Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, before we start the episode, we're gonna remind everybody, man,
we got one of the biggest radio shows in the country,
syndicated in almost one hundred cities all over. Shout out
to iHeartRadio. All right, some of the latest cities that
we've been able to add. Man, we want to give a
shout out to ninety three point nine the Beat in Honolulu.
That's right, Hawaii, We over there going crazy. I also
want to give a shout out Hot ninety eight three
(00:21):
and Tucson. Shout out to Tucson going crazy. Also want
to give a shout out to Wild ninety four one
in Tampa going crazy. We just got Richmond. We also
just got the good folks in Bakersfield at Hot.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
One O four to seven.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
So we're going crazy on the radio with my partner
James Andre Jefferson Junior for the Bootleg keV Show. So
make sure you tune in and you can listen anywhere
on that iHeart Radio app. That's right, let's get into
the interview.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, what's hoop? This is young Jerald g Eazy. Check
me out on my brother Blue Leg Cavs podcast. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yo Boutlet cap show, Bluelet Cap Podcast special guests in
here my brother Man.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Easy Yeah, Yeah, welcome yeah Man. The new album is
that it feels good to be here Man, Yes, sir
Man an overdue, super overdue brother.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
The new album Helium, Yeah, it's out now. Why the
name helium?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Helium? Uh well, it started with the song and I
just I think that word is interesting, and then the
metaphor of like something that you know you associated with,
you know, birthday balloons, celebration, you know, but it's fleeting,
you know, like like a balloon that could be bright
and then it's flying, you know what I'm saying, could
(01:39):
also deflate and you know, it goes up, comes down
and it's like the fleetingness of you know, of these spikes,
these highs, these you know that comes with life, you know,
and also love, like something could lift you up, you know,
but you know, if it gets too high, you know
what I mean, you lose it, or if you hold
(02:00):
it too long, you know what I mean, it deflates.
And just kind of that I've always too all my music,
all my albums, I feel like, you know, it's it's
the Gemini nature, you know, but I've always written about
the hasandlos, right, right down to get in the bad,
the dark in the light. So it just it just
(02:21):
kind of fit. And I just think that word is
it's a good word. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
For sure. You have a song on here called after Dark. Yeah,
that is like a pretty like because you have these
I mean, you didn't say the girl's name on the
on the verse, but I think you blunk it out.
But I've met I might have met the fan you're
talking about, because I met a fan of yours at
a show in Orlando that had an insane amount of
(02:44):
your tattoos on their body. Yeah, but the whole entire
For people who don't know the song, go listen.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well you should go listen to it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
But it's also interesting take because it's like you have
these fans that are like, Yeah, particularly this one fan
who so dedicated to you, she gets a bunch of
tattoos and you see her at every single tour stop,
and then you eventually stop seeing her kind of break
down that record.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah. So basically, I mean, as much as it is, like,
you know, there's there's individual people that it's about. I
try not to ever write like anything that's so specific.
You have poetic license, you have creative freedom. You know
what I mean. And I don't want to single anybody out, sure,
but it's it's basically a culmination of like so early
in my career. I remember the first times because I've
(03:27):
always done meet and greets. I've always you know, hand
to hand, fan to fan, like face to face, like
that's how I built my whole core, you know. And
then I would see these fans that would keep coming
to shows, you know, keep buying meeting greets following the tour,
and eventually I'd be like, Yo, you don't have to
keep buying these, right, I appreciate you so much. You're
good for life, right right, right right, you know. And
some of them I've kept in touch with, like through
the years. Some I'll send music to before it's out
(03:50):
that I'm actually really good friends with, right, you know,
that have been to probably seventy five eighty ninety plus
shows literally right through like ten years of coming and
seeing me on tour. And but it's a weird feeling,
like you know, seeing a tattoo and I and I
see them, you know, all the time, though, but I
remember the first time it was jarring, like this huge
(04:12):
portrait of my face on somebody because something in it
was like, jan that's forever. You know, I'm attached to
you forever, no matter what, you know what I mean,
And and that, in a way is like a motivation
for me because it's like, all right, you can't give
up because you mean this to this person. But you know,
it also comes with a pressure of like living up
to who you see me as. And then you know
(04:33):
they would come back, you know, I'd see them a
year later on the next tour and they'd have five
more tattoos. Yeah, and then they have mad tattoos all
about me, And that that is like there's a there's
a pressure in that, there's an expectation. There's like also
like a whoa, you know, it's a lot. I didn't
ask you to do that, not in any type of
I'm so appreciative to have fans that care that much.
(04:54):
But then the fear that like if they ever just
stop coming, it's like, wait, did I let you down?
Did I do something wrong? You know? And then I
kind of tried to base the sence the theme of
the song too, like that show Baby Reindeer, because it's
weird because the complex is this, you know, like it's
(05:14):
it's one thing to feel like somebody's obsessed with you,
but you kind of like to be worshiped, you know
what I mean. So there's that side artis're like, yeah, yo,
my my ego and my validation, my fuck with me
this much? Right, So so there's that aspect of it,
and there's that like you know, there's like damn if
(05:35):
they suddenly didn't you know, didn't love me anymore, right,
you know, that validation is taken from you, like did
I do something wrong? And then the whole song, the
punchline at the end is like, you know, I think
what we identified in each other, what we found in
each other and like about each other, was loneliness connected
(05:56):
us too, because I think music can be this powerful
thing where you you see some of yourself in the artist. Yeah,
I mean they're talking about something that you identify with too,
you know, and you have that bond, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So it's interesting too because do you think, like about
those fans where you're like, damn, I haven't seen this
person in like two tours.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Isn't it Because did the last album suck? Yeah? Or
did they just grow up? And like and I say
a line in the song, it's like or is it
just like that we all knew one day geezy or
something you don't grow you know what I mean. It's
that like humbling realization of you know, you can't assume
that because I like this music for this period of
(06:37):
my life that is forever, you know what I mean.
Sometimes it's like, you know, it's almost you moved on
with your life. You grew up, you got married, you
know what I mean, you got a career, right, you know,
you're not who you were when you found me twelve
thirteen years ago. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
No, it's a dope song, dope concept too, because I
feel like it's I feel like there's a lot of
artists who have those type of fans, and I would say,
like the stand element was there, you know, yeah yeah,
but I feel like, you know, like you'll see like randomly,
not to compare you to insane clown posse, but sometimes
like I remember, I got pulled over ones and the
cop had a fucking juggalo hatchet man tattoo, and I
(07:15):
was like, highway patrolman is a Juggalo. I'm saying, like
that's crazy, right, Yeah, but no, it's it's an incredible record, man,
I like the Fighting Fuck Records two Man.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah. Yeah, that's that's a vintage G classic. G Oh
so good. Let me get back to my toxic. Let
me get back to my like writing about you know,
up and down problematic relationship. Yeah, something something I know,
failure Will some I write about failure Will.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
I wanted to ask you about you had an album
that you took like a creative risk on yeah, where
you were singing twenty twenty Yeah, And I feel like
that was an album that you stepped out of.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I guess whatever like image we could.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
You know that when we think of G we think
of the black leather jacket. We think that we don't
think of colors like you were kind of like.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
No, my black shirt was still at the cleanest today.
I was like, he's gonna flip out when he sees
me in red Like.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
No, I mean still but but but I feel like,
you know you you had tooken a lot of hits
for making that album, but I know that you you
love that album otherwise you want.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
To pull it out. I mean I'll say it like this,
like you know, I get it, Like you go to McDonald's,
you know you want your your big mac or year.
You know, the fact that McDonald's doesn't really taste like
it did in the nineties anymore kind of messes me up. Like,
but you know, if I want a Coca Cola, I
don't want it to suddenly come in a purple can
(08:38):
and taste like sprite. You know what I'm saying, Like,
there's but this is not just like product. This is
this is art, and you know two things. For one
thing is this, Like you keep thinking like, all right,
after the second album, if I win again, I'll be
able to make what I want to make right and
not saying it was necessarily that, but it's like you
(09:00):
kind of feel like, all right, maybe okay, find it.
If I go platinum three albums in a row, right
then I'll finally have bought myself the freedom if I
could just get some shit off, whether that's me just
doing like nineties hip hop shit or whether that's me
trying to experiment with some shit like this, I bought
myself that freedom. No, you never do. They just want
(09:20):
what they just want, like and that's not like a
bad thing because at the end of the day, this
thing we get to do, we have this privilege to do,
is at the highest honor, you know, like the fact
that I fell in love with something and I get
to do that thing I'm in love with for a living,
(09:41):
and I get to get money with my homies. I'm
of the luckiest people on the planet for sure, and
I'm incredibly appreciative of the job I do. Because everybody
has a job, they go to work. Not everybody gets
to like their job, right. This is work, right, So
who am I to think I can fuck off my job, right,
you know. But there's the art side of it that's like,
(10:04):
you know what, if something's in my heart that I
want to try. Andre doesn't want to rap anymore. He
wants to play flute. I think Andre earned the right
to walk around in blacksmith threes. Youven me a backpack
and carry a fluke. If Andre wants to, Andre gets
to you feel me, he's that goat. But there's still
people that's like banging on him that you feel me
come back and right, sure and rightfully, So that's fine.
(10:27):
That's how it goes, is what it is. The second
aspect is this COVID shutting the world down was such
a jarring thing for me because you know, I understand
like it was hard for a lot of people you know,
are uniquely unfortunately you know, I had, you know, financially
unity thing. It was in a position where for the
(10:49):
first time in my professional career I could kind of
fuck off. Sure you feel me, because it's like it's
a hamster wheel of like you know, in the studio,
make out, album, tour, tour, get right back in, you
feel me, like, put it out a promo, press run tour,
get right back in. There's no breaks, there's no Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
You had like a five year I mean longer than
five years.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
It was like I was gonna say, even prior to that,
it was the grinding, take the eighty grind. Yeah. So
really like twenty ten to twenty NonStop. I was living
out of suitcases, tour to tour to tour. You feel
me if I had a couple pairs of black jeans,
a black leather jacket and some black t shirts and toiletries,
socks and draws, you feel me and some Jordan's I'm
(11:36):
I'm good to be geazy. I don't need anything more
than that because all I know is work. But it
had drained me, you know, and I think you can
kind of hear it in the music. You can see
it on my face, you know. I was just like,
when is this When do I get to breathe? And
all of a sudden, the world stops and I don't
have sessions booked every other like every day, six days
(11:57):
out of the week, with different producers every single day
where I'm expected to go in and make three songs
for songs a night, you know, and try to get
the label happy, get management happy, you feel me deliver, Like.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, I feel like that was something like for you
where like I remember kind of being around you, being
in some of these sessions at that time, and it
was like it's like all right, but yeah, but we
need another one of these. God, but we got to
make another no limit, We got to make another.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Okay, let me just put my thinking hat on and
make it a little no limit.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
But but but also I can also assume for you,
it was like you start to like second guess your
own self, hell, start to question like what like, well,
what I do is what got me here?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So how about unequivocally like trust trust me, you feel
me because I'm not like nobody right like like I
don't have a doppelganger. I don't have a you feel me.
You can't even parallel me to like who looks like
me is from you feel me and inspired and raised
by you feel me how and what I'm raised on.
You feel me and has the career I've had, And
(13:00):
it's like I never got where I got by by
like tracing another person's you feel me sound or track
or anything. So it's like, but in that time, I
felt like I was losing that power, that fearlessness, that
because it takes being delusional, it takes you know, the
(13:22):
imagination to invent something that doesn't exist. Yet you feel
me like you have to be so brave and so
a fearless leader to think to have the audacity you
feel me to think I could get up there and
jump around that stage in a leather jacket and talk
my shit and tour you feel me, amphitheaters and red rocks,
(13:43):
and you feel me and do all that. But it
it started to I started to dull because I felt
so much not micromanaging, but pressure and control to like
too many cooks in the kitchen of make another, no limit,
make a if we need this from you, we need
another of this from you. I'm like, fine, y'all, just
(14:04):
do it then like I'm trying to do what I'm
trying to do, because then I went so left right
and I had that freedom for this was that was
that you rebelling a bit against like I mean, yeah,
retros everybody like yeah in retrospect, not consciously consciously, it
was just like it was just me being free. And
I'm not gonna say it was. You can't quantify art
(14:25):
as good or bad or whatever. I know it wasn't
received as well it was good to you, yeah, but
it felt liberating and so for that, it's a when
you know.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Yeah, I felt like to me, it was because I
do feel like you know, when you have a certain
level of success, it's it's we cannibalize, you know, our artists.
Like it's like it's like all right, well what's next,
you know, and if you if you go an album
without another you know, him and I are no limit
or O my god, whatever, it's like, well you fell off.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
It's it's atrocious. It's for out here the hardest would
like give up, like their fucking you know that one
of them? Yeah, oh my god, I got a couple
of billion stream songs. Respects recognize a legend when you
see one.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Even the touring, Like there's guys who give up inches
off of their dick genuinely to be able to tour
the way you've toured in the last twelve months.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, yeah, that far. Yeah, So I just I just.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Think, you know, I do feel like I felt like
you started to kind of get in your own head
and then at that time, Yeah, there's like this narrative
that like, I see Jack Harlow's blowing up at that time,
and it's like, then there's the whole white there can
only be one white guy at a time.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
This town is not big enough for the both of us.
But yeah, it's like there could only be one. You know,
by the way that the record you and.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Jack put out was Dope, I forget, I forget what
the name during it was during the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, yeah, I think I know because me and him
links early on you know his I remember he was
he was opening for Whiz and then he brought my
homie shouts out, all black, fucking all black. Yeah yeah,
all black is my brother for life, if you feel me.
But yeah, he brought he brought all black on his tour,
and I'm like, what you know about all black? Right,
you feel me. But I was like, I was like,
(16:07):
that's love. Sure, I told him, Matt. I was like, Yo,
thanks for bringing my brother that hell tight. And then
me and Jack linto in the studio and I was
in Atlanta and did that joint and it was just
solid ass dude. Yeah. Like from then it was like
it's really like people's character, you know, like integrity and
intentions and truthfulness and just like you know when somebody's valid,
(16:28):
when somebody's a real one, when somebody's a good person,
and you know, I'm like, man, I root for everybody
for sure, you know, but especially like you know, when
you're a great person in this industry, it's hard to find.
