Season 5 Finale

Time stamps are off slightly.

Shawn Smith (00:03.296)
What's up folks! This is the Dripping in Black finale for season five. I'm with my people, the people that kept it alive for me. Dominic Lawson, my guy and mister. Emphasize the word mister until we could put doctor on there. We talked about that this morning. It's coming even if he likes it or not. Mr. Al Pete from the

Dominic Lawson (00:23.715)
It's coming. It's coming.

Mr. Al Pete (00:23.949)
Yeah.

Mr. Al Pete (00:27.983)
Real quick, I want to interrupt because I want to point out that I heard that comment. I couldn't comment when y'all said it earlier today about the daughter action. And so I heard y'all.

Shawn Smith (00:32.64)
Yes, sir.

Dominic Lawson (00:36.325)
You

Dominic Lawson (00:48.089)
Well listen, we respect Honour River, right? And it's not like it's new news, so...

Shawn Smith (00:48.82)
I know, we didn't whisper it, so.

Shawn Smith (00:56.534)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (00:58.594)
Yeah, I will. And I will say this and then we continue on. like last week, that thought process has been very heavy, very heavy. But we'll talk about that later, man. But I'm happy to be here for sure.

Shawn Smith (01:11.842)
All right, I'm glad for you all to be here. again, we talked about this is season five finale. One day I see my beautiful green screen and stuff like that. One day it's gonna work on Riverside. That's a technical thing that we go find an answer to for next season. Although I only come out once every what? 15 episodes. So it ain't a big deal. But...

Mr. Al Pete (01:28.942)
You

Shawn Smith (01:40.714)
I wanted to summarize the season. This was the first full season without a full time host. And my boys helped me out in great deal. And we actually did two different ones. We'll talk about that one, those two later. But the perspective this year is it was heavy with podcasters.

Dominic Lawson (02:09.369)
Mm-hmm.

Shawn Smith (02:10.27)
And that's kind of because one of the relationships we have and it kind of galvanized ours, because that was the first place we got together physically to see each other was at Afros and Audio. Shout out to Afros and Audio. And I met a whole bunch of folks. Like I said, Al be doing stuff he don't tell us about. We found out he was secretly, secretly editing a friend of our cave.

Dominic Lawson (02:31.173)
Okay.

Right.

Shawn Smith (02:39.178)
friend of ours now and a Dripping in Black alum, Kay Wilkes from Pondering Thoughts podcast. was behind the scenes doing her thing. He didn't really tell us about it all. We found out. She told us before he told us.

Mr. Al Pete (02:54.324)
All right, thank you all for coming out. We greatly appreciate y'all Dripping the Black.

Dominic Lawson (02:57.253)
You

Shawn Smith (03:02.634)
Yeah, it was very heavily with podcasts, which was cool because there's a whole assortment of stories even with that thing. That was a kind of a thing that galvanized a lot of the guests. All the guests wasn't there, but a lot of the guests I did meet there. again,

with Al and Dom on my side and got those connects. know, some people just want to come on because they love Al and Dom. And I'm just the person to sit there and record it, which is cool too. Which is cool too. I know my role. So I'm good with my role. So when you see that podcast, and again, this was the first season, you know, that fully, because we kind of started second half of season four with a special guest host. And...

Dominic Lawson (03:40.069)
you

Dominic Lawson (03:52.431)
Right.

Shawn Smith (03:56.618)
Like I said, was very interesting to see people, your peers in the field doing their thing, And we'll talk a little bit more about that, which is cool. Y'all have any comments on that part of interviewing y'all peers? A lot of the peers.

Dominic Lawson (04:18.605)
Right. I think it's just always interesting to get people's perspectives and backgrounds based on their shows and stuff like that. Like you said, we were just coming off the latest iteration of Afro as an audio. And so we was able to kind of hook up and collaborate with all of these people. But, you know, even at Afro as an audio, well, it is like a family reunion. You don't really get to...

do a deep dive with everybody like you want to, right? So I think this kind of gave us an opportunity to kind of do that with multiple people. And so, you know, and to really not just deep dive with them, but also highlight their excellence as we like to do here on Trippin' in Black. But no, it was a phenomenal season, man. I'm just grateful to be a part of it. I'm pretty sure Al P was too.

Mr. Al Pete (05:08.46)
Yeah, definitely. Definitely coming off the alley, oop, Afros and Audio did play the, you know, the the fraction of the alley oop when it came to a interacting with the folks that we interviewed and just learning, learning more about the people that we that we interact with. I mean, it was cool.

like the Prime is Apple with Kate Wilkes, you know what saying? Like I know her from one angle as being the talent admin action, but to hear her talk about her show and that aspect, you know, it just brought a lot more light to her show and it just made it. I enjoy working on it always, but just hearing the interview and seeing her from that angle was cool. So everybody that...

that was on the season, I know for the most part, you know, from a peer standpoint, just so just to see it. And it was cool that it was, was podcasters. Like I think it was a, I don't know if that was a, if that was a thing to do. I don't know if that was like in the list to say, hey, we're going to have all podcasters, but I think it's cool that this season defines like the state of podcasting and the state of Black podcasting and from that angle. Yeah. All the way from like the talent.

Dominic Lawson (06:22.358)
Excellent point.

Mr. Al Pete (06:26.774)
to the people, the creators, as well as community leaders.

