Labor Day might’ve pushed us to Tuesday, but the energy didn’t miss a beat. In this week's episode of PSA: The Mental Health Podcast, Izzy Baker teams up with JR, host of Real Sht Let’s Talk, to go deep on rejection, masculinity, and the invisible rules that Black men are forced to play by — even when we do everything “right.” From viral barbershop clips to viral job rejection letters, this episode exposes the emotional cost of showing up with credentials and still being seen as not enough.

 The convo opens with Drake’s viral BBL joke — and what might’ve seemed like a funny one-liner turns into a raw dialogue on male body image, deflection, and the way men, especially Black men, are trained to laugh off what hurts. Izzy and JR challenge the idea that men don’t struggle with appearance and ask what it means when jokes start masking deep insecurities.

Then it gets even deeper — we unpack the clip of Jim Jones, Fabolous, Maino, and Dave East sitting around debating Black privilege, struggle, and the unspoken hierarchy of pain. JR delivers a fiery perspective: when you're Black in America, even your “privilege” is questioned, and the pressure to prove your authenticity becomes a mental weight too many brothers silently carry.

Whether it's job applications, fake motivational quotes from parents, or “just wear a suit” advice, this episode pulls back the curtain on the gaslighting Black men face while trying to level up. This episode is for the man who’s tired of chasing validation from jobs, platforms, or people who don’t see his worth. For the one who’s constantly told he’s not “struggling enough” to be relatable. For the brother who’s been hiding pain under a personality.

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