Walking the East Side: street footage from Denver.

Filmed by Maceo · Denver

Answers How has the place you live changed in your lifetime? · see how other cities answered →

A thirty-nine-year-old who grew up in Montbello describes what happened to it, on a walk along Colfax that ends when he goes for a cigarette. Then the camera stays on and turns into a note to self about why any of this is being filmed.

He goes by Lil J Money and he corrects the street name before he answers anything, which is the right order. Asked how Denver changed over his lifetime: “Denver changed a lot.” Asked how, he gets specific about his own neighbourhood. “Montbello changed a lot from when I was growing up, gang banging and all that. But now it changed a lot. No more gang banging in Montbello.” Whether that counts as better is not a question he answers the way you would expect. “I don’t like it no more. Got white people out there, and rich white folks out there.”

On the east side, where they are standing, his summary is short and he means it as a warning rather than a boast. Then he goes to find a cigarette and does not come back.

What follows is Maceo, alone, talking to the camera on International Women’s Day. He has been walking a friend’s dog, has coached the second day of a communication course, has been checking in on his family from a distance and noticing that the checking in matters more to them than he expected.

And then, thinking out loud, the reason this footage exists: while he is in Denver he wants to document what two friends are building, and he says the quiet part about the whole channel in one line. “I’m just kind of using We Them Media as a vehicle to build in public.”

Short, loose, and honest about being loose. Filed on the same day as the Clearinghouse Bandit piece, a few blocks away.

Language is unfiltered; the transcript is bleeped where the captions were.

What is in it

Jump straight to a moment.

0:34Lil J Money, thirty-nine, from Denver
0:55Correcting the street name first
1:18Montbello then and now
1:59The east side
3:14A note to self on International Women’s Day
4:46“Using We Them Media as a vehicle to build in public”

Transcript

Auto-generated by YouTube, names corrected. Where YouTube masked a word it shows as [bleeped]; that is YouTube's, not ours. Published in full so it can be read, searched and quoted. Search every transcript →

0:03Okay, smooth. Can you hear me? Yeah. Oh, what is that? It’s like a microphone. Yeah. Hello. Where? Tell Tell us where we’re at. We have a Colfax in like [bleeped] Oh, no. Uh, Pennsylvania.

0:23You know, I’m actually from Pennsylvania, so it’s funny you say that. Let’s go. We can walk and talk. or we walk and talk. Yeah, we’re going to walk and talk. And what’s your name?

0:34Uh, Lil J Money. Lil J Money. I’m out here with Lil J Money. And this is Colfax in Pennsylvania. You from out here in Denver?

0:41Yeah, I’m from Denver. Okay. And so how old are you? I’m 39 years old. 39 years old. And so how what do you think about how Denver has changed over the course of your lifetime?

0:55Denver changed a lot. Mhm. What are the main ways that you think about like what comes to mind? No, it’s Colfax and Logan. Oh, it’s okay. I appreciate you correcting us. It’s estimated is cool to me,

1:09but like what are things you think about when you think about growing up in Denver? What part of Denver are you from? Montbello. Okay. So, yeah, growing up in Montbello, like what do you think about? What comes to mind?

1:18Uh, Montbello changed a lot from when I was growing up gang banging and all that in Mello. Mhm. But now it changed a lot now. No more gang banging in Montbello.

1:31What’s it like in Montbello now? I don’t like it no more. Yeah, but what’s it like out there? It changed a lot. Like got white people out there and rich white folks out there.

1:45Oh yeah. Yeah. You feel like a lot of people move to Denver, right? Yeah. How do you feel like that’s impacted the city and people who are from Denver? Uh, I feel different.

1:59It feels different. Yeah. How did it used to feel? Oh, like back in the day. Yeah. It was crazy. No, it not the same way. But come to east side, you getting shot and smoked.

2:14Oh, yeah. Yep. Oh, it’s dangerous in the east side, huh? Yep. On the east side, it’s dangerous. I hear that. You you getting shot and killed on the east side.

2:23Oh yeah, that’s right now. Yep. Where we at right now? That’s where we’re at right now. Yep. Okay. Okay. You got Bloods and Crips over here right now.

2:34Okay. Hey. And [bleeped] paces and [bleeped] you know? That’s like the music, right? Huh? No, that’s drugs. Yeah. I’m funny. Are you going? I’m going I’m trying to get me a cigarette.

2:49Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Let’s walk there. Where’d I get the cigarette from? Hold this. You coming back? Well, I’m out here with Ashley. I’ve been walking this dog and this Caleb’s dog, but I got myself some some Thai food, some sako, I think it’s what it’s called. I wished my sister among other important ladies in my life, a happy International Women’s Day. I coached the communication course day two today. Um, which was fantastic. I feel like it’s really been a journey to just feel at ease and be concerned about my family, wondering what I could do for them. And that was that’s kind of like how I’ve been feeling since I’ve been

4:04out here. I’m like, “Oh, I wonder what’s going on at home.” And not concerned, they’re not worried about me, but just genuinely being concerned, interested, and they all appreciated me checking in. And it’s crazy though waking up at 5:30 in the morning. I can’t imagine being in Pacific time for this course. Different breed these people who stay up all night for these courses. I guess I did that when I was traveling for the conferences. But coaching, nah, I think it’s very different to be on that weekend and be halfway present in the middle of the night than it is to uh to be in this

4:41thing. Well, that’s cool though. Yeah, I had my week right before he’s in Thailand. Yeah, gave him the world accountability holder. But um I don’t know. This [bleeped] wants his cigarette. He’s even coming back. But I guess I could just talk. I’ve been thinking um that while I’m here, I want to shoot content kind of docu documenting uh what Caleb and uh what Caleb and Timothy are doing. you know, the journey with Ecstatic Productions with IKYK. Um, I’m just kind of using We Them Media as a vehicle to build in public on this, you know, soon to be protocol. You know, I’m walking around doing all this other

5:22stuff, but I figured that’s a nice that’s a nice approach. So, that’s kind of what it is.

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