We wrap up our conversation with Emyr this week but it sparks a new conversation on parenting. Sharlyne gets vulnerable and shares how difficult it is to know you want to do differently from the generations before but not having all the tools , or strength and patience, to execute the vision. The gang shares their individual perspectives of the roadblocks to reimagined parenthood and what they wished they had as kids as well as what they felt was effective from their perspective growing up. Join the conversation!!! Let us know what you think!!
Warning....this episode will be CHALLENGING. Emyr shares his story on discovering his identity in a very religious environment and the process of seeking familial acceptance. He is very open and transparent on his goals and how he has to code switch to achieve said goals, and his journey sparks a debate on what is the role of the parent.... Are beliefs more important than effective and sacrificial parenting? Are some 'beliefs' bias hidden inside religion?
What do you think? LEt us know your thoughts!!!
Pride Month continues !!! And the Hard Ones want to continue to amplify LGBTQIA+ voices and learn as much as we can in the process. The world has a long way to go towards global equality and even further with the Caribbean. We continue our conversation with Arlene Gregoire, activist in gender issues and LGBTQIA+ equality and education. Arlene was gracious enough to give us two episodes of a conversation to dispel many myths and misconception, share her experiences, compare and contrast life in the Caribbean versus life in the USA and help us theorize on why the hell is this such a big deal anyway????
Happy Father's Day!!! Warning, there are a lot of feelings and emotions in this episode !! We are joined by friend of the show Garvin as we swap stories of how we experienced fatherhood. The daddy's girls Sharlyne and Jade ask Josh, Kenrick and Garvin whether or not they experienced their dads differently from how their sisters did.
We all share our favorite memories of our fathers and explore why fatherhood is so important to one's development and how beinga. dad is more than just provision and protection and why that is important. We also explore how daddy issues show up on men differently than it does on women.
Things get emotional as we share the times we saw our dad's get vulnerable and the impact it had on us. One thing is for sure we really need and love our dads no matter how old we get!!!
It's Pride Month!!! And the Hard Ones want to amplify LGBTQIA+ voices and learn as much as we can in the process. The world has a long way to go towards global equality and even further with the Caribbean. To help us start the conversation we enlisted the help of Arlene Gregoire, activist in gender issues and LGBTQIA+ equality and education. Arlene was gracious enough to give us two episodes of a conversation to dispel many myths and misconception, share her experiences, compare and contrast life in the Caribbean versus life in the USA and help us theorize on why the hell is this such a big deal anyway????
Communication is a pillar of any good relationship and in hard conversations good communication is key. Come join in , hear the conversation and share your views ! We want to hear from you!
Happy Pride Month!!!
The doctor will see you now! For our final Episode of Mental Health Awareness Month, we invited Dr. Kirnel Grishby of AKG Reach based in Atlanta. She is the definition of black girl magic! And boy did she cast a spell on us! Epiphanies were had! The Dr. is blunt and to the point but extremely enlightening as we discuss the ways in which we as adults re-enact childhood trauma in our adult lives.
The Crew gets very vulnerable in sharing their own trauma and the ways in which it repeats itself in their adulthood. Dr. Grishby sheds a light on why it is so difficult to have discussions with Caribbean parents and how we need to recognize when we are recreating negative patterns that we grew up seeing. She talks about our toolbox and how we need to replace a habit else we will keep repeating it.
This episode was a three course meal! Join us now!!!
Dr Kirnel Grishby is also an influencer for Luxury Bags Atlanta.
Find her here: Instagram: @reach_akg, @atlantaluxurybags, Youtube : REACH AKG channel
This was a DEEEP tissue massage for the soul! Mental Health Awareness Month is still upon us and we decided to call in the experts for the rest of the month. This week we are honored to have been joined by Audrey Augustave, a Clinical Therapist based in New Jersey, of Haitian descent who took us on a journey. It did not take long for our pod to turn into a live therapy sesh! The men opened up on subjects that made them feel vulnerable and Jade and Sharlyne we enjoying feeling seen. Audrey tackled some big topics like addiction and how it looks in the Caribbean. She also shared her passion for the Caribbean family structure and unpacking the generational effect of colonialism and the vestiges that still remain. The crew speak on the generational divide between Caribbean Millenials and their parents and as well their parents' resistance to counseling or exploring past trauma. Grab you drinks and dive in. This was a hell of an episode!
Follow Audrey Augustave on Twitter and Instagram @unlocd_the_podcast and be sure to check out and subscribe to her podcast Un-Loc'D!!!
When the girls are away the men deliver!!! It's Mental Health Awareness Month and the men have taken over the pod to talk about the secret struggles men go through daily and often alone.
