The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Keeping Up with Coronavirus - India's in a Bad Place & More | Vic Mensa
Episode Date: April 27, 2021Trevor covers the latest coronavirus news, Michael Kosta takes a close look at the U.S.'s measurement unit of feet, and rapper Vic Mensa talks about activism and his EP "I Tape."To help One Tree Plant...ed cultivate a healthier climate, protect global biodiversity, restore forests, create jobs and build communities, please give what you can at dailyshow.com/OneTreePlanted. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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You're listening to Comedy Central.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at, that's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News, listened to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting
September 17th.
Well, hello!
What's going on, everybody?
I'm Trevor Noah, and this is the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Today is Monday, April 26th.
And yes, we are back
baby. We were off the air last week so I could finally get some spring
cleaning done and you know it is amazing what you discover when you actually
clean your place. Like I found a piece of bat jerky in my couch which is
insane because the last time I had bat jerky was like end of 2019, maybe early... Uh-oh.
Anyway, coming up on tonight's show, we catch up on our favorite moments from the Oscars.
Michael Costa takes a close look at feet and why India's corona problem could soon become
everyone's corona problem. So let's do this people. Welcome to the Daily Social Distancensing Show. 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.
Ears Edition.
Let's kick things off with the Oscars.
The biggest night of the year for Hollywood and for people who manufacture red carpets. Now despite the pandemic shaking everything up, the Oscars pulled off a lot of cool moments
last night.
I mean we got to see an award show in a train station, right?
We saw Regina King get her steps in and we even got to see Glenn Close audition to
be in Cardi B's next video. But we also got a lot of history made last night. Chloe Zhao became the first
woman of color to win best director. Yu Junjun was the first Korean actor to win an award
and Daniel Kuluya. My friend became the first person to get an Oscar and a beat down from
his mama on the same night. And the Oscar goes to. Danielaluya, Judith, from the Blackburn.
We enjoy ourselves tonight because we're going to celebrate.
We've got to celebrate life, man.
We're breathing, we're walking.
It's incredible.
Like, it's incredible.
My mom, my dad, they had sex.
It's amazing.
Like, you know what I'm saying? I'm so happy to be alive.
So I'm going to celebrate that tonight.
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
Did this guy just say sex in front of his African mother?
Yo, let me tell you something.
Forget saying my parents had sex.
Just to say sex in front of African parents will be instantly rewarded by an ass-whopping of monumental proportions,
people. Can't be saying sex in front of African parents? In fact, I'm sure the only reason
she didn't whip Daniel's ass right there was just because there were too many white people in
attendance. She was probably sitting there like, hmm, hey when we get home, Daniel,
hmm, mm-mm. I'm telling you guys now, man, that's the only reason
black parents won't beat you in public.
My mom would look around and she'd be like,
two, three, four, five, six, she's like,
just one too many for you.
In fact, that's the only reason I'm staying in America, people.
Yeah, all the white people here make me to the shop to buy bread but instead I bought a lollipop mommy please but actually you know guys if you ask me I think
this is the future of award shows right forget agents and managers in the
crowd there I want to see parents yeah I want to see Brad Pitt's dad
holding up his embarrassing baby photos in the bathtub I want to see Emma Stone's
mom lick her thumb and wipe off a little girl's cheek while she's on stage I I I I I I I I I I I I the the the the to to the the to the th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I th. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. the the the the the th bathtub. I want to see Emma Stone's mom lick her thumb
and then wipe off her little girl's cheek
while she's on stage.
I want to see the rock's mom heckling him from the crowd,
like, he looks tough now,
but he wet the bed until he was 19.
But let's turn now from movies
to America's other favorite form of entertainment.
Gender reveal parties. And unlike the Oscars, here's one that ended with a bang. A large explosion in New Hampshire that shook multiple towns is being blamed on a gender
reveal party.
The sound of the blast was captured on a doorbell camera.
Some residents thought it was an earthquake.
One even reported damage to her home, but police say it was 80 pounds of explosives
detonated on Tuesday. Police say the man set them off in a quarry because he thought it would be safe.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Officials are still trying to figure out what charges the man might face.
All right, listen people.
