Kanoya Ali:
Welcome to License to Operate, a podcast that takes you inside the work happening on Chicago streets to reduce gun violence and transform lives. I'm Kanoya Ali. And I'm Peter Cunningham. Today we talking with Lil Cuz, a content creator, and psychology graduate who's using his platform to reach young people in Chicago with positive messages.

Peter Cunningham:
We're exploring how someone from the South side navigated away from street life, the power of social media, influence on youth, and what it takes to change the narrative around violence in our city. If you haven't already, hit subscribe. Let's get started.

Kanoya Ali:
Let's get started. All right, man. Listen, everybody listen. We got our good good brother. My good brother Little Cuz man, how you doing, man?

Lil Cuz:
Chilling man.

Kanoya Ali:
Welcome, welcome. Welcome to LTO, man, LTO, the License to Operate. This is a new show. Me and Pete got going on, man. Okay, cool. So you was on our list, man, to get it in.

Lil Cuz:
One of the top five guests. One of the first five.

Kanoya Ali:
One of the first five, definitely. Definitely. Okay, cool.

Peter Cunningham:
Definitely first five. Pretty sure you're going to be top five.

Lil Cuz:
Okay, cool. Cool. Let's make that happen then.

Peter Cunningham:
Let's make that happen. Exactly, exactly.

Kanoya Ali:
So where do we start from, man? Your humble beginnings in Crete-Monee, Illinois.

Lil Cuz:
Yeah, a troll. Please, whoever watched this

Kanoya Ali:
Creep,

Lil Cuz:
Just know he is a troll. I am not from Crete-Monee.

Kanoya Ali:
Crete-Monee is a South suburb.

Lil Cuz:
Very nice place. I don't know.

Kanoya Ali:
You said you've never been to Crete-Monee?

Lil Cuz:
Never been there.

Kanoya Ali:
Wow, interesting.

Lil Cuz:
Never been.

Kanoya Ali:
Okay. I don't know where I got that information from. Talk to the,

Lil Cuz:
I don't either, man.

Kanoya Ali:
Talk to the producer about that. Let's go, man. So tell us about your beginnings, man.

Lil Cuz:
Man... from the south side of Chicago, I grew up, as far as I can remember, we lived in an apartment on 64th and Rockwell. Then we moved to 71st Francisco. I went to school over there, graduated my bachelor degree in 2019 in psychology, and so that was what I was 22, 6 years later, I'm 28 now. I worked for the number one radio station in my city. WGCI. Yeah, yeah. That's the gist of you.

Kanoya Ali:
That's what's up, man.

Lil Cuz:
You're a content creator, right? Content creator.

Kanoya Ali:
Yeah.

Peter Cunningham:
Talk a little bit about what that is. That's what we're trying to do here, but

Lil Cuz:
Yeah. Yeah,

Peter Cunningham:
You can learn something from you.

Lil Cuz:
Yeah, for sure. So when I graduated school in 20 19, 20 20 came, that's when COVID hit in March. So I was just working, when I graduated from school, I was working as a teacher down in Carbondale. I was just working in 2020 and at the time, people around me was starting to get back into school to pursue their master's program, you know what I'm saying? Get their master's degree. So being in that environment, I feel like I ain't want to get left out, left behind, or I'm just down here and I'm not fully doing what I need to be doing. So I registered to get back in school to get my master's. Now, when I did that, I soon found out that, so August, 2020 came, I found out that grad school was totally different from undergrad. I'm saying it was totally a different ball game. So by the time the first, as assignments came out, I, I ain't going to be able to do it being truthful, I guess you could say a grad school dropout because I was like, I'm not going to be able to do it.
It was challenging and I guess I wasn't up for the challenge, you know what I'm saying? Plus COVID had hit, like I said, and that played a big role for me because I'm more of a in-person hands-on learning. I need to be, see my professor, I got questions, this, that, and third. So the whole hybrid learning online, and that didn't work for me. So I was just in the house from late September to December of 2020 or January, 2021, just playing Call of Duty. I was on Warzone. Verdansk. I was playing Warzone, waking up 8:00 AM going to sleep probably one in the morning, take a break to eat,

Peter Cunningham:
Playing Warzone all day,

Lil Cuz:
Playing Warzone all day. That was my life.

Peter Cunningham:
That was more fun than going to graduate school.

Lil Cuz:
That was what I was doing, you know what I'm saying? And I was getting paid from, my father was in the Marines, so I was getting a monthly check. So that was keeping me know what I'm having money in my pocket. So it was like I was able to pay my rent and stuff and still have some money. So I was cool. I was settling in a sense, but something in me just knew like, man, it's more to me than this. I'm better than this. I need to do something with myself. And so January came 2021 and I did a video that I seen on Instagram. I did a voiceover from a video I seen on Instagram in December of 2020, and I never dropped it. And then I ended up redoing it in January, 2021 and I put it on Instagram. So at the time I had 1600 followers. It got like 4,000 views on reels.

