Aseante Carter and Kemali Green

00:02 My name is South Dakota for $24.

00:08 O g, n me. You all right.

00:15 So when and where were you, born?

00:23 Okay. Okay. What was it? Like growing up in the Bronx?

00:31 Is Ralph. That's rough going up in?

00:34 It's like,

00:37 I mean, it's just it's whatever route you take. I just I think it's wrong.

00:44 You want to talk more about that? Like what makes the Bronx rough is it?

00:51 Who makes Ruffles like, I mean, I guess the environment.

00:55 Growing up in an environment.

00:57 A lot of things is happening to a lot going on.

01:01 So it's like everything is moving you just moving or not to keep up the pace.

01:07 Okay. So what's your favorite thing about going up in the Bronx?

01:19 I do not. I don't like the balls school, but it's not in a mean.

01:26 Yeah, that's that's kind of interesting because most people, you know, that I was born and raised in New York City that usually have a lot of pride, in their burrow and they always, you know, talk about the bad and the good about it. So, I think it's one of the first time. Somebody told me they from a burro, but it's not a lot of good from that borrow.

01:49 I mean, it's good. I mean,

01:51 Is good. I mean it is it's like it's good and it's bad. They got some good you got some bad, you know, the community helps make you who you are for me, only makes you who you are.

02:06 It's bad because it's, like, you got a lot to keep up with the pace. You can't fall behind.

02:17 But I don't know. So so if you could rewind time.

02:22 Would you pick another location to grow back like another Borough or another city? And other place. If you had that opportunity to see, you know, my mom had me, you know, I was born at this location.

02:35 Would you wait, what you would have change this?

02:38 Would you have to change it? Because I learned a lot. It told me, you told me was good was bad, which road? I really want to take. So I want to change it though.

02:54 Is goodbye a pond, a good growing up in a rough situation. As you grow up in a in a gray situation is like, you don't know what the Batman Play-Doh in the bag comes. It's like I want to call it.

03:08 You're overwhelmed, right? I mean, I can't really get overwhelmed.

03:18 Ain't nothing too overwhelming about.

03:22 So you feel like growing up in the Bronx prepared, you too kind of you know, Blossom everywhere else because it was so hard and environment was. So fast-paced said you could you kind of ready to like wolf appeared to be like to be anywhere.

03:41 Growing up in New York City, you can grow up. Anyways, black people live anyway.

03:49 Okay, so you like the Yankees. Do you have a if you can think about some of your best memories of your childhood? Would you bake be able to like name one of those memories?

04:07 Best childhood memories.

04:11 I don't know. I did a lot of stuff. My best childhood memory probably be.

04:17 Going to like someone some program called Fresh Air for going away. Yes, that'll be my best childhood memory and show me outside of the Rough Side.

04:30 What it is to be?

04:32 Suburban areas, whatever the case may be.

04:39 So what so you do, you remember where you went or how long you stayed outside of the Bronx? I think it was a helluva. Show me a Pennsylvania.

04:56 Ocean, big nice house or whatever. Just remember that.

05:03 It was different. It was just different.

05:10 Right. So so since then have you traveled outside the Bronx, a lot, or outside the state?

05:18 Country yet, I get away from it as much as I can, right.

05:31 Is not, this is not fun to me no more, right?

05:34 This is like back better than this is not fun. It's cool. I go over there, but now it's time to get out and get away. The goal is not to stay in a holiday and be in a hurry, Shannon. A goal is to make it out the hood.

05:51 That's where my thing is going to make it out. Not to stay here.

05:58 Right, right, you know, makes a lot of sense, you know, you don't want to, you know, and it's so. So what's your thoughts about people saying, once you leave the hood, that makes you kind of sell-out. People say, like one may say you change because you want to leave the hood, or you want to leave a lifestyle behind. If it's like, someone told you that I would you respond to that.

06:21 Map responses. I mean, if you don't change

06:26 Change. Change is good. You can't say the same person. You stay the same person cuz I left over there doing something wrong.

06:44 That's how I look at it.

06:48 Got you.

06:52 What was what was school like in you? Did you go to school in the Bronx? How is that?