If you find out that you're having a baby and your first response is to set off 80 pounds of explosives,
you probably shouldn't be having a baby.
Plus, do these parents ever think about how high their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thoes thoes thoes thoes tho. thate thate thate thatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheatheathe. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi thi thi thi thi thate it was thate thate thate thate thate thate. thate. thate. thate. thate, thate, thate, thate thate thate, thate. Fortunately, do these parents ever think about how high you're setting the expectations for your
child when you set off 80 pounds of explosives to announce their arrival?
I mean, guys, even Jesus didn't get an explosion.
He's just got some weird dudes delivering spices.
But now these days parents are like, Frankensense might be good enough for the son of God,
but my Braden deserves the best.
But I will say this, man.
I don't judge anybody who has a gender reveal party,
especially when it goes wrong.
There's so many things that can go wrong at a gender reveal.
In fact, I had a gender reveal, and, phew, man, it happened to me.
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to my gender reveal party.
All right, here we go.
Ew, gross.
Yeah, apparently you're only supposed to do it for a child, but no one tells me this.
I don't know where the rules are.
All right, and finally, you might remember from your history textbooks that there was an attempt to overthrow the U.S. Government, th, th- th- th- th- th- the th- th- the th- th- the the the the the the the the the their the the their the the the the the their their their their their their gend, their gend, their gend, their gend, their gend, their gend, their gend, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their ge, their gend, the, gen, gene, gene, gene, gene, gene-gend, gene-gendon-gendon-gendon-gendon-gendon-gendon-gend geendendende, tende, te, te, te, te, the, tells me this. I don't know where the rules are. All right, and finally, you might remember from your history textbooks that there was an
attempt to overthrow the U.S. government back in the year, January.
And the latest arrest in the capital insurrection comes from a poor guy just trying to make
a love connection.
Authorities say they have the dating app Bumble to thank for the arrest of a man accused in the siege at the U.S. Capitol in January 6th.
Robert Chapman allegedly told a woman that he met on Bumble that he stormed the Capitol and made it all the way to Sanctuary Hall.
The woman replied, we are not a match, and then she notified the FBI.
Chapman is charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct on restricted government property.
This has to be the craziest things thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing thing th of th of th of th of th of the to have the craziest thing I have ever heard.
Someone actually told the truth on a dating app? That's wild! I actually wonder
how that guy brought it up, you know, the fact that he stormed the capital? Like how do
you, how do you work that into your game? You know, does he come right out
with it? Or does he wait until she opens the door? Hey, don't I recognize you from somewhere? Yeah, girl, you might have seen me on TV hitting a cop with a flagpole.
You know, freedom.
But yeah, ma'am.
Props to this woman, she wasn't messing around.
She turned that dude into the FBI, which is a hell of a swipe-a-swixtap left.
And it shows that clearly this woman has not been single that long.
Because, I mean, let's be honest, people, after a few years of trying to date online, you know, stuff like overthrowing the government,
well, that stops being a deal breaker for some people.
Well, I mean, he stormed the Capitol,
but he's really sweet and he bought me flowers,
so we're gonna go to Chili's this Friday night for a date.
Yeah, the coronavirus pandemic.
You know, the reason we're all saying,
this feels so amazing when we have lunch with two friends.
So let's check in on the latest developments in another episode of Keeping Up with Corona.
As of now, 95 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID.
As of now, 95 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID, which I don't care what
anybody says is amazing.
Americans are getting their shots almost as fast as Americans are getting shots.
But the bad news is, America might be running out of people who are interested in saving
their own life.
There are growing signs that the nation's vaccination program is losing some steam.
Nationwide, the average rate of vaccinations is down roughly 20 percent in the last two weeks.
Some states are starting to actually turn down shipments of the vaccine because they have
more supply than demand.
In Arkansas, 17 counties are cutting back.
A number of mass vaccination sites in Texas are closing and more than half of the counties
in Kansas have turned down vaccine shipments because they'll go unused.
All of this comes amid new reports that more than 5 million Americans or about 8 percent
who got the first shot of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccine missed getting the second shot.
