00:00what up everybody I'm DJ Envy and this is a special edition of Dear Black Men right here
00:11on the She Got Now 2021 coming virtual experience today it's all about uplifting phenomenal black
00:18women and celebrating HBCU pride I'm going one-on-one with my guy R&B superstar Mario to
00:25talk about our love and support of black women Mario how's everything how's going on how is this
00:31quarantine treating you right now brother listen man I'm just surviving that junkie bro you know
00:36and just trying to make the best of it I just released my new EP closer to Mars uh Pretty
00:41Mouth Magic uh Mars is out right now congratulations on the new album the new EP I haven't got it yet
00:47so you ain't put it to me yet but I'll talk to you after about that I got you I'm gonna send it to
00:52all right now you've been on the scene since you were a teenager I knew you a long time from
00:57back when I went from Hot 97 to Miss Jones and and you had to grow up pretty fast you know you talk
01:02about being raised by your grandmother now what are some of the life lessons that stuck with you
01:07you know since you built your singing career with your grandmother man when I think about my
01:13grandmother I really think about generations you know she was one of I think eight and my great
01:20grandmother who also lived with us you know it was a lot of us in the house it was about 18 of us
01:25living in one household at one point my great grandmother was very influential and she used to
01:30tell us stories about growing up and how my great-great-grandmother she was native so my family's like
01:35native and black so it's um you know there's a lot of history there you know there's a lot of strength
01:40there there's so many generations there that you know didn't have the opportunities that we had
01:46growing up there weren't a lot of leaders as men in my family a lot of men in my family were in the
01:52streets drug addicts murderers like you know it's a lot of dysfunction in my family so she kind of like
01:57was dealing with everything for me when I think about my grandmother I think about a renaissance woman
02:03I think about a woman who you know would pick up a homeless person and take me to the homeless shelter at the
02:08church type of woman now you know you mentioned drugs and you know you've spoken a lot about it
02:13you put it in your music yeah you've been very open about your late mom's battle with with heroin
02:19addiction yeah now how did her struggles impact your relationship and the way you view the mother-son
02:25dynamic because you know you know a lot of boys are mama boys you know I mean like I look at my kids
02:30now like they love their moms they love their dad their dad is cool they love their mom so how did that
02:36affect you know just life in general you know it it um it wasn't until I got older that I started
02:42feeling the effects of not of of the of the natural feeling of abandonment to a certain degree
02:50um you know and I think that there's a lot that I held inside I had you know very short temperate
02:59issues I was uh very uh anti-social in a lot of ways you know I think a lot of black men are more
03:07so focused on survival more so than anything like how do I get to the bag how because we know we got
03:11to be providers right so I can speak for myself along with that parallel we need to be thinking about okay
03:17what is it that you know our peers and the black women whether it be in our business or in you know
03:23our siblings our what is it that I'm doing that can support them rather be rather be just talking
03:30to them on the phone you know every day once a week twice a week about what their challenges are
03:35and what they're dealing with and knowing they have your support because we can get so sidetracked
03:39into the hustle and bustle that we forget about the harder battles that black women are facing
03:45absolutely so that that brings me to the question so what ways do you show up for black women in
03:50your life so for your girl or black women around you how do you show up for them I would say that you
03:57know in my early like in the past couple of years I've definitely gotten better with being more
04:03attentive attentive and being more present you know in my in the women of my life the black women of my
04:10life I can't say that before that I was but definitely now more present with everything that's
04:15going on now um before we get up out of here what's the name of the book man and and what is
04:21the book about is it your life story is it about your mom your family what is what's the name of the
04:25book what is it about thank you for asking about it uh it's as of right now it's called life in
04:30exchange I believe that we're always in exchange with life and how we respond to things it's basically
04:36leading us and kind of like you know teaching us along the way um it's a spirit psychology book with a
04:43little bit of my life in platoon I really wanted to make it for anyone who is wanting to uncloud their
04:49personal spiritual space and I kind of just talk about the reality of how we live in it's definitely
04:55a little bit of metaphysics in there a little bit of you know uh psycho psychological healing
05:02mental healing spiritual healing makes them with real life you know so for a teen out there or a kid
05:08out there that's going through the same or something similar just of trials and tribulations
