song.
I never...
I mean, never have I ever been so excited
to see how Kidz Bop covers this song.
So much has happened. Wait, okay, what else?
What else, what else, what else?
Beyoncé. (chuckles)
Beyoncé released a visual album.
There was also a music star baby boom,
which means that we're, like, 20 years out
from some really good music.
And Taylor Swift went folk.
Taylor Swift's breaking records
with her surprise new album, Folklore,
the pop star selling over 1.3 million albums
in just 24 hours.
Yes, Taylor Swift went folk,
which is not as crazy as people are making it out to be.
She started out as a country singer.
Folk singers are just country singers
that wear vintage clothing.
Now, what would have been crazy is if Taylor ran
as Kanye's VP.
Either way, Folklore was one of the biggest albums of 2020,
and its lead single, "Cardigan,"
was streamed over seven million times
on its day of release. Let's take a listen.
? Baby ?
? I've got a wet-ass pussy ?
? Get me a cardigan for this wet-ass pussy. ?
(pops lips)
Also couldn't afford the rights to that,
but it is a classic.
But musicians this year
didn't just give us comfort in times of need.
Some of them literally helped save lives.
People on social media noticed
that Dolly Parton was listed as one of the sponsors
of Moderna's new coronavirus vaccine
in a preliminary report.
Parton announced in April, you may remember,
that she was giving a million dollars
to Vanderbilt University in Nashville for COVID research.
Well, some of that money went to an early-stage trial
of the Moderna vaccine.
Yes, Dolly Parton invented the coronavirus vaccine,
which is a crazy plot twist.
That would be like if Dr. Fauci dropped an album and it slapped.
You know what? To be honest, though,
I would trust the Dolly Parton vaccine
over a Dr. Fauci vaccine
because Dolly Parton has been a gay icon for decades.
Fauci's kind of new on the scene.
Until he's someone's inspo
for their RuPaul's Drag Race outfit,
he has a lot of work to do, okay?
So, even though 2020 was a dumpster fire of a year,
I was so entertained by music,
and I am very excited to see what 2021 has in store.
Will Britney finally be free?
Will Rihanna release an album or just give us
another line of things that we don't really need?
Fenty falafel.
And will The Weeknd admit
that he's actually just my boss, Trevor?
I'm excited to find out.
Now, to play us out,
the woman who helped cure coronavirus,
Dolly Parton,
playing her 1974 hit "Jolene."
? Jolene, Jo, I got a wet-ass pussy ?
? Wet-ass pussy ?
? I got a wet-ass pussy ?
? Jolene. ?
Thank you so much for that, Jaboukie. All right,
stick around, because when we come back,
Method Man tells us about his brand-new Marvel podcast,
and he might give us a spoiler
for Power Book. (gasps)
You don't want to miss it.
Welcome back to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
Earlier today, I spoke with Grammy Award-winning rapper
and actor Method Man.
We talked about his transition from rap to acting,
his new podcast about comic books
and so much more.
Having been through pretrial motions with you,
I can only imagine how intense
this jury selection is going to get.
May I suggest some decorum here
so that neither of you ends up with a Batson charge
or in contempt.
If the U.S. attorney can remain civil, then so can I.
It'll be a challenge, Your Honor,
but I will do my best.
Thank you.
? It's about to go down. ?
Cliff "Method Man" Smith,
welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
Ah, well, thank you for having me, Mr. Noah.
Oh, man, this-this is truly an honor for me.
I spent many, many years of my, uh, of my-my high school life
learning every single lyric of yours.
-(chuckles) -And, uh, and then,
and then you went and abandoned me
and became a major acting star.
I feel like I'm personally aggrieved.
(both laugh)
Well, thank you, sir, thank you.
I think that the transition has worked for me,
and, um, I'm having fun.
That's the best thing I can... I can have right now,
-is fun. -Yeah, man. You're not just having fun.
You're having fun, and you're successful.
We've seen you in everything from The Deuce
all the way through to, like, the best hip-hop videos
and-and movies,
but fans are loving what you're doing right now
in Power Book II.
talk me through a little bit of why you think this show
-is sometimes even more popular than the original. -Um...
I think that people were-- especially after the pandemic--
people were looking for a nice escape.
And, uh, a lot of people were familiar
with the original series, this being a spin-off.
And they were excited to see where it was going to go,
especially after they killed off the main character
-in the series finale. -Right.
So, um, that along with the anticipation
of having a Mary J. Blige in the cast,
people were very curious,
and, um, I think Courtney took great advantage of that.
And, um, the writing has stepped up,
and the character development is key in this whole thing,
because if people didn't receive the new characters well,
then we don't really have a show.
And, um, I'm-I'm taking my hat off
and applauding Michael right now--
Michael Rainey-- for his performance.
He is our leading man,
and we are behind him 110%, brother.
-Mary J. Blige. I mean, the queen. -Yes.
Just the absolute queen.
You two worked together in music such a long time ago.
Did you ever for a second think
that the next time you would collaborate
would be on-screen?