Some very hot takes and questions were raised. Do men struggle more with mental health issues? How do they create a safe space in each other? Is toxic masculinity really the absence of true masculinity? Is it taught to young men by single mothers? Who defines what is manly?
Press play now to hear what the men think about these questions and more!!!!
Happy Mother's Day once more! We trust all the mom's and angel moms had a great weekend. This week we wanted to share our time with Debria Lartigue and exceptional woman in every sense of the word. She shares the ups and downs of being a mother to a son who has a severe case of sickle cell disease and you cannot help but be moved. Jade even shed a tear and Josh is stunned silent.
One thing that stands out is that Debria does not look like what she has been through, her aura is undeniable and her smile lights up the room. She is remarkable as she smiles while telling the Crew of the mental , physical and financial challenges that she and her son face. She gets vulnerable and shares her experience of reaching a breaking point and checking herself in to get the emotional and mental help she needed. The best part however, is that her story has a very happy ending. Listen to find out!
This one of our most compelling episodes. TUNE IN !!!
Happy mother's day !
This week we have two episodes for Mothers Day! We are celebrating exceptional mothers with unique stories to share. Our first guest is Tanya Dickson, a high functioning woman in the go who decided to completely change her life so she could be a better,more accessible mother. She shares her experiences with us and gives advice to moms who have a lot of their plate and suffer from mommy guilt. We also get a visit from another special guest. Tune in!
Can a person be young and wealthy in Dominica? Money money money!!! It's what makes the world go round! Its on everybody's mind. How do we make more , keep more, enjoy more ? We explore the hardships of the current economic climate and we dissect the roadblocks to acquiring wealth in an island economy.
We want to hear from you! Can you be young and acquire wealth? LEt us know your thoughts!
Happy 420 Y’all! Its another episode with us here on the Hard Ones Podcast and in honor of World Hemophilia Day (April 17) we had the privilege of speaking to Tyron Benoit about his continuing journey with hemophilia . He is one of the volunteers and media ambassador for Hemophilia Foundation of Greater Florida and is currently the chairperson for their Orlando Creepy Crawl walk this year! So if you’re in Orlando be sure to support!
Hemophilia is a very serious issue . On the Hard Ones we always try to have some levity in between our tough discussions and Tyrone came ready for a laugh. And it being 420 and all, laugh we did.
Tyron shares his experiences of being a hemophiliac on an island that had never experienced a patient with hemophilia before , much less to diagnose and treat such an individual. He explains this genetic condition and how he navigates life with a condition over which he has minimal control.
Tyron is a good sport and fields a host of questions from the gang. He shares how lonely having a rare condition can be, and how it was difficult to connect when you do not have a community or support group that is specific to your life experiences.
One thing is striking however is the compassion and love for life that he possesses. You can feel his altruism through the screen and while it would be easy to be bitter and disenchanted he didn’t choose the path of least resistance but has selected the path of love and it exudes from his very pores!
If you would like to reach out to him, support him with a kind word or even donation to his cause can contact him on Facebook : Tyrone G Benoit and on Instagram : @tyron_benoit
If you are in the Diaspora and need some treats from home and Tyrone and his wife can ship you your favorite Dominican baked goods! Click on the link below and place your order now!
https://m.facebook.com/Phebes-104874501430331/
We want to start by sending all our deepest thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters in St. Vincent who are going through the unimaginable right now. We want to do all we can to help.
We also send thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Earl "DMX" Simmons. We have lost a great soul on this earth.
The week was a tough one and the crew shares how they have dealt with the sadness of tough world events. The conversation evolves into Jade asking how one handles it when expectations aren't met. Is it met with punishment or understanding? The guys also dissect the phenomenon of needing space inside a relationship. Does it do the relationship any good? Or is it the writing on the wall? What do you think? Let us know!
Happy Easter Everyone!!! We missed you guys! Hope you enjoyed the long weekend! We talked about so much this episode! The pod starts with discussions on beauty practises then and now. Kenrick wants to push back against the idea that the standards of beauty are created by men but are actually coming from women. Jade pays tribute to her UWI roommate Tiffany Thompson who passed away suddenly last week and shares what this has taught her. Sharlyne informs us of DMX's situation and we send thoughts and prayers to his family.
Kenrick launches an interesting discussion by asking what would it look like if women were at the top in the political world.