Shawn Smith (06:32.214)
Yeah, I would definitely say this, it wasn't on purpose. You know, cause you know, the letters go out, the invites go out. So yeah, the invites go out to different folks. But again, that's a new piece for me to curate the list. Cause that wasn't part of my job. Well, I will give people, you know, to...

to put on the list, but that wasn't my job to curate. Now, since this was my first time, it was almost like a, like we talk about in statistics, a convenience sample. I just met all these people. They know about podcasting. So when they see that thing, are more likely to not turn in the intake form and things like that, because they know what it is to curate guests. So, you know.

Dominic Lawson (07:03.247)
Right.

Shawn Smith (07:30.88)
So it was, I don't necessarily want to say it's convenient. When I say convenient, I'm really thinking probably something negative, but it was definitely convenient. It was definitely cool because that was, you know, it's always good to hear peers and their stories and what they're doing and things like that. Cause I did learn a lot from them, which go ahead.

Dominic Lawson (07:57.797)
Right. No, I was going to say, I think, you know, even though the common thread was podcasters, we still was able to kind of get a broad spectrum of different aspects of who they are and stuff like that, you know, and I think it's actually kind of cool that, know, this season was kind of thematic in that regard, right. But it still allowed us to do this kind of deep dive with everybody and really learn about, you know, their history.

beyond podcasts, like with Kay and her background and radio and stuff like that, it was always kind of cool. yeah, man, it's like, I think that was, I think that's what made this season kind of stand out, at least for me.

Shawn Smith (08:44.884)
And you know, to, we're going to use this to a bridge because when we talked about guest hosts and I look at it two ways. One was I got Dom and Al to go on for another season, which is always great. Award winning and things like that. That's always great. Also, even, like, for example, let's take Dom for example. Dom is great.

and what he do with his narrative podcast and things like this. Although he has done it before, know, the startup life was more of an interview based thing. He did it in recovery replay as well. But now he gets to, he got a chance to interview, you know, peers and podcasts and then other people that he did that as well. Al.

was doing it all out is the media guy, you know, of the group. And just his perspective on things and how, how I love, you know, from the behind the scenes, I could see them work their magic. And it's cool to see. It's cool to see. But this season, we did a little experiment. You know, I'm always trying to experiment with stuff. We had our first Black on Black Excellent episode.

which was the first one was Shar Halliburton, Go Green, Go White. That's my Spartan sister, the author. And her friend actually interviewed her, Tamika Gaines interviewed her. And the Black on Black excellent things came from Black on, we always told about Black on Black crime. I said, no, man, we got more Black on Black excellence in a lot of other things. And it started off as,

You know, we talk about the ligature effect that for example, Al actually probably need to do one. I would make Al do one, but that episode's coming out tomorrow. So we don't have the time to do it. It's that when somebody recommended another person for the podcast, for this season, for example, Krate recommended Otis Winston. So he did a Black on Black. Excellent. So he's alumni.

Dominic Lawson (11:07.042)
Mm-hmm.

Shawn Smith (11:07.358)
And he did a little video on what made Otis Winston a candidate for Black excellence. What is he doing in Black excellence? That's where it came from a little short. I want to say Kim and Ava, they did one as well. I did, there's been a couple of those. So that was cool to...

And that's where it came from. But we actually did an episode, a full episode with a friend interviewing her friend, Tameka interviewing Shar for the podcast. And that was interesting because we had a whole lot of technical issues, that's what happens. That's part of the story. And we also had...

And the fellas know I've been sitting there, I said, man, I would love to have a female do a Dripping in  Black episode. And we got, she's a new alum and she volunteered to do it and brought her guests. And who she wanted to interview. Toni Kennedy did the Queue Points interview. And...

Dominic Lawson (12:10.691)
Right.

Dominic Lawson (12:18.917)
you

Shawn Smith (12:27.648)
Toni just don't know how funny and entertaining she is, because she is slidin' in there on you. know, shout out to Toni and Queue Points, because that was an excellent episode as well. So, like I said, as the guests, you know, I always, you know, we always joke about how I pay them or I don't pay them, you know.

Dominic Lawson (12:34.383)
Great.

Mr. Al Pete (12:52.131)
Yeah.

Shawn Smith (12:53.666)
We talk about the biscuits. We talk about an Al that didn't order his biscuits, man. I don't know why I get hit with that all the time. Dom was there. Dom ordered whatever he wanted to order. And Al just didn't, man. And I told him, know, Al just wanted to use it to beat me up, bomb. But it's all right now. It's all

Dominic Lawson (13:20.293)
Man, listen, you gotta ask for the biscuit. I don't know what you're doing, man. You gotta...

Shawn Smith (13:24.898)
You don't even have to ask for it, man. Just order what you want. But you know, we...

Dominic Lawson (13:28.649)
you

Mr. Al Pete (13:29.006)
All right, next time I order, it's going to be...

Dominic Lawson (13:33.591)
I'm gonna get a family meal on you, watch. You'll get a whole family meal.

Shawn Smith (13:35.81)
And all I could do is shut up and pay for it. That's all I could do. That's all I could do. You know, all the other dudes go, look at your archive. All the other...

Mr. Al Pete (13:37.58)
I was saying, it's gonna be too feller bills.

Dominic Lawson (13:41.861)
You go get the catering special.

Mr. Al Pete (13:42.042)
Hahaha!

Mr. Al Pete (13:49.388)
I'm gonna ask, and when I get the chicken, I'm gonna ask all the guests to come back and eat it with me.

Dominic Lawson (13:54.469)
You

Shawn Smith (13:54.722)
Well, you're playing, but hey, that's been a thought that's talked about as well, know, Dripping in Black doing something at the conference, you know, to show our love for what they did for the platform. As a special guest host,

Mr. Al Pete (13:56.632)
Enjoy the other party.