Okay, I mean, this is just weird to me people. You're
seriously going to wait this long for a vaccine, take half the doses, and then
just bail? Getting half the vaccine isn't good enough. I mean it's the same
reason that Trojan discontinued their crop-top line of condoms. It just doesn't work as well. And please don't get me wrong. I don't like the framing where it's like, oh this is just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just th. the th. th. th. the th. th. the th. th. th. the thi. thi. the th. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. the thi. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I'm th. I'm th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I'm th. I'm thi. I'm t to. te tod too. too. te. today. today. today, tha. th. th. th. th. th. I don't like the framing where it's like, oh, this is doom and gloom, 8% no,
92% of the people getting their second dose on time.
That's still really impressive.
But the bigger problem is that demand for the vaccine
in America overall is falling.
I mean, just a few weeks ago,
we were all scrambling for appointments.
Now you can pick up a Moderna shots in the two-for-one bin at a Walmart.
And I don't know, maybe the problem is that people like things that are new, and now the
vaccine doesn't feel new anymore.
Maybe what we need is a rebrand.
Start calling it the vaccine pro-S.
Change the color.
Then people will be lining up around the block.
So America finds itself now having so vaccine supply that it doesn't know what
to do with it.
And this is a really unique situation when you look at the rest of the world, because many
countries have barely any vaccines at all.
And for them, the pandemic is worse than ever before.
And no place is in worse shape right now than India.
Tonight, what officials in India call a tsunami of coronavirus cases is fast becoming a global
catastrophe.
For the third day in a row, the country's shattering world records.
More than 3,000 cases reported in the last 24 hours, nearly 1 million in the last three
days alone.
An aggressive mutant variant, no match for the country's underfunded medical system.
Hospitals are turning patients away for lack of oxygen, medicine, and beds.
While India's official death toll at under 200,000 is still only one-third that of the US,
Indian funeral workers say the true number of casualties is far higher.
The black market is now thriving to give you some idea idea a tank of oxygen was about $80 before the pandemic. They're now going for more than $1,000.
Yeah, people. Things are really dire in India right now. Countless people are
dying. The hospital system is collapsing and oxygen is going for a thousand dollars on the
black market. That is so much money. Like I'm surprised people aren't out there
mugging scuba divers.
And the really sad part about this crisis
is that it could have been avoided
if India's government hadn't taken their eye off the ball.
Only two months ago, it looked like India had avoided the worst.
The government relaxed rules even allowed a huge
Hindu festival.
In recent months, even as cases rose, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted huge political
rallies, flouted social distancing, and allowed mass gatherings.
Thousands of people have been taking to Twitter with trending hashtags like Resign Modi,
super spreader Modi, and the reason is because Prime Minister Modi's ruling
political party has been holding rallies.
The government of Narendra Modi has contacted Twitter to censor some of the tweets
that have been highly critical of his government's mishandling of this second wave.
And interestingly, Twitter complied removing some of these tweets.
Okay, you know things are getting bad when a leader's response to criticism of his failures
is to try and shut down the criticism, not the failures.
We've got to stop the spread of these mean tweets about me.
Honestly, you know who must be so jealous of Modi right now?
Donald Trump. Yeah, because Modi's got it on lock.
He got Twitter to censor his enemies. He's out here holding huge rallies in the middle of a pandemic.
And he's even got the skin tone that Trump has been trying to get for years.
And look, maybe Modi thought there were good reasons to let crowds gather indoors.
But I'll say it again.
The virus does not care why you're gathering.
It's still coming to get you! But, regardless, thole thold tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, tho, tho, thi, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi. thi. thi, thi, thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi. And, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, too t toga. toga. togu. togu. togu. th toda, regardless of how it got there, India is in a really, really bad place right
now, and it needs help from the rest of the world before things get even worse.
Thankfully, the United States has stepped up to grudgingly answer the call.
Tonight, a global response to the COVID crisis ravaging India, as the US pledged immediate medical aid, including drug treatments, rapid-didididididididididididididididididididididididididididi... to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, the. to to to to to to to to to to the COVID crisis ravaging India, as the U.S. pledges immediate medical
aid, including drug treatments, rapid diagnostic COVID-19 testing kits, ventilators, PEPE,
oxygen supplies, and ingredients for producing vaccines.