Peter Cunningham:
What was the video about?

Lil Cuz:
So it's a show called Power, and it was out and it was a character called named Zeke. He was just saying his mother had asked him about a teacher and he was just like, oh, she don't know nothing. But the voiceover was so funny. Then people was clinging to it. So I just did that and it ended up getting like 4,000 views, plays on reels, and I was just like, I'm just going to keep going. So I just kept going and I started picking up traction. So that's how I got into creating content, you know what I'm saying? Is

Peter Cunningham:
This an actual thing you can generate income from? Make a living at?

Lil Cuz:
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Facebook page, Instagram page, YouTube page. You know what I'm saying?

Peter Cunningham:
Yeah.

Lil Cuz:
So yeah, you could definitely make a living out of this. I know people who just straight internet, you know what I'm saying? Content creation, that's all they do. Content creating, you know what? But I'm at a point now, and that's what I was about to tell you. I'm at a point now where at least for me, I feel like how I look at my life. I went to grammar school, graduated, boom, then high school, that was four years I graduated, went to college. That was four years I graduated. I started making content in 2021. It's 2025, that's four years later. I'm kind of at a spot in my life where I feel like I've graduated from that aspect and it's something else that I want to do. I just haven't figured out what that is yet. You know what I'm saying?

Kanoya Ali:
I always, like I said, and we talked about this early on, the fact that I always see you on a big screen, I think in your genius, you being able to not just create content but create characters. You do this thing when you go from the mother, the uncle, the brother, you know what I'm saying? The girlfriend, you do this thing where you embody the role. So well, it kind of reminds me of how Martin
The whole, when he played Roscoe and Shana and you know what I'm saying, those different characters. Peter, you know who these people are? No. You don't even know who Martin is. Dude, comedian.

Lil Cuz:
Yeah, yeah. Martin Lawrence. What's your name? Martin Lawrence. Oh yeah, I knew Martin Lawrence.

Kanoya Ali:
But I'm saying the TV show was called Martin Show.

Peter Cunningham:
Oh, okay.

Kanoya Ali:
The thing was, he played these multiple characters and he does a similar thing. I don't know, did you have that in mind when you was putting together characters or no?

Lil Cuz:
No, I didn't. You know what I'm saying? My whole thing, well even characters came about for me was I would have skit ideas and if I don't have nobody, I was in Carbondale that time and I started making my videos. So if I got a skit idea and I wasn't really too much talking to nobody out there, if I have a skit idea, I don't have nobody to do it for me if I need. So you

Peter Cunningham:
Got to do all the characters yourself.

Lil Cuz:
I got to do it myself. So I took it upon myself. I ain't Finn wait on nobody to do this. I'm just going to jump in and do it myself. So then over time, it actually became character development. It's like I really found that niche for this character. How do I want to talk with this character? How do I want to look with this character? How do I want to approach this character? How do I want this character to make people feel? What emotion do I want this character to embody? What's everything that I want this character to be? And a lot of my stuff came about from just my life growing up and then observation of how people are, you know what I'm saying?

Peter Cunningham:
Let me ask you a little bit about audiences. The audiences you're

Lil Cuz:
Reaching.

Peter Cunningham:
What do you know about that? Do you know who you are reaching? What kind of people you're reaching?

Lil Cuz:
Are

Peter Cunningham:
They young men? Are they young men of color? Are they,

Lil Cuz:
See, the thing is, and what makes what I do so unique and just can grasp every, what do I want to say? Like age group, I have characters. So if I have a little brother who I call baby because he's attracting the kids, you know what I'm saying? I didn't have somebody send me a video of her four old son talking like him and this, that and third and he's four. I'm like, dang, how you even understand? You know what I'm saying? He's attracting the kids, me playing myself, I'm attracting my age group, you know what I'm saying? They can relate to me, the girlfriend character relating to the females in Chicago, whatever women it can reach the mother character, my uncle character that's reaching the older generation, 40 50 year olds. You know what I'm saying? So it's like I'm touching every age group with these different characters and I'm able to do that. And I would say my demographic is probably mainly black people, you know what I'm saying? But at the same time, Latinos, Mexicans and maybe some Caucasian people and stuff. But I see my comments and I see people who are coming and interacting with me. And

Peter Cunningham:
Is your content about neighborhood life or family life inside the home, or is it just like

Lil Cuz:
It's about anything,

Peter Cunningham:
Social observations, things like

Lil Cuz:
That? It's about anything. Whatever come to my mind. Then it got to a point where my content began to look like a storyline almost. You know what I'm saying? People like, man, what's going on next? What happened with this character? What's going on with this character? You know what I'm saying? It started to flow in that sense. So it's just stuff that people experienced growing up, things I know people can relate to. And that's why I had people ask me before, why you don't use your degree.