Dominic Lawson (14:03.557)
I

Dominic Lawson (14:07.173)
You

Shawn Smith (14:23.348)
anything stuck out to you this season?

Dominic Lawson (14:29.983)
I don't know if anything stuck out this season. I mean, besides the fact that we did have Toni as, you know, a special guest host as well. really was glad that she wanted to do that and was able to do that. And I think it provided a different kind of range for the season, if you will. Because like you said, Toni is definitely funny and she'll slide it right in there.

Mr. Al Pete (14:42.371)
Yeah.

Dominic Lawson (14:59.205)
But I think it allowed for a different range in a different kind of diverse perspective on what, you know, me and Al has been doing for now, I guess a season and a half now. So I know that's definitely stood out for me. And I think, I know personally for me, when I have my conversation with Otis, we definitely, I know I definitely appreciated something that all three of us share was

talking about being a dad and what that looked like and the responsibilities and the stumbles and the triumphs and the mid stumbles and the mid triumphs that come with being a dad, but also the frustration of being a parent and how them kids get on your nerves, right? Me and Pete talk about this all the time, but I think, right, right. We talk about all the time, but.

Shawn Smith (15:50.37)
yes, yes sir.

Dominic Lawson (15:57.177)
But yeah, I think those are two things that kind of stood out for me.

Mr. Al Pete (16:04.334)
Yeah, the Toni action stood out to me because she was she was interviewed and interviewed somebody. So she got the double action on that part. And again, it is the I mean, the the massive interviews of the peers this this season alone was just, you know, getting to learn more about my peers, the people who.

Dominic Lawson (16:14.437)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (16:32.801)
who I talked to on a regular, I crossed paths with, and even the people who we ran into at Afros and Audio. Afros and Audio, I guess, directly and directly served as a space for everybody to cross. And it just seemed like as soon as we left Afros and Audio, was just like, there was this abundance of energy. And I do feel like...

Dripping the Black definitely added to that, you know what saying? not sure how that looks from an admin situation, but I would go as far as to say that Dripping the Black definitely has, the energy behind it has heightened up. The awareness of the show and the caliber of people and stuff like that has heightened up. Coming out of the gate with that.

Dominic Lawson (17:23.255)
Agree.

Mr. Al Pete (17:30.196)
I mean, I'm not I don't necessarily look at it in that regards, but being in the in the space that I'm in, you know, when I say space, meaning in the media space, you know, I mean, just in general, from logistics, you think about like when you have a certain event or conference or festival, whatever what comes out of that. And you think about it, too. I mean, in the midst of this brother, you you had a you had a whole retreat. So.

Dominic Lawson (17:59.013)
It's true.

Mr. Al Pete (17:59.918)
You know what saying? Like you had a whole retreat in the midst of your season. You know what So that's, I just, mean, just going forward with the energy is going to be, I'm very, I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of this because from outside looking in, would think that, you know, people come in and if they looking and they paying attention to that magnitude.

they'd be like, yeah, Dripping in Black came out like super, super swinging. Like we knew Dripping in Black existed, the capitalization of, and I'm not talking about that type of capitalization, y'all already know.

Dominic Lawson (18:28.227)
Mm-hmm.

Dominic Lawson (18:35.797)
Come on Pete, come on Pete, come on Pete. Come on over to the car track Pete.

Mr. Al Pete (18:38.343)
Nah, y'all ain't gonna get me over there. I can't even get a biscuit, so I ain't talking about no capitalism.

But though for real like for as far as like capitalization action, you know, I'm I put in You know with the ideals Did you think about the production and you think about the marketing? Y'all know what I'm talking about when I talk about that like that aspect of it Dripping the Black definitely had a Energy burst on that part

Shawn Smith (19:08.534)
Well, speaking of that, we could roll right over there, because that was kind of next what I had on is that, Dripping the Black went outside and, you know, trying to take, trying to take advantage of the momentum or create momentum to take advantage of, maybe that's the best way to say. We did the first annual creators retreat in Detroit this year. And of course,

Mr. Al Pete (19:28.013)
Nope.

Shawn Smith (19:38.144)
My fellows stepped up and they did their presentations and things like that. I don't know, and y'all can tell me if I have or not. Well, first, I appreciate the work that you all put in and things like that. I don't know if I've told anybody what I felt about it. I don't know, have I?

Mr. Al Pete (20:04.79)
I don't think you, not in detail you have.

Dominic Lawson (20:08.165)
I think you've told him pieces maybe, but I don't think maybe in one long, comprehensive way,

Mr. Al Pete (20:11.746)
Yeah.

Shawn Smith (20:14.858)
Right. And I don't think, to this day, I don't think I still can because, know, it's, I will say this, it was, I had to get it outside. I had to make one of those things because, you know, Dripping in Black, you know, from the beginning, the initial part was to be outside to a certain degree. And it never got that chance because of COVID.

Dominic Lawson (20:21.637)
That's fair.

Dominic Lawson (20:39.727)
Right.

Dominic Lawson (20:43.347)
COVID, yeah.

Shawn Smith (20:44.298)
Right. So, so to, to press on and do that retreat, it was, it was beautiful. And again, as y'all know, if y'all heard the recap and stuff like that, cause I was part of the season, we ate well, ate well, ate well. Matter of fact, we recording this, what's the day today? The 12th of May recording this. just saw Kia from Kia can cook yesterday cause she was in

She was in town for an event and we talked about what we experienced there. So it was a great experience. It's what's next. And that's part of the what next is something that Al actually brought up is that, keep the momentum going. Let's do something quarterly. So.