It's hard to find, bro, It's hard to find like
people you say, like that's genuinely my friend, versus like,
you know, just.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Like some fucking dude you say, we'll get in one day.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure you.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Uh. I want to talk to you about the Bay
thing because I've had I've had a lot of arguments
with people from the Bay Area about you your place
in Bay Areas history, because I think that there's just
there's just certain conversations that you that are just factual
because there's numbers that exist in this world. Like obviously
it's like mc hammer is most successful. Yeah you get
(17:14):
sold you too short, e forty, like you know whatever,
but for whatever, and and you know, the other thing
I always try to say is I don't know anybody
who was in a position that you've been in, with
the eyes that you've had on you that hasn't made
it a point to do every single thing they can.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
To help put on the Bay. Yeah, from the Bay to.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
The Universe tour, over and over. Yeah, I think the
first I mean, I remember you buy I am Sue
out on the road with you for neph the Pharaoh.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, I didn't even the first time I ever seen
was shooting with John. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Do you feel like for like like like I feel
like you don't get amongst the Bay Area tastemakers the
respect you deserve in terms of like your place in
Bay Area.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Man hip hop history. Like it's like I don't I
don't entertain to even spend my energy, you know thinking
about that, even though as much as like I think
it's important to have chips on your shoulders sometimes like
if I'm being like like truthful, truthful, right, because I
(18:28):
weaponized those chips on my shoulder, you know. Like it's
like it's like when you watch the Last Dance, I
don't even think like Jordan like took like the ship
that other players were talking aid he just needed something
because it's like it's a long season. He got bored.
Just give me something to make me fucking want to
like rip your head off or something, or like you know,
and I use some of those things that like, you know,
(18:49):
I'm not gonna lie, like it'll keep me up at
night or like wake me up out of my sleep.
Just anxiety, just stress just makes me go harder, you know.
And there's never knocking to be gas in my tank, correct,
you know. But at the end of the day, I'm
I know, I know who the fuck I am and
what I've done, you know. And it's like once you
realize that you could, you'll never make everybody happy. I'm
not tequila. You can't make everybody happy, you know. It's
(19:12):
like you just kind of have to like fundamentally have
a level of peace with it and resolving like self
knowledge because I know, like categorically you know numbers wise,
you feel me, I know I know how strong me
and Forty's bond is right. You know. I was just
on the phone with him the other day catching up
with uncle. You know, like I know me and you
(19:34):
know me and missus fabs bond, I know me and
kicks bond. I know, I know, I know me and
feel me like we was at an album released party
the other day and they had all my videos on
you on the TVs and to me myself and I
video and Pelo was in the video. You feel me
like I've done everything possible to always. You know, if
I have a light, I take it and I you know,
(19:55):
turn it and put that light on and share that
light with my region. For me, do I make the
most Bay Area of music? No? Right? You know every
album every hour have short forty. You feel me like
some slaps, but you know that's not my space, that's
not my place, that's not my you know, necessarily my job,
my calling, my you know, my thing. You know It's like,
(20:18):
but ask me, have I ever charged for a feature
for any Bay Area artist? Record for the love after that?
Has forty ever charged me? It's love and respect and
so artists and artists. I know where I stand in
relationship wise. You feel me from d lo to p
low to you feel me to sue everybody. So it's
like when I think about who's the taste makers, that's
(20:41):
not fucking with me, I'm like, I don't know. And
if they don't, then that's right, because tell me somebody
else who you feel me? Name two tours, everybody you
fe me? So what I ain't doing? Tell what I do?
Everybody from the Bay all over there, you know, world
and like I can't what do you want me to
move back home?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Right?
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And just and just be in the Bay forever. You
know what I'm saying, Like I never said I said
to the universe. For sure you feel me. I want
the world and and I'll try to you don't do
everything I can. I always I always reach back, you know,
I see, I see you know my homies telling me
like put me on some some new shit that's popping out. No,
you always are popping up on people. It's always been
(21:22):
that way. To follow show loved you feel me like
it's always gonna bring out the kids like that. My
shows share my stages always shine that light. So it's
I'm just like you feel me. I'm a key hollering
from the Bay to the universe. Whether I'm in Spain
or Maine or mains Alaska, you feel me in Switzerland,
I'm gonna be hollering that ship with an a's hat on.
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Speaker 2 (23:43):
Anyway, let's get back to the interview.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I want to know too, man, Like, you know, I
was fortunate enough to hang out with your mom a lot.
I smoked weed with your mom. Yeah, she was the sweetest,
sweetest lady man. And uh, you know, I know how
important she was, just like to your fans because you
had talked about her so much in your music prior
to her passing. What you know, losing your mom I
know was a life.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Changing event for you.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
How did that just kind of like affect just you
as a obviously you know, I know it was her
birthday recently, but I mean that has to kind of
like also just pour onto like how you're feeling in
the studio, how you're feeling creatively, Like, what do I
know you lost your rock?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
You know, you know you lost, that's it. Yeah, you
lost for a long time. And grief is this nonlinear process.
It comes in these waves. It's not you know, some
days you think you're find Some days it hits you
like a title live. Sometimes for a reason, like you know,
(24:48):
a holiday or berthday, or you know a song plays
or something like that. But sometimes it's for no reason
at all. I just hits you. And but the thing is,
grief doesn't go away until you finally, you know, like
try to heal it. Yeah, And I actually I had
written like about this in a song. I worked on cases.
(25:09):
Like they say, grief doesn't go away till you finally
hear heal it. Layers of the iron, I feel it,
mis water. I feel it like I dance with all
my devils and my angels now out there wheel it
like you really got to do the work. You gotta
feel it. You gotta lean into it, you gotta cry,
you got to cry it out. You gotta and then
you eventually learn how to like when it comes you.
(25:30):
You know you you remember the the highs, the good
times to you know that you celebrate her like it's crazy.
On her birthday. The other day, we were on tour,
and I hadn't been performing you know, either Love You
Forever or Angel you know, two songs I've done in
honor of her on you know in the set list,
(25:54):
because to me, those songs are so powerful. It's like
I can't if I can't let those become memory, like
you feel me like those yeah, like you know, I
can't share that with everybody. I can't do that every night.
So but it was her birthday, so we added in
the set list, and I mean I cried my eyes
out on stage singing the song. It was just beautiful moment.
(26:15):
But something crazy happened because so when she would come
to the shows, You'll remember this. When she would watch,
she would always be in that pit, but but slightly
to stage right. It was great because she always be there.
She'd be smoking, she'd never backwards hat on you feel Me,
You'd be like right there, you feel me? And she
probably walk over past you a joint like, but she
was there. It was crazy because she would never be
(26:36):
on this side of the stage. She'd be like and
I never really thought about that, Like it hadn't encurrege
to me until on her birthday, and I just for something,
I looked down to her spot, just not intentionally, and
it was like she was there, you feel me swear
on everything like and and instead of like, you know,
(26:58):
me just dropping to the forem ball, it was like
because I saw her smiling and she would just be
so happy, like with the beamingest eyes of just you know,
so proud of me, and she'd be doing her little
dance like you know, like and I felt that and
it was beautiful and you know, you you that changed
(27:22):
a whole lot. You know, it was like a pivot
of a day where I started to think of her
in more like happy ways, you know, like that's a
big step, yeah, you like, and that's I mean, it's
been like four years, like you know, so going on,
so you know, like you you remember all the you know,
(27:45):
the the good, the positive, the because she was man,
she was a gangster. She was so cool, way cooler
than me, dressed held good, effortless and tell it brilliant
and uh you know, and then it's crazy. So a
few days later, we're in Sack and uh, Neph couldn't
(28:07):
make it because he had a show. But Neph's mom,
who was really tight with my mom, came and Neft's son,
Baby Nef came and I've known baby never since he
was about this big.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Right, like a ten years since big Timing came out.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Big time, ten years since Nephel was on the road
of me going around the world in London with me.
That's crazy. You feel me, Nephi Pharaoh, you know, where
a roless and like you feel me like like man.
So now baby Nephi is like a whole human right,
you know what I mean, He's like a person now.
And it was so dope getting to see him, hug him,
you feel me bring him up on stage, you know.
(28:45):
But I asked Neph's moms if she was sitting in
my mom's spot because she knew the spot because she
would be there with my moms. You feel me, and
and you know, getting to hug her before and after
the show, I felt like I was talking my mom
because she shared so much of my mom's energies, you know.
And it's crazy. I mean, I'm not about to cry now.
(29:07):
But she gave me a gift. I forget if it
was before or after the show. You know, she wrapped
it up and I knew it was a book and
I knew what it was, you know, open it and
it's Lovey Forever, which is this children's book that my
mom would read me, you know, And that's why I
named that song after that, And and that's Mom's had.
(29:33):
You know. She got me that book and she wrote
on the inside and she says she used to read
that book, you know. I mean it was just just crazy,
like whoa. So in that sense, my mom's still here
and everybody that she knew and everything that she gave me,
you know, yeah, man, I just knew.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
I remember when that happened, you know, for I think
for people who weren't close to you, it was just
so unexpected because we're like, wait a minute, like mom was.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Part of the crew.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Man, oh yeah, and it was just I remember just
being like, damn bro, like that one hit. So, I mean,
your mom was great, dude, And I can only imagine
like losing your mom. That's like all of our worst
that's all of our worst.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Nightmares, is parent you know? Yeah, absolutely, I mean, and
my mom would always tell me this. You know, you
don't compare pain or anything, but I will say, you know,
because because mothers are the superheroes of the world, they
literally are the creators of life for sure. You know
we all have them, everyone, So you know there's a
(30:30):
piece of view that's gone because that's how you got here.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
You know, for sure, do you feel like the last
four or five years, because you know, I feel like
you've you've I know, you've gone through like a few
different like management situations, you had the OG guys. But
in terms of like quote unquote music friends, have you
seen or noticed a lot of people I guess switch
(30:56):
up on you a bit over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I mean, here's how you like when you're when you're up,
when you're on the charts, when you're you know, when
you're rolling, you know, when you're selling. It's like the
amount of feature requests, the amount of you know, reach out.
But that's like, you know, I just I just take
it everything for what it is. You know what I'm saying.
(31:20):
I'm not personal. No, I'm not like I'm not thinking that.
You know, I know that that's an A and R guy, man,
Like you should get Gezy on this one, because this
sounds exactly like you know, you should get him on
the pop song on this They're like the future right now,
who's hot? So it's like I'm not like so, it's
not like I'm taking it as like you know, I'm
just gamed up. So I'm like, you want me because
(31:40):
it's there, not because you genuinely you feel me. Yeah. Nah,
So I would never like if you, you know, switch
up or this, that and the other. I never thought
she was like we weren't we were we weren't. But
also I'm just like, man, I'm like I said, Man,
I'm gamed up. I'm hipto, like, so, I can't. You can't.
You can't. You're gonna hurt my It's like, you know,
(32:01):
and I'm not. I'm also not somebody like I hate
reaching out to artists, you know. I just think that
shit is corny, Like I feel like there's never really
anything you did if I show love, but the reaching
out asking for features and favors and and looks like
I would get pressure to do it from my label
or team, you know, to be like we got this song,
(32:23):
this would sound great with so and so saying the hook.
You've met them at festivals, shows, they fuck with you. You know,
We've reached out to their team. It's not going nowhere.
Artists to artists always the best way. I'm like don't
come make me do.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
It, make me slide.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I'm not so cringey because then because then if they
you feel me like the worst is like you got
to hit somebody with the yo with the three o's,
you know, and then bullshit, a little catch up, how
you've been, bro, you feel me? How you living? YadA YadA,
and then four or five texts in you get today, Yo,
I got this record, Like I hate that ship. That's
(32:58):
just not in my character. And I like I get
it though, you know. And also it's like there's also
the aspect of you know, your record has to sell,
you got it? You feel me like if you could
get somebody like that that's big, that'll shift the needle,
like and it takes you just swallowing your pride a
little bit to get something done.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Okay, but yeah, I mean I feel like a lot
of your features, like you know, you and Gotti and
Namir were on tour together.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
You know what I'm saying, Yeah, oh yeah. And it's
like the amount of times in my life and career
that people have told me that, you know, after it
just it just takes like ten minutes or more, like
anybody who's actually gotten to talk to me for like
ten minutes or more. It's like if I had a
fucking dollar. Every time I've heard bro, I had no
idea you were this person. You feel me like you like,
(33:48):
so you take a Gotti like you spend the summer
with me. He's like, yeah, he's a real one. I'll
suck with you for me, like I will pop out,
like if y g had to after party, I would
just go pull up the haship with him. You feel
me just for love Gotti and they would pull up
to my shit like we would all hang out right
like you know, we in the parking lot to the
you know, the amators all summer like kicking it, actually
(34:08):
kicking it right, doing songs, you know, on each other's buses.
It's like drinking and watching each other's sets, like there's
a brotherhood of camaraderie, you know. I mean like I
really fucked with it for sure.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
You know, like when you guys did the the Fuck
Donald Trump remix. Yeah, that was a big moment because
I feel like you were on tour that YG was
on tour with you that came out because I.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Feel like I was.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
It's funny because I was moving from Tampa back to
Phoenix and I stopped in Houston to go to that tour. Yeah,
and that's when I first heard the remix because it
was what you maclamore or g That was a big
moment and that's like, I feel like that's like hip
hop's last great protest song.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
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Speaker 2 (35:08):
Let's get back to the interview.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Hey, you want to give a shout out to our
family at Hard dean Man for sponsoring that episode of
the Bootleg cap podcast. I just got back from Vegas
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Speaker 2 (35:24):
We got so much.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
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Speaker 2 (35:26):
Shout out to Hardy.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
You're in Vegas, man, pull up to hardi En when
you get in that taxi cab. As soon as you land,
say take me to Hardean, follow him Hardan Underscore Las Vegas.
Hard Dean Las Vegas. Shall shout out to them. Of
course we bang that hard Dean baby. You already know
what it is, man, I do feel like that. Fuck
Donald Trump. It's probably the last great protest song and
hip hop. You were on the remix on Toro YG
(35:48):
at the time. That was a wild era. That was
right around that was.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Twenty sixteen, twenty sixteen. Yeah, yeah, And I remember that
summer on that tour because we would performing every single night.
I don't care if we're in Alabama, you know, I
mean yeah, like, if you feel something to standing on it,
don't just say it in California, you feel me, I
(36:13):
say that ship. We're everywhere. And you know, we had
a huge led wall, you know, on on that big
ass Amphitheater stage, you know, and he would come out
during during my set headlining fifteen thousand people with a
huge red led wall with big bold sense of all
cap hel vedica letters. Fuck Donald Trump, just there the
(36:37):
whole song, and I would see people leave because like
like cool, like bounce you feel me. We also had
like you know, booths set up, you know, to sign
up to vote. Yeah, I come from a lineage of
strong women, you know, activism, counterculture, protest and and you know,
(37:00):
I was raised very liberal, you know, very very very
very left, but like you know, growing up in the
Bay Area of course, with a long rich history of
counter culture and activism. Of course from the Panthers. You
feel me too, you know, summer love you feel I mean,
like all that. So like you know, like us doing
(37:22):
that song, you know, and and still to this day,
like I'll play that, you know, even if I just
dropped the hook. I'll say, like, you know, before we
go any further in the show. You know, we were
in Europe. I'm like, you know, there's some fucked up
shit going on in my country. You know. Sorry y'all,
but I'm gonna say how the fuck I feel. And
this is how I feel. Fuck Donald Trump, you feel mean,
(37:45):
And I just you know, not to create even more division,
because I think we're in the most divided time right now,
you know, But like you gotta you gotta, you gotta
stand on it. You gotta say how you feel. Like
the day man, it's like, and I'm not saying artists
like we're not politicians. We're not that's not our job.