Peter Cunningham:
Your degree is psychology. Huh?

Lil Cuz:
But I do feel like I use my degree.

Peter Cunningham:
This sounds like you using your degree.

Lil Cuz:
Absolutely. Because I look at it from a standpoint of how would this person react to this or okay, that'll get 'em right there. You know what I'm saying?

Kanoya Ali:
When I think about just skits, right? I think through COVID it really helped people through just that timeframe of being in the house and having something to laugh at. And really, I think you came to fame in that sense. You know what I'm saying? But just to go back a little bit, you grew up on the south side of Chicago and we hear so much about the bad, the street part of it. How were you able to stay out of that light?

Lil Cuz:
You remember I told you my age earlier. Yeah,

Peter Cunningham:
28.

Lil Cuz:
Yeah. So I always get, I look young when I was growing up. If I look young now, I really looked young though. You know what I'm saying? I didn't even look like type. He not finna be in those streets, you know what I'm saying? I'm a shorty, I got braids. I'm little as hell, you know what I'm saying? I look like you ain't got no business being no type of nothing gang affiliated or nothing like that. But I listened to my peoples man. I listened to my mama. I listened to my old, I grew up in a two parent household until I was like 12. Mama and dad, I'm with grandma house all the time. Like I said, she lived across the street from my grammar school. So I listened to my people as you ride that bike, you corner and back, don't go around, don't leave off this block, don't do this, that, and third don't do this.
That and third. And growing up it made you feel like, damn, I can't do nothing. Like damn, I can't. You know what I'm saying? My friend them, they all, but looking back now, it was for the best of interest. I'm saying they protected me from what could have been because I grew up, like I said, my grandma 76 Wild, I grew up Russell around there is killer, killer wood, GV, you got BG across the way, Sealy and all that stuff. So I grew up in this environment. I'm saying that's why tell people I'm not a street dude. But you could say I'm a hood dude because I done grew up in the hood. I know what all this is. You know what's going on. I know what's going on. I'm not out here just moving. I know what's going on. I done took City ninth Street bus to school. I'm passing all these hoods,
Staying city, and you know what I'm saying? I know what's going on, but I'm just on aspect like man, I'm cool. I ain't on that. I'm saying I was always who I am now who people bro. Bro. Funny as hell, you know? He be chilling. I'm cool. I always believed I stand on my own 10 as a man. I ain't never felt like I need to be with a gang of dudes for not saying people be with a gang of dudes for protection or anything like that. Because some people grew up in that environment. That's all they got. They got they friends more than they family.

Peter Cunningham:
They didn't have anybody telling them to come back home for dinner at night.

Lil Cuz:
Exactly. And I'm real life going grandma house dinner ready. You know what I'm saying? I have real structure. I'm real life sitting at the dinner table with my family, eating you. I'm with my cousins and stuff.

Peter Cunningham:
I was asking you about the audiences because we are trying to deal with young guys at risk, right? And we're trying to help folks who are caught up in that life to leave that life. And we would also like to, and we don't put as much effort into this just because it's not our thing yet, but the younger ones, right? The 14 years old, the ones who you can still get before they get into the criminal justice system or get caught up. And so we're just, I want to ask someone like you, how do you reach those kids who are at risk? Not the ones like you who grew up with two parents and a grandparent who's keeping an eye on you, but how do you reach the ones who really are at risk?

Lil Cuz:
Man,

Peter Cunningham:
Any thoughts? I mean, we need all the help we can get. So you're a content creator, so that's why I'm wondering if...

Lil Cuz:
It's like social media, social influence is so impactful.

Peter Cunningham:
It's huge, right?

Lil Cuz:
Right now, you know what I'm saying? In this day and age, we living in social media is so impactful. The music these kids listen to is so impactful in their lives and what they want to do and how they view things. So it's like you have ones that's going to listen and you have one that's not going to listen. You got to know you got ones that you can sit and talk to 'em, tell 'em like, man, you can just be, you don't have to fit in. You don't have to be the street guy. But that's what that's like. Well, all some of them know or want to be that's Some people wake up with that. They want that.

Peter Cunningham:
Yeah. Put on your psychology hat.

Lil Cuz:
What's

Peter Cunningham:
Going on with them? They want

Lil Cuz:
You. It is the music.

Peter Cunningham:
It's

Lil Cuz:
The music. It's the environment you living in. That's what I want. That's what if you see your favorite artists or something, and this is the image that they have, they are artists, they from the streets, they was a gangster. This what they saying, man, I want to be a gangster. I want to be from the streets. I want to be this. We watched Chief Keef come up in the impact he had on all the youth, you know what I'm saying? So it's like that's what they want to mirror. But you got somebody like me that you don't have to mirror that to be successful and still be that guy or you, that dude or you not no lame, you not no goofy, you not this, that. And third, because you got to understand what comes with that. Either be dead or in jail. So it's about the decisions that they make and if we can get through to 'em and make sense to 'em, then maybe they'll change. But it is not like it's too late. But they got to want it for they selves. I can't want something for you more than you want it for yourself.

