141 Jay Connor | Out-Hustling the Competition

Meet Jay Connor, writer and one of the brilliant voices of the podcast, The Extraordinary Negroes, which he co-hosts with Alex Hardy. The Extraordinary Negroes tackles a wide range of issues and topics effecting the black community and aims to shed light and encourage dialogue on these important issues. Their podcast has been featured in the New York Times, was nominated for Best Society & Culture podcast from The People’s Choice Podcast Awards, was featured in Bitch Media and they were invited to SXSW to perform a live recording of their show. Quite extraordinary for a podcast that has only been out for just one year. I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to meet Jay and I’m just as excited to introduce him to all of you.

Show Notes

Their podcast has been featured in the New York Times, was nominated for Best Society & Culture podcast from The People’s Choice Podcast Awards, was featured in Bitch Media and they were invited to SXSW to perform a live recording of their show. Quite extraordinary for a podcast that has only been out for just one year.

I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to meet Jay and I’m just as excited to introduce him to all of you.

07:52 - How I met Jay
10:08 - If hip-hop and MCing should have an age limit
12:46 - Binging on hip hop documentaries
14:03 - When he first got interested in podcasting
15:32 - His two biggest influences for starting his podcast
16:03 - The event that led the way to his podcast blowing up
19:01 - The three things he thought of so his podcast could stand out from the crowd
19:24 - The meaning behind the name, The Extraordinary Negroes
21:27 - One of the things he’s looking to do in the future with his podcast
23:08 - Why he started The Extraordinary Negroes
25:27 - When he first got interested in writing
26:29 - Where he grew up
27:51 - Culture shock in the military and the biggest culture shock he ever experienced
28:52 - His time in the Air Force and why he chose to go to the military after high school
33:40 - War being such a traumatic experience
34:36 - Why he decided to turn down six figure salary job offers after the military
36:17 - His opinion of Edward Snowden
38:04 - How all his life experiences translate over to his podcast
39:47 - His desire to provide black women a platform to tell their stories and to encourage dialogue on dismantling patriarchy
42:05 - Empowering others to speak through his podcast
43:51 - The divisiveness the issue of transphobia is creating in the black community
46:27 - Transgender people in the military
48:02 - The responsibility that comes along with having a podcast
51:10 - Who in his family is surprised where he’s ended up in life
53:42 - What he liked about the format of the Combat Jack show
55:54 - The one most misunderstood thing about him
58:19 - What he’s changed his mind about recently
59:36 - His future plans for The Extraordinary Negroes