Um, no. No, honestly. I'm just gonna be honest.
I thought that maybe we'd collaborate
on maybe more records over the years.
-Right, right. -Which...
But, um, on-screen,
I-I watched Mary's progression over the years,
and, um, I have to say
that she embodies this Monet character
like it was written for her.
It probably was if you really think about it.
But, um, yeah.
She is such a boss on this show,
just like in real life, and, um...
Um, I think that people are very intrigued
by the Tejada family, and her being the matriarch
of that family makes it even more intriguing.
You know, one of the things I-I love about your acting
is that, in many ways, I feel like you've always had
the ability to craft a story through your words
and through your expressions and through your vibe.
I mean, like, even in your music, like,
you know, every-every song that I would listen to,
it felt like you were embodying a different character, you know?
You know? Whether it was in "Da Rockwilder"
or whe-whether it was, like, you know, like...
like, creeping through a back window,
silent as a mouse, y-you know what I mean?
You always had that feeling, where it was like,
"I'm-I'm embodying a different character."
Do you feel like acting has just always been in your bones?
Do you think you've always had the ability
to shift seamlessly between different stories
that you're telling?
I think being in entertainment as a whole
has prepared me for what I'm doing now.
-especially with the videos that you were speaking of. -Yeah.
And, um, you know, I think a lot of it has to do
with charm and personality.
But the-the biggest effort
and the biggest thing that shows difference is
your dedication to the art form of it.
Unless you're taking classes, you know,
you are-- show up to set on-on time,
ready to work, you know, um, all that plays a part.
And, um, like I said,
being onstage in front of 40,000 to 50,000 people
and entertaining them for a hour, hour and a half,
I think I can pull it off pretty well on a big screen
and a small screen as well.
I mean, um, there was-- there was a day
when you were trending on social media,
and I was like, "Aw, man! What has happened?
-Method Man is trending." -(laughs)
Whenever you see a celebrity's name trending,
you're like, "Aw, man, they died
or they should wish that they died."
It's always one of the two.
Instead, instead, it was Method Man at 50
laying thirst traps that most 22-year-olds
couldn't dream of achieving.
Um, talk me through a little bit about this-this transformation,
because your-your body has gone to another level.
-Like, I heard you used to play video games. -Uh...
-Yeah. -And then I was like,
"That's-that's not a video gamer's body."
-(laughs) -And now, now I hear
that you-you've made a change in your life
and that's why you look the way you do.
Well, I appreciate that. And, yes,
I-I did make a change in my life.
I decided to... start to take more care of my body,
as well as my mind.
Um, I felt like if I was going to improve my mental,
I might as well improve my physical as well.
And, um, yeah, it started with me, you know,
just binging video games, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning.
I'm pretty sure you know what that feels like, my brother.
Yeah. What did you play? What did you play?
It was a lot of Call of Duty. Um...
Free-for-All or Team Deathmatch? What-what was your--
-what was your... -You know what, it--
We-we were, um, Kill Confirms,
-um, Deathmatch, and, um... -Okay.
Uh, what's the, uh-- where you get the points?
-"A," "B," and "C." 'Cause that's... -Oh, yeah. Capture.
-Capture the Flag. Right. -Capture. Yeah.
And, um, you know,
I-I just started feeling real loser-ish, you know?
-(laughing) -Um, you know, you're waking up,
waking up 2:00 in the morning, can't go back to sleep,
and you're on the couch playing video games, just eating snacks.
So, I had this gym, um, subscription.
I had this gym membership, and I decided to take advantage of it.
And the gym happened to open at 4:00 a.m.,
-and I haven't looked back since. -Damn.
I've got a-- I've got a different technique.
What I do is-- I-I play a ton.
And then what I do is, if I am--
Let's say if I'm playing Warzone now
and then I-I get kicked to the Gulag
or I'm waiting for my team to buy me back,
then what I'll do is I got to do, like, ten burpees
or I got to do, like, 20 push-ups or I got to--
So, like, every time I respawn, I got to do something.
I'm not gonna go to the gym for hours.
But I'll punish myself for not playing well
-and then, like, just feel like I'm moving. -(laughs)
I feel like I'm moving.
Um, so, one of the things
that's-that's truly fascinated me about your career
and affected me, I think, is that you-you upended the idea
of what a rapper-- and sometimes even a Black man--
is supposed to be interested in.
You know? You're an avid c-comic book collector.
You were somebody who was never afraid to read
and expand your mind, at a time when--
you know, like, oftentimes in-in hip-hop,
ignorance was celebrated as-as, like, the be-all and end-all.
But you came from a class and a school where you were like,
"No, I'm gonna be informed. I'm gonna read.
"I'm gonna infuse my hip-hop and my work with this.
"I'm gonna be a comic book collector.
"There's no-- there's no nerd title to this.
-This is part of who I am." -Yeah.
Is there a reason you did that? Or-or where did you get
the confidence to do that, in a world and an industry
that always wanted to put people in one box?
Well, it's funny, because I-I am a result of my environment,
a product of my environment.