Kanoya Ali:
Right. Just to even reflect on what you're saying because the position you took, the difference that I heard you say, you had a village around you that was in support of you. You know what I'm saying? And they motivated you to keep doing the right thing and you listen and there's so many of our young brothers and sisters out here that's making bad decisions. And nine out of 10, if you sit 'em down, they didn't have that structure that you had. You know what I'm saying? And what we often say, and we know this, if the village raised the child, the child going to come out better off. But if the village turns their back on a child or don't embrace the child, then it's not going to, the outcome won't be the

Speaker 4:
Same.

Kanoya Ali:
So often we seeing children not being raised by a village, become young adults and go crazy and we like, man, what happened? So case in point, if I don't know what a man look, so if a man doesn't raise me the issues I go through emotion wise, I don't

Lil Cuz:
Know how to deal emotion with that. Yeah.

Kanoya Ali:
I don't know how to handle my emotions as a man. I don't know what I'm supposed to do as a man.

Lil Cuz:
No principles know.

Kanoya Ali:
If you flip it around and say that with a woman, say, look, this young girl grew up no mother. You know what I'm saying? Grew up, she was raised by a single dad. Know what I'm saying? Dad was in and out, didn't there? So she started stripping or doing certain things. People will understand, I get it, I get why she's doing this.
But it seems like the same thing is not being handed or looked at from the perspective of some of these young brothers that don't have that. Now I get what you said. You said this sometimes this is what they want. But to read on your psychological side, on the psychology degree side, you explained this to me, why would a young person want that? And could it be because if I'm young and I'm looking at how I'm being inspired or what's my inspiration and I'm looking on YouTube and I'm seeing someone that looks like me from the same neighborhood I'm from, or a neighborhood like it and they get a part of success by rapping this way, is it farfetched to believe that this young person that don't have any other male influence might start doing that? Thinking that that's what you supposed to do to become successful If you don't have any other image of success?

Lil Cuz:
I don't know. I feel like the youth do have other images of success that's not just rappers and you know what I'm saying? But again, we live in a time where social influence is big and people for whatever reason, I don't know, but people thrive off negativity. If you have something negative, people want to man what's going on? If I go live right now, if I go live right now on Instagram and I said, man out here feeding the homeless or something like that, no damn cool. Make the title of my life that, you know what I'm saying? Feeding the home. Cool. Probably get 34 views, something like that. You know what I'm saying? But then if I go live, I could talk freely on here. Then if I go live though and I'm like, this nigga got me fucked up the lap. You know what I'm saying? It's going to be 300 people on the live right then and there. Damn, what's going on? What's going on? What's up, what's up, what's up? Because everybody, when it's something negative, people just clinging to it.

Peter Cunningham:
It's an old thing in the news business. I came up in the media business in the last century,

Lil Cuz:
Journalism

Peter Cunningham:
And things, and they call it, if it bleeds, it leads. Exactly. So that's not a new

Lil Cuz:
Thing.

Peter Cunningham:
But social media has made it even easier

Lil Cuz:
Than ever, even easier

Peter Cunningham:
To see violence on your screen, to see it on your phone, to see it anywhere you want. You can do one screenshot after another of a police officer killing somebody somewhere in America every single 10 minutes. Absolutely. You can find that. You can find guys getting shot. You can find

Lil Cuz:
Absolutely

Peter Cunningham:
Sharks eating people. You need anything.

Lil Cuz:
It's mental. And I think it stems down to what do you want for yourself though? You know what I'm saying? I never wanted to live a life where I have to look over my shoulders, where I have to be on who I can't go there. Why can't you? Could you imagine not being able to go downtown to your own city? I mean, of course we come from different walks of life. So you probably never even had this type of thought.

Peter Cunningham:
Never.

Lil Cuz:
But

Peter Cunningham:
Never

Lil Cuz:
Growing up. Could you imagine sitting and saying, damn, I can't even go downtown. Damn, I can't even go. I can't even go there because I got

Peter Cunningham:
Lost. Can't go on the train.

Lil Cuz:
I can't even get on that train.

Peter Cunningham:
I get spotted or

Lil Cuz:
Something. Yeah. Damn. Damn, you talking to a girl, damn, you live over there? No, I can't go. No, I've never had that problem because I don't live that life. I'm not looking, not looking over my shoulder like that. I Hell no, you live over east. I can't go. I can go over east, west, north, south. You know what I'm saying? Only thing I would be worried about is somebody hating on me or something like that. But other than that, I'm cool. I'm wherever because I didn't want that for myself. So it comes down to what do the youth want for they self? Nobody is life about choices. Ain't nobody forcing nobody to, you know what I'm saying? Go and do this. Nobody is forcing none of the youth to do this. Specifically, it's about what choice do you want to make? What type of lifestyle do you want to live?