Announcing that we've said it before we kind of announced it at the end of the recap is that we have in quarterly sessions the elevation lab as we call it is June 7th. I keep messing up that date. It's June 7th the first one the information Al I did do my homework. I'm telling Al I did do my homework to do the RSVP on zoom that's coming out. I got called out for it yesterday, too.

Mr. Al Pete (22:06.062)
Okay.

Shawn Smith (22:09.25)
Kia kind of called out yesterday too. So it's coming up this week, but I got to finish up Professor Smith stuff this week. Professor Smith got to take over this week to finish up the college stuff. So that's coming out. So the retreat was beautiful. I loved it. The people that needed to attend it, We're looking forward to next year. We're planning for next year.

Mr. Al Pete (22:15.884)
Gotcha.

Shawn Smith (22:38.158)
I think it would be in Detroit again. However, it's supposed to travel. So phase two is the traveling phase of it. yeah, I know Memphis and Jacksonville is on the list. So be prepared. yeah, so the retreat, any comments on the retreat?

Mr. Al Pete (23:05.485)
Well, for me, I just wish I was there physically. But nevertheless, I'm thankful that I was able to still present in a manner and I'm very, very appreciative and hold high gratitude towards people that received it well. There has been some comments here and there about my presentation specifically.

And even from a personal standpoint, it just felt good to be around people that allowed me to talk about the topic that I spoke on because I think about it a lot and I'd be wanting to incorporate it. I try to practice it in my walk of life.

you know, business, personal and all that stuff. So it was good for me to be able to get that energy off and and display it to somebody else. And then they receive it well. And there was no judgments or nothing like that. It was just a general conversation, some points that people can think of and take and apply it or not apply it to their to their walk, whether it's, you know, content creating or, you know, if you're in a relationship with somebody, whatever the case may be. But just understanding the importance of community and.

us not leaving that out when we talking about going through our specific journeys. So I'm just very thankful I had opportunity to to speak for one to get my chops up because I would like to get more into the speaking part and be able to infuse get more into the infusing. I don't know. mean, I want to say policies or whatever, but.

Dominic Lawson (24:32.537)
Yeah.

Shawn Smith (24:36.437)
And you should.

Mr. Al Pete (24:48.64)
Just a humane aspect, you know what saying, when it comes to things. And granted, we need to think about the logistics, you know, the logical side of the things and making sure we still align with like the mission, which sometimes can be as heavy as being an administrator over your own things, but understanding like, you know, the creator side plays a great role as well.

the humanity aspect of it plays a role. I'm just thankful I was able to share that information. And I just want to be a service to the community, man, especially to the Black podcast community, any type of energy or help or inspiration or whatever is needed. You know what saying? Like I do want to come with some form of empathy. So it was good for me to usher that in, in this process.

made me feel good to think about other stuff that I can speak on as well.

Shawn Smith (25:47.58)
And while he's, while we lament on what he just said, that presentation community is on the MPN network YouTube site, correct?

Mr. Al Pete (26:00.713)
it's not a Ummah Ummah Creator.

Shawn Smith (26:03.008)
It's on, it's on an Ummah creator site. So go check that out. We'll put a link in the show notes for that as well. The entire presentation is there.

Mr. Al Pete (26:17.474)
Yeah, and shouts out to Dom for his presentation as well, as well as Krate doing all the technical stuff, That tech work is very, it's like strategic, man. You gotta be very, very, very technical with it. So, shouts out to them brothers for holding their parts down, as well as you, Square.

Dominic Lawson (26:44.229)
You know, lot of things that Pete said, I mean, honestly, I think it's safe to say that Pete's presentation was the crown jewel of presentations that weekend because it was just rave reviews all around because it's something that doesn't get discussed enough when it comes to building community, ushering community.

appreciating community and not just commoditizing community. So it was definitely appreciated there. But no, the retreat was, as far as I'm concerned, a phenomenal success. I think the intimate setting is something that doesn't get talked about enough, which definitely relates to what Pete was talking about as far as community goes. But it was intimate setting to where

we could have these conversations and can keep the conversation going. Right. Even well into the evening. Right. But also being able to not just be at a place where we're presenting conversations, but being a place to collaborate, try new things, try new pieces of content. know, Ty came and recorded, you know, episodes of his brand new show. practically launched at the retreat, right. And had, and had

Shawn Smith (28:07.521)
Right.

Dominic Lawson (28:09.317)
S squared and create there to kind of run, you know, tech forum and stuff like that. You know, for the most part, Ty's doing that by himself. So unable to have that launch to have a community of people around him to kind of help him with that launch. I don't think we, I don't think, I think all of us would appreciate something like that from time to time to be able to be part of a launch in that, in that way. So no, I think.

The retreat was a phenomenal success. think it was also a great idea to kind of keep the conversation going and have these quarterly events, you know. So no, I definitely can't wait and look forward to not just the next, you know, the quarterly event, but also next year's retreat in Detroit. So looking forward to it.

Shawn Smith (29:06.218)
Yes, sir. So be on the lookout, folks, for the creators. About say the creator drip That was our show long time ago. The creators retreat. Probably happened in March, you know, it's in March because that's my. Spring break. Yes, it's it's it centers around my schedule, so.

Dominic Lawson (29:33.208)
You

Shawn Smith (29:35.584)
Yeah. So we would keep that in mind. And again, the elevation lab starts June 7th. Be on a lookout for it. There's a survey that's out that if you want to participate in the survey, we'll put that in the notes as well. And we're starting to finalize this first one. So next time we meet, we will probably have more within the next week. Yeah. Let me get past this week. And then I promise that stuff will be.