06:58 School is good. I mean school is good.

07:02 I mean, don't get me wrong.

07:08 Bubble tea nearby. When are you coming to school? School was, I?

07:24 Statute.

07:28 So, who did you live with grown-up? You have siblings. You had. Did you stay with your parents?

07:39 Message me my siblings and my mom.

07:42 How much siblings do I have?

07:50 How was it like growing up with them?

07:55 I like a beast, like every sibling going through with your sibling.

07:59 The same thing, the same thing.

08:03 I don't know.

08:05 Learning. I don't know.

08:08 You know I'm saying? You learned a lot.

08:17 So what was your relationship like, with your mother?

08:29 You got a favorite thing about your mother.

08:36 Favorite thing about my mother is,

08:40 That she told us that we got to work for what we want.

08:44 Nothing. Just getting hand it to you. You got to work for what you want to make that.

08:51 So did you end up working for what you want in any degree? Like when she said that to you grown up? Like what did that mean? Like you had to go get the job or you got to do some chores around the house?

09:12 Angry McDonald's show at work been.

09:17 And get my own money instead of giving me money out of work for my own.

09:22 Who's handsome?

09:24 I just get my own.

09:28 So she owned McDonald's franchises. So what was the when did you start working?

09:37 What exactly was he doing at McDonald's?

09:43 Really a little bit of everything cuz I already knew what I really knew what to do. Like, what was going on with me? Cuz I'm there throwing up after school. That's why I go over there and just chill and hang out.

09:56 So I know, I know everything's fine. I just do a little bit of everything.

10:00 So, how did it, how did it feel grown up with a parent? That's a business owner, that has multiple businesses because most people come coming up and, you know, New York City, you know, from black and brown backgrounds. We don't have a lot of parents that owned, you know, any type of business in which they could employ their own kids, like my mom on the bodega and you know, what corner store in Jamaica, Queens College Queens, so I started working at 14 right around the same time you started working. So I always able to have money in my pocket, my responsibility for my early age, but a lot of people that's our age at that time. They they wasn't fortunate enough to have that privilege. So do at that time that you think it was a privilege or what? You mad. Like. My mom is forcing me to go to work when other kids just get paid or like money deposit for allowance.

11:01 You ain't going to give me no money.

11:09 At school, I don't got to I don't got to look at.

11:14 I work for what I want.

11:23 Right, so I don't meet after school. Like my friends wanted to hang out but I had to go to work like I'm in ninth grade tenth grade. Like you're about to go, you know, chill over here. Do this, do that. But I'm like, no, we got to go to work cuz I need this how I get my money. That's how I feed my family and they couldn't afford to hire somebody because of the family business. They can't trust everybody. So I had to be there. I have a choice, like, just like you had to work, just to get, get the money in pocket. So did that interfere with like you and your childhood? Like you wanted to be more of a young person doing young stuff?

11:59 And then you had to work.

12:01 I mean, working. I mean, it's like, then working. I got to work for my

12:07 Time to work.

12:11 Is what you make it to work. I make my environment.

12:28 I have fun at work. I go to work and have fun. Toy was getting late and making fries at the same time with you was doing how you was.

12:40 The whole damn, right?

12:42 Hello, what you doing? Am I right? Was you getting late?

12:52 People around me. I'm at work everyday. I'm just chilling Jones until you got people coming in to hang out working, but I really felt like a job to me.

13:22 It's just like, I'm just hit. So did you work at one franchise or did you work at multiple franchises? Or how did that? I work at 1?

13:38 Because like my sister was that other one, that other two, so I worked at 1.

13:45 Albany helping other one. I want to know.

13:52 Got to show other than working at those franchises. Did you get a chance to work in other places or

14:00 No.

14:01 No, not really. Nice.

14:04 I did that and then it became like

14:08 Had to be like my mom on something. I don't want to work for nobody. That's what my mama said was. Like, I don't want to work for nobody. I want to have my own money and not work for nobody.

14:20 I was playing get your money and then do something to where you don't got to work for nobody, somebody works for you.

14:29 So you do have any goals right now of any businesses you want to open up or you put any thought into anything like that?