Peter Cunningham:
Why do you think so many have chosen that life?

Lil Cuz:
It looks cool. You know what I'm saying? It look cool to go get up and man, hell, I don't got no job. I wing it every day, but I make it happen though. That look cool to some people

Kanoya Ali:
To wing it. Every day I wing it. Every day I wake up

Lil Cuz:
And be like, I dunno how I'm finna eat. I know I smoke weed. I want to smoke. I want to s sip some drink. I want to have my gun, man, the mule is cool. I wake up, put my gun on your gun, a part of your

Kanoya Ali:
Outfit.

Lil Cuz:
Your fit though. I wake up, put my, I don't leave the cri down my button. Damn, that's cool. Today you got to really understand. This is cool to some people. Listen,

Kanoya Ali:
See, listen. What I keep hearing you saying is that music and what I'm saying is that's intentional. That's intentional, man. Because I know dude. Yeah,

Lil Cuz:
You done probably had some music have an impact

Kanoya Ali:
On you for like, damn, I'm saying music, give me a gun. No, but all music is impactful. It is what you say in the music book what's being promoted. That's, I'm saying,

Lil Cuz:
This is what I'm saying. Me just telling you how I grew up and this, that and third. Right? I've listened to songs before that. That revved me up. Like, damn, I want to go. You know what I'm saying? Damn. That got me feeling like I want to be on some street stuff. I'm not even that type. But I'm so strong mentally though. You know what I'm saying? That's a blessing because if you not strong mentally, you going to easily fall into that. You going to trick yourself out your spot. It's a lot of people out here that are trick, theyself out they spot because in they head, damn, this what I got to do to be cool. This what I got to do that make me, you know what I'm saying? That's what's going on right now. Everybody want to be a part of what's going on right now. The latest trend, whatever somebody wearing, that's what's going on right now. That's what I need to be on this then, because that's what's going on right now. You been tricked yourself out your spot.

Peter Cunningham:
Ali, talk about you are life coach. What converts someone from being, this is cool. I want to get the gun to realizing no, what's cool is being able to live safely and take care of my kids.

Kanoya Ali:
The thing is, once again, even with look, because his position, if you hear once again, the upbringing, the opportunities, what's put in front of you, he had different opportunities. He talk about a father that was retired military, you know what I'm saying? A two family, two parent household. He's talking about a grandmother. He's talking about a stable living situation. As simple as that sounds, it's not common.

Lil Cuz:
No, not at all.

Kanoya Ali:
It is not common in urban America

Lil Cuz:
Amongst black, how I have dinner every night,

Kanoya Ali:
Right? Every, I'm saying when you sleep in, when you talking about some kids wake up and be like, I don't know what I'm going to eat. Go to school to eat. I'm going to school to eat. When I leave school, I got to figure out what I'm going to eat. That's the number one. Then number two is you talking about taking showers and soap and some stuff, you wouldn't even

Lil Cuz:
Clean clothes.

Kanoya Ali:
Clean clothes. You ain't clean sheets. You know what I'm saying?

Peter Cunningham:
Heat. I know we got schools.

Kanoya Ali:
I'm talking about basic

Lil Cuz:
Necessities that you think is

Kanoya Ali:
Based when you like, man, why your homework ain't dead, bro? Man, you don't even know what I went through to get here. That's the house. Then you got to go through gang territory, who, that's just a whole nother thing. Now I got to deal with that, go through the ops, then make the school and sit here and listen and I'm tired or I'm sleepy, or I got bed bugs or all kind of stuff you like, bro, how you even man getting picked

Lil Cuz:
On at school, getting,

Kanoya Ali:
Probably getting bullied, probably somebody going on your shoes. All kind of stuff is happening. It's real. Yeah, it's, you are not able to focus on, I can't even say what's

Lil Cuz:
Important. Important what's being told. That's important though. Yeah. That's important. Yeah.

Kanoya Ali:
But what the world will say, man, why you just do the schoolwork or why you acting like that? Like man, come on man.

Lil Cuz:
You don't know the,

Kanoya Ali:
You don't get it. I remember talking to one of my guys, one my participants, and he said, man, he said, my mother was addicted to heroin. So we would, him and his brothers would go to the grocery store and just steal bread, milk, butter. You know what I'm saying? Because

Peter Cunningham:
All the money was going to,

Kanoya Ali:
Because all the money was going to drugs.

Peter Cunningham:
So

Kanoya Ali:
He said he remember, they used to beg the mom just to pay the light bill so that the electricity would stay on so they could use the microwave. You get what I'm saying? Or be able to even do some homework, turn the lights on, leave the lights on. When you growing up like that and you like, man, how you didn't make it.

