HOUSTON – The conversation starts to rise in volume, percolating like a hot pot of gumbo with a lot of spice and authentic flavor.
With award-winning rapper Lil’ Keke hosting and joined by retired NBA player Kendrick Perkins and former Pro Bowl safety Ken Hamlin, the topics and takes fly fast and furious at LGND TLK Show: a growing new podcast and digital content series produced in Houston at The Hive.
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It’s a high-octane, smart discussion focused on the merits of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Channelview graduate who led the team to a Super Bowl title last season. This season is off to a rough start, though, and Perkins doesn’t hold back in his criticism of Hurts not taking full advantage of all of the offensive weapons available to him.
That’s what the show is all about.
“I love sports,” Lil’ Keke told KPRC 2. “I love debating sports. I love talking sports. To be able to take a barbershop conversation actually to the screen and content, it’s been great for me. You hardly ever get to to do the jobs and do the things you really, actually love. Most of the time, you’re doing it for financial gain, career gain, whatever it is.
“To me, to be able to sit down with some of my favorite athletes and players and talk sports with them, it’s been really refreshing. We try to talk based on the topics of sports and what’s going on. How we feel. Different perspectives. I’m kind of like a guru. So to sit down with me and get to hear what I have to say, it’s love.”
When it comes to the hometown Texans, Lil Keke is an outspoken defender of the 2-3 defending AFC South champions. Perkins recently caused a stir when the ESPN analyst expressed doubt about former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year selection C.J. Stroud, stating that he’s “not that quarterback that’s gonna take the Texans to the promised land.” adding that he’s regressed.
Four touchdowns, zero interceptions and an AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year award later for Stroud for his sharp performance against the Baltimore Ravens, Perkins doesn’t back off his stance. He added that he’s no longer a guest for an upcoming event at NRG Stadium.
“I got banned,” Perkins said. " I was supposed to be on the field for a ribbon cutting. I got a message that say, ‘Hey, we saw your comments talking about C.J. Stroud and they’re not happy so you can’t be part of the ceremony.’"
For Perkins, 40, a former NBA champion with the Boston Celtics drafted in the first round in 2003 right out of Clifton J. Ozen High School in Beaumont by the Memphis Grizzlies, it’s about being real.
Why be anything else?
“Because it’s not regular talk, it’s LGND talk,” Perkins said. “So you got to make sure you come on and you be authentic, you know what I’m saying? Because obviously Kek gonna bring the energy. He’s a little biased, but it’s cool.
“It’s Texas. It’s different because you get uncomfortable. I think the more you get comfortable with these uncomfortable conversations, the better the conversation is gonna be.”
Hamlin is part of a rotating group of guests that have included retired former Texans first-round pick and Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown.
“In the bigger markets, you have the production meetings where you are sort of developing the story or the show and you get to be able to take sides and go, ‘I’m gonna take this side, you take that side, let’s make a discussion out of it,’” Hamlin said. “But in this type of situation, I think you get more of, ‘Okay, what do you really feel? What do you think?’ And it doesn’t really matter if somebody else goes the opposite of that is just really telling what it is.”
Kennard McGuire, a veteran NFL agent who represented Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson and the late Pro Bowl returner Jacoby Jones and Brown and whose current clients include Jadeveon Clowney and Dorance Armstrong, is an executive producer along with Anzel Jennings.
The show is available on YouTube and all platforms, including Spotify. The Hive, a large, cool space in Houston available for content creation and private events, is partnered with Ernest Crosby, Breon Rollins and McGuire.
“Drops authentic bombs,” McGuire said of the show. “Brings authenticity and raw truth.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com