Before the pod ends the team goes live on Instagram to announce the winners of the NISENESS Giveawy, DISCRETELY! Niseness send over some goodies for the gang to sample and sample they will!! Jade shares her review on the Hilton Dover that can be purchased on niseness.com , but you have to go to the Hard Ones instagram page to see that! while you're there like and share! and Of course we announce the two winners of the Niseness Giveaway!!!... Shout out to Niseness for her generosity and we hope to work with you again very very soon... and do some reviews too *wink*
The innanets was wild this week!!!! And we are here to talk about it!!! Before getting into the main event the guys share their week. Josh shares how hard he is still finding adulting. Jade tells the gang about releasing a Diaspora 7 Black Pride project with 6 other female artists around the world. Sharlyne discusses her epiphany and realizations and Kenrick shares a very unbelievable experience he had that starts with a flat tire in the middle of the night. The conversation inevitably flows in the main event of the week : Derrick Jackson saga! And the group is very split on this issue with very opposing opinions. Did Jackson master mind this and set his wife up for ridicule? Or is the backlash she is receiving a reflection of how mean and superficial society has become? Did she leave herself open and deserve the criticism she is getting? Does her treatment reflect our values? Do we only ascribe worth to person who look a certain way? Do we reject persons who don't cling to our surface values? Why has she become the focus of the discussion? So many opinions were given! And we KNOW you have opinions too and we want to hear them!!!!!
Let us know what you think!!!
Another week!!!! Hats off to Kenrick for showing up this week even under extreme pain! He's a real one! The gang discusses the Royals and Oprah interview, Quavo and Saweetie's breakup and the warm and fuzzy feeling we all got seeing Out of the Box make a return on social media. The conversation evolves into risk taking and the group shares their level of willingness to take life changing risks, since in the word's of Kenrick "life will kill you" anyway. Jade ponders if women have a different idea of what listening is versus men, since men across the world claim that women don't listen. Sharlyne opines that it might be more difficult for women to apologize and the group tries to figure out why. Join in on the discussion! Do you think men are better listeners? IS it difficult for women to apologize? We want to hear from you!!!!
Hey y'all you know what it is another episode of the Hard Ones and this is the Battle of the Sexes (friend edition). We had some of our friends in studio this week Yannick Xavier and Dlo ( C.E.O of TMI Records) as well as model /actress Yomaira Joseph behind the camera.
We share as usual the guilty Pleasures of the week and shout out the Dominican creatives doing all they can in a tough season. In particular, we recognize Carlyn XP who has been a stand out during this time of social distance, consistently giving quality entertainment,even without having from the powers that be.! XP we salute you!
The conversation evolves onto part one of a probing discussion on learning your partner. How do you actually learn someone? Are we all just viewing people through our personal trauma? How much of our personality is actually trauma responses? Is cheating just shit that happens or a failure of discipline? With three men and three women in the room this conversation was deep, sometimes emotional but often very funny and always entertaining!
We definitely want to hear your thoughts on what we discuss this week! Hit us up, leave a comment. Let us know your thoughts!
Warning! Put your headphones on now! This week is extra spicy! Our guest host filling for Josh this week is Garvin Joseph aka Gel Kabwit himself.
Before diving into the controversial takes, the guys share their Guilty Pleasures of the week ( links below) and enjoy the Drink of the Week Greenalls gin and passion fruit juice (the Ken cocktail). Garvin joins the chat and it is lit from go! He shares a very polarizing opinion and the gang weigh in. Kenrick explains how porn is just fiction not an instructional and Garvin let's it be known that threesomes do not save relationships. Sharlyne makes it clear that she's the best to ever have done it and Jade is busy taking notes, and shares her insecurities in intimacy. Let us know what you think. Do you agree that 75 p percent of women are bad at sex and are just pillow princesses? Agree or disagree? Sound off below!
(Guilty Pleasures mentioned in the pod
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-bgyZp3I4ZFecy3Ga5m2Aw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWfaCDfsWXo
Happy Birthday Kenrick!!!!!! Grab The "Drink of the Week" which is sponsored by GBA Enterprises, to celebrate Ken's special day with us! We are drinking Greenalls Gin and O.R.N Indian Tonic. Grab your gin and tonic and join the conversation! Today Sharlyne shares her covid vaccine experience in preparation for her hot girl summer. Josh is trying to make sense of adulting. Sharlyne has a scary encounter with an unwanted visitor. This sparks a conversation between the sexes about how men reaction to embarrassment and rejection can lead to dangerous situations for women. It evolves into a discussion about standing in the gap for your partner and meeting their needs even when you don't feel like it. Is it possible to love me when you're mad at me?
What do you think?
Be sure to go grab the drink of the week at GBA Enterprises: Find their links below!
http://www.gbaenterprises.online/
https://www.instagram.com/gba_enterprises_ltd/
https://www.facebook.com/GBAEnterprisesLtd
Follow @nelliwelliconfetti on Instagram to get your own Birthday Box featured in this episode!
The gang engage in a HEATED discussion about dating and the expectations between men and women. Do men and women have different definitions of what a date constitutes? Are the differing opinions on what dating is a symptom of dating "out of your league"? Do men think women want romance because of television? Is it a case of being raised on love vs. being raised on survival?
Let us know your thoughts!!!