And, um, you know, the comic book thing
played a major part in my wordplay
because, you know, it basically taught me how to read.
And some of the words in there you were forced to look up
in the dictionary, like you did, the Wu-Tang words,
and when you couldn't find them, you knew
-that we were making this shit up. Like, any... -(laughs)
(laughs) Anyway,
I mean, it just-- it-it gave me a sense of a moral code,
as well as, you know, a vast vocabulary,
especially for writing.
And the beauty of, you know, me being Black
and growing up in these neighborhoods,
I could be around some of the toughest guys
and they still love Thor, the Hulk, Spider-Man.
-Right. -You know? And it was never an issue
of me being a geek or a nerd.
It was just that, "Oh, wow. You know.
Let me check that book out real fast, you know?"
So I never had that stigma.
So it was never any issue for me
to put comic books in the forefront of my rhymes
or-or lifestyle, you know what I mean?
It was just a-an easy thing for me.
Very easy.
Um, I know you've got a new podcast out,
where you're talking to all-all kinds of celebrities
and-and, you know, comic book geeks and nerds alike,
where we're celebrating the art form.
Talk me through that and-and what you love about it so much.
Yeah, the Marvel/Method.
Um, this was, like... years in the making, in my mind.
Because I kept pining for, you know,
just-just letting people know my love for comic books
and how Marvel shaped who I am today
and how it a-- how, you know, it really had an effect
on my lifestyle as a child.
So, for these guys to come
and offer me a podcast talking about books
with people that are in the industry like me,
that's, like, the gift that keeps on giving.
And I learned so much.
Correlation between comic books and life
with a lot of these stars, like, who they are today.
You can see it. And like I said,
there's a moral code in these books,
whether you want to admit it or not, that we all live by.
We don't kill, we-we--
It's like that just-- You know, we want to see justice.
-Right. -We want a happy ending.
And that's what everybody wants in life.
So, the Marvel/Method, when people tune in,
they're gonna get more than just us talking shop
about the books.
They're gonna get, like, a real experience
from artist to artist, talking about their life
prior to books and after.
And we get to talk to some of the writers,
which makes it even more better.
I've always wanted to know. Which Marvel character
would you want to play in a Marvel movie?
Well, there aren't many Black, uh, characters.
Shout-out to Chadwick Boseman, beautiful man.
Um, Wakanda forever, for real.
Um, there aren't many Black characters
in-in the Marvel universe.
There are some, and I cherish 'em. Don't get me wrong.
And, um, I was pining for Bishop. X-Men.
And, um, Adam Brashear, uh, um, the Blue Marvel.
Uh, but now it's like I think it's time for new characters.
If we can just make new characters now,
-you know, we don't have to gender-swap, -I'm liking this.
we don't have to race-swap anything.
Just bring new characters.
All right, so I'll ask you this before I let you go.
If you were to create any character,
what are the powers that you would give that character
and why?
Ooh.
Wow. Um...
Geez.
That's a tough one.
Um, I-I...
Geez.
I think, um...
he would probably be...
I'd make him an empath, an empath.
-Like, he would have the power of em-empathy. -Okay, okay.
Um, and he could reflect that, uh, to the world,
that empathic ability.
And then he can, with that empathic ability,
can cure racism if he wanted to
or can have peace on Earth because he's projecting this.
All he needs is a big stage--
social media-- and people to hear his voice.
That would be dope.
And he could be a villain,
an antihero, so to speak,
because there's a lot of people that don't want that message.
-Damn. Okay. -Think about it. Pow.
Okay. You know how he gets his powers?
He gets his powers because, as a little kid,
he was in a hospital, where they were working on his brain,
and the machine they connected him up to
connected him to the other kids by mistake
and it, like, electrocuted him and he got all of their thoughts
and their feelings inside of him.
-And then that's where he got the power. -Co-creator right...
Co-creator right-right there. Trevor, you are a genius.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yo, Mr. Meth, sir, you made my day, man,
you've made a part of my life, and I appreciate you.
Thank you so much for taking the time.
Thank you, Trevor, appreciate it.
Thank you so much, my dude.
Peace.
Don't forget, Power Book II: Ghost
airs Sundays on Starz.
We're gonna take a quick break, but we'll be right back
after this.
Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go,
I just wanted to take a moment to please, if you can,
support your local restaurants.
They're struggling more than ever before right now
to stay open during this pandemic.
Which means many people will lose their jobs
if they don't get the help that they need.
And they might not be open for you when the pandemic is over.
So if you want to help, then please do whatever you can.
And if you want to do more, then consider a donation
to the James Beard Foundation's Open for Good campaign,
which helps independent restaurants
survive the pandemic and rebuild stronger
and more equitably.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there,
wear a mask and remember,
if you can't smell your own farts,
you might have coronavirus.
Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
Dan then attended Iowa State,
where he secured two NCAA wrestling championships.
And he won 117 consecutive matches.
And lost only one.
Well, you know, in politics,
I won two, so I'm two and oh.
And that's pretty good, too.
(horse neighs)