Michael and B Cash launch the Friday show by laying down the law. Literally. The Cookout Handbook is born in real time: don't try to pair your phone with the speaker, don't request a song, don't laugh harder than everyone else, write your name on your cup, and whatever you do, act like you got some sense. Captain Brolic is checking invites at the door. Violations will be handled swiftly. By the left pant leg.

Before the guest arrives, the hosts and Cam get into a full culture check-in. Michael finally saw Superman and has thoughts. B Cash has a theater horror story involving a groaning man, a Kaiju, and a kid who yelled something unforgivable at Lois Lane. Cam breaks her silence to dissect Sinners, deliver a flawless impression of Michael's sports metaphors, and offer the most concise take on AI in entertainment anyone's heard: "Ethics and regulation. And I hate it."

Enter NeoN. Stage left.

NeoN is a 22-year-old session guitarist from Chicago's south side. He learned guitar from his aunt at nine years old and never stopped. He moved to New York to pursue music. He's currently doing session work through his manager while writing his own material on the side. He's talented, he's hungry, and he's one of the most magnetic people to pull up.

The conversation goes everywhere. The AKA-to-Nissan pipeline. Why B Cash didn't go to college. The value of self-education versus formal degrees. How hip-hop traveled the world through collaboration. What Aunt Syl means to NeoN's music. Why a performer stopped an entire memorial concert to retune his guitar. And what piece of art you'd send into space to represent all of humanity. NeoN's answer involves deep music theory, sub-Saharan African rhythm, and then Purple Rain because sometimes you have to... dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun- KISS.

The centerpiece of the episode is NeoN playing a genre-bending cover of Lift Every Voice and Sing that leads into the most substantive conversation the show has had yet about culture, national identity, and who gets to decide what songs belong where.

Cam says approximately eleven words. Every one of them matters. She calls Leon's music "quite good," which from Cam is a standing ovation.

This is what Fridays sound like now.

Study the game. Go hard in the paint. Stay all the way up.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 — Welcome to the Cookout: The rules, the vibes, the V-Series smoothie 2:00 — The Cookout Handbook: napkins, horseshoes, corn hole, and Captain Brolic 5:00 — Don't pair your phone with the speaker. Don't request a song. Don't. 6:00 — "Let us COOK!" — The Cookout is open 7:00 — Culture Check-In: Michael finally saw Superman 8:00 — B Cash's theater horror story: the groaner, the Kaiju, and the kid 10:00 — Sinners: Cam, B Cash, and the vampire logic debate 13:00 — Cam's impression of Michael. Michael's reaction. 14:00 — AI in entertainment: freight trains, Blockbuster, and ethics 16:00 — NeoN enters the Cookout 17:00 — The vegan cookout test: "Does the potato salad have raisins?" 18:00 — The mutual friend: she's got a memory like an elephant 19:00 — AKAs, Nissans, epi-pens, and Set It Off 21:00 — College, comedy, and the value of self-education 23:00 — The fumbled introduction: "Who is this dude?" 24:00 — NeoN's music journey: Aunt Syl, short rock, and learning guitar at nine 27:00 — Session work: "I'm just a hired gun at that point" 29:00 — Music is human: onions, spices, and universal constants 31:00 — Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and how hip-hop traveled the world 33:00 — Leon plays Lift Every Voice and Sing 34:00 — The conversation: national anthems, culture, and who gets to decide 38:00 — B Cash vs. Michael: the market is not a democracy 40:00 — The Waddle: a new dance, a new stride 41:00 — What would you send to space to represent humanity? 44:00 — Purple Rain and call it a day 45:00 — Cam: "It's quite good." The highest praise. 46:00 — Closing: your invite is permanent, NeoN

LINKS / RESOURCES:

• Website:https://GreatestPlayersInTheGame.com
• YouTube: [insert link]
• TikTok: [insert link]
• Instagram: [insert link]
• Merch Store: [insert link]
• NeoN Social Media: [insert links when available]

