Former trucker Deante’ Kyle serves up his thoughts, ‘Grits & Eggs’ style
There are few jobs more isolating than being a truck driver. Riding alone for hours on end, there’s nothing to do but reflect or consume media. During his time in the profession, Deante’ Kyle did both.
“It was perfect for me and my personality because I could listen to music,” he said. “I could listen to podcasts. I could listen to books.”
He listened to a lot of rap, nu metal and punk rock. He read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger. Then he turned his phone on and pressed the record button. Looking into the camera, he shared his thoughts on rap music, American politics and race.
Soon, he wasn’t alone anymore.
Kyle’s TikTok account grew from 400 followers to roughly 30,000 in a matter of days. It wasn’t long before there were 100,000 people joining along for his rides by liking, sharing and commenting on his content via social media.
In 2023, Kyle quickly went from recording social media content in the front of his truck to launching the podcast “Grits & Eggs” and turning the back of the rig into a makeshift studio. As of last summer, he’s left his trucking career behind and is now working as a full-time podcaster.
The 35-year-old, whose professional moniker swaps his first and middle names, has successfully parlayed his social media audience into a growing podcast audience. The show typically features Kyle sitting at a desk sharing his latest musings or chatting with guests ranging from rapper Monaleo to fellow content creator Lynae Vanee.
Despite releasing several episodes per week, the show regularly garners tens of thousands of views on YouTube, in addition to the people who listen to the audio version on podcast platforms or subscribe via Patreon. Today, more than 600,000 people follow Kyle’s TikTok, which mostly reposts clips from the podcast. Having an engaged audience has allowed him to work with sponsors such as Liquid I.V. and HelloFresh.
He’s gained some famous friends along the way, too. Recently, T.I. invited the podcast host to hang out in the studio, and he recently submitted a rap verse of his own for a song with Ab-Soul.
Kyle says if you ask people who have known him since his childhood — which he split between Douglasville and Wilmington, North Carolina — they’d say he’s always been a curious being who questioned everything around him.
“To be honest, I never really believed in what was being presented to me, as far as school. Even religion and stuff like that,” he said. “I was very combative as a child. I’ve always been antiauthority.”
He loved to learn, but was often in trouble. In a recent episode of “The 85 South Show” podcast, he talked about going to jail more than a dozen times. He spent his 20s in and out of various metro Atlanta jails, but said this decade in his life is also when he was writing raps and starting to reflect on Black liberation.
Big Kat, a longtime friend and collaborator, has been a staple on the show since Kyle was filming it in the back of his truck. “The camera that we had starting out (cut off) after 12 minutes,” he said. “(Kyle) needed me to come and press the button for him.”
Today, Big Kat can often be heard delivering commentary off screen. He also serves as the host of the show’s New Music Mondays episodes.
There’s a persistent refrain online that too many podcasts are hosted by men. And a study from USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative supports the notion that podcasting is dominated by the gender, especially white males.
But, fans of “Grits & Eggs” often tout Kyle’s unapologetic pro-Black stances. And they often highlight his support of women and LGBTQ communities as proof that he is an anomaly in podcasting. Kyle has appeared several times on Vanee’s Revolt show, “The People’s Brief,” discussing the manosphere and toxic masculinity.
Despite his success, Kyle hasn’t always felt welcomed by his professional peers. “I’ve got a lot of weird comments of ‘Oh, you actually are very intelligent,’” he said. “What do you mean ‘actually?’”
“A lot of people’s experiences (are) through a book. A lot of people’s experience ain’t lived experience. A lot of people (have) never been homeless. In theory, they can understand, they can be empathetic to the homeless person, but (I’ve) slept in bathrooms before,” he added. “In theory, they can be empathetic to the school-to-prison pipeline or prison reform, but I’ve actually been in prison. I’m coming from a whole different perspective.”
Despite releasing multiple podcast episodes each week, Kyle’s been adamant about not needing to tackle every topic unless he can add something worthwhile to the conversation. He reads articles from traditional and independent media sources while preparing the outlines for each episode.
Still, a growing audience means there has been more people criticizing Kyle’s work, either because they disagree with his opinion on any given topic or believe some of his conversations include factually inaccurate information or lack context. He says his producer and Big Kat have been good gut checks, sometimes imploring him to do more research or move on from a topic altogether.
“There’s been times where I’ve cut the whole show off. Like, ‘man, we’re not putting this out. We’re not doing this.’ We’ll come back the next day and record it again and it’ll be a home run,” Big Kat said. “He just trusts his friend. I wasn’t there to get any recognition. I was there just to help him to reach his goal, and I just became a part of the show.”
“I don’t prop myself up as this perfect, know-it-all person, because the thing is, I also enjoy being wrong about s---,” Kyle said. “That means I’ve got more work to do. Or maybe I wasn’t being empathetic enough in my approach. Or maybe I wasn’t informed enough. Being wrong is just an opportunity to learn.”
Ultimately, Kyle said, “Grits & Eggs” exists to “offer perspective” and foster important conversations. His work won’t be relegated to the internet for long, either. He plans to sell a couple of the show’s most popular episodes as collectors’ item vinyls via his Patreon.
It’s a whirlwind career for a former truck driver who initially viewed making content as a way to keep himself entertained during long hauls.
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