(38:07):
But this is a requid, like a required conversation to
be having. Yeah, because you can't just sit passively, you know,
this is dialogue. That's that like a civic duty you feel.
I mean as somebody like I could be kicking it
with the homies, you know, or like at a at
a bar or something like that, but there's one person
(38:27):
chances are the bar that has a device in his
pocket that could talk to ten million people. You know.
I mean not saying that that I could shift a
needle or do anything, but it's like there's a special
responsibility to just just if something bothers.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
You, if something if you feel strongly about something to
that point, Yeah, it's almost like you're you know, the
responsibility of having that many people having eyes on you.
It's it's almost irresponsible to be signed. That's why I
respect so much with Kayliney and maclamore doing standing up
so strong for Palestine because it's no it's like so
(39:01):
many people are worried about whatever the blowback is it
comes from that. And it's like Kaylan is like, I
don't get fuck like this is a human issue. This
is not a this is like and you know, shout
out to Macamore, same ship, like ship Maclamore is fucking
shots to Maclamore.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Shot man, great great humans, bro, just like a good dude.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
I never did know weirdo ship like you know, like yeah,
shout out to him. But now I always thought that, like,
you know, I just had Chuck Dion and we're talking.
I'll say, man, like, I don't know, you know, when
I was growing up, we had like a mortal technique.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Yeah, and we shot out.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
We had like some like real dope, you know, politically
charged hip hop to learn from. And I said, I
was like the last great like I don't know who
our pe is. And I said, I said the last
great like protest song was fuck Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
And also, but what was so brilliant about Donald Trump
is the simplicity of the hook. It was also a banger.
It was a absolute slap, like absolute slap.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Play that ship in the club.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
Even if you voted for Trump, You're like, this is
I can't A lot of that should be gone.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
I also think to like hip hop's growing to the
point where so many people are fans of the music
from everywhere because of the Internet. So it's like it's
almost like, you know, there's so many people who are
like fans of the music that aren't necessarily Like.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Little Baby had a real strong record. I don't remember it.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
I remember the Baby's verse on the Rockstar remix was dope.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
No, no, no, Little Baby did have and he had
that like it was I'm not gonna say it's a
protest song, but it was yeah, like you know, socially
like right commentary. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
I just remember listening to Immortal Technique and find out
about c I sy ops and all kinds of crazy
ship killing, killing, killing, my killing, my killing, I gotta
say killing killing.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
But things like you lose the kids when it gets
to like you know, you weren't heavy to lyrical miracle Spiritu,
You're like, no, you're right. It's almost like it's almost
like so then then you missed the whole, Like the
point of like you I mean, and you you get
like protests is like, you know, marching and chanting one thing,
so so then you equate that to fuck Donald Trump.
That's still equivalent, right, that was really the perfect That
(41:18):
really is a perfect protest on perfect because it wasn't
it was good.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
It's like sonically like I can hear this in the
club and keep dancing.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Damn. Yeah, such a great record, man, i'mna start i'mna
start playing that every time DJ again. Yeah, are you
still djaming? I love DJing, bro.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
You know what's funny is I was with you at
eleven in Miami. Yeah, a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
I had a good time. Uh not too.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Yeah, you came up and to hear me, but I
was probably very surprised how good of a DJ you were.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Yeah, Like you were like fucking beat matching and.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Ship and I was like, oh shit, yeah, QUS talked
this guy some ship man.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
I mean the thing is, you know I've been making
beats since you were there. Yeah. I I've been making
beat since I was thirteen. A lot of people don't
know that. Like I got started making beats and you know,
and then I started writing raps. But like because I
had like we had like a little click like a
rap group, and I was always kind of the one
like making the beats, like maybe you know, it wasn't
until like seventeen eighteen, I was like, wait, I could
(42:14):
I could be the star you feel me. I could
be a solo act I'm feel me. Like one day
I realized like shit, wait no, I'm handsome, right, I
could be a star. Like I'm like in love with
the work part of it, like I'll work my ass
off to like you feel I mean, and like managing
a bunch of other egos and like energies is a lot.
(42:34):
So it was like, wait, I could just embrace that
idea of like me rapping but being my own engineer,
being my own producer. I can't like I can hear
a song and be within three beats per minuted and
tell you what it is what it is because I
just my brain knows the math of music. So it's
like DJing comes natural.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
I feel like if you're a producer or like you're
very engaged in your music process, yea, DJing is like
second Nate checking Nate.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
But that should be so fun because like I get
to be at the party, but I'm not gonna lie.
Sometimes I'm in a section and it's like this is
not fun for me. I want to, like everybody'd almost
rather be like yo, the DJ off coming how far
I'm like you literally and like I just comment here
you family, take over to DJ and and get on
because then, like I mean, at least you have your
(43:23):
little isolated space, see, and I just bombarded with like right,
you know, and then it's so satisfying when you mix
something perfectly and you drop that shit in a crowd
of crazy like for sure, yeah.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
Yo, uh do you remember at what point in time?
Because you know, I always say like, you guys came
into the game and it felt very I've never seen
someone take so much like intention with the way they
would package their merch, they would send shit out, and
just the fan experiences that were just so I remember
you would take the homie on the road who was
(43:55):
cutting hair for the fans, and yeah, there was just
this cultivated experience that I had never seen before an
artist do it. And and also I always would say like,
you guys were like the apple of hip hop like
ten years ago, because no matter how big or small
the venue were very high compliment. Like I'd be like, oh,
you go to a G show, It's got a feeling,
there's an aesthetic to it. But I remember you weren't
(44:17):
always necessarily like doing that, Like, when did you figure
that part out? Because that, to me was a big
reason why you were able to come into the game
with this.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Well for insane thank you following like thank you, that's
really high praise. And I got to say that and
shout out and give flowers to Maddie B and Jamil. Yeah,
of course, shout to Maddie B. Man. You know, Rose
grew my management. You know, we we met in college.
And mind you, I'm you know, I came from Oakland,
like I'm I get to New Orleans. I'm on like
(44:48):
three scholarships and a grant to get there, Like I'm not.
I'm like, this is a whole new world to me
being in this college environment. I'm just you know, I
set up my little setup. You're feeling me the k
our kids and you know, a little mboxtal inbox back then.
And at the time, I'm like and I'm just kind
of isolated, introvert because I'm not relating to a lot
(45:11):
of what's going on, Like and I'm just in my
dorm room making beats recorded and designing my own MySpace pages,
like you know, sticking up flyers and stickers all around campus.
You feel me, I'm a nuisance. I'm like And I
met my management there and they were like minded, and
we grew and built all this together and like and
the nucleus of the three of us really pushed that,
(45:33):
like Steve jobs, like you know, attention to detail, packaging,
appreciation of Apple, you know what I'm saying, Like studying
shit like that, like you know, and from the album
art to the fan experience to the merch, the presentation,
all of that. You think about when you get that
new laptop and you open that Apple box and you
see that designed by Apple in California, that minimalism, that cleanness.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
Well, I remember you guys were like set out hats
and they'd be like packaged and like the way you
guys would package and send merch to fans. I remember,
it would be so like it wasn't like I were
just throwing it in a box.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
I mean that means you can. When we were first,
I was designing our first merch and I was living
in an apartment with my girlfriend in New Orleans as
I was like finishing college, and like I remember, we
had like racks in the apartment of all our like
stock emmers and stuff. And she would be boxing it
up with the tissue paper, and I would like they
like no, They're like folk like do it like this,
(46:28):
you know, like blah blah blah, and like we just
all cared about the presentation and equality, you know, and
that shit goes a long way clearly. But it's like
I appreciate hearing that, you know, because that's how much
we put into the experience.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
You know, what did you learn because you were opening up?
Was it was it the drake to where you were
opening up on it?
Speaker 2 (46:51):
Was it Little Wayne or was it little Yeah? We
opened It's crazy because I keep looking up at at
like that city right there. But basically, like so imagine
storytime real quick. Imagine moving to New Orleans in two
thousand and seven, you know, mix tape weezy, like going
into Carter three. Wayne is the biggest thing in the universe.
(47:13):
But imagine living in New Orleans. It's even crazy, bro
Like you couldn't walk a block without hearing you family,
like and that's peak Wayne. Living in you know, in
that place at that time was crazy. I think it
was my sophomore year, Jamill. He interned for for Voodoo Festival,
(47:36):
which is like our big festival in New Orleans and
he randomly gets a sign to help Lil Wayne. It's
camp like who was headlining that year and Carter three
was about to drop. And he meets his tour manager.
Yeah we'll get to that, and Tina Feriris and she's
(47:57):
Wayne's tour manager and makes such an IMPRESSI not her.
Two months passed by. You know, we're chilling at our
apartment where roommates. He gets a call and she's basically like,
you know, I really liked you. You made a really
good impression on me. YadA, YadA. I have this position open,
you know, assistant tour manager. Would you like to come
on the road for Carter three's arena. You feel me
(48:19):
like overnight, my best friend and you know manager. But
it wasn't much to manage, right man, I'm just uploading
songs of my space. You finnd me like we're just
young college kids. You feld me like the forties all
over the apartment, like you know, and and you know,
overnight it becomes the coolest and richest of our friends.
Because he's getting paid something like a thousand a week
(48:40):
or something like that. We're splitting rent at seven hundred dollars,
paying three fifty each, you feel me like, and he
goes on the road and he's working that close around
that camp, like soaking it all up, taking it all in,
studying the game, calling me like anytime he gets a second, like, yo,
jee is crazy. You know, I was just smoking Wayne,
(49:00):
this is tight, like yeah. And I remember one day,
you know, because he stayed with the camp, he would
do every tour and you know, I'm kind of living
vicariously because I'm still you know, in New Orleans going
to school classes. It just got boring her and boring
her because I was just so desperately, like badly wanted
to be in that. And he would sneak us on
(49:22):
shows when he could, like no pay, but he'd be like,
if you could drive to Indianapolis this weekend from New Orleans,
something I'll get you on after the doors open, Wayne
won't even know you feel me type shit, And we
get to be around it, we get to see the show,
we get to study and soak up the game. But
there was one day where he was like, yo ge yo,
(49:43):
I've been chowing on the own money bush smoking with
this car. You should check out his music, y'all Down there,
y'all y'all kind of reminding each other in the white
but like you should listen to his music. It's MySpace
dot com, slash Strike and like you me earliest earliest,
earliest time and uh and then he has a bond
(50:03):
with Drake, you feel me. And when Drake starts to
pop off, who does Drake wants to be his tour manager?
M h feel me? Yeah? Yeah yeah, and they and
they built you know, that bond together and you know,
we're together Drake's whole career and just being around you know,
through a third party kind of like step of separation
(50:24):
of but having a lens that like I got to learn,
I got to be around it. I got to you know.
He would sneak me on some Drake shows. I don't
even think Drake knew I was on the shows. But
then that led to meeting Taz, who came to see
me at my first headline show in LA We had
sold out to Roxy and the line is past the whiskey,
(50:47):
You felt me, had kids like wearing all black waiting
in line. You feel me, and Taz came. He said, oh,
something's going on here. You have my attention now, It's
not just little Jamil keeps banging on me talking about
listen to my artist, listen to my artist. He's like yeah, yeah, whatever,
Like okay, you have my attention. Now something something's moving
comes to the show. And that was a pivot, turning point,
(51:11):
and that led to what Jamil had been campaigning and
trying for forever was getting Test and Blueprint Group g
Roberson g Nelson our branch to come on board and
help co manage right, you know, and that that changed everything.
That brought us, you know, the RCA, and then they
got me on opening for l Wayne all summer. But
(51:35):
I was like second of six acts. It's just like
people are walking in, walking in finding it. They're like
where's seats, you know that type shit, like this white
guy right right right, and I'm like make some noise,
like where's my seat? But like getting like I was
getting like eight hundred dollars a show or some thousand shows.
It was enough to pay for the bus barely and
(51:57):
just be there because like sometimes you'll take a loss
just to just to learn some ship, learn go put
yourself in a position of soak up the game, like
make some connect like feel me, get some exposure, but
really just soak it up and I remember, uh, man,
what's his name, Adrian Browner, the boxing Yeah, he was
(52:18):
on the tour. He was wrapping that summer and and
and they had him going first and then it was
me and then Susie Man. Yeah, it was amazing. But anyway,
so it's like first to second show of the tour
(52:38):
because it was him, me Audio Push Hit Boy. I
remember that I went that was the package, that was
that summer that was that was the H E seven era. Yeah, yeah,
and you know, and I'm like I'm sticking out like
a random right who Okay, didn't hip what do you someone?
(53:00):
Your album? Yeah? Yeah, we've done a ton of ship.
But so like you know, I'm I'm aware, like I'm
I'm the white Wood. You know, I'm not finna change
my look for anything. I'm not you know, I'm gonna
wear my varsity slick my hair due you for me.
I'm geezy, I'm I'm gonna be me. And it's brown.
(53:20):
I called up to management after the first White Boy.
I don't want to play after I want to play
before him like album, and then I don't I said
this not but basically there was an agreement of like
you know, uh ideal, you know, and like I took that,
Like I was like, you go second, fine, you know,
(53:42):
for and.
Speaker 1 (53:43):
So he was paying to go ahead of like yeah,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (53:45):
Just like some like I'm like, all right, I counted
up how many shows we have left added by that number.
I'm like, okay, I know what I can do with that.
It's fine. It's not hurt. It's all good. I mean,
And that's that's no no distant, you know. I mean,
but I just took this. Yeah, that's great to go
for sure, great deal for me, Like and that whole summer, man,
like I would I would get on my stage and yeah,
(54:09):
it hurts you pride a little bit, like getting on
trying to be like make some noise. It's easy to
get up in front of a crowd. It's like eating
out the palm of your hand. It's hard to earn.
People earn people work for them, but you don't fancy
anybody here to see you, Like, and I would go
back to the bus. We had a little makeshift studio
set up. I'd work on making what would be these
(54:29):
things happen all summer, and then I would come back
from the bus to watch either Chains or Ti or Wayne.
Every single night I would watch one of their sets.
I would just go sit in the crowd when nobody
recognized me, and I would just take notes, study how
they do their talk breaks, the pacing, the timing, the
(54:50):
you know where you place your hits right, what do
you start with? What do you close with? Right? You know,
when do you do your new shit? You know? I
studied all that, and then I go right back to
the bus, like, fuck party and we haven't earned the
rights party right, like, and we made these things happen
that summer and I was still unsigned.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
So you weren't with RCA yet. So when you will
go to RCA, you have that album finished finished.