TAGS / KEYWORDS:

the cookout, friday podcast, NeoN, Leon Rivers, guitarist, session musician, Chicago, south side, FAMU, music podcast, culture podcast, Lift Every Voice, national anthem debate, Superman review, Sinners review, Ryan Coogler, AI entertainment, SAG-AFTRA, hip hop, guitar, session work, new music, emerging artist, comedy podcast, dating, college debate, Prince, Purple Rain, Black culture, cookout culture, new podcast 2025

Michael and B Cash open by laying out what Wednesdays are about: a space built for women to take the reins, for the conversations men and women should actually be having, and for the hosts to listen more than they talk. They're still figuring it out. That's the point.

Amanda Bibbie is a 22-year-old model living in Brooklyn who visits the show. She walks in confident, charming, and ready to talk about dating in New York, the modeling industry, and what it's like to be a young woman trying to make it in this city.

The dating conversation is hilarious. Amanda's Hinge horror story, her theory on DMs versus real-life approaches, and her breakdown of what it's actually like when guys find your Instagram page are some of the most honest things said about modern dating on any podcast this week.

Then the conversation shifts to her career. Amanda describes her path from pageants in Florida to swimwear shoots in New York. But when the questions get specific, things get uncomfortable.

What follows is one of the most genuine conversations about ambition, identity, and the gap between who you present yourself as and who you actually are. Michael and B Cash share their own stories of faking confidence before they had the skills to back it up. And Amanda drops the performance and becomes the most interesting version of herself.

This episode is about the distance between pretty and Fashion with a capital F. It's about what happens when the room knows more than you do. And it's about what you gain when you stop pretending.

Michael Dupri and B Cash launch the podcast with a simple idea: this is the breakfast table of champions. Three shows a week covering sports, business, dating, culture, and everything your group chat argues about. Mondays are Guy's Day. Wednesdays are Ladies' Night. Fridays are the Cookout. Everyone's provisionally invited.

This week's guests represent two sides of the same coin. Andre Ford is a former Florida State football player currently fighting for a roster spot on a pro football practice squad in Los Angeles. Every day is an audition. He breaks down what the grind actually looks like: the 5 a.m. wake-ups, the calculated macros, the film sessions, the weight room, and why he's building a physical therapy career alongside competitive bodybuilding as his long game.

Cody Reagan is a former pro basketball player, second-round draft pick, and five-team journeyman who played overseas in Spain, Amsterdam, and Russia. His stories are unbelievable. In Spain, he accidentally chatted up the Prime Minister's wife at a state dinner and earned the nickname "El Presidente." In Amsterdam, he was kicked out of a mob-owned apartment at 3 a.m. by armed men. In Russia, he called his agent about a difficult building manager, and let's just say that situation got handled in a way that normal property management does not handle things. After retiring in his mid-thirties, Cody turned his basketball earnings into long-term investments in strip malls, car washes, and fast food franchises, and hasn't looked back.

Along the way, Cody reveals that Michael's older brother Arnold secretly asked Cody to teach young Michael how to shoot a basketball, throw a football, and do all the sports things Arnold couldn't teach him. Michael hears this for the first time on air.

The episode also features the Monday Morning Quarterback segment with a full weekend sports recap covering NFL preseason Week 1, a massive MLB weekend headlined by Ohtani's 40th home run, and WNBA action.

Study the game. Go hard in the paint. Stay all the way up.

Hosted by Michael Dupri (aka U Mean D) and B Cash, with Cam Cruz running the board, GPITG drops three shows a week covering everything your group chat argues about.

Monday is for the grind: sports, business, investing, and power moves for men who are building something real. Wednesday is Ladies' Night: dating, relationships, fashion, and the conversations men and women should actually be having. Friday is the Cookout: music, movies, comedy, current events, and mailbag. For the culture. You know what it is.

Everyone's provisionally invited. But that invite comes with tenta-tivities.

New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Subscribe now and follow the show on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Website: GreatestPlayersInTheGame.com

Study the game. Go hard in the paint. Stay all the way up.