Dominic Lawson (30:04.517)
Thank

Shawn Smith (30:05.622)
would be out, would be out.

Mr. Al Pete (30:08.91)
Hey, real quick before we move forward, I just want to mention to the people, please make sure that you fill out the survey. I don't know if it's a stigma or whatever that people just be like, I don't want to fill the surveys out, but that definitely helps the people that are putting these events and webinars and conferences together. And these surveys serve massive purpose for you all.

so you can get the information that you all would like to learn and be able to go forth with your journeys and whatnot. So please take into consideration of filling out this survey and this any survey that comes across your board that's pertaining to something that you got going on. That's all.

Shawn Smith (30:55.906)
Well said because, you know, I'm an educator at heart, as my calling, as I say. So to know what you want to learn, you know, so if it's outside our purview, we could go find somebody that they could talk about that, as well as if you want to experiment and do a presentation, we will welcome that as well.

Mr. Al Pete (31:18.21)
for sure.

Shawn Smith (31:25.054)
So give you that opportunity in the platform. You know, I tell my students, the only thing I can really do is give you opportunity to learn or give you opportunity. That's all I can do. Everything else is up on you. Good, bad, or indifferent. So that is coming up. The Elevation Lab is coming up. Now, I'm sitting here with award-winning podcasters, award-winning podcasters. We're going to do some

Dominic Lawson (31:54.233)
So they say.

Shawn Smith (31:55.65)
So we're gonna do some celebration on that as well as, and also with some alums that has won some awards as well recently. I was thinking about what wars would I give out as Dripping in Black? I know one episode I said, if I had to turn one in just by looking at it and hearing it sonically.

Mr. Al Pete (31:55.778)
Yeah.

Shawn Smith (32:25.386)
It'll probably been the Corey interview. That was just, y'all backgrounds was popping. It was beautiful. Y'all was sounding good and things like that. So that would have that would have been, that would have been the one I would said that just visually and audibly stunning. That would have been my award for that one. Now the most complex and the most put together, the most challenging, but it was a beautiful challenge.

Um, it would have been Minista Jazz It'll be Minista Minista Jazz episode. And the reason being, you know, if y'all don't know Minista Jazz, she is very heavily involved with AI and she has Jerome AI. And I said, you know, it would be cool. I was, I was thinking out loud and I asked her it would be cool if Jerome did the is Dripping in Black part.

of other podcasts. If you know how the podcast start, it says something such as such is Dripping in Black. But you know, she over delivered. She made this whole song and music video of Dripping in Black. So I had to, I had to put that at the beginning of the episode. And it wasn't just I'm Jerome and I'm Dripping the Black. And then from that, I had to get Krate to say, Hey, Krate.

Mr. Al Pete (33:33.013)
Yeah.

Dominic Lawson (33:45.317)
Right.

Shawn Smith (33:51.764)
I need something to sound like a distress call and break it in. we Krate put that in there. So we put that in there and we put that in the promos and stuff. That one was the most, and you know, she's, she's, she takes, she got a bunch of pictures. She, and her story is so colorful. When you think about Minista Jazz you got to think about colors, you know, and that one to put together.

That probably took the longest to put together, it just kept giving ideas. So the most inspirational one was probably Minista Jazz because like I said, she kept putting stuff there and I had to come up to the calling. I couldn't punk out. I had to step up my game to how would I put all that stuff together? So that would have been my album. Do y'all have any that stick out to you all?

Dominic Lawson (34:47.843)
I mean, I'll go back to Toni again, if there's a Dripping in Black newcomer award or rookie of the year type of award. You know, I thought she did a phenomenal job, you know, talking to Jay Ray and Sir Daniel and holding her own, you know, probably was little bit of nerves in the beginning, but she pulled it out in the end. to be and also the fact that, you know, she she asked to do it.

Shawn Smith (34:55.892)
yeah.

Dominic Lawson (35:15.725)
She brought her own guests and all the things like, you I think you had to give her the R.O.Y., the Rookie of the Year award for Black Toni for sure.

Mr. Al Pete (35:24.814)
I agree. I agree. Yeah, I agree with that. of the Year for sure goes to Toni. She did a great job, man. I guess the nerd part for me was more so like she was a fan. Like she was talking to like a fan. Like it was cool to see that aspect of her conversation with Queue Points She did a great job on that.

Shawn Smith (35:33.548)
because she

Shawn Smith (35:52.352)
Yeah, I do have a blooper reel from that episode too. So that's coming out to something. That's when I can do stuff in the summer. it was, know, Toni just don't know how funny she can be in, maybe she do know, maybe she just fooling us. Maybe she do know, but you know.

Mr. Al Pete (36:03.81)
Yeah.

Dominic Lawson (36:15.589)
HNNNN

Mr. Al Pete (36:17.762)
But even with the interview with when Dom interviewed her, that was my introduction to her to a degree. I mean, I had heard of her, but like, you know, when you get an interview with somebody, it's almost like you you meet this meet meet that person again for the first time, so to say. So even with that interview there, her characteristics just seem like that that's her. And it is so welcoming. And it's.

I don't want to say that. mean, giggly or whatever is like glowy a little bit, like kind of just like an innocent type of energy that she possesses. So seeing her possess that energy with the interview with Queue Points was like, it is fit. it just seemed like a normalcy. So.

Dominic Lawson (36:57.733)
Mm-hmm.