Speaker 2 (55:15):
Yeah, And the crazy thing is r c A is
one of the two labels that had flown me out
when I was nineteen in college. You're doing like fucking
Warped tour or some ship that was. Yeah, that was
all in the indie phase between. But when I was nineteen,
I had a song on MySpace. It was kind of
like getting some legs, Yeah, to get to get mini legs,
(55:37):
enough to get you flown out, enough to get me
flown out, but enough to get me passed on right,
you know, and you sit under those fluorescent lights with
all the suits in a boardroom, you know, and they're like, so,
what's your story? Boy? That froze up. But it's it's
a blessing because I didn't know who I was yet.
I didn't have the I didn't I hadn't found my style,
my voice, SMI yeah, I the pocket. And but that
(56:02):
chip on my shoulder of them passing on me, I
was like, damn. And that flight back to New Orleans,
I'm telling all them, I'm about to get signed. I'm
going out to New York. I've never been in New York.
I've never been in a hotel room. I'm like taking
pictures of the hotel in Manhattan, like this is crazy.
And that kind of rejection to make you dig deep,
(56:23):
and you know, they don't tell you that they're not
doing the deal. They're just like, it was so inspiring
me and we're really excited. We're going to be in
touch and never you know. So you're going back to school.
You're back in class on Monday. You're like, I don't
know what happened. It was. I'm like school, Damn, I
must suck. Yeah, you feel me. I must not got it.
You know or fucking fuck you. Yeah, I do, and
(56:48):
just work my ass off. So when they came back around,
I had these things happen done. I had just toured
with Luwayne, I had done wark toward I had done
the hard work I didn't necessarily want to do. But
anything I.
Speaker 1 (57:00):
Remember you were doing like I think you had did
like Club Red and Azy.
Speaker 2 (57:04):
This was for ye. That was the Rocky tour.
Speaker 1 (57:05):
Yeah, yeah, you were selling out like motherfucker the whole
toys hold up one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (57:10):
Yeah, like and so then when they came in and
I flew back, then I'm like, you remember me, right,
because I told you i'd be here right. So this
time around, I want what I want right, So get
me right, otherwise I'll go next door. No for sure,
Like you had the proof of concept, yeah, because it's
(57:31):
I don't need nothing from you.
Speaker 1 (57:33):
It's crazy to think like how amazing that album was
and it was like it still was kind of like
you had it, like you had like obviously gotten plaques
off that album.
Speaker 2 (57:44):
I mean it was, it's one of my favorite. I
mean it platinum or double platinum, Tumble Girls platinum or
double platinum. Talk about an era on I mean, bro, like,
but it's crazy to think like that album.
Speaker 1 (57:55):
I remember I was doing radio and Tampa at the time,
and I was like screaming at the program director about
trying to get I mean it into rotation. I was
playing it on my underground hip hop show, so hating me,
and they still didn't believe.
Speaker 2 (58:05):
They hating me, didn't I mean? And that for our city.
We didn't have a fit. RC didn't do you no
favors on the first album, by the way, no, nothing
like we we I paid out of my pocket, like
to all those videos we had shot before the deal.
But it's such a great fucking album.
Speaker 1 (58:20):
And like, like you said, like fuck.
Speaker 2 (58:21):
But you know what it is. You know what it
is because you you you gamble a little better when
it's your money you're gambling with, right, you know. I mean,
if I'm gambling with the corporations money, okay, But if
I did warped door to make this money, I was
sweating all summer on a fucking tour that I would
ever been on. I don't want, you know, I mean,
but I worked hard to get this. To save this up.
(58:41):
I lived out of a suitcase with no apartment for
me for a year.
Speaker 1 (58:45):
And then fast forward, it's when it's dark out.
Speaker 2 (58:47):
So when I'm spending twenty five bands to shoot the
Far Alone video or twenty five bands to shoot the
almost famous video Platinum by the way, Far Alone Platinum,
you feel me like. And then when we did the
little radio campaign, we spent like twenty five fifty bands
for Far Along. That's my pocket. So it's like you
when it's your money at stake, You're like, yeah, I'm
(59:07):
gonna be I'm gonna spend this wisely, right, you know,
because I got skin in the game. And so that's
why when we came to r C, it's like, if we.
Speaker 1 (59:16):
Did this, do you remember when you guys, because it
felt like the everyone jumped on board once me myself
and I just just just yeah, because it was like
it was like, fuck, but did you did you guys
have any idea like, Okay, this is gonna be the
record that changes everything, and you already had a lot
(59:36):
of success and you were already torn. I think by then,
I think I think I think that was the g
The g I Am Suit Tour was before that was
after the first album, because I think that's when I
saw you in Tampa because I remember I took im
su to McDonald's, but man, legend.
Speaker 2 (59:55):
Legend, but we knew each other like growing up man.
Speaker 1 (59:57):
But it was almost like you were like still kind
of like under ground popping to like the like if.
Speaker 2 (01:00:01):
You knew you knew, but still I'm still, Like it's
crazy how I don't ever like walk around like I'm
a household name or something like I like being slightly
missus kind of like if you know, you know, but
but me myself and I.
Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
You guys knew like okay, this song, oh yeah, that
changed everything, but you knew it before it dropped.
Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
I knew I knew it. The second so like first album,
they protected these things happen to do like five thousand
first week it did fifty. It's platinum now like crazy
like in the US, like it's platinum in many countries,
but in the US over a million sols, no real
radio hits at all. Correct. Second album is like the
(01:00:39):
hardest thing in hip hop. To do it once is
the hardest, but then they do it again, and then
the third time is hell hell even it never gets
easy basically, but the second one is like that's where
you solidify yourself. And we were so locked in making
that second one that would change everything when it's dark out,
like that's.
Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
My best album, Like that's my favorite album.
Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
And I remember like pushing everything in my life to
the side, you know, friendships, relationships, just locking all the
way in taking all the all the right sessions that
you know. And i'd met bb rexa, you know, she
our teams got in touch or whatever. We hadn't met.
(01:01:22):
We uh, we do the session with my friend Mike
I've worked with years prior. And she said she had
like two demos to show me that she was really
excited about, but one she really liked. And she plays
me the first one and I'm like, I'm you know
what I mean. I never wanted to, like, you know,
(01:01:44):
because you don't want to put some somebody down, Like
it's just maybe not for me, you know, because she's
fucking like her voice, her writing, she is brilliant. She's
just that special. And the second idea she showed me
was what will become me myself and I and it
was just like her and piano and I remember hearing
(01:02:06):
it and the whole world stopped that I don't need
to hear anything else. And that part is the chorus like,
I don't know if that's even initially how it was,
but I just I was like, okay, yeah, we're done here,
don't play anything else. That's the one. And you know
we sat there that day, you know, I was like,
(01:02:27):
let's do halftime drums. So it has that like pocket
feel me, let's like redo the chorus add in some
sense when it gets to the chorus and then that
that's the post where it goes all to it. And
you know, she has that iconic voice, she's an iconic
writer and you know, shouts out to bb I mean,
(01:02:51):
she changed my life forever because let's be honest, that chorus,
you know, with that production, that's the heavy lifting. The
rapper's job on a song like that is filling the
blanks and don't suck it up literally, don't get in
the way of the records. Like that's you know. So
I'm just being like literally honest about that. You know, Bbe,
you know she did that, and uh I knew and
(01:03:15):
out of the whole album. You know, like a lot
of rappers like we'll go in and we'll do five
songs in the night, sometimes even more, you know, but
you can get lost in that because it's like okay,
or you could do one or two and finishing apply
yourself to you, Yeah, okay, it's good, Yo, we got one.
(01:03:36):
We just lock in on this, you know, whether it's
tightening up the verses, whether it's the production needs something,
whether it's like add this and that, and sometimes it
doesn't need anything. Sometimes you just go in. You could
punch in freestyle and shit just comes out. But sometimes
with a record like me and myself and I, it's
worth the work staying there. If this song takes eighteen mixes,
(01:04:02):
I don't care if it takes twenty eight mixes. We're
gonna get this one right, because this one is gonna
do more than any other eighteen songs on the project, right,
feel me. So it's like, pay your attention, do your work,
have your patience and focus for this one because this
one's gonna count. This one's getting like maybe change your
(01:04:24):
family's lives for sure. Those three minutes and thirty seconds
are different than the other three minutes and thirty seconds
on all the other ones in a way.
Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
Yeah, I know, it's crazy because it's like that. To me,
it was like everything changed after that. And then it
is interesting because I remember there was a do you
remember because I was fighting for you on Twitter Instagram,
so we talked.
Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
About you you've banged on me like you've you've banged
for me so many times.
Speaker 1 (01:04:45):
Broad there was a fucking there was like an MTV's
Hottest Artist list or some shit to drop hottest rapper lists,
and I was like, wait a minute, so you mean
to tell me the guy who's currently headlining a fucking
amphitheater tour and as the number one song in the country,
You guys don't even.
Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
Talk about it my whole fucking show. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:05:03):
Yeah, it was crazy at the time.
Speaker 2 (01:05:05):
Yeah, but you know what, as much as it's like
you know, there's a lot of outlets that have you know,
it's like it's like it's like a taboo to like
to fuck with me or like or maybe it's just
they never met me, am. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:05:25):
I think I think a lot of people might be like, well,
you mean the guy who like performed with Britney Spears
on the fucking audience, Like like.
Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
Yeah, like you fucking wouldn't like any feel like I
remember being a little kid watching her kiss Madonnavan, Like
you kissed her right? Like you Ki.
Speaker 1 (01:05:40):
By the way, I don't want to say any names,
but I would just like to point out that young
Gerald here has kissed all of your favorite famous rappers
before their boyfriends did. Respectfully, I would like you have
one of the most legendary hit lists in all of
hip hop. That is not public. That's not public, not
I'm not somebody anything public. I'm talking about the other ship.
You're a legend, sir, You're a coxman. So anyway, they
(01:06:02):
gotta put your jersey in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (01:06:04):
Hall of Game, the Hall of Game. H Where do
we go from there? So anyway, how about them? How
about about how about right? Christ? Better luck next year?
Next year?
Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
Do you just have like seasons like you're always court side?
Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
It's like, yeah, man, I love going to games. That's
that's that's the best. Man just shouts out to forty
in general man like like he he could never get
enough flowers because you know, it's like one of them things.
Tell me somebody else as prolific. Now think about the
(01:06:47):
word prolific. That's like, you know, he who has more albums,
you know, a bigger body of work. You know, it's
still still working his ass off.
Speaker 1 (01:06:59):
Like reinventing himself having.
Speaker 2 (01:07:01):
Slapped and then he's multiple different ventures.
Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
Just motherfucker got goddamn he got.
Speaker 2 (01:07:06):
He got a whole icem alcohol, he got in gooon
with the spoon, like with the spoon, he's got the
Filipino ship. I don't know how he's he's got the loopia.
He just has a never ending hunger. And and that's what,
you know, like to have to have a OG like that,
you know, to have somebody like that, not only as
a you know, as a mentor, as an un as
(01:07:31):
a hero, as an inspiration, as a goat, as a
big bro like you know, as as a genuine real
friend like you know, that's like it's not too many
forties on this planet, for sure, not too many that
have ever walked this earth. And he's still doing it,
like still putting our music, still relevant, still tapped in,
(01:07:53):
still sharp, you know, and it's like I get it
because you know he's he's so distinctly you niekly himself.
He won't try to just blend in just for the
sake of because the worst thing is when a when
a o G tries to do some ship for the
kids and try it feels like he's reaching or something right,
It's like forty is like you either going like you
(01:08:14):
feel me, You're gonna meet me here or yeah, Like
it's like he's going to do his thing, you know,
his style, his way, and if it's not for everybody,
it's not for everybody, but like, man, he's a legend.
Speaker 1 (01:08:29):
How how much are.
Speaker 2 (01:08:30):
You uh hip to?
Speaker 1 (01:08:32):
Like you know, obviously there's a lot of dope young
energy out of the bay The Russell's going crazy crazy
are you still like because you're a fucking hip hop
at a heart? Like, are you still like pretty like
trying to keep your ear to like the ship happening always?
Speaker 2 (01:08:46):
Man, the Russell was on told me on this last run.
Speaker 1 (01:08:49):
The last like the last last run because there's like
the run currently, but then there was like the first half.
Speaker 2 (01:08:53):
Of the we just finished, but broke it into like
six six like two separate, separate legs, but the first
like he was on, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, And
that's just like I said, like I've always you know,
brought you feel me some like Bay Area rappers and
artists like with me on every tour I've done, but
(01:09:14):
like I'm careful about who I picked, you know, to
bring on tour. Because it's like who do you want
to spend some time around with? Who do you want
to hang out with? Whose music do you want to
like listen to listen to every day and watch reform,
you know, and see backstage and kick it and like
hang out with. So L Russell is like one of
(01:09:34):
those like every so often somebody comes along. It's like, oh,
you're like that, You're one of those special man. You're
gonna be here a very long time. Ye, Like it's
it's entirely in you. It's like it came from that's
like something like.
Speaker 1 (01:09:52):
What you said about forty that like you got to
meet me here.
Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
That's L. Russell. It's like, yeah, you don't got to
fuck with me. Yeah, but if you're going to fuck
you gotta come over here. You gotta come. Yeah. And
it's crazy because he was telling me like he was like, gee,
like you know, I don't like to perform like after
like two pm you found.
Speaker 1 (01:10:09):
Me, Yeah, he performs in the afternoon.
Speaker 2 (01:10:11):
Like yeah, He's like, but but but like you feel me,
you're gonna come see me here? Ye, Like I'm gonna
do it my way and stand on it. And that's
like that's that's very Bay Area where there's long lineage
and history of the independent hustle, you know, short and
forty and us just being uniquely, you know, just a
very special, unique place of culture and and all that,
(01:10:34):
like we're not finna try to be like nobody else's
it's us. But but he embodies that and and does
it his way and and like you know, the backyard
shows like his tiny I've been his house told me
on the tour. He was like, you know, I did
the ship for you, like you got me out here
after dark Man it's out like it's dark out. I
(01:10:56):
don't do yeah, Like I'm like, well, if I don't
see anything shows that Batman doesn't pop out till it's
dark out, I can't. The best single doesn't show up
in the daytime. I'm I'm an only at night kind
of person. You got me out in the daytime. I'm
coming tomber you hear. But the Russell was like, you know,
he was like I did it because I fuck with you,
Like I'm I'm doing this because I want to hang
(01:11:18):
out with you, and I fuck with you and the
combos we got to have and like picking each other's
brains and like he's sharp as attack and can wrap
his ass off. It's just so innate, so natural. So
he's so blessed and talented, you know, simbolars play.