Lil Cuz:
And then that's why I say we come from different walks of life because those are things you never even had

Peter Cunningham:
To. I never missed a meal. Think

Lil Cuz:
About experience, never missed a meal, never,

Peter Cunningham:
Never had electric bill shut. Just wasn't part of my life.

Lil Cuz:
And that's the reality of it. So it's like somebody that does have to go through this, then you got people that don't have to go through this. It is hard. It's hard.

Peter Cunningham:
And to be honest, they don't understand it. That's part of why we're we're having these conversations is I come from one world, Ali comes from another world closer to your world, but your world itself is

Lil Cuz:
Absolutely,

Peter Cunningham:
And if we're going to get anywhere with this stuff, if we're going to get Chicago to stop being the murder capital of America, if we're going to get gun violence even remotely

Lil Cuz:
Minimized,

Peter Cunningham:
Aligned with the rest of the world that doesn't have 400 million guns in private hands like we do in America, we got to figure out how to talk about this. I mean, you were talking about this, what I was thinking about when you were talking about the kids who think it's cool to have a gun and everything like that. How about the white culture with guns? There you go. They all grow up with guns too. They all grow up thinking it's cool to have a gun. By the time they're 28 years old your age, they might have 10 guns. So we are stuck with guns in this country. I mean, they're not going away anywhere. It's in the Constitution. It's in the Constitution, and there's 400 million of 'em and they're making more every single day. And they're legal in every state. And in most states you can walk around carrying them concealed carrier or even open carry. So when we

Kanoya Ali:
Saying that you just add to, when you say 400 million, you got more guns than you got people in the United States of America.

Lil Cuz:
Correct? That's a real number. You're not just No,

Peter Cunningham:
No, that's a real number. I know that number.

Lil Cuz:
You're not exaggerated. Oh, that's,

Peter Cunningham:
That's 400 million guns. There's 340 million Americans, but probably the percentage of people who own guns is much lower because people who own 'em are collectors. They have 10 or 15 of 'em, or at least three or four. And a lot of people, I hardly know anybody who owns a gun in my world, so maybe only half the country owns them.

Kanoya Ali:
Something else. I just pause for a second. You just said, so I want to understand what you just said. You said 400 million guns and just say F. So F it would take 40 million people to own 10 guns.

Peter Cunningham:
Yep.

Kanoya Ali:
It would take 40 million people to own 10 guns to equate to that number. Yep. Correct. So I wonder how many registered gun owners we got in America? That's the number I'm looking for. I'm looking up right

Lil Cuz:
Now. You know what? I was just thinking though, when it comes to the youth about why I like to give this example, and I keep saying everybody's socially influenced and stuff, but a lot of people care about somebody else's opinion. You know what I'm saying? So I like to get this example. If you got a shorty right that love to cook, know how to cook, but he a street dude, he got a real talent, real passion for cooking. He not going to pursue that because he don't want to be perceived as, oh, that nigga be cooking. You know what I'm saying? You goofy. It's all about an image. If we can get people mindset out of upholding the image and caring about the opinion of others, I think that'll help the youth tremendously.

Kanoya Ali:
I agree with you, but I will say this, you made me think of one of the little young guys I was a life coach for out of Foster Park, and he was a baker. He loved baking. His grandmother taught him how to bake, but he had a name like the reputation. But every day, every day he said, man, I'm, when I leave my house walking out the door, I'm attention. Somebody trying to kill me coming back home, somebody trying to kill me. I like the bake though. I make want to, his whole thing was like this upside down pineapple pound cake. You know what I'm saying? If you see him, you couldn't even imagine, you know what I'm saying? But he was like, I mean if you talk to him, he would brighten up and he might have a mean mug. The whole conversation, you talk about bacon, that was his lane. He was ready to go there and show you. But his reality was, man, when I leave here going to my house, because they know where I stay, they took pictures of it, sent it to me in my inbox, bro, we know this where you stay and we on you. That's crazy coming out. I'm worried about dying and going in. I'm worried about dying.

Lil Cuz:
That's crazy.

Kanoya Ali:
And I bear witness to man, he had multiple friends that had been shot 15 times and some of his friends that I was also they mentor, they were killed. They was in our program as well. And it was almost like he was like him almost damn near preparing for like to die.I could be next on the list. Is

Lil Cuz:
He still alive?

Kanoya Ali:
Yeah, he still alive. I think he was able to move out of Chicago. I think he was able to do that, but I just remember seeing him and the trauma he had been through because he was somebody that for real, for real, lost 20 something friends and for real, for real. Still young and for real, for real would go to funerals every other week.