The United States is partially lifting a ban on exports of the materials needed to make coronavirus
vaccines in India.
The move is an abrupt policy change for the Biden administration, which had previously denied
the request to allow the exports, claiming their focus was on vaccinating Americans.
The United States' first answer when this was discussed last week was, well, America comes
first.
That's what we heard from the State Department.
The United States, first and foremost, is engaged in an ambitious and effective and so
far successful effort to vaccinate the American people.
Okay, yeah, this is good.
Look, I'm glad to see America sending something to the rest of the world that doesn't
have the name of the wrong Super Bowl winner printed on it, but I still feel like America could be doing a lot more. I mean, just today, just today, America announced
that it would start sharing its massive stockpile
of millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine,
which, by the way, America has been sitting on for months
even though it doesn't need it.
Doesn't need it, but just has it.
So America's basically treating these vaccines like it was the old can of pumpkin puree in the back of the cabinet.
I mean, you knew you were never going to use it, but you still held on to it way longer than you should.
Because maybe, just maybe one day, someone will be like, I'm dying, I need pumpkin puree.
Ha ha ha! I got some in the back of my cabinet.
And don't get me wrong. I know that a country's priority has to be looking to be looking to be looking to be looking to be looking the to be looking to be looking their to be looking their to be looking their their to be looking to be looking their to be looking to be looking their to be looking their to be looking to be looking to be looking to be looking to be looking after its own people. But don't forget that it makes America safer
when Corona is under control in the rest of the world.
Because the more Corona has time to run wild,
we've seen the more opportunity it has to mutate
and become more deadly.
And trust me, if a bad mutation emerges,
it's gonna come to America.
Corona spreads through respiratory droplets. And when have you ever met someone who took a to c under to con a to coe to coe to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toe toe toe toe toe toe toe the toe their their toe toe their their their their coeconomic their coom-a their coe. their coe. their cooe. their coa. their coa. their coa their c. their c. their c. their c. their c. their c. their c. their c. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the same. theconomic. toeconomic. teconomic. teconomic. te.c. te.a.a.a.a.a.a.a. toecol. th. thecoo. the the the the the the. to America. Corona spreads through respiratory droplets.
And when have you ever met someone who took a trip to India
and didn't shut up about it?
So look, we need to remember that until everyone is immune,
the job is always going to be only half done.
You know, it's kind of like only getting your first shot.
It helps, but the job's not complete.
So America really needs to start helping the rest of the world now.
Or it can start saving up for those $1,000 tanks of oxygen.
All right, when we come back,
Michael Costa figures out America's problem with feat.
You don't want to miss it.
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Harriet Tubman 20 is not accepted. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts
starting September 17.
Welcome back to the daily social distancing show.
Every once in a while, an ordinary person goes above and beyond to change the world.
Tonight, Michael Costa has found one of those persons for another episode of Thank Me Later.
Hi, I'm Michael Costa.
Feet.
They aren't just the most search term in my browser history.
They're also how we measure things.
But did you know that America has two different foot measurements?
It's a problem that started decades ago and until now had gone unsolved.
Let's start off with a quick history lesson about America's foot problem.
In the 19th century, a hot new trend was sweeping across Europe,
the metric system.
It was so popular that it successfully made the jump to America, like Ed Sheeran.
In 1866, Congress passed the U.Smetric Act, which recognized the foot foot foot foot foot foot foot foot foot foot foot foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the foot the the jump to America, like Ed Sheeran. In 1866, Congress passed the U.S. Metric Act, which recognized the foot, not as some
British arbitrary measurement, like the length of her Majesty's royal middle finger, but
has an exact number based on the metric system, with one foot equal to 1,200 divided
by 3,937 of a meter.
In in 1893, the Mendenhall order formally makes that the legal definition
of a foot. Measurement nerds, or feet creeps as I call them, wanted an exact number, which
would help industrial machines make standardized parts that are the exact same length everywhere
in the world. So, in 1959, the US redefined the foot to international standards,
making it exactly 0.3048 of a meter.
This becomes known as the international foot, and it is just slightly shorter than the old 1893 foot.