Speaker 1 (01:11:36):
Man alien as off. Sim is a great mind too,
man that Motherfuckers podcast and he hang out.
Speaker 2 (01:11:41):
With Gilbert loved. I loved what he said here, which.
Speaker 1 (01:11:45):
About Aiden ross Oh yeah, Aiden Rosses.
Speaker 2 (01:11:48):
I don't know, but just like you know, just just
in general, like why the fuck are you talking about that?
Speaker 1 (01:11:54):
It's it's just you know, I don't know that man.
Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
But but when I saw that clip, it's like Brad
like a like are you drunk or what? Or like
but who, like why are you? I don't. I just
don't believe in Like, I don't have no beef with nobody.
The only time I is if somebody like is that
being that that that that negative? Because otherwise I'm just
you know, it's just it's just what sparks you to
(01:12:18):
even talk about somebody else. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:12:20):
To me, it's like we've had this weird three or
four years where like there's been like a and obviously
you and I have both the white guys and hip hops
were guessing the culture it is what it is, But
there's been.
Speaker 2 (01:12:31):
Like this.
Speaker 1 (01:12:33):
Weird mixture of worlds where it's like, all of a sudden,
there's the there's these characters who have followings online, who
are who whatever they say because of how many people
follow them or how famous they are. There's coverage which
gives it some sort of merit to certain audiences, and
you're like, yo, like you know, like I said earlier,
(01:12:54):
I said, uh, you know, I saw and I'm cool
with the NELK Boys, but I saw Kyle from the
NELK was talking to Aiden Ross about Kendrick Lamar and
his album, and I was I commented under it, and
I said, this is like watching two blind people talk
about a painting because these motherfuckers have no idea what
they're talking about, Like what are we even doing here?
Speaker 2 (01:13:16):
And like that's not to take you knows. It's an
interesting time in the world where you talk about coverage.
You talk about you know, because mainstream media or radio
or television doesn't exist in the same way, and you
have these fringe guy platforms that are like have massive
followings and like they talk to the world, you know,
(01:13:38):
But who gave you that like like credibility or or
like like.
Speaker 1 (01:13:45):
I gotta you gotta give some blame to the people
who validate them. Yeah, and I gotta give blame to
Drake and all those guys because because instead of Drake
going and sitting down with like a hip hop platform
or even someone like Academics, however you feel about academics,
Drake should have went and sat with Academics before you.
When I'm eight Ross's stream. I mean that with all
due respect, but it just is what it is. So
there are people who do validate those guys because they
(01:14:08):
deem their following big enough to put whatever they feel
about whatever to the side to go sit down and
shoot the ship on the lane. So there are people
who have validated those folks, and you gotta kind of
look at them and be like, hey, why not go
sit with Kay Sanatt or fucking or DDG or you
know anybody who's like not a fucking goofball.
Speaker 2 (01:14:28):
Like anyway, I see all that to say, Yeah, So.
Speaker 1 (01:14:31):
The new album is out. It's called Helium. It's incredible.
Uh and uh are are you still?
Speaker 2 (01:14:37):
Is a tour over? That's a tour never tours, never
over tour for you for the rest of your life.
I always gonna be able to Vegas Friday. I count
are you still doing zooke? Now I'm at the wind now,
Oh the win much much better much. But the resources
world's a fucking shit shown man.
Speaker 1 (01:14:56):
Not no, I mean from a gambling perspective, because I'm
a fucking degenerate and every time.
Speaker 2 (01:15:00):
Luckily that's advice. Don't every time I go to fucking
resorts world, it sucks to me. I'm like, never been
to Zook by the way. Never People people without seven
vices always like it's crazy because it's like makes no sense.
Miss always win for sure. Like that is one vice.
You don't have things. That's one advice I ain't got. Man,
you got some vices, you know, I'm trying to collect
them all. It's not pokemon pokemon, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (01:15:23):
So uh yeah, the wind shouts to the way. That's fine,
that's a that's fun. Shout to the wind. It's smells
so good in there.
Speaker 2 (01:15:30):
Yeah, you walk into the wind. You want to give
them your money. Those fucking carpets in that set, I
want to lose money. They're in the aria. Now I'm like,
I'm like like the business model of a casino, Like
imagine like I'm gonna be the one that win. No, right, Yeah, listen, gee,
I appreciate you always win. That's why they call it
the win.
Speaker 1 (01:15:48):
You know what's crazy, I said, I don't the only
time I've ever done the only time I've ever destroyed
a hotel room. Yeah, you were doing Dre's. You got
a bunch of.
Speaker 2 (01:15:57):
Rooms where you're going, but that you were doing.
Speaker 1 (01:15:59):
Dr Me and fucking mod Me and mod Son. Me
and mod Son are up in whatever suite you have. Yeah,
and we've destroyed your room on purpose. I'm not sure
you were. I think you want to watched us, But
we fucking broke everything.
Speaker 2 (01:16:13):
In the room, like shattered the night. We like got cool, like, hey,
we could almost died. Like likes to break. Sure, he
likes to climbing in structure outside of our hotel. There
was like one hundred feet tall. There was like an
art piece of something, and I climbed up to the
very top of it and I felt it kind of wabble.
And we're just up there like drunk, just like not
(01:16:33):
a good idea, like whoa hearted yourself?
Speaker 1 (01:16:37):
Yeah that's a bad look. Anyway, I appreciate you pulling up.
Speaker 2 (01:16:39):
Man. We shattered the hotel room. Shot at the hotel room.
It is fun.
Speaker 1 (01:16:43):
Yeah yeah, fuck the hotels anyway, appreciate you coming through. Man.
The albums is incredible if you have not heard it.
Helium it's out front.
Speaker 2 (01:16:52):
And back Helium out now it's our records and warehouse
music on. Do you know what's crazy? This empty building
next to the studio used to be.
Speaker 1 (01:17:00):
They turned it into a tower records just to shoot
a scene for the new Michael Jackson movie. So for
like a week next year to us, we had an
eighty style tower Records. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. Anyway,
Appreciate you Ge
Hey, before we start the episode, we're gonna remind everybody, man,
we got one of the biggest radio shows in the country,
syndicated in almost one hundred cities all over. Shout out
to iHeartRadio. All right, some of the latest cities that
we've been able to add. Man, we want to give a
shout out to ninety three point nine the Beat in Honolulu.
That's right, Hawaii, We over there going crazy. I also
want to give a shout out Hot ninety eight three
(00:21):
and Tucson. Shout out to Tucson going crazy. Also want
to give a shout out to Wild ninety four one
in Tampa going crazy. We just got Richmond. We also
just got the good folks in Bakersfield at Hot.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
One O four to seven.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
So we're going crazy on the radio with my partner
James Andre Jefferson Junior for the Bootleg keV Show. So
make sure you tune in and you can listen anywhere
on that iHeart Radio app. That's right, let's get into
the interview.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, what's hoop? This is young Jerald g Eazy. Check
me out on my brother Blue Leg Cavs podcast. Let's go.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yo Boutlet cap show, Bluelet Cap Podcast special guests in
here my brother Man.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Easy Yeah, Yeah, welcome yeah Man. The new album is
that it feels good to be here Man, Yes, sir
Man an overdue, super overdue brother.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
The new album Helium, Yeah, it's out now. Why the
name helium?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Helium? Uh well, it started with the song and I
just I think that word is interesting, and then the
metaphor of like something that you know you associated with,
you know, birthday balloons, celebration, you know, but it's fleeting,
you know, like like a balloon that could be bright
and then it's flying, you know what I'm saying, could
(01:39):
also deflate and you know, it goes up, comes down
and it's like the fleetingness of you know, of these spikes,
these highs, these you know that comes with life, you know,
and also love, like something could lift you up, you know,
but you know, if it gets too high, you know
what I mean, you lose it, or if you hold
(02:00):
it too long, you know what I mean, it deflates.
And just kind of that I've always too all my music,
all my albums, I feel like, you know, it's it's
the Gemini nature, you know, but I've always written about
the hasandlos, right, right down to get in the bad,
the dark in the light. So it just it just
(02:21):
kind of fit. And I just think that word is
it's a good word. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
For sure. You have a song on here called after Dark. Yeah,
that is like a pretty like because you have these
I mean, you didn't say the girl's name on the
on the verse, but I think you blunk it out.
But I've met I might have met the fan you're
talking about, because I met a fan of yours at
a show in Orlando that had an insane amount of
(02:44):
your tattoos on their body. Yeah, but the whole entire
For people who don't know the song, go listen.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well you should go listen to it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
But it's also interesting take because it's like you have
these fans that are like, Yeah, particularly this one fan
who so dedicated to you, she gets a bunch of
tattoos and you see her at every single tour stop,
and then you eventually stop seeing her kind of break
down that record.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah. So basically, I mean, as much as it is, like,
you know, there's there's individual people that it's about. I
try not to ever write like anything that's so specific.
You have poetic license, you have creative freedom. You know
what I mean. And I don't want to single anybody out, sure,
but it's it's basically a culmination of like so early
in my career. I remember the first times because I've
(03:27):
always done meet and greets. I've always you know, hand
to hand, fan to fan, like face to face, like
that's how I built my whole core, you know. And
then I would see these fans that would keep coming
to shows, you know, keep buying meeting greets following the tour,
and eventually I'd be like, Yo, you don't have to
keep buying these, right, I appreciate you so much. You're
good for life, right right, right right, you know. And
some of them I've kept in touch with, like through
the years. Some I'll send music to before it's out
(03:50):
that I'm actually really good friends with, right, you know,
that have been to probably seventy five eighty ninety plus
shows literally right through like ten years of coming and
seeing me on tour. And but it's a weird feeling,
like you know, seeing a tattoo and I and I
see them, you know, all the time, though, but I
remember the first time it was jarring, like this huge
(04:12):
portrait of my face on somebody because something in it
was like, jan that's forever. You know, I'm attached to
you forever, no matter what, you know what I mean,
And and that, in a way is like a motivation
for me because it's like, all right, you can't give
up because you mean this to this person. But you know,
it also comes with a pressure of like living up
to who you see me as. And then you know
(04:33):
they would come back, you know, I'd see them a
year later on the next tour and they'd have five
more tattoos. Yeah, and then they have mad tattoos all
about me, And that that is like there's a there's
a pressure in that, there's an expectation. There's like also
like a whoa, you know, it's a lot. I didn't
ask you to do that, not in any type of
I'm so appreciative to have fans that care that much.
(04:54):
But then the fear that like if they ever just
stop coming, it's like, wait, did I let you down?
Did I do something wrong? You know? And then I
kind of tried to base the sence the theme of
the song too, like that show Baby Reindeer, because it's
weird because the complex is this, you know, like it's
(05:14):
it's one thing to feel like somebody's obsessed with you,
but you kind of like to be worshiped, you know
what I mean. So there's that side artis're like, yeah, yo,
my my ego and my validation, my fuck with me
this much? Right, So so there's that aspect of it,
and there's that like you know, there's like damn if
(05:35):
they suddenly didn't you know, didn't love me anymore, right,
you know, that validation is taken from you, like did
I do something wrong? And then the whole song, the
punchline at the end is like, you know, I think
what we identified in each other, what we found in
each other and like about each other, was loneliness connected
(05:56):
us too, because I think music can be this powerful
thing where you you see some of yourself in the artist. Yeah,
I mean they're talking about something that you identify with too,
you know, and you have that bond, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So it's interesting too because do you think, like about
those fans where you're like, damn, I haven't seen this
person in like two tours.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Isn't it Because did the last album suck? Yeah? Or
did they just grow up? And like and I say
a line in the song, it's like or is it
just like that we all knew one day geezy or
something you don't grow you know what I mean. It's
that like humbling realization of you know, you can't assume
that because I like this music for this period of
(06:37):
my life that is forever, you know what I mean.
Sometimes it's like, you know, it's almost you moved on
with your life. You grew up, you got married, you
know what I mean, you got a career, right, you know,
you're not who you were when you found me twelve
thirteen years ago. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
No, it's a dope song, dope concept too, because I
feel like it's I feel like there's a lot of
artists who have those type of fans, and I would say,
like the stand element was there, you know, yeah yeah,
but I feel like, you know, like you'll see like randomly,
not to compare you to insane clown posse, but sometimes
like I remember, I got pulled over ones and the
cop had a fucking juggalo hatchet man tattoo, and I
(07:15):
was like, highway patrolman is a Juggalo. I'm saying, like
that's crazy, right, Yeah, but no, it's it's an incredible record, man,
I like the Fighting Fuck Records two Man.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah. Yeah, that's that's a vintage G classic. G Oh
so good. Let me get back to my toxic. Let
me get back to my like writing about you know,
up and down problematic relationship. Yeah, something something I know,
failure Will some I write about failure Will.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
I wanted to ask you about you had an album
that you took like a creative risk on yeah, where
you were singing twenty twenty Yeah, And I feel like
that was an album that you stepped out of.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I guess whatever like image we could.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
You know that when we think of G we think
of the black leather jacket. We think that we don't
think of colors like you were kind of like.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
No, my black shirt was still at the cleanest today.
I was like, he's gonna flip out when he sees
me in red Like.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
No, I mean still but but but I feel like,
you know you you had tooken a lot of hits
for making that album, but I know that you you
love that album otherwise you want.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
To pull it out. I mean I'll say it like this,
like you know, I get it, Like you go to McDonald's,
you know you want your your big mac or year.
You know, the fact that McDonald's doesn't really taste like
it did in the nineties anymore kind of messes me up. Like,
but you know, if I want a Coca Cola, I
don't want it to suddenly come in a purple can
(08:38):
and taste like sprite. You know what I'm saying, Like,
there's but this is not just like product. This is
this is art, and you know two things. For one
thing is this, Like you keep thinking like, all right,
after the second album, if I win again, I'll be
able to make what I want to make right and
not saying it was necessarily that, but it's like you
(09:00):
kind of feel like, all right, maybe okay, find it.
If I go platinum three albums in a row, right
then I'll finally have bought myself the freedom if I
could just get some shit off, whether that's me just
doing like nineties hip hop shit or whether that's me
trying to experiment with some shit like this, I bought
myself that freedom. No, you never do. They just want
(09:20):
what they just want, like and that's not like a
bad thing because at the end of the day, this
thing we get to do, we have this privilege to do,
is at the highest honor, you know, like the fact
that I fell in love with something and I get
to do that thing I'm in love with for a living,
(09:41):
and I get to get money with my homies. I'm
of the luckiest people on the planet for sure, and
I'm incredibly appreciative of the job I do. Because everybody
has a job, they go to work. Not everybody gets
to like their job, right. This is work, right, So
who am I to think I can fuck off my job, right,
you know. But there's the art side of it that's like,
(10:04):
you know what, if something's in my heart that I
want to try. Andre doesn't want to rap anymore. He
wants to play flute. I think Andre earned the right
to walk around in blacksmith threes. Youven me a backpack
and carry a fluke. If Andre wants to, Andre gets
to you feel me, he's that goat. But there's still
people that's like banging on him that you feel me
come back and right, sure and rightfully, So that's fine.