05:14that don't know how you're going to get it through how did you get through it how did you say you know
05:18what I you know I'm not going to be depressed and and and laying in the corner or think about going so
05:25far we like you know what I want to take my life like there's so many different paths you could have
05:29took but you fought you made it out so just tell you know some of the students out there not how you
05:34made it out because a lot of people be like damn like listening to your story you'll be like you
05:38know I'm surprised he made it out you know but how did you make it out how did you keep fighting
05:42yeah man that's a great question I mean I don't often think about that that part of the process but
05:48first and foremost I want to say to all the students out there that are watching specifically
05:53young black women we love you um we're proud of you we know that you are going to be amazing leaders
05:59in whatever field that you step into you were born to shine and born to do amazing things um
06:05and secondly to answer your question I think that there's this phases and there's waves you know
06:12um you have to be open to it you got to be open you have to be honest with yourself about the life
06:20that you're living and you can't resent it there's a reason why you're going through what you're going
06:24through and in the moment you don't you don't want to hear that even if somebody came and said even if
06:29you pay for a counselor to go to and they tell you there's a reason why you don't want to hear
06:32that we don't want to in the moment you don't want to hear you're going through this for a reason
06:36like you just want to you want to you want to understand why why am I going through this that's
06:40the question that always in the back of your head is why why why and I started I stopped asking
06:45myself why and I started seeing the silver lining that every time I would go through something I
06:52thought I was about to hit rock bottom and I actually had faith and I went through it
06:56there was a major lesson to be learned and it's how you respond to what you're going through it's
07:02always how you respond that's going to ultimately be the solution for whatever next phase happens
07:08after that and so it is it truly is true man pressure makes diamonds um I wouldn't be the man
07:15I am today without everything that I've been through without growing up in Baltimore without having
07:18cousins that you know went to jail for some petty crimes some crazy crimes and come out and give me
07:25like and show me like yo you were chosen because when I look at my family yo when I look at my family
07:32bro and I see the stuff that has gone I'm like how did I I chose me I'm chosen to be here so for me
07:41every time I go through something like yo there's somebody going to do something 10 times worse than
07:45what I'm going through and then I look at the you know you got to look at the the dominoes that led you
07:51to whatever it is the point you at always look at the dominoes you always see cause and effect and
07:56then you can also you can be present with yourself forgive yourself for presenting anything and then
08:03move forward from there but you got to look at the dominoes and then see why this path happened this
08:08way you know it could be a residual effect from some family stuff it could be a choice you made it could
08:14just be an unfair disadvantage but if you're able to hold yourself through it and you're able to
08:22find a way to express yourself as well you know I think self-expressing is important I think me being
08:28a musician is kind of a cheat code right because I have an outlet that's inherent an inherent outlet
08:35everybody doesn't have that but I think everybody does have a passion for sure I think every person
08:41on this planet has a passion for something it's about finding that passion finding the superpower
08:45in it and using it in those types of moments as well but you're going to get through it you're
08:50going to get through it you're going to be stronger and smarter but you just have to believe that
08:54all right well Mario we appreciate you for checking in this is a very vulnerable conversation and
09:00you're always up to it you're always out to help people you're always out to tell your truth so I
09:04just want to say thank you again bro we need true leaders again and leaders don't always mean the
09:08person that's out front sometimes leaders are people who just are ready to grow within themselves
09:13and to share that with one person two people like you know what I'm saying so that you're a leader
09:18you got a whole family you know because I can ask you the same thing it's like being a man in this
09:25industry you know there's so many different ways you could have gone but you chose to have a family
09:30you have kids and you still work in this industry it's a lot of responsibility a lot of people
09:35don't know and you know you go home when you leave the breakfast club when you leave your events
09:39you gotta go home to a family that's right five kids and a beautiful wife and I and I love it and
09:43I wouldn't change it for the world absolutely man absolutely if you want to check out more on
09:49Dear Black Men go to EssenceStudios.com let's keep things moving with She Got Now
09:54you
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