And I know what you're thinking. So America has two foot measurements.
Big deal. I couldn't agree more. Why does it even matter?
Having two feet for measuring things is really uncool.
Meet Dr. Dennis. He works with the National Geodetic Why does it even matter? Having two feet for measuring things is really uncool.
Meet Dr. Dennis.
He works with the National Geodetic Survey as a geodesist.
Geodesist?
I'm a geodesist.
A geodesy is the science behind a mapping, serving, and navigation.
And I kept running into this problem with the different versions of the foot.
You're basically a foot doctor, right?
Or excuse me, a feet doctor?
Not quite that.
No, we won't say that.
Well, because I was going to ask you, because I've been jogging and I have it in my right
foot.
Oh, I think that's outside my area of expertise, but I appreciate you asking.
Okay. So what is the foot problem that you're tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. that. that. thi. thi. thi. that. that. that. that. Not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not. that. that. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. that, not, not. that, not. that, not that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. the foot. In current use of the United States,
one foot is older than the other one
and it's a little bit longer than the other one,
and people mix them up, and it causes problems.
Two different feet, okay, how different are these feet?
They are not very different.
Two parts per million. That is about an eighth
of an inch per mile. What? It's almost nothing. So why did I take my Tuesday afternoon to even
talk with you? Why does it matter? Once you get to a million feet, the difference is two feet.
Now you're talking about a pretty big difference. And what was happening is people would go to
location on the ground that was off by several feet. This is a nuisance, and in some cases, more than a nuisance.
Right, no, and this stuff actually makes a difference.
It really does.
This needs to be changed.
You're a scientist.
You want to fix problems.
You want to find solutions.
So what are you doing about it?
I'm glad you put me on the spot because I take it seriously and I am doing something about it.
Now, one large group of surveys called the National Society of Professional Surveyors, NSPS,
that represents all the surveys throughout the United States.
I decided to go speak to them directly and I gave a presentation, gave them all the history and all that
and I didn't know if they would throw tomatoes at me or what, but once they heard they heard they they bought in. The date of deprecation for the U.S. survey foot is December 31st, 2022.
Wow. You did it. We did it. What can Americans do to prepare for this big change? Should I set my
clock back? What will the new temperature be? I assume all units of measurement are connected,
right? It might seem like kind of a letdown, but the average American's not going to notice
anything. Okay, so great, I can still brag to people about having a footlaw. Yeah, absolutely.
You won't have to qualify it. Oh, I'm in an international foot law. You can just say footlaw.
Okay, great, because I have a small penis, but there's a footlong.
Okay, and I won't comment on that last thing. That's okay.
Okay, Mr. Foot Doctor, based on this achievement, did you get any accolades, any acknowledgement?
Um, nothing formal, just, um, said that I did a good job, no other recognition.
Well, guess what?
That's about the change.
Did you receive a package from us recently?
I did indeed, just a couple of days ago.
Something I was thrilled to get.
Can you show that to the camera, please?
This is it. I'm going to hold it up in a way that everyone can hopefully see.
Isn't that beautiful? Look at that, look at that foot.
Isn't that lovely?
And I have to say I am extremely pleased with the trophy.
It'll be at a prominent place forever at our home.
Dr. Michael Dennis,
the measurement hero who set the record straight
by taking America's feet into his own hands.
I'm Michael Costa. You can thank me later.
Thank you so much for that, Michael. All right, when we come back,
the amazing rapper Vic Mansa will be joining me on the show to talk about his brand new EP.
Stick around. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
You're rolling?
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
My guest tonight is rapper and activist Vic Mensa.
He's here to talk about his recent trip to Africa, his new EP and his personal message for Joe Biden.
Vic Mansa, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Thank you for having me. Yeah, man. The last time you were on the show, we were in Chicago, to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Thank you for having me.
Yeah, man.
The last time you were on the show, we were in Chicago, we were in your home city, and then now,
every day I see you on Instagram and you are in South Africa, and I feel like you stole my country from me, you like, you're like living.
I can't travel, I can't go there, I can't come back, and then like you're just out there living my best life.