(10:27):
That's how it goes, is what it is. The second
aspect is this COVID shutting the world down was such
a jarring thing for me because you know, I understand
like it was hard for a lot of people you know,
are uniquely unfortunately you know, I had, you know, financially
unity thing. It was in a position where for the
(10:49):
first time in my professional career I could kind of
fuck off. Sure you feel me, because it's like it's
a hamster wheel of like you know, in the studio,
make out, album, tour, tour, get right back in, you
feel me, like, put it out a promo, press run tour,
get right back in. There's no breaks, there's no Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
You had like a five year I mean longer than
five years.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
It was like I was gonna say, even prior to that,
it was the grinding, take the eighty grind. Yeah. So
really like twenty ten to twenty NonStop. I was living
out of suitcases, tour to tour to tour. You feel
me if I had a couple pairs of black jeans,
a black leather jacket and some black t shirts and toiletries,
socks and draws, you feel me and some Jordan's I'm
(11:36):
I'm good to be geazy. I don't need anything more
than that because all I know is work. But it
had drained me, you know, and I think you can
kind of hear it in the music. You can see
it on my face, you know. I was just like,
when is this When do I get to breathe? And
all of a sudden, the world stops and I don't
have sessions booked every other like every day, six days
(11:57):
out of the week, with different producers every single day
where I'm expected to go in and make three songs
for songs a night, you know, and try to get
the label happy, get management happy, you feel me deliver, Like.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Yeah, I feel like that was something like for you
where like I remember kind of being around you, being
in some of these sessions at that time, and it
was like it's like all right, but yeah, but we
need another one of these. God, but we got to
make another no limit, We got to make another.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Okay, let me just put my thinking hat on and
make it a little no limit.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
But but but also I can also assume for you,
it was like you start to like second guess your
own self, hell, start to question like what like, well,
what I do is what got me here?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So how about unequivocally like trust trust me, you feel
me because I'm not like nobody right like like I
don't have a doppelganger. I don't have a you feel me.
You can't even parallel me to like who looks like
me is from you feel me and inspired and raised
by you feel me how and what I'm raised on.
You feel me and has the career I've had, And
(13:00):
it's like I never got where I got by by
like tracing another person's you feel me sound or track
or anything. So it's like, but in that time, I
felt like I was losing that power, that fearlessness, that
because it takes being delusional, it takes you know, the
(13:22):
imagination to invent something that doesn't exist. Yet you feel
me like you have to be so brave and so
a fearless leader to think to have the audacity you
feel me to think I could get up there and
jump around that stage in a leather jacket and talk
my shit and tour you feel me, amphitheaters and red rocks,
(13:43):
and you feel me and do all that. But it
it started to I started to dull because I felt
so much not micromanaging, but pressure and control to like
too many cooks in the kitchen of make another, no limit,
make a if we need this from you, we need
another of this from you. I'm like, fine, y'all, just
(14:04):
do it then like I'm trying to do what I'm
trying to do, because then I went so left right
and I had that freedom for this was that was
that you rebelling a bit against like I mean, yeah,
retros everybody like yeah in retrospect, not consciously consciously, it
was just like it was just me being free. And
I'm not gonna say it was. You can't quantify art
(14:25):
as good or bad or whatever. I know it wasn't
received as well it was good to you, yeah, but
it felt liberating and so for that, it's a when
you know.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Yeah, I felt like to me, it was because I
do feel like you know, when you have a certain
level of success, it's it's we cannibalize, you know, our artists.
Like it's like it's like all right, well what's next,
you know, and if you if you go an album
without another you know, him and I are no limit
or O my god, whatever, it's like, well you fell off.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
It's it's atrocious. It's for out here the hardest would
like give up, like their fucking you know that one
of them? Yeah, oh my god, I got a couple
of billion stream songs. Respects recognize a legend when you
see one.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Even the touring, Like there's guys who give up inches
off of their dick genuinely to be able to tour
the way you've toured in the last twelve months.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Yeah, yeah, that far. Yeah, So I just I just.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Think, you know, I do feel like I felt like
you started to kind of get in your own head
and then at that time, Yeah, there's like this narrative
that like, I see Jack Harlow's blowing up at that time,
and it's like, then there's the whole white there can
only be one white guy at a time.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
This town is not big enough for the both of us.
But yeah, it's like there could only be one. You know,
by the way that the record you and.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Jack put out was Dope, I forget, I forget what
the name during it was during the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, yeah, I think I know because me and him
links early on you know his I remember he was
he was opening for Whiz and then he brought my
homie shouts out, all black, fucking all black. Yeah yeah,
all black is my brother for life, if you feel me.
But yeah, he brought he brought all black on his tour,
and I'm like, what you know about all black? Right,
you feel me. But I was like, I was like,
(16:07):
that's love. Sure, I told him, Matt. I was like, Yo,
thanks for bringing my brother that hell tight. And then
me and Jack linto in the studio and I was
in Atlanta and did that joint and it was just
solid ass dude. Yeah. Like from then it was like
it's really like people's character, you know, like integrity and
intentions and truthfulness and just like you know when somebody's valid,
(16:28):
when somebody's a real one, when somebody's a good person,
and you know, I'm like, man, I root for everybody
for sure, you know, but especially like you know, when
you're a great person in this industry, it's hard to find.
It's hard to find, bro, It's hard to find like
people you say, like that's genuinely my friend, versus like,
you know, just.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Like some fucking dude you say, we'll get in one day.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure you.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Uh. I want to talk to you about the Bay
thing because I've had I've had a lot of arguments
with people from the Bay Area about you your place
in Bay Areas history, because I think that there's just
there's just certain conversations that you that are just factual
because there's numbers that exist in this world. Like obviously
it's like mc hammer is most successful. Yeah you get
(17:14):
sold you too short, e forty, like you know whatever,
but for whatever, and and you know, the other thing
I always try to say is I don't know anybody
who was in a position that you've been in, with
the eyes that you've had on you that hasn't made
it a point to do every single thing they can.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
To help put on the Bay. Yeah, from the Bay to.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
The Universe tour, over and over. Yeah, I think the
first I mean, I remember you buy I am Sue
out on the road with you for neph the Pharaoh.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Yeah, I didn't even the first time I ever seen
was shooting with John. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Do you feel like for like like like I feel
like you don't get amongst the Bay Area tastemakers the
respect you deserve in terms of like your place in
Bay Area.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Man hip hop history. Like it's like I don't I
don't entertain to even spend my energy, you know thinking
about that, even though as much as like I think
it's important to have chips on your shoulders sometimes like
if I'm being like like truthful, truthful, right, because I
(18:28):
weaponized those chips on my shoulder, you know. Like it's
like it's like when you watch the Last Dance, I
don't even think like Jordan like took like the ship
that other players were talking aid he just needed something
because it's like it's a long season. He got bored.
Just give me something to make me fucking want to
like rip your head off or something, or like you know,
and I use some of those things that like, you know,
(18:49):
I'm not gonna lie, like it'll keep me up at
night or like wake me up out of my sleep.
Just anxiety, just stress just makes me go harder, you know.
And there's never knocking to be gas in my tank, correct,
you know. But at the end of the day, I'm
I know, I know who the fuck I am and
what I've done, you know. And it's like once you
realize that you could, you'll never make everybody happy. I'm
not tequila. You can't make everybody happy, you know. It's
(19:12):
like you just kind of have to like fundamentally have
a level of peace with it and resolving like self
knowledge because I know, like categorically you know numbers wise,
you feel me, I know I know how strong me
and Forty's bond is right. You know. I was just
on the phone with him the other day catching up
with uncle. You know, like I know me and you
(19:34):
know me and missus fabs bond, I know me and
kicks bond. I know, I know, I know me and
feel me like we was at an album released party
the other day and they had all my videos on
you on the TVs and to me myself and I
video and Pelo was in the video. You feel me
like I've done everything possible to always. You know, if
I have a light, I take it and I you know,
(19:55):
turn it and put that light on and share that
light with my region. For me, do I make the
most Bay Area of music? No? Right? You know every
album every hour have short forty. You feel me like
some slaps, but you know that's not my space, that's
not my place, that's not my you know, necessarily my job,
my calling, my you know, my thing. You know It's like,
(20:18):
but ask me, have I ever charged for a feature
for any Bay Area artist? Record for the love after that?
Has forty ever charged me? It's love and respect and
so artists and artists. I know where I stand in
relationship wise. You feel me from d lo to p
low to you feel me to sue everybody. So it's
like when I think about who's the taste makers, that's
(20:41):
not fucking with me, I'm like, I don't know. And
if they don't, then that's right, because tell me somebody
else who you feel me? Name two tours, everybody you
fe me? So what I ain't doing? Tell what I do?
Everybody from the Bay all over there, you know, world
and like I can't what do you want me to
move back home?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Right?
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And just and just be in the Bay forever. You
know what I'm saying, Like I never said I said
to the universe. For sure you feel me. I want
the world and and I'll try to you don't do
everything I can. I always I always reach back, you know,
I see, I see you know my homies telling me
like put me on some some new shit that's popping out. No,
you always are popping up on people. It's always been
(21:22):
that way. To follow show loved you feel me like
it's always gonna bring out the kids like that. My
shows share my stages always shine that light. So it's
I'm just like you feel me. I'm a key hollering
from the Bay to the universe. Whether I'm in Spain
or Maine or mains Alaska, you feel me in Switzerland,
I'm gonna be hollering that ship with an a's hat on.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
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Speaker 2 (23:43):
Anyway, let's get back to the interview.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I want to know too, man, Like, you know, I
was fortunate enough to hang out with your mom a lot.
I smoked weed with your mom. Yeah, she was the sweetest,
sweetest lady man. And uh, you know, I know how
important she was, just like to your fans because you
had talked about her so much in your music prior
to her passing. What you know, losing your mom I
know was a life.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Changing event for you.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
How did that just kind of like affect just you
as a obviously you know, I know it was her
birthday recently, but I mean that has to kind of
like also just pour onto like how you're feeling in
the studio, how you're feeling creatively, Like, what do I
know you lost your rock?
Speaker 2 (24:25):
You know, you know you lost, that's it. Yeah, you
lost for a long time. And grief is this nonlinear process.
It comes in these waves. It's not you know, some
days you think you're find Some days it hits you
like a title live. Sometimes for a reason, like you know,
(24:48):
a holiday or berthday, or you know a song plays
or something like that. But sometimes it's for no reason
at all. I just hits you. And but the thing is,
grief doesn't go away until you finally, you know, like
try to heal it. Yeah, And I actually I had
written like about this in a song. I worked on cases.
(25:09):
Like they say, grief doesn't go away till you finally
hear heal it. Layers of the iron, I feel it,
mis water. I feel it like I dance with all
my devils and my angels now out there wheel it
like you really got to do the work. You gotta
feel it. You gotta lean into it, you gotta cry,
you got to cry it out. You gotta and then
you eventually learn how to like when it comes you.
(25:30):
You know you you remember the the highs, the good
times to you know that you celebrate her like it's crazy.
On her birthday. The other day, we were on tour,
and I hadn't been performing you know, either Love You
Forever or Angel you know, two songs I've done in
honor of her on you know in the set list,
(25:54):
because to me, those songs are so powerful. It's like
I can't if I can't let those become memory, like
you feel me like those yeah, like you know, I
can't share that with everybody. I can't do that every night.
So but it was her birthday, so we added in
the set list, and I mean I cried my eyes
out on stage singing the song. It was just beautiful moment.
(26:15):
But something crazy happened because so when she would come
to the shows, You'll remember this. When she would watch,
she would always be in that pit, but but slightly
to stage right. It was great because she always be there.
She'd be smoking, she'd never backwards hat on you feel Me,
You'd be like right there, you feel me? And she
probably walk over past you a joint like, but she
was there. It was crazy because she would never be
(26:36):
on this side of the stage. She'd be like and
I never really thought about that, Like it hadn't encurrege
to me until on her birthday, and I just for something,
I looked down to her spot, just not intentionally, and
it was like she was there, you feel me swear
on everything like and and instead of like, you know,
(26:58):
me just dropping to the forem ball, it was like
because I saw her smiling and she would just be
so happy, like with the beamingest eyes of just you know,
so proud of me, and she'd be doing her little
dance like you know, like and I felt that and
it was beautiful and you know, you you that changed
(27:22):
a whole lot. You know, it was like a pivot
of a day where I started to think of her
in more like happy ways, you know, like that's a
big step, yeah, you like, and that's I mean, it's
been like four years, like you know, so going on,
so you know, like you you remember all the you know,
(27:45):
the the good, the positive, the because she was man,
she was a gangster. She was so cool, way cooler
than me, dressed held good, effortless and tell it brilliant
and uh you know, and then it's crazy. So a
few days later, we're in Sack and uh, Neph couldn't
(28:07):
make it because he had a show. But Neph's mom,
who was really tight with my mom, came and Neft's son,
Baby Nef came and I've known baby never since he
was about this big.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Right, like a ten years since big Timing came out.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Big time, ten years since Nephel was on the road
of me going around the world in London with me.
That's crazy. You feel me, Nephi Pharaoh, you know, where
a roless and like you feel me like like man.
So now baby Nephi is like a whole human right,
you know what I mean, He's like a person now.
And it was so dope getting to see him, hug him,
you feel me bring him up on stage, you know.
(28:45):
But I asked Neph's moms if she was sitting in
my mom's spot because she knew the spot because she
would be there with my moms. You feel me, and
and you know, getting to hug her before and after
the show, I felt like I was talking my mom
because she shared so much of my mom's energies, you know.
And it's crazy. I mean, I'm not about to cry now.
(29:07):
But she gave me a gift. I forget if it
was before or after the show. You know, she wrapped
it up and I knew it was a book and
I knew what it was, you know, open it and
it's Lovey Forever, which is this children's book that my
mom would read me, you know, And that's why I
named that song after that, And and that's Mom's had.
(29:33):
You know. She got me that book and she wrote
on the inside and she says she used to read
that book, you know. I mean it was just just crazy,
like whoa. So in that sense, my mom's still here
and everybody that she knew and everything that she gave me,
you know, yeah, man, I just knew.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
I remember when that happened, you know, for I think
for people who weren't close to you, it was just
so unexpected because we're like, wait a minute, like mom was.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Part of the crew.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Man, oh yeah, and it was just I remember just
being like, damn bro, like that one hit. So, I mean,
your mom was great, dude, And I can only imagine
like losing your mom. That's like all of our worst
that's all of our worst.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Nightmares, is parent you know? Yeah, absolutely, I mean, and
my mom would always tell me this. You know, you
don't compare pain or anything, but I will say, you know,
because because mothers are the superheroes of the world, they
literally are the creators of life for sure. You know
we all have them, everyone, So you know there's a
(30:30):
piece of view that's gone because that's how you got here.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
You know, for sure, do you feel like the last
four or five years, because you know, I feel like
you've you've I know, you've gone through like a few
different like management situations, you had the OG guys. But
in terms of like quote unquote music friends, have you
seen or noticed a lot of people I guess switch
(30:56):
up on you a bit over the last few years.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I mean, here's how you like when you're when you're up,
when you're on the charts, when you're you know, when
you're rolling, you know, when you're selling. It's like the
amount of feature requests, the amount of you know, reach out.
