In 2016 I was working as a patient caregiver at a psychiatric hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. I got into that job following a couple years of complex self-improvement work and independent psychology studies. After a few months of successful employment, I started to consider how I could use the skills I was learning at the psych hospital to benefit more people. I figured if I could make a positive impact on those who were experiencing psychosis and addictions, then I could definitely help people who were facing everyday challenges.

I ultimately opted to perform street outreach. I printed a sign that read “Free Life Advice and Motivation” and I began spending one day per week on a street corner in downtown Charleston talking to anyone who came to me for my services. The premise was simple: I stood silently and waited until someone approached, then I let them discuss their troubles and served as a sounding board to help them reason through their problems and get motivated to address them. I accepted no money for my services and had nothing for sale. I ended up doing this for more than 125 hours over the course of a year, during which time I spoke to hundreds of people. The photo on this post includes an action shot of me. I wish I had that same energy and dedication today!

One time during my advice gig a middle-aged man approached and started recounting his past as a musician and his subsequent downfall from fame. He said he was once in a hiphop group with his brother, had a video on rotation at MTV, and even had an album certified gold by the RIAA. Having spent months working in a psychiatric hospital listening to everyday people tell me that they were famous actors, musicians, and world leaders, I quickly concluded that the guy was experiencing some kind of delusion…until he pulled out a sheet of lyrics he’d scribbled on a notepad and riffed a couple minutes of refined bars.

I went home that night and Googled around all the keywords he mentioned. Lo and behold, I found a 1989 MTV music video on YouTube for a song titled “Do It to the Crowd” by a rap group named Twin Hype, featuring a much younger version of the guy I spoke to earlier that day. They were an incredibly talented trio (counting DJ King Shameek) and I listen to them to this day. Shown here are sealed copies of their two LPs that I found floating around online.