I feel like you've just stolen my dream, man, what's going on? You changed your hair, so I'm over there telling them that I'm you.
You know, they're like the accent, my accent isn't all the way lining up, but you know,
I was getting some privilege as you. Tell me a little bit about that, man. What thia. thia. thia. thia. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I'm, I'm, I'm, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. th th th th toea. t t t t toda. t t today, tha. th th th th thi. that, man. What inspired you to go on this trip?
Well, you know, I went to Ghana in January.
And I've just been on a kind of pan-African mission,
you know what I'm saying?
And thinking a lot about connecting black people here in America
with black people on the continent of Africa.
And so I went to Ghana because that's where my the their their their their their their their. their. their. their. I was.. I was a their. I was a their. I was a their.. I was a their.. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was a to go. to to to go. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. toa. to goa. to goa. to goa. to goa. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to ga. to to the the to to to toa. toa. toa. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toga. togaine. tog. the continent of Africa. And so I went to Ghana because that's where my family is.
And then I got the opportunity to go to South Africa.
And I mean, it was amazing.
You know, it was very interesting in that there was such extreme wealth
and people living lavishly in a way that I don't think I've even seen this year other than there. And then there was on the flip side, a depth of abject poverty in townships and people living
in shacks, you know, tin walls, tin roof.
And these things are next door to each other.
So that was striking, but then also just the culture, the rich, the richness of
the culture was inspiring and beautiful and you know, the languages, it's like 11 languages
and people speaking Kosa and Zulu and I'm trying to find, I'm trying to figure out.
You got a good click, man.
You got a really good click.
I was impressed with that. Normally people get stuck there, they they they they were speaking, oh, Shah. You just, that was, that was a nice click, Vic.
You know, I was listening, man, that's the thing. I was trying to soak, soak it up. You looked like
you were having a good time and I feel like your music, your music shows that
you've got a new EP out right now that's getting great reviews, I-tape. I'd love to know why you thought now was the right time and where you found the inspiration.
Yeah, so this I-tape is a part of a three-part series.
The V-tape, I-tape, and then, you know, the eventual C-tape.
And this was largely inspired by what transpired in 2020.
And so I'm in Chicago.
I just moved back to Chicago when I started doing this series of EPs.
And it's going to come together as one fully realized project.
And I just moved back to Chicago.
And then the world is set on fire.
And there's riots on 47 Street on the South Side and buildings being burned and things that haven't happened
since the 60s when Martin Luther King was assassinated.
And so that just found this way into my music, you know,
and so I was writing about that
and writing about stories of friends of mine that are incarcerated,
who, you know, I've been a big part of my life and
you know that that that formed a basis of kind of the thematic structure it
ended up being really about freedom you know it's it's not just freedom but it's
it's the lack of freedom you know when you're talking about the
prison system and you're talking about people unfairly
to be thel told about how unfairly people get punished and kept in the caceral system system the system the system the system the system the system the their system their their their their th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's th. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. I I I I I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's. I. I. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. And. And. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. And th and you're talking about how unfairly people get punished and kept in that carceral system.
Some people would just sing about that in the music.
Some people would rap about that in the music.
Vic Mensa takes that, and I see you takes that.
And I see you going and bailing people doing stuff.
I see you going and having sleep-ins. What makes you so inspired, I think,
to go beyond just the music, which is a powerful message,
but go like, I'm going to take this into the streets as well.
You know, I had an experience when I was making this project
that informed a song on there called Musa.
That was one of the most moving experiences of my life,
in that I was able to help a friend of mine who was convicted
and sentenced to 25 years when he was 14 years old. When the pandemic started,
you know, I threw a shot in the dark. He asked me if I could help him get his clemency in
front of the governor, and I was able to help him push that across the finish line
and he came home 12 years early. And it just changed, it changed the way I look at life because it made me realize that,
you know, first of all, my power, my own power is intrinsically as a person and also that having
the faith and belief to see what seems impossible, you know,
fruition is what's necessary.
So I find myself doing things in the real world
because these are the relationships
that are important to me.
These are the people I spend time around.
You know, I might be in South Africa
pretended to be Trevor Noah,
you know, for like three weeks, you know,
but most of the time I'm in Chicago and I'm surrounded by people that are working,
you know, nine to five jobs or trapping or, you know, right, right.
