The crew starts with Ye’s return to Chicago for the dedication of Dr. Donda West Way, honoring his late mother’s contributions to education, literature and the city. What should be a straightforward celebration quickly turns into a debate after Ye insists on unveiling the street sign himself — and Rosenberg has some feelings about it. Dr. West taught at Chicago State University for more than two decades and founded its Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing.

Then Laura breaks down OutKast’s federal trademark lawsuit against Oakland rapper and producer Ovrkast. The complaint alleges he agreed to change his stage name to Overkxst but continued using Ovrkast. Ebro, Laura and Rosenberg debate whether listeners could genuinely confuse the two names, whether André 3000 and Big Boi are personally driving the dispute and why the publicity could ultimately benefit Ovrkast. The lawsuit was filed by High Schoolers LLC, the company controlled by André 3000 and Big Boi that manages the OutKast trademark.

The episode also covers Lionel Richie taking time off after a heart procedure, New York City’s $131.5 million DoorDash settlement over delivery-worker pay and a second look at the Converse ad that sparked backlash earlier in the week. Seeing the full campaign leads into a larger conversation about outrage, corporate accountability, history and how people decide whether to keep supporting brands and institutions they have serious problems with.

• (00:00:00) Rosenberg’s $9,000 jukebox is broken again
• (00:02:15) Ye attends Dr. Donda West’s Chicago street dedication
• (00:03:25) Rosenberg reacts to Ye taking over the unveiling
• (00:05:45) Has Kanye always been this way?
• (00:10:35) OutKast takes Ovrkast to federal court
• (00:11:25) Did Ovrkast already agree to change his name?
• (00:12:25) Is the name actually confusing?
• (00:13:20) Why the lawsuit could become great publicity for Ovrkast
• (00:14:25) Lionel Richie takes time off after a heart procedure
• (00:16:15) DoorDash reaches a massive NYC worker-pay settlement
• (00:18:45) The crew finally watches the full Converse ad
• (00:20:00) Does seeing the whole campaign change the controversy?
• (00:21:20) Can you completely separate yourself from problematic institutions?
• (00:23:20) Why some issues trigger people more personally than others
• (00:25:20) Division, history and learning how to move forward

-----------------------------

Experience the Culture: Catch Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg, and the rest of the network 24/7 on the Amplified Voices TV app: amplifiedvoices.com/podcast-ebro/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.