Shawn Smith (37:06.624)
Right. And you know the story, you know, she can at times seems bashful. Then by the time Al Pete and the party came along, after it was Afros and Audio, she was on the floor. So I'm not on the floor. She was on the floor doing her thing. know, yeah. So Toni, know, so Toni, you get the rookie of the year. You get the rookie of the year. Cause you are the first, you are the first.

Dominic Lawson (37:25.431)
Ha ha!

Mr. Al Pete (37:25.87)
didn't even notice that.

Shawn Smith (37:36.662)
guest and special guest host in the same season. So that says something.

Dominic Lawson (37:41.999)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (37:42.05)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dominic Lawson (37:46.853)
That's the, I think you got caught at the Eddie Murphy award. Wasn't Eddie Murphy who was the first person on SNL to be a cast member, but also host the show like one time? I think it is. You got a name with the Dripping in Black Eddie Murphy, rookie of the year.

Shawn Smith (37:59.756)
Yeah, I believe so.

Mr. Al Pete (37:59.811)
Probably so, yeah.

Shawn Smith (38:04.072)
That's yeah, we got to think about the Eddie Murphy award. You hosted the show while you was on it. you know, so that, you know, that's some powerful stuff.

Dominic Lawson (38:07.91)
Right.

Dominic Lawson (38:15.396)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (38:16.494)
Um, well, I don't know. we, are we giving awards right now or? Well, I don't know what award this would be, but I know all the interviews I've done have been great. They have their own level of, of excellence for sure. But the interview with me and Corey.

Shawn Smith (38:20.275)
Sure.

Mr. Al Pete (38:43.438)
And in an interview with Dom and Anna, those are like my, I don't have a word for it, but those would be like, I don't know. I don't have an award for it, but like, I guess serious, the serious and depth conversation, you know, I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, was just, yeah, it was those two.

Dominic Lawson (39:00.079)
like award

Awards of distinction or something like that, right? Like kind of like that, kind of stand out.

Mr. Al Pete (39:12.974)
those two were kind of like a zero. I know for me, when I interviewed Corey, I felt like I was in a good place. Again, we coming off of Averitt's audio and just that energy from that. was cool to talk to someone. It was cool to talk from one communication. I mean, one community leader to another community leader. So I enjoyed that, man. But they end up reflective for whatever, you know, word I would put for Dom and Anna was.

Dominic Lawson (39:24.131)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (39:41.324)
was just as impactful, so.

Dominic Lawson (39:46.469)
appreciate that.

Shawn Smith (39:49.814)
What's next? What's next is my next category. We talked about the Elevation Lab series. The first one is June 7th. We are finalizing the two sessions that's gonna happen. It's virtually and it's free. So again, please sign up by the time this airs. We will have the RSVP.

a registration set up for that. And we probably have the sessions for that. But don't be mad if it doesn't happen this time because we're coming back again quarterly. That's some of the momentum from the retreat. one of the retreats. That thing was birthed from the retreat. So don't forget that. Also during the summer,

I'm putting myself on punishment. shouldn't say this out loud, but I am. am. I'm on punishment. Dripping' in Black Productions is producing a couple of things. One, we do have a new podcast that we are producing. Shout out to Dr. J. Jemani Sledge in Coaching You Up podcast. It's a leadership, an executive leadership.

podcast, my former boss, two ways. He was my principal as well as my assistant superintendent. So that is being produced as we speak over the summer. And we are going in conjunction with my education, no piece, higher ground that we going to be creating these online courses.

And doing the production for that is what I'm doing this summer. That's the reason why I'm not teaching this summer. I have to go do that. One summer I lost because I broke my foot this summer. I got to do that before I do anything else, except probably make it to fly socks and tees. But other than that, we talk about fly socks and tees in a minute. But other than that, that is...

Shawn Smith (42:14.806)
What's next? And you know, the fellows and our people will talk about season six, which will be coming up. So I'll be doing the leg work on season six as well.

Questions, comments?

Dominic Lawson (42:35.085)
No, looking forward to season six for sure. Looking forward to the thematic, you know, outlet that, you know, that will come with season six. But also, I mean, it's season six. And I think that's something to be championed and acknowledged and and congratulated. You we're talking about handing out awards. mean, you know, not everybody makes it to.

this far in their podcasting journey. And so it's exciting to see season six be here and on the doorstep for sure. Definitely looking forward to the courses and everything that you're trying to create there. And I think that's all I got. I think that's all I got. Just wanted to make sure I highlighted that, know, season six is not something to scoff at. And then I'm looking forward to.

You know, if we're brought back as guest hosts, ain't signed them contracts yet, Pete. But if we're able to bring comeback for season six, I definitely look forward to that.

Mr. Al Pete (43:34.2)
Alright.

Shawn Smith (43:41.13)
That would be definitely something we would talk about over. But at this point, I want you all to talk about what you all have next. And one, I'm going to brag. have no part in this other than to enjoy what Dom's work is in it. Mental Health Rewritten will be out actually before this, I believe.

Dominic Lawson (44:09.849)
Mm-hmm.

Mr. Al Pete (44:10.038)
Yeah man.

Shawn Smith (44:11.19)
Tell us about your next venture.

Dominic Lawson (44:16.005)
Appreciate the opportunity to talk about it. Basically, you know, it's been a year in the works. Mental Health Rewritten is a nonfiction narrative show about mental health and the conversations and the stigmatized topics when it comes to mental health. It uses a 312 format where we talk about, we have three topic tracks over a 12 episode art.