Lil Cuz:
That's another thing. I don't even know how being from Chicago, everybody done grew up this, that, and third, I don't have that trauma being from Chicago. And that's a blessing to say, you know how many people got real life trauma behind friends dying, cousins dying, they folks really being killed dying. The gun violence. I do not share that the got

Peter Cunningham:
Trauma, the guy who was just sitting there told us he had 28 relatives who were killed over the course of that he called them all cousins,

Lil Cuz:
Brothers. I couldn't imagine what that's like because I haven't experienced that.

Peter Cunningham:
I looked it up. So 400, 400 million's about, right? That number's about right. And 32% of Americans, about a third of Americans own guns. So that's 86 million. So 86 million people own 400 million not including the illegal guns that are on the street.

Kanoya Ali:
Right, right, right. Okay. So you're saying on average about five guns per

Peter Cunningham:
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. 80 million Americans own 400 million guns. So yeah, five guns a piece on average,

Kanoya Ali:
Right? I'm registered now.

Peter Cunningham:
Yeah, that's just the

Kanoya Ali:
Legal. That ain't the hood that's registered. I went to the gun store, bought five guns a piece,

Lil Cuz:
Car, CC

Kanoya Ali:
Five guns a piece. Yeah. And there's many countries that you don't have a right to own a gun.

Peter Cunningham:
No.

Kanoya Ali:
There's many countries that that's not a right.

Peter Cunningham:
Yeah, yeah. Most places like Japan or something, there is be two homicides in the whole year in the whole country. The

Kanoya Ali:
Whole country got two homicides.

Lil Cuz:
I think that's crazy. It's like America push an agenda though, because we talk about the youth, right?

Peter Cunningham:
And

Lil Cuz:
How can we better the youth and this that and third. But the internet plays a major role in what these kids are consuming on a daily basis. There's no way you should be able to open your Instagram app, your Facebook app, and you seeing somebody get killed. You seeing dead bodies, you seeing all these things or TikTok or whatever. When the kids in China go open their TikTok app, it is strictly educational. They seeing stuff that's going to better them as a person, as a human. It is none of that. But in America, these kids open these social media apps. They're consuming something that's just like, damn, why is this normal?
Yeah, why should I be exposed to this when I open my social media? So it's like we can talk about how to help the youth and this that and third, but it is bigger than the conversation to have with the youth when damn, after I'm done talking to you, you go open Instagram. Damn, you just saw somebody get killed.

Kanoya Ali:
So what I hear you saying is we could talk to you, but it's some higher up information that got to happen too. So what do you think should happen? What's some advice that you would give to if you had a wand to make something happen? What would you

Lil Cuz:
I don't know, man. I don't know. I think if we knew the answer something, I don't know. I don't know.

Peter Cunningham:
That's fair. I mean, some people create content to make people think. Some people create content to make people laugh, and some people create content to make people hate, right? And hopefully we get more people who are trying to make them think or make 'em laugh

Lil Cuz:
Instead

Peter Cunningham:
Of making 'em hate. There's a lot of hate content out there these days. Too much. It's too much. You fear content, make them fear fearful of others.

Kanoya Ali:
You actually start making content to address like the 2020 vision campaign. You're talking about deterring some of the gun violence. Man, what made you want to do that?

Lil Cuz:
That money. No,

Kanoya Ali:
Don't cut that.

Lil Cuz:
They do come keep

Kanoya Ali:
That in there.

Lil Cuz:
They come with some nice money though. But no, I mean it made sense to me and I like how I could get creative with the 2020 vision campaign. Like, oh, close that back door trying to don't back door your homie. Don't get down on your homie. Don't do, don't cross your friend. Don't cross your friend for what? And that really goes on in Chicago. We have that become a thing. And that's cool to kill your friend for nothing though. Could you imagine that? Could you imagine you walking up the street with your friend and your friend? Just take two step back, shoot you in the back of your head. Well

Peter Cunningham:
That, that's crazy. So many of these shootings are people who know each other

Lil Cuz:
Absolutely

Peter Cunningham:
Crazy.

Lil Cuz:
So Twin Village campaign is like, man, that's a message I would want to push close that back door. You know what I'm saying? Man, that ain't cool. And I like how I could get creative with it and throw a scenario out there that oh, this, that and third. But no, don't do it though. That's the message to get that. But again, push that message and it's getting decent likes and views. But now if I was saying something negative or promoting, open that back door, man, keep that back. It'll probably go up. Why? If it bleeds, it leaves, right?

Peter Cunningham:
That's the old line. It's up to each of us to, I don't know. You just got to try and be on the other side. You are on the other side. So I

Kanoya Ali:
Think you setting a real example for young people, man.

Lil Cuz:
I hope so, man.