And it's like, those are the people whose stories I speak, and those are the people that
I'm speaking for and whose lives are closest to me, you know?
What do you think it is about Chicago that that that gives us so many
of like some of the most conscious rappers like this seems to be an essence
to Chicago rap that goes beyond just making the music what do you think it is
about Chicago that inspires that? Chicago's got a history of just
revolutionaries you know I think that Kugler and that entire team they they showcase that well in that many people may not be the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th th th be not be not be not be not be not be not be not be not be not be the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the most the most the most the most the most the most the most the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the. the of thi. thi. thi. the. theeea. thea. they. they. the most. the most. the the most. the the most. the the mostugler and that entire team, they
showcase that well in that many people may not be familiar with the story of
Chairman Fred Hampton and you know that that strong history of just
revolutionary action in Chicago and I think on top of that Chicago is also not a
place full of industry. So differing from New York or LA, you don't have the film industry, you don't have the music industry largely.
It's like a blue collar city.
And also, Chicago is an acute representation of hoods around America because of what happened with the public housing.
Chicago was the biggest public housing experiment in America.
Stacking and poor people on top of each other,
like sardines and a can, and created an extremely segregated city
that when they tore down those projects,
has largely contributed to the streets being in turmoil.
But then it's also got history, you know,
of revolutionary action.
So I think that we've always had a perspective
to be able to analyze what's happening.
And the way that we express it like a journalist is, you know,
through our body.
Yeah, man, you've always inspired me, Vic.
And one of my favorite pieces from you wasn't in fact in music.
It was an op-ed that you wrote.
And it was essentially, you know, addressed to President Joe Biden,
where you said, you know, one of the biggest debts, and I paraphrase you, one of the biggest
debts he has right now, is to make right what happened to black communities because of the to the to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to make.k.sh.sh.s.k. the to the to the to the the the to beaqqqqqqqqqq. to beaqqq. to beaq. to beaq. toe. toe. toe. It's, toe. It's, toe. Itheaq. Ithee. Itheaq. I wase. I wase.e.e.e.e.e. Ie.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e. Ite.n.n. Ite.n. Ite. Ite. toe. toe. toe. toe. the toe. toe. the toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. It's toe. It's toe. It's toe. It's toe. It's toe. It's that and why you feel it's important not just for you to speak out, but for the
government to actually look at people who were impacted in the worst ways
because of COVID because it amplified what already existed in America.
That's the thing about a situation like COVID is that the structure is set
for black people to be damaged more by any storm that hits America.
We're the ones that are most likely to be left in the cold. And you know Joe Biden he owes us on a lot
of levels though because we put him in power. You know it was in Atlanta and in Georgia and the south
across the nation black Black people were in power.
And so he owes us, he owes us on many levels.
And I want him to remember that.
Don't forget that because we ain't forgot it.
And you know, you really inspired me too, Trevor, because the idea of being African
American, I love, I just always go back to that special of yours, the African American because although, you know, we come from different size of the globe, I have that same experience,
you know, being like, in the most literal sense of the word, an African-American, you know,
and that's why I put so much, I put so much emphasis on our collaboration because it's like
black people in South Africa, in Soweto, in Ghana, in Chicago, in Atlanta.
We all are facing a common enemy, you know, and our unity expands our possibility.
Yeah, man.
I appreciate you in that.
It's like Daniel said last night at the Oscars, which I really loved.
He said, and, you know, instead of allowing them to divide and conquer you
figure out how to unite and ascend and then hit me you know so I appreciate
you my dude thank you for taking the time. Congratulations I'm a tape I'm a. I'm excited to enjoy the I tape and then we wait for the C tape tap unne until I to to to to to to to to to to to the to to the to the to the to the to to the to to to the to the the to to to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you. to you. to you. to you. to you. to you. to you. the the the the the the the the the the the try. the try. the the try. try. try. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. Don't forget, everybody. Eye tape is available right now.
All right, we're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back after this.
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Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
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Like none of this stuff gets looked at.
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When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
You're rolling?
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you
get your podcasts.
This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.