And so it's, it's groundbreaking in the sense of normal when you have mental health podcasts, they are the interview style of show, but this is going to be a narrative show where we bring in people with firsthand knowledge and experience. We bring in people who have clinical experts and we also bring in people who are just advocates. And so it will launch by the time this airs, has launched episode one where we're talking about sex addiction.

And really the taboo-ness when it comes to sex and the human experience of sex and things of that nature. And then that first track is about sex. The second track is about suicide. And that third track is cultural identity as it relates to talking about racial trauma, talking about mental health and mental health challenges and perspectives and things to be aware of as it relates to the Latino and the Asian American community, but also

a very harrowing story of a woman who talks about generational trauma as a Jewish American and talking about her grandfather fleeing Nazi Germany, only for them to end up in Georgia and have a cross burned in their front yard. And so those are the type of conversations and deep discussions we're going to have on mental health.

Mr. Al Pete (45:59.406)
you

Dominic Lawson (46:09.389)
Really excited that Castbox featured it today or last week I guess As one of their mental health shows to kind of be out on the lookout for this come for mental health awareness month I'm really excited about that so we've been building the bus for the past year this you know, it's been a slow rollout with reels and speaking engagements and Writing pieces and editorials and and all the things and now I guess it's time, you know in the trip the both of the trailers are out and so now

I guess it's time to pay the piper and start releasing these episodes. And so I'm really excited about the word. I'm very passionate about the work. And long story short, I really hope it's a vehicle to do what we want to do to save lives. Cause that's the goal here. And to get people to understand that mental health challenges are just as serious as physical health challenges. And I think we have a platform and a medium and a product.

that's going to do exactly that. So I'm really thrilled about that.

Shawn Smith (47:16.002)
Again, we clapping bravo, bravo, cause he been doing that thing. He had disappeared and we know that he working. So we let him do his thing.

Dominic Lawson (47:27.639)
Yeah, I gotta come back outside now because I gotta promote the things.

Shawn Smith (47:31.106)
I understand that one. Mr. Al Pete, what's going on down in Duval County?

Mr. Al Pete (47:40.266)
Man, but alligators and snakes. We right here, right here swung with alligators and snakes right here, man. It's, it's a trying situation over here. I alligators climbing on doorbells and doors and

snakes that just be wanting to chill up on the grills, man, for real. But this is happening for real, folks, like for real, for real, in Florida. But real quick, want to shout out to Dom, man, on the excellent work that he always puts in. Congratulations on your new journey. Definitely looking forward to listening to it and following that journey. FYI, our...

I have a very, very small piece in it. You will know later on. But yeah, congratulations to you on that, man. And so with that being said, like the next things for Al Pete and MPN Network, man, just to get, I guess do some trial arrows or something like that in regards to the marketing aspect of it. mean, MPN is very prominent in the production.

space, like, you know, we crank our work, you know, like with our eyes closed. But I want to be able to even if the market aspect is just to support, I want to find a way to support my brothers here, Dom, Krate, Square, Ty, C4, know, you know, the BPA, all that or whatever, find a way that MPN can be able to like support as much as possible with that. So I'm trying to identify

what that looks like. That's like that's going to be the next I'm going to say for the duration of the year that's going to be a focus that I really want to focus on. We talked about this off record but that's like one of the next things I would love for MPN to get involved with. Yeah that's that's it man in regards I mean still working on Tables Might Wobble. I need to really lock in on that part.

Mr. Al Pete (49:45.6)
It did be focusing a lot on like the Groove Suite, getting that event going every month. So we're going into our third month in June. We got Fly Socks and Tees in July. So we still want to center around. know, MPN was branded from music, you know what saying? Like that's been that was just the main thing for music. And then the media got added to it. So I definitely want to have that component going along with the media, the media aspects of MPN. So.

Just be on the lookout for MPN being sprinkled in with everybody on this call with the Ummah Creative Group. You know, all that stuff. So that's what I got going on next. And then just making sure that.

I play a great role in facilitating the quarterly events, the elevation joints. I want to be able to make sure that I'm doing the due diligence on that. So Square doesn't have to do all of the work. So if I got to, I don't mind doing the newsletters or the blasting and putting all that stuff out there. So I want to be able to be effective in that part. So everybody can come in and get the proper information.

and it's diligent time and all that stuff because I feel like a lot of us individually and collectively have good stuff that we can give to our community, man, and make sure that we build this form of support and don't have anybody left out in that regard. So that's the main space I'm in right now.

Shawn Smith (51:17.344)
You heard him. So between your alligator sightings, elevation lab, June 7th, you can start doing your promos and stuff for it. I will have the link up after I'm finished this week. So I actually did it just to see if I could do it and then deleted it. So, cause I didn't.

Mr. Al Pete (51:32.812)
No.

Mr. Al Pete (51:40.27)
And y'all, y'all pray for me down here, man. Listen, these alligators and these snakes, boy, they, we joke about it, but man, listen, some things, yeah, we, we, we wrestling alligators on 95 on interstate 95. Like that's crazy to me on top of dealing with cotton mouths and you know, water moccasins, cause that those things are very prominent out here in Florida, man. So they'll be in your yard in a minute. So.

Dominic Lawson (51:46.565)
seen the videos. I've seen them.

Shawn Smith (51:49.538)
Yes, yes sir.

You

Shawn Smith (52:09.12)
So watch yourself. The last part, we about to get out of here. So we all got things we doing. We always got to end in celebration. You always got to end in celebration. So the first thing I'm gonna thank all our guests, Shar Halliburton, Corey Gumbs, Toni Kennedy, Dr. Jason McGhee, my guy, my guy.

