19 Keys at Center Stage Atlanta on Nov. 8 for his “Forbidden Minds” tour featuring Billy Carson. (Photo credit: Rashad Milligan for rolling out)
Black people are ready for compelling and complex conversations. For 19 Keys, he has taken that public thirst and flipped it into a nationwide tour. The Nov. 8 show in Atlanta featured Billy Carson, an author and CEO of 4biddenknowledge.
The show opened with poetry from Daija Jay, Basheer Muhammad and Dre Drumming. Muhammad got the crowd to its feet and jumped out front before 19 Keys hit the stage.
Poet Daija Jay.
Dre Drumming.
Muhammed discussed important current events including mid-term elections, as well as Ye and Kyrie Irving. Keys explained that he doesn’t want to vote for a politician, but “buy one” because lobbying is where the real power comes from. He then introduced Carson. The two engaged in heavy dialogue about everything from lucid dreams to mental health and UFOs.
19 Keys and Billy Carson.
Before the show, Keys stopped by rolling out to give a preview of what a high-level conversation looks like.
What do you think of the Black community’s call to boycott the NBA in support of Kyrie Irving?
I know Kyrie personally. When he was going through his thing with the mandatory vaccine, I pulled up to his home in Jersey, coached him a little bit and gave him advice through that situation.
Respect to Kyrie for standing on his principles. I believe the last thing he wanted to do was cause another firestorm. But freedom has its cost. #KyrieIrving pic.twitter.com/0dyXVF1jUy
— 19keys.eth (@19keys_) October 7, 2021
I know Kyrie’s heart. He has a very good heart, and I know his heart for basketball. He has really loved basketball since he was a young child. He wrote down he was going to be in the NBA. He brought that dream to reality, so I know how tremendous it was to make that sacrifice not just from money, but from a dream and vision standpoint. The NBA is like 70 percent Black people or more, so that means the NBA is completely run on Black bodies, Black energy and Black spirit.
For a White man to come out and demean a Black man in front of the world and give him this list of terms he has to do is the most demeaning thing ever. Black men feel that around the world … so when something happens, we feel that more than any other group. There is no group that has the right to embarrass Black men and try to make them the face of oppression. Historically, in this country, we have always been victims of oppression.
Boycotting the NBA is the right thing to do, especially economically, because that’s the only way you want to put pressure on someone. When you look at Kyrie, he’s already given up $100 million for the rights to his body. Now, this is his right to think.
When do you think the boycott should end?
We need to have a list of terms for the NBA as well. Otherwise, these things can be repeated actions. The face of the NBA, we know [it is]of a particular nationality and religion. Therefore, those are the things that they’re going to covet the most. It’s to say; “Listen, these are mostly Black players, they should have a level of freedom.”