14:39 When I get out of here is getting a real estate for real.

14:43 I just got out of state.

14:46 Good idea. Having a lot of people were affected by like, you know, mortgages and ran. So I know a lot of people like selling their properties and stuff like that, but speaking of covid,

15:04 How has covid-19 coronavirus affected your life or your loved ones since it happened?

15:12 Me.

15:14 It changed with late cuz I even got to wear masks and stuff boy.

15:20 I mean.

15:23 I've been social distancing.

15:28 Cuz people just be around, just for like you benefits, we can a benefit or for you for me, right?

15:37 Ain't really nothing. This.

15:39 It just everything that was just slow and shut down the stuff like that. But I told you that I've been dating when people around me.

15:49 I'm better off by myself.

15:52 Respectfully, I'm the I'm the same way. It just gave me a better excuse to keep people further away. It's like, okay, like okay. Yeah, you know, you not working. The jail is not a covid in there so you can stay where you at, you know, so so how has it impacted you while being incarcerated, hit? If it if it has

16:14 Did it change anything about, you know?

16:21 Cause everything is being pushed back. They made excuses covid. So and it's time to go to court and stuff is like, all you go to court or video court. Now, you can't even go to court. You go to video Courtney like, well, you know, due to covid, we couldn't get anything. So, I don't know, like for better for worse, though. They can help you all could be a downfall, but we just see when it all when it's all over.

16:53 What about all visits did impact like your visitation? While you're here? That's not the same as don't come in and see you. If you owe me a kiss for like, holding my kids and stuff like that. Like I can't hold my kids and stuff like that. Like,

17:15 I don't know. I just feel like you're choking away from your family.

17:28 So, how many kids do you have to boil a girl, boy and a girl boy? And girl? How old are they the most?

17:45 I would have been. Okay, that's cool. Must be hard, not being able to like, actually touch of your family and your kids. That's rough. Like you're not the first person that said that.

18:01 So, years old.

18:04 How do you feel like they respond to seeing you only through a screen?

18:09 You think they fully understand at all?

18:13 Which is a great thing, but a bad thing, like it got his pros and cons cuz like I

18:21 I meant they were young but they showing me stuff in the house was like like it's kind of like Oh, Daddy said that he see me playing with my toys and stuff so I can call but I can't touch them. Physically. I can't even saying stuff like that. So let's just say 15 10 years from now. Your son is listening to this interview. Your daughter's, listen to this interview. What would you what message? Would you want to let them know?

19:00 Don't be in a situation like this.

19:03 Not an end of your situation, but the situation for you and I'm saying,

19:11 Don't be in the situation like that, having a mean and just

19:16 Work for what they want.

19:20 Be a go-getter.

19:22 Play.

19:24 Okay.

19:27 So, you think that

19:33 I want to talk a little about generational wealth because, you know, your mom only franchises you being business-minded. So, you know, what? If you're you know, your future kids not your future kids. So you kids in the future. How how would you feel about them wanting to like not be a boss and work for somebody else like have a job something that they like like, you know, cuz like if you would like you can be a private doctor, but let's just say they want to be a social worker and work for like a system. How how would you feel about that or you you support that or

20:08 They want to work 9 to 5 Saturday and I stop, I don't think they want to work. Okay?

20:22 Got you, because it's way because sometimes like certain work.

20:28 I kind of like what we do in the jails, you know, like get DLC will contract certain programs who people that run programs, but to be part of a health based organization, like we can't we can't only cuz it's we work for the city. So taxpayers pay, you know, he's like police officers fire department, you know, certain agencies is from the city. So you won't be able to, you know, be a boss while you could be a director of a program or, you know, but you won't be able to own it because Sherry thinks it's only for the public.

21:02 That makes sense. Yeah, so, you know, like personally with me is like I love what I do. So I want to do this but I plan on having my business on the side cuz I don't think I'm going to get wealthy from doing what I'm doing, but I love what I do.

21:24 And,

21:26 Buying that $200,000 car engine.

21:30 It's just not going to say, it's not going to go ahead and you're not going to be able to do so many things that you want to do.