But that's like, you know, I just I just take
it everything for what it is. You know what I'm saying.
(31:20):
I'm not personal. No, I'm not like I'm not thinking that.
You know, I know that that's an A and R guy, man,
Like you should get Gezy on this one, because this
sounds exactly like you know, you should get him on
the pop song on this They're like the future right now,
who's hot? So it's like I'm not like so, it's
not like I'm taking it as like you know, I'm
just gamed up. So I'm like, you want me because
(31:40):
it's there, not because you genuinely you feel me. Yeah. Nah,
So I would never like if you, you know, switch
up or this, that and the other. I never thought
she was like we weren't we were we weren't. But
also I'm just like, man, I'm like I said, Man,
I'm gamed up. I'm hipto, like, so, I can't. You can't.
You can't. You're gonna hurt my It's like, you know,
(32:01):
and I'm not. I'm also not somebody like I hate
reaching out to artists, you know. I just think that
shit is corny, Like I feel like there's never really
anything you did if I show love, but the reaching
out asking for features and favors and and looks like
I would get pressure to do it from my label
or team, you know, to be like we got this song,
(32:23):
this would sound great with so and so saying the hook.
You've met them at festivals, shows, they fuck with you. You know,
We've reached out to their team. It's not going nowhere.
Artists to artists always the best way. I'm like don't
come make me do.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
It, make me slide.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I'm not so cringey because then because then if they
you feel me like the worst is like you got
to hit somebody with the yo with the three o's,
you know, and then bullshit, a little catch up, how
you've been, bro, you feel me? How you living? YadA YadA,
and then four or five texts in you get today, Yo,
I got this record, Like I hate that ship. That's
(32:58):
just not in my character. And I like I get
it though, you know. And also it's like there's also
the aspect of you know, your record has to sell,
you got it? You feel me like if you could
get somebody like that that's big, that'll shift the needle,
like and it takes you just swallowing your pride a
little bit to get something done.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Okay, but yeah, I mean I feel like a lot
of your features, like you know, you and Gotti and
Namir were on tour together.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
You know what I'm saying, Yeah, oh yeah. And it's
like the amount of times in my life and career
that people have told me that, you know, after it
just it just takes like ten minutes or more, like
anybody who's actually gotten to talk to me for like
ten minutes or more. It's like if I had a
fucking dollar. Every time I've heard bro, I had no
idea you were this person. You feel me like you like,
(33:48):
so you take a Gotti like you spend the summer
with me. He's like, yeah, he's a real one. I'll
suck with you for me, like I will pop out,
like if y g had to after party, I would
just go pull up the haship with him. You feel
me just for love Gotti and they would pull up
to my shit like we would all hang out right
like you know, we in the parking lot to the
you know, the amators all summer like kicking it, actually
(34:08):
kicking it right, doing songs, you know, on each other's buses.
It's like drinking and watching each other's sets, like there's
a brotherhood of camaraderie, you know. I mean like I
really fucked with it for sure.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
You know, like when you guys did the the Fuck
Donald Trump remix. Yeah, that was a big moment because
I feel like you were on tour that YG was
on tour with you that came out because I.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Feel like I was.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
It's funny because I was moving from Tampa back to
Phoenix and I stopped in Houston to go to that tour. Yeah,
and that's when I first heard the remix because it
was what you maclamore or g That was a big
moment and that's like, I feel like that's like hip
hop's last great protest song.
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Speaker 2 (35:08):
Let's get back to the interview.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Hey, you want to give a shout out to our
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Speaker 2 (35:24):
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Speaker 2 (35:26):
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You're in Vegas, man, pull up to hardi En when
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say take me to Hardean, follow him Hardan Underscore Las Vegas.
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course we bang that hard Dean baby. You already know
what it is, man, I do feel like that. Fuck
Donald Trump. It's probably the last great protest song and
hip hop. You were on the remix on Toro YG
(35:48):
at the time. That was a wild era. That was
right around that was.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Twenty sixteen, twenty sixteen. Yeah, yeah, And I remember that
summer on that tour because we would performing every single night.
I don't care if we're in Alabama, you know, I
mean yeah, like, if you feel something to standing on it,
don't just say it in California, you feel me, I
(36:13):
say that ship. We're everywhere. And you know, we had
a huge led wall, you know, on on that big
ass Amphitheater stage, you know, and he would come out
during during my set headlining fifteen thousand people with a
huge red led wall with big bold sense of all
cap hel vedica letters. Fuck Donald Trump, just there the
(36:37):
whole song, and I would see people leave because like
like cool, like bounce you feel me. We also had
like you know, booths set up, you know, to sign
up to vote. Yeah, I come from a lineage of
strong women, you know, activism, counterculture, protest and and you know,
(37:00):
I was raised very liberal, you know, very very very
very left, but like you know, growing up in the
Bay Area of course, with a long rich history of
counter culture and activism. Of course from the Panthers. You
feel me too, you know, summer love you feel I mean,
like all that. So like you know, like us doing
(37:22):
that song, you know, and and still to this day,
like I'll play that, you know, even if I just
dropped the hook. I'll say, like, you know, before we
go any further in the show. You know, we were
in Europe. I'm like, you know, there's some fucked up
shit going on in my country. You know. Sorry y'all,
but I'm gonna say how the fuck I feel. And
this is how I feel. Fuck Donald Trump, you feel mean,
(37:45):
And I just you know, not to create even more division,
because I think we're in the most divided time right now,
you know, But like you gotta you gotta, you gotta
stand on it. You gotta say how you feel. Like
the day man, it's like, and I'm not saying artists
like we're not politicians. We're not that's not our job.
(38:07):
But this is a requid, like a required conversation to
be having. Yeah, because you can't just sit passively, you know,
this is dialogue. That's that like a civic duty you feel.
I mean as somebody like I could be kicking it
with the homies, you know, or like at a at
a bar or something like that, but there's one person
(38:27):
chances are the bar that has a device in his
pocket that could talk to ten million people. You know.
I mean not saying that that I could shift a
needle or do anything, but it's like there's a special
responsibility to just just if something bothers.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
You, if something if you feel strongly about something to
that point, Yeah, it's almost like you're you know, the
responsibility of having that many people having eyes on you.
It's it's almost irresponsible to be signed. That's why I
respect so much with Kayliney and maclamore doing standing up
so strong for Palestine because it's no it's like so
(39:01):
many people are worried about whatever the blowback is it
comes from that. And it's like Kaylan is like, I
don't get fuck like this is a human issue. This
is not a this is like and you know, shout
out to Macamore, same ship, like ship Maclamore is fucking
shots to Maclamore.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Shot man, great great humans, bro, just like a good dude.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
I never did know weirdo ship like you know, like yeah,
shout out to him. But now I always thought that, like,
you know, I just had Chuck Dion and we're talking.
I'll say, man, like, I don't know, you know, when
I was growing up, we had like a mortal technique.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Yeah, and we shot out.
Speaker 1 (39:41):
We had like some like real dope, you know, politically
charged hip hop to learn from. And I said, I
was like the last great like I don't know who
our pe is. And I said, I said the last
great like protest song was fuck Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
And also, but what was so brilliant about Donald Trump
is the simplicity of the hook. It was also a banger.
It was a absolute slap, like absolute slap.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Play that ship in the club.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
Even if you voted for Trump, You're like, this is
I can't A lot of that should be gone.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
I also think to like hip hop's growing to the
point where so many people are fans of the music
from everywhere because of the Internet. So it's like it's
almost like, you know, there's so many people who are
like fans of the music that aren't necessarily Like.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Little Baby had a real strong record. I don't remember it.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
I remember the Baby's verse on the Rockstar remix was dope.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
No, no, no, Little Baby did have and he had
that like it was I'm not gonna say it's a
protest song, but it was yeah, like you know, socially
like right commentary. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
I just remember listening to Immortal Technique and find out
about c I sy ops and all kinds of crazy
ship killing, killing, killing, my killing, my killing, I gotta
say killing killing.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
But things like you lose the kids when it gets
to like you know, you weren't heavy to lyrical miracle Spiritu,
You're like, no, you're right. It's almost like it's almost
like so then then you missed the whole, Like the
point of like you I mean, and you you get
like protests is like, you know, marching and chanting one thing,
so so then you equate that to fuck Donald Trump.
That's still equivalent, right, that was really the perfect That
(41:18):
really is a perfect protest on perfect because it wasn't
it was good.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
It's like sonically like I can hear this in the
club and keep dancing.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Damn. Yeah, such a great record, man, i'mna start i'mna
start playing that every time DJ again. Yeah, are you
still djaming? I love DJing, bro.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
You know what's funny is I was with you at
eleven in Miami. Yeah, a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
I had a good time. Uh not too.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Yeah, you came up and to hear me, but I
was probably very surprised how good of a DJ you were.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Yeah, Like you were like fucking beat matching and.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Ship and I was like, oh shit, yeah, QUS talked
this guy some ship man.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
I mean the thing is, you know I've been making
beats since you were there. Yeah. I I've been making
beat since I was thirteen. A lot of people don't
know that. Like I got started making beats and you know,
and then I started writing raps. But like because I
had like we had like a little click like a
rap group, and I was always kind of the one
like making the beats, like maybe you know, it wasn't
until like seventeen eighteen, I was like, wait, I could
(42:14):
I could be the star you feel me. I could
be a solo act I'm feel me. Like one day
I realized like shit, wait no, I'm handsome, right, I
could be a star. Like I'm like in love with
the work part of it, like I'll work my ass
off to like you feel I mean, and like managing
a bunch of other egos and like energies is a lot.
(42:34):
So it was like, wait, I could just embrace that
idea of like me rapping but being my own engineer,
being my own producer. I can't like I can hear
a song and be within three beats per minuted and
tell you what it is what it is because I
just my brain knows the math of music. So it's
like DJing comes natural.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
I feel like if you're a producer or like you're
very engaged in your music process, yea, DJing is like
second Nate checking Nate.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
But that should be so fun because like I get
to be at the party, but I'm not gonna lie.
Sometimes I'm in a section and it's like this is
not fun for me. I want to, like everybody'd almost
rather be like yo, the DJ off coming how far
I'm like you literally and like I just comment here
you family, take over to DJ and and get on
because then, like I mean, at least you have your
(43:23):
little isolated space, see, and I just bombarded with like right,
you know, and then it's so satisfying when you mix
something perfectly and you drop that shit in a crowd
of crazy like for sure, yeah.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
Yo, uh do you remember at what point in time?
Because you know, I always say like, you guys came
into the game and it felt very I've never seen
someone take so much like intention with the way they
would package their merch, they would send shit out, and
just the fan experiences that were just so I remember
you would take the homie on the road who was
(43:55):
cutting hair for the fans, and yeah, there was just
this cultivated experience that I had never seen before an
artist do it. And and also I always would say like,
you guys were like the apple of hip hop like
ten years ago, because no matter how big or small
the venue were very high compliment. Like I'd be like, oh,
you go to a G show, It's got a feeling,
there's an aesthetic to it. But I remember you weren't
(44:17):
always necessarily like doing that, Like, when did you figure
that part out? Because that, to me was a big
reason why you were able to come into the game
with this.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
Well for insane thank you following like thank you, that's
really high praise. And I got to say that and
shout out and give flowers to Maddie B and Jamil. Yeah,
of course, shout to Maddie B. Man. You know, Rose
grew my management. You know, we we met in college.
And mind you, I'm you know, I came from Oakland,
like I'm I get to New Orleans. I'm on like
(44:48):
three scholarships and a grant to get there, Like I'm not.
I'm like, this is a whole new world to me
being in this college environment. I'm just you know, I
set up my little setup. You're feeling me the k
our kids and you know, a little mboxtal inbox back then.
And at the time, I'm like and I'm just kind
of isolated, introvert because I'm not relating to a lot
(45:11):
of what's going on, Like and I'm just in my
dorm room making beats recorded and designing my own MySpace pages,
like you know, sticking up flyers and stickers all around campus.
You feel me, I'm a nuisance. I'm like And I
met my management there and they were like minded, and
we grew and built all this together and like and
the nucleus of the three of us really pushed that,
(45:33):
like Steve jobs, like you know, attention to detail, packaging,
appreciation of Apple, you know what I'm saying, Like studying
shit like that, like you know, and from the album
art to the fan experience to the merch, the presentation,
all of that. You think about when you get that
new laptop and you open that Apple box and you
see that designed by Apple in California, that minimalism, that cleanness.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
Well, I remember you guys were like set out hats
and they'd be like packaged and like the way you
guys would package and send merch to fans. I remember,
it would be so like it wasn't like I were
just throwing it in a box.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
I mean that means you can. When we were first,
I was designing our first merch and I was living
in an apartment with my girlfriend in New Orleans as
I was like finishing college, and like I remember, we
had like racks in the apartment of all our like
stock emmers and stuff. And she would be boxing it
up with the tissue paper, and I would like they
like no, They're like folk like do it like this,
(46:28):
you know, like blah blah blah, and like we just
all cared about the presentation and equality, you know, and
that shit goes a long way clearly. But it's like
I appreciate hearing that, you know, because that's how much
we put into the experience.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
You know, what did you learn because you were opening up?
Was it was it the drake to where you were
opening up on it?
Speaker 2 (46:51):
Was it Little Wayne or was it little Yeah? We
opened It's crazy because I keep looking up at at
like that city right there. But basically, like so imagine
storytime real quick. Imagine moving to New Orleans in two
thousand and seven, you know, mix tape weezy, like going
into Carter three. Wayne is the biggest thing in the universe.
(47:13):
But imagine living in New Orleans. It's even crazy, bro
Like you couldn't walk a block without hearing you family,
like and that's peak Wayne. Living in you know, in
that place at that time was crazy. I think it
was my sophomore year, Jamill. He interned for for Voodoo Festival,
(47:36):
which is like our big festival in New Orleans and
he randomly gets a sign to help Lil Wayne. It's
camp like who was headlining that year and Carter three
was about to drop. And he meets his tour manager.
Yeah we'll get to that, and Tina Feriris and she's
(47:57):
Wayne's tour manager and makes such an IMPRESSI not her.