Kanoya Ali:
As far as utilizing who you are in your past and your present and what you seated for the future, right? I think that you are a prime example of where we want to go in the city of Chicago as far as setting examples for some of the young people. No, you don't have to be involved in the street. And you could still be cool. Yeah, you could go to school and finish and possibly get your master's degree and still be cool. It ain't nothing wrong with that. You don't have to. You could be a baker, right? You could be a baker. You could still do that. You could be from Crete-Monee, I'm saying. So I we represent the Chicagoland area. Crete-Monee included. You know what I'm saying? So man, I'm saying with that being said, man, we just want to say we appreciate you, man, for all the work that you've been doing.

Peter Cunningham:
Thank you. Thank you.

Kanoya Ali:
Appreciate that, man. The violence. We say this April. This April, they say this is the month of April was the lowest gun violence recorded in the city of Chicago since 1962.

Peter Cunningham:
The lowest. April the lowest. April lowest. April lowest April, yeah. Every year. April starts to climb up. April, may, June starts climbing up. This is the lowest number of shootings for any April since 1962. Why you

Kanoya Ali:
Think that is? Why I think the violence is going down in the city? Because we talking about LTO. Why you think that is?

Lil Cuz:
I don't know. I know my brother. I know why you think

Kanoya Ali:
I don't know. I ain't

Lil Cuz:
Why you think

Kanoya Ali:
I'm asking you? You the guess?

Lil Cuz:
I don't know, man. I think we living in critical times right now and a lot of people need to find something to believe in. See what I'm saying? So I know my brother, man, shout out to my brother s Ali. He give a lot of shahadah in the city. A lot of people become Muslim taking their shahadah, become Muslim. And I'd have developed this mindset. I only trust Muslims. You know what I'm saying? If you not Muslim, I damn don't trust you because I know as a Muslim, you live with certain values and morals and principles and there's certain ways you going to move that I can fully give you my trust because I know how you are. You know what I'm

Kanoya Ali:
Saying? But how you supposed

Lil Cuz:
To be? How be a niche. I know how you supposed to carry yourself as a Muslim, so you got my trust and we not killing each other. Especially if you truly fear God and what's after life? The hereafter. So that could play a big part. And other than that, I really, really couldn't even tell you because people steal gang bang. The gun's still on the streets. The ops steal the ops. Maybe they in the house playing Call of Duty was on Verdansk back on the duty. I don't know. Maybe people starting to realize they tired of going to jail, tired of down. Want to live life, go see the world, man. I used to think growing up, I used to think Chicago was the world not, I didn't even know this. I didn't even have a real understanding of this is the state I live in. Is Illinois the city I live in in Chicago? I thought this was the world. This is all I knew. I didn't even know

Peter Cunningham:
About the universe.

Lil Cuz:
Yeah, I didn't know about, damn, it's a, it's Detroit, it's Indiana, it's Atlanta, it's a New York. I didn't know about different cities. I'm just thinking Chicago, where I'm from, and that's the thing. People need to get out and see the world. It is more to Chicago than, I mean, it's more to the world than Chicago.

Peter Cunningham:
So next time you come back here, you're going to be global.

Lil Cuz:
Yeah,

Peter Cunningham:
Man. For sure man.

Lil Cuz:
Because you could go other places you, like we talked about earlier, living your life, having to look over your shoulder. That's crazy. Go move. Go to Arizona. Go somewhere where you could get a breath of fresh air and you'd be like, damn, this is what it feel like to just be, just live. I would hate to have to. That's crazy, man.

Kanoya Ali:
Listen, man. With that being said, I want to tell you I love y'all. I appreciate you for coming, man, man. And listen, y'all check my brother out. Sometimes he be in Crete-Monee, and we shout out Crete-Monee.

Lil Cuz:
You get that

Kanoya Ali:
Camera. Also, on Sundays he play football with girls where

Lil Cuz:
He a troll.

Kanoya Ali:
Some of the girls, well... Where you play football, flag football?

Lil Cuz:
I'm playing a coed flag football league, man.

Kanoya Ali:
Some of the

Lil Cuz:
Football them girls that make you fall.

Kanoya Ali:
I got you. But listen,

Lil Cuz:
You wouldn't even

Kanoya Ali:
Get out if y'all want to play with some girls football

Lil Cuz:
King troll.

Kanoya Ali:
He got you

Lil Cuz:
King troll, man. Don't listen to him.

Kanoya Ali:
Thank you, man.

Lil Cuz:
Appreciate you. You Peter. Yes, sir. Sir, thank you, man. LTO. Shout out to LTO, the podcast, man. Make sure y'all tap in with my people. Making it happen, man. Making it happen. Chicago, stand up man. Let's change the narrative, the youth man. Let's do better.

Kanoya Ali:
That's all for this episode of License to Operate. Please subscribe wherever you get your podcast and share this episode with your friends and family.

Peter Cunningham:
This podcast is a co-production of The Chi Podcast and Cunningham Creative. Until next time, I'm Peter Cunningham.

Kanoya Ali:
And I'm Kanoya Ali. Remember guys, when the children in the village feel ignored, they'll burn it down to feel the warmth.