To preface this, if you haven't read any of the other sections or scenes, I didn't know that I was part of a front (for drug trafficking, money laundering and God only knows what else) until the end of my journey at MG. For almost 5 years I thought I was part of a legitimate business that was helping the black community in south Memphis, but instead, I was allowing a monster to destroy his community further, using me as a centerpiece for destruction. All of the [[Bad Business]] happened with [[Ernest]] at the [[Perkins - MG HQ & Grind Global]] location from what I experienced. The "front" was simple, we printed custom apparel, embroidered, made graphics and logos, printed flyers and business cards, took photos and videos, even made some "podcast" productions along the way. We even had a fairly complex "affiliate" program that could have been something great if the business were legitimate. There were even more small aspects to the legitimate business there that could have grown, but I didn't know that the other person didn't really want or care about that at all. I initially thought we had a pretty good (albeit humble) business, which turned out to be the perfect setup for a front. That being said, I'm not actually sure if we were profitable or not, but we had solid cash flow. I didn't look at all of the finances as closely as I should have along the way, but wish I had. Live and learn, and boy did I learn... Parts of the business I didn't include would be the 2 areas where we really didn't make any money at all, but spent money: events and music. These 2 things were important to Ernest but didn't bring in a dime. We had suite 1 at Perkins and Knight for a while, and used it a for small events a couple of times with T Soul and others, but there was no money in that and we couldn't have possibly timed it worse (the COVID years), so it was really doomed from the start. The music aspect was probably the biggest waste of time and the most unprofitable. Ernest spent countless hours in the studio (and at video shoots outside of the shop) but nothing ever came of it. The few other artists that came through were no good (my opinion) and the music that was being made was (and probably still) never heard by many people other than the few whom he promoted. On a personally bitter note, I watched him spend more one a single outfit for a music video than he would pay me in an entire month. It was insulting to say the least, considering I did everything at the shop except physically print the tees, which I started to do towards the end. He spent around $30,000 on veneers, and I'm sure countless more on things I didn't even know about, all the while continuing to tell me how much money we were losing and making me feel like I was destroying the business or something. I did everything and received less than you could possibly imagine. The last 6 months or so was basically just me figuring out ways to escape and take him down. No one will ever use me like this ever again. I remember one day where he had someone come through the studio from out of town. I had a bad vibe about this guy all around and my nose told the tale that day. They were in the studio, smoking a blunt, then I saw the guy go out to the restroom. A short while later I smelled the most horrific burning plastic type smell. I knew it was crack or something similar, and confronted Ernest about it. He lied and said it was just a "vape" they picked up from the gas station. This man could lie like no one else. Honestly, I don't even know if he knew he lied because it was literally that much. His lies were his reality. In fact, if the devil himself hadn't already been called the father of lies, you could have given this title to Ernest. The pieces of the puzzle fit together more and more, the music was just a bigger front to bring more drugs through the shop, more "artists" to buy the drugs and more excuses to not do legitimate business. Music doesn't bring money unless you've either sold your soul to the devil or signed with a major label. There's no way to make money legitimately from music. This is when I learned that all music is actually a front for either money laundering or drug trafficking in some way. Ernest's biggest mistake towards the end, well after I'd found out how much of a liar he was, how much of a front I was, and how much dirty business he was doing, was that he NEVER made a push to finish his album cover, finish his album, or complete anything he started with his music or music ventures with others. It was so pathetic. I wondered if he'd forgotten how to lie anymore or maybe he was just becoming brain dead from all of the drugs. Either way, I watched this man waste more time with his so-called passion than anyone ever could have imagined. The saddest part is I have no idea how much business was legitimate. I don't know if anything I created for anyone was actually for a real business or just for another front. I don't know if any of the people I served in the black community were even telling me the truth knowing how well everyone I met could lie. It breaks my heart to know that I can never trust anyone every again, especially from there, as I felt some of them might have been real people. I did learn that all music "artists" are actually just drug dealers or con men, however. To this day, I approach everyone as if they are lying to me about everything and whittle down to truth from there. It's a terrible way to live but I have to guard myself as my time on this planet isn't infinite and so many years are gone and wasted. There's nothing like being conned for 6 years to really make you question reality, friendships, relationships, acquaintances and business of any kind. It's deteriorated my mental state pretty harshly. I only trust my family and God at this point. On a bright note, God is helping to heal me as I destroy these demons (through this story) that were a part of my reality for so long.