21:41 But what if you have your business on the side?

21:48 So that's $100,000, cuz that will call you want fantasizing about to call you going to get in the future for certain people.

22:11 Is Lamborghinis and Ferraris. And Bugattis days is not enough for certain people, even a couple of them benz's and stuff. Them is not meant for certain people. What you mean by that?

22:22 I mean, you working your job right now. Getting paid every two weeks.

22:27 $1,500. Check you not you're not getting G wagon.

22:48 Okay.

22:53 It's not your pay grade. You not at that.

23:01 Work and not doing this, okay.

23:06 It's not. You never going to make it.

23:19 We want that luxury lifestyle. Something like not. Not everybody wants that car. Not everybody. You know, that's not what brings everybody happiness. Like materialistic things by choice and then and then and then you have people that make that money and they don't want that car. So that's why I think humans and people are complex because you have that person, you know, you know doing dishes.

23:45 And they got to, you know, I want to say electric already got a card and you have somebody that could be a director of the program at 8 and they don't have they have to run around a riding around in the hoopty. Right? So so I think that's pretty interesting. But now I see your point is like, you know, some people want the Finer Things in life and majority of the time having a regular nine-to-five job is not going to cut that to get those luxury items that call you know, that bands that Maybach dunno dunno. But I think like the average person in general will never be able to drive those cars. Looks like right now, like the average, you know, I think the average person in America make something around 45 to $60,000 a year.

24:30 I'm not even that.

24:32 I like 30.

24:34 The average person make like, 30,000 a year raise minimum wage federally, cuz it is till 7:25.

25:11 So do you have any faith that I will ever be in a G wagon doing his job?

25:24 And old like your whole your whole check is going on.

25:31 I will check the volume.

25:34 Doing that what you're doing.

25:38 But to be fair, a lot of CEOs, drops and luxury, cars in his see, a lot of BMWs.

25:45 By the benches.

25:49 How to get a new car.

26:06 I so I got a question. So what salary you think? Is it a decent salary? A person can make that could afford some of these luxury items.

26:15 I don't know. I told you I don't stuff and it's all cool. But I mean, you ain't getting over a hundred thousand, 20 thousand a year. You might be good.

26:35 As you make it something like some crazy. No more. Yeah, that's the 1%. Only. Like, 1% of this country. Makes $200,000 a year.

26:52 That's what a red light goes on that.

26:55 Alright, so

26:59 So so so other than that switch around a little bit. So what what are the things you think is valuable that a person should, you know, obtain other than three items?

27:15 Goals.

27:17 I think gold is a good investment gold. Okay. And 25% saying, something like that, if I'm not mistaken, it should be like 25%.

27:40 25%. And I'm saying so you'll be, I against me. That's never going to change.

27:51 Right, so

27:53 Are you a person that plan on investing into the stocks already? Do you already do that to? Your is your mother involved in that or any of your family members stock market stuff like that?

28:09 Can you stop like that? I mean, you know what stocks to do. Be ready to lose. I ain't ready to lose you.

28:18 I ain't ready to lose. You got to be ready to lose. You don't know what's going to happen.

28:26 Please gold. I know. It's just going to be worth something. This is going to be worth something.

28:33 No matter what. I did go down, $5 is going to be worth something.

28:39 It's going to be good. I can allow me. It's cool, but

28:44 It's a gamble. The red stripe.

28:49 Would you ever consider going to school for business? Or do you think on your journey you already, you know gaining knowledge on how to be a business business, a business-minded person.

29:02 I think I already know, like I'm saying the basis of it. So like going to school is just getting the paperwork to show somebody else like hair. Look, I know how to run a business.

29:15 You know, how to run a business yourself. You already know how to do that, but I don't need no College to tell you that, you know, how you're ready to run a business, because you got this degree of that degree. Cut the grease, don't mean nothing that people run around here with degrees in right now.

29:41 Get out. I think you have a good point. A lot of people graduate and they don't have a job relating to what they went to school for the graduate with a lot of debt. 50-60. I know people that graduated that since $60,000 debt and they're not even working in the field.