Mr. Al Pete (52:10.466)
Watch this step for sure.

Shawn Smith (52:39.426)
Minista Jazz, Kristine McPartlin, what man is messing up? Our Sith, the Sith of the Dripping in Black. Semmetria Beckem you know, the one with the beautiful smile, Anna DeShawn, Kay Wilkes.

Dominic Lawson (52:49.934)
Right.

Shawn Smith (53:04.801)
one of them, when I learned a lot about it, we need to study her and she gave us a proposition. I want to Dom, it was a Dom interview and man, I wanted to go, man, you know, I would love to hold the mic and go to Paris, but she's doing her, thing. So shout out. Yes. Shout out to Dr. Claire. Murigundi, Otis Winston, was brought in by Krate

That's that Black on Black love, Black on Black excellence. We did a recap show and all the people from the retreat. Paula with her crazy self. These are, I'm about to say her name wrong. Deezana and Beatrice. I know they ain't really Beatrice because she says it better than we do.

Ty and Dom and Krate, Kia can cook. Juliana stopped by and was there. So all the people from the retreat, much love, much love. We did our recap show. Jay Ray and Sir Daniel. Queue Points, I am a big fan of Queue Points. I wanna say Al, hipped us to Queue Points.

and I got to meet them at the first Afro's and Audio. And then the one that's coming out, Al Black on Black, Alyce Rose, which will definitely be out before this one comes out. So we'll be out there. Those are our people. Those are our people. I appreciate you all for being on the show.

some other celebrations that we need to celebrate. Mr. Al Pete, didn't Al Pete get a degree this year?

Dominic Lawson (55:12.581)
That happened in the span of the season. did. It did. It did.

Shawn Smith (55:13.024)
Yes, yes he did. So, Al is getting up to his doctorate. ain't a doctorate yet, but it's getting there, because we already calling him doctor anyway. So, the graduation. Miss McPartlin and Toni Kennedy, right before we did this, the communicators awards, we collected awards.

Mr. Al Pete (55:16.366)
It did, yeah did, yeah.

Shawn Smith (55:41.986)
Communicator Award for our alumni. Another one that he won't take credit for, but he got to, because he produced it. Dominic Lawson and the B-Word. And the B-Word won some awards in the communicator as well. He ain't going to take advantage of it. He's going give it to his wife and stuff like that. And I understand that. I'm still mad at his wife, but you know, that's a personal thing. you know.

Dominic Lawson (56:03.621)
you

Thank

Mr. Al Pete (56:07.054)
You

Shawn Smith (56:11.274)
You produced another one. Man, you the DJ Khaled of podcast, you just did another one. So we got creators retreat. We actually did it. We did it. It was out there. It's out there. Now we got to make it work even better. And another alum that is that did get her doctorate.

Dominic Lawson (56:18.533)
and

Dominic Lawson (56:33.87)
Mm-hmm.

Mr. Al Pete (56:34.03)
you

Shawn Smith (56:39.788)
Dr. Latasha Allen, I think I told the story, I told the story somewhere, I can't remember where I told her that, was an example of the ligature effect. She called back and said, she got a paying gig and one of the things that they mentioned was that they saw the Dripping in Black episode of her. I said, that's it, that's what we did it for. That's what we did it for. So.

Dominic Lawson (56:58.981)
There it is.

Dominic Lawson (57:02.671)
There it is.

Shawn Smith (57:05.854)
Shout out to them all. That's why I need to do a newsletter so I can keep up with the alum. But you know, that's a different thing. Dom't y'all hold me to that. I will cut this piece out if I need to. that's it. So celebration, anything else y'all have to have before we get out of here?

Dominic Lawson (57:15.417)
Hahaha!

Dominic Lawson (57:27.833)
Nah, man, just want to say thank you for the opportunity to do this. Thank you.

Mr. Al Pete (57:28.236)
not

Shawn Smith (57:31.51)
Thank you for the opportunity. I need it. Sure. I'll take that.

Dominic Lawson (57:34.149)
Thank

Mr. Al Pete (57:35.118)
Hahaha

Dominic Lawson (57:37.603)
And also, you know, thank you to Al Pete for collaborating, you know, together on this as far as like being guest host and stuff like that. So just appreciate the opportunity. Showing gratitude.

Mr. Al Pete (57:48.982)
Yeah, same here. Massive gratitude, massive gratitude. Bless it, bless it, bless it. Thankful as always for Dripping the Black in the family, for Square and Dom individually and collectively. Yes, I'm just thankful. I'm thankful, man. And I'm looking forward to assisting in the next season and beyond. So and celebrations to another great season, man, a great identified, distinct, excellent, Black, excellent season. So for sure.

Shawn Smith (58:19.564)
So for, know, again, it wouldn't happen without you all. Support their thing. If you want to see us all, you could go check out the Ummah Creative Group on YouTube. There's stuff there. We got things. Matter of fact, we have an assignment already for there. So be ready for that in June. History, Black Music History Month is coming up. So check out the MPN. You know, that's where our music.

Mr. Al Pete (58:45.112)
Yep.

Shawn Smith (58:48.936)
our music piece come from, and I'm sure there will be something there as well. So to all of you all, we appreciate you all. Be well and much love. We will see you in September with the Dripping in Black podcast, but over the summer, you will see a lot of other stuff, a lot of other stuff as we're working behind the scenes to get you things.

that we are working on. So check out everybody, follow everybody, support everybody the way you can. I will say that again, peace and most love. We see y'all. Thank y'all for season five.