29:59 So,

30:01 But also on the flip side of that, the average college student does make a higher income than the average person that doesn't graduate, right? But obviously, it's a lot of people that makes way more money than a college, you know graduate and those people they find a way to to do that. But on the, on the largest-scale, majority of college graduates, they are like over a lifetime, they make more money than people with high school diplomas.

30:28 Was it was your thoughts on that?

30:43 You use Google everyday?

30:46 She might use Google Google Google. Google Google Google.

30:53 You don't got no diploma and he's buying a G wagon.

31:04 Yeah, so what I'm saying is

31:07 That that's an instance where he beat the odds.

31:12 But the majority of people with college degrees, make more money than the majority, people that don't like, if you work seek the thing with without is those that don't have the college degrees. They got good paying jobs on a business people, but I'm talking about, like the whole population, the whole population that don't have those agrees with Jordy of them. They're not working in those environments where they making a lot of money without the college degree or did not get them on those businesses.

31:40 And I just wanted a little but I'm not saying that applies to everybody because I know a lot of people without college degrees that make way more money than people with master's degrees 3 degrees. I do people that got all those degrees and I know people that have masters degrees and it working at Target they they busing tables, you know, the waiters.

32:05 You know, you really cool.

32:18 Cuz you coming out the slums, talking about college and 50,000, 60,000.

32:25 Ranger College made from rich people.

32:33 How you going to college?

32:36 You are a prostitute in this time. I mean, you ain't really making it through college.

32:40 Please get through college and college is cool. But

32:50 They already coming from some type of money. Somebody's paying for the college unless and financial aid. You don't, you don't? Yeah, I got financially, I was the first person in my family to get a degree and, but that's only because

33:12 But that's only because the tax bracket that my family comes from. So just because we weren't making a serving about is free money for people for certain people. That qualify for it. It's like a like how only certain people qualify for like public assistance. This, you know, whatever it is. If you if your if your bracket is too much then you can't get that free money but in New York City, they just made a law where now colleges free for everybody that make less than 100,000.

33:41 Now that just happened a few years ago both, but when I started going to college. It was, you know, you either, you know, if you made too much, we have to pay for it. If you want to make a lot, then, you know, it was free and then it was people, that was in the middle, like my girlfriend at the time, her family had a decent amount of money. So there was one in which he could pay for it, but it is really hurting at the same time. Like they got money, but not enough to really be comfortable doing it. So when I get the point, I get your point. I definitely get your point cuz it is now it's free in New York City to let you know, for those people. But like I said, a lot of people graduating dad,

34:22 Doing jobs that do nose not related. So yeah.

34:29 And not only that, a lot of people say, the school system in America is a pipeline to prison.

34:35 They say that is like so bad that you know, the more uneducated you are, it can lead to like people, you know, trying to make money on the streets in a different way. Unless you, you know, invest in businesses or like, do other jobs, you think that's true.

34:58 I don't know. It depends. Like I said, it's going up in New York, though. I'm trying to be what you trying to keep up with anybody else.

35:07 You going to school going to school? You're not making no money going to school?

35:12 So, where's your money coming from? You got to eat everyday. Got a lift somewhere.

35:17 Jobs in ain't that many jobs out here.

35:22 Make people doing different things.

35:25 So we're going to wrap it up soon, but I'm just interested in hearing some of that. Some of the things you want to check off your your list of light items that you want to, you want to have like, you know, I think a G wagon is on that list. But other than that what what are some things you want like, you know, on your bucket list things like, you know, I'm going to check off like, I need this. I need that. What items you think this will make you feel fulfilled.

35:55 I mean, I don't know that's a problem with it. Like you keep it over. Nothing is enough. You feel me? So it's like ain't nothing enough because I don't have a problem.

36:20 It just my situation. I'm in jail, so I can't get it at the moment right now.

36:26 I was in the streets. I don't want, I don't want I get it. I'm saying.

36:37 I don't know. Okay, any any last messages for, you know, any listener or anything you want?

36:46 Leave the interview with need to interview with.

36:52 Work for what? You mean? That's been just working what you want.

36:58 Just try to stay out of trouble while you're doing it, right.