Two months passed by. You know, we're chilling at our
apartment where roommates. He gets a call and she's basically like,
you know, I really liked you. You made a really
good impression on me. YadA, YadA. I have this position open,
you know, assistant tour manager. Would you like to come
on the road for Carter three's arena. You feel me
(48:19):
like overnight, my best friend and you know manager. But
it wasn't much to manage, right man, I'm just uploading
songs of my space. You finnd me like we're just
young college kids. You feld me like the forties all
over the apartment, like you know, and and you know,
overnight it becomes the coolest and richest of our friends.
Because he's getting paid something like a thousand a week
(48:40):
or something like that. We're splitting rent at seven hundred dollars,
paying three fifty each, you feel me like, and he
goes on the road and he's working that close around
that camp, like soaking it all up, taking it all in,
studying the game, calling me like anytime he gets a second, like, yo,
jee is crazy. You know, I was just smoking Wayne,
(49:00):
this is tight, like yeah. And I remember one day,
you know, because he stayed with the camp, he would
do every tour and you know, I'm kind of living
vicariously because I'm still you know, in New Orleans going
to school classes. It just got boring her and boring
her because I was just so desperately, like badly wanted
to be in that. And he would sneak us on
(49:22):
shows when he could, like no pay, but he'd be like,
if you could drive to Indianapolis this weekend from New Orleans,
something I'll get you on after the doors open, Wayne
won't even know you feel me type shit, And we
get to be around it, we get to see the show,
we get to study and soak up the game. But
there was one day where he was like, yo ge yo,
(49:43):
I've been chowing on the own money bush smoking with
this car. You should check out his music, y'all Down there,
y'all y'all kind of reminding each other in the white
but like you should listen to his music. It's MySpace
dot com, slash Strike and like you me earliest earliest,
earliest time and uh and then he has a bond
(50:03):
with Drake, you feel me. And when Drake starts to
pop off, who does Drake wants to be his tour manager?
M h feel me? Yeah? Yeah yeah, and they and
they built you know, that bond together and you know,
we're together Drake's whole career and just being around you know,
through a third party kind of like step of separation
(50:24):
of but having a lens that like I got to learn,
I got to be around it. I got to you know.
He would sneak me on some Drake shows. I don't
even think Drake knew I was on the shows. But
then that led to meeting Taz, who came to see
me at my first headline show in LA We had
sold out to Roxy and the line is past the whiskey,
(50:47):
You felt me, had kids like wearing all black waiting
in line. You feel me, and Taz came. He said, oh,
something's going on here. You have my attention now, It's
not just little Jamil keeps banging on me talking about
listen to my artist, listen to my artist. He's like yeah, yeah, whatever,
Like okay, you have my attention. Now something something's moving
comes to the show. And that was a pivot, turning point,
(51:11):
and that led to what Jamil had been campaigning and
trying for forever was getting Test and Blueprint Group g
Roberson g Nelson our branch to come on board and
help co manage right, you know, and that that changed everything.
That brought us, you know, the RCA, and then they
got me on opening for l Wayne all summer. But
(51:35):
I was like second of six acts. It's just like
people are walking in, walking in finding it. They're like
where's seats, you know that type shit, like this white
guy right right right, and I'm like make some noise,
like where's my seat? But like getting like I was
getting like eight hundred dollars a show or some thousand shows.
It was enough to pay for the bus barely and
(51:57):
just be there because like sometimes you'll take a loss
just to just to learn some ship, learn go put
yourself in a position of soak up the game, like
make some connect like feel me, get some exposure, but
really just soak it up and I remember, uh, man,
what's his name, Adrian Browner, the boxing Yeah, he was
(52:18):
on the tour. He was wrapping that summer and and
and they had him going first and then it was
me and then Susie Man. Yeah, it was amazing. But anyway,
so it's like first to second show of the tour
(52:38):
because it was him, me Audio Push Hit Boy. I
remember that I went that was the package, that was
that summer that was that was the H E seven era. Yeah, yeah,
and you know, and I'm like I'm sticking out like
a random right who Okay, didn't hip what do you someone?
(53:00):
Your album? Yeah? Yeah, we've done a ton of ship.
But so like you know, I'm I'm aware, like I'm
I'm the white Wood. You know, I'm not finna change
my look for anything. I'm not you know, I'm gonna
wear my varsity slick my hair due you for me.
I'm geezy, I'm I'm gonna be me. And it's brown.
(53:20):
I called up to management after the first White Boy.
I don't want to play after I want to play
before him like album, and then I don't I said
this not but basically there was an agreement of like
you know, uh ideal, you know, and like I took that,
Like I was like, you go second, fine, you know,
(53:42):
for and.
Speaker 1 (53:43):
So he was paying to go ahead of like yeah,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (53:45):
Just like some like I'm like, all right, I counted
up how many shows we have left added by that number.
I'm like, okay, I know what I can do with that.
It's fine. It's not hurt. It's all good. I mean,
And that's that's no no distant, you know. I mean,
but I just took this. Yeah, that's great to go
for sure, great deal for me, Like and that whole summer, man,
like I would I would get on my stage and yeah,
(54:09):
it hurts you pride a little bit, like getting on
trying to be like make some noise. It's easy to
get up in front of a crowd. It's like eating
out the palm of your hand. It's hard to earn.
People earn people work for them, but you don't fancy
anybody here to see you, Like, and I would go
back to the bus. We had a little makeshift studio
set up. I'd work on making what would be these
(54:29):
things happen all summer, and then I would come back
from the bus to watch either Chains or Ti or Wayne.
Every single night I would watch one of their sets.
I would just go sit in the crowd when nobody
recognized me, and I would just take notes, study how
they do their talk breaks, the pacing, the timing, the
(54:50):
you know where you place your hits right, what do
you start with? What do you close with? Right? You know,
when do you do your new shit? You know? I
studied all that, and then I go right back to
the bus, like, fuck party and we haven't earned the
rights party right, like, and we made these things happen
that summer and I was still unsigned.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
So you weren't with RCA yet. So when you will
go to RCA, you have that album finished finished.
Speaker 2 (55:15):
Yeah, And the crazy thing is r c A is
one of the two labels that had flown me out
when I was nineteen in college. You're doing like fucking
Warped tour or some ship that was. Yeah, that was
all in the indie phase between. But when I was nineteen,
I had a song on MySpace. It was kind of
like getting some legs, Yeah, to get to get mini legs,
(55:37):
enough to get you flown out, enough to get me
flown out, but enough to get me passed on right,
you know, and you sit under those fluorescent lights with
all the suits in a boardroom, you know, and they're like, so,
what's your story? Boy? That froze up. But it's it's
a blessing because I didn't know who I was yet.
I didn't have the I didn't I hadn't found my style,
my voice, SMI yeah, I the pocket. And but that
(56:02):
chip on my shoulder of them passing on me, I
was like, damn. And that flight back to New Orleans,
I'm telling all them, I'm about to get signed. I'm
going out to New York. I've never been in New York.
I've never been in a hotel room. I'm like taking
pictures of the hotel in Manhattan, like this is crazy.
And that kind of rejection to make you dig deep,
(56:23):
and you know, they don't tell you that they're not
doing the deal. They're just like, it was so inspiring
me and we're really excited. We're going to be in
touch and never you know. So you're going back to school.
You're back in class on Monday. You're like, I don't
know what happened. It was. I'm like school, Damn, I
must suck. Yeah, you feel me. I must not got it.
You know or fucking fuck you. Yeah, I do, and
(56:48):
just work my ass off. So when they came back around,
I had these things happen done. I had just toured
with Luwayne, I had done wark toward I had done
the hard work I didn't necessarily want to do. But
anything I.
Speaker 1 (57:00):
Remember you were doing like I think you had did
like Club Red and Azy.
Speaker 2 (57:04):
This was for ye. That was the Rocky tour.
Speaker 1 (57:05):
Yeah, yeah, you were selling out like motherfucker the whole
toys hold up one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (57:10):
Yeah, like and so then when they came in and
I flew back, then I'm like, you remember me, right,
because I told you i'd be here right. So this
time around, I want what I want right, So get
me right, otherwise I'll go next door. No for sure,
Like you had the proof of concept, yeah, because it's
(57:31):
I don't need nothing from you.
Speaker 1 (57:33):
It's crazy to think like how amazing that album was
and it was like it still was kind of like
you had it, like you had like obviously gotten plaques
off that album.
Speaker 2 (57:44):
I mean it was, it's one of my favorite. I
mean it platinum or double platinum, Tumble Girls platinum or
double platinum. Talk about an era on I mean, bro, like,
but it's crazy to think like that album.
Speaker 1 (57:55):
I remember I was doing radio and Tampa at the time,
and I was like screaming at the program director about
trying to get I mean it into rotation. I was
playing it on my underground hip hop show, so hating me,
and they still didn't believe.
Speaker 2 (58:05):
They hating me, didn't I mean? And that for our city.
We didn't have a fit. RC didn't do you no
favors on the first album, by the way, no, nothing
like we we I paid out of my pocket, like
to all those videos we had shot before the deal.
But it's such a great fucking album.
Speaker 1 (58:20):
And like, like you said, like fuck.
Speaker 2 (58:21):
But you know what it is. You know what it
is because you you you gamble a little better when
it's your money you're gambling with, right, you know. I mean,
if I'm gambling with the corporations money, okay, But if
I did warped door to make this money, I was
sweating all summer on a fucking tour that I would
ever been on. I don't want, you know, I mean,
but I worked hard to get this. To save this up.
(58:41):
I lived out of a suitcase with no apartment for
me for a year.
Speaker 1 (58:45):
And then fast forward, it's when it's dark out.
Speaker 2 (58:47):
So when I'm spending twenty five bands to shoot the
Far Alone video or twenty five bands to shoot the
almost famous video Platinum by the way, Far Alone Platinum,
you feel me like. And then when we did the
little radio campaign, we spent like twenty five fifty bands
for Far Along. That's my pocket. So it's like you
when it's your money at stake, You're like, yeah, I'm
(59:07):
gonna be I'm gonna spend this wisely, right, you know,
because I got skin in the game. And so that's
why when we came to r C, it's like, if we.
Speaker 1 (59:16):
Did this, do you remember when you guys, because it
felt like the everyone jumped on board once me myself
and I just just just yeah, because it was like
it was like, fuck, but did you did you guys
have any idea like, Okay, this is gonna be the
record that changes everything, and you already had a lot
(59:36):
of success and you were already torn. I think by then,
I think I think I think that was the g
The g I Am Suit Tour was before that was
after the first album, because I think that's when I
saw you in Tampa because I remember I took im
su to McDonald's, but man, legend.
Speaker 2 (59:55):
Legend, but we knew each other like growing up man.
Speaker 1 (59:57):
But it was almost like you were like still kind
of like under ground popping to like the like if.
Speaker 2 (01:00:01):
You knew you knew, but still I'm still, Like it's
crazy how I don't ever like walk around like I'm
a household name or something like I like being slightly
missus kind of like if you know, you know, but
but me myself and I.
Speaker 1 (01:00:13):
You guys knew like okay, this song, oh yeah, that
changed everything, but you knew it before it dropped.
Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
I knew I knew it. The second so like first album,
they protected these things happen to do like five thousand
first week it did fifty. It's platinum now like crazy
like in the US, like it's platinum in many countries,
but in the US over a million sols, no real
radio hits at all. Correct. Second album is like the
(01:00:39):
hardest thing in hip hop. To do it once is
the hardest, but then they do it again, and then
the third time is hell hell even it never gets
easy basically, but the second one is like that's where
you solidify yourself. And we were so locked in making
that second one that would change everything when it's dark out,
like that's.
Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
My best album, Like that's my favorite album.
Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
And I remember like pushing everything in my life to
the side, you know, friendships, relationships, just locking all the
way in taking all the all the right sessions that
you know. And i'd met bb rexa, you know, she
our teams got in touch or whatever. We hadn't met.
(01:01:22):
We uh, we do the session with my friend Mike
I've worked with years prior. And she said she had
like two demos to show me that she was really
excited about, but one she really liked. And she plays
me the first one and I'm like, I'm you know
what I mean. I never wanted to, like, you know,
(01:01:44):
because you don't want to put some somebody down, Like
it's just maybe not for me, you know, because she's
fucking like her voice, her writing, she is brilliant. She's
just that special. And the second idea she showed me
was what will become me myself and I and it
was just like her and piano and I remember hearing
(01:02:06):
it and the whole world stopped that I don't need
to hear anything else. And that part is the chorus like,
I don't know if that's even initially how it was,
but I just I was like, okay, yeah, we're done here,
don't play anything else. That's the one. And you know
we sat there that day, you know, I was like,
(01:02:27):
let's do halftime drums. So it has that like pocket
feel me, let's like redo the chorus add in some
sense when it gets to the chorus and then that
that's the post where it goes all to it. And
you know, she has that iconic voice, she's an iconic
writer and you know, shouts out to bb I mean,
(01:02:51):
she changed my life forever because let's be honest, that chorus,
you know, with that production, that's the heavy lifting. The
rapper's job on a song like that is filling the
blanks and don't suck it up literally, don't get in
the way of the records. Like that's you know. So
I'm just being like literally honest about that. You know, Bbe,
you know she did that, and uh I knew and
(01:03:15):
out of the whole album. You know, like a lot
of rappers like we'll go in and we'll do five
songs in the night, sometimes even more, you know, but
you can get lost in that because it's like okay,
or you could do one or two and finishing apply
yourself to you, Yeah, okay, it's good, Yo, we got one.
(01:03:36):
We just lock in on this, you know, whether it's
tightening up the verses, whether it's the production needs something,
whether it's like add this and that, and sometimes it
doesn't need anything. Sometimes you just go in. You could
punch in freestyle and shit just comes out. But sometimes
with a record like me and myself and I, it's
worth the work staying there. If this song takes eighteen mixes,
(01:04:02):
I don't care if it takes twenty eight mixes. We're
gonna get this one right, because this one is gonna
do more than any other eighteen songs on the project, right,
feel me. So it's like, pay your attention, do your work,
have your patience and focus for this one because this
one's gonna count. This one's getting like maybe change your
(01:04:24):
family's lives for sure. Those three minutes and thirty seconds
are different than the other three minutes and thirty seconds
on all the other ones in a way.
Speaker 1 (01:04:31):
Yeah, I know, it's crazy because it's like that. To me,
it was like everything changed after that. And then it
is interesting because I remember there was a do you
remember because I was fighting for you on Twitter Instagram,
so we talked.
Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
About you you've banged on me like you've you've banged
for me so many times.
Speaker 1 (01:04:45):
Broad there was a fucking there was like an MTV's
Hottest Artist list or some shit to drop hottest rapper lists,
and I was like, wait a minute, so you mean
to tell me the guy who's currently headlining a fucking
amphitheater tour and as the number one song in the country,
You guys don't even.
Speaker 2 (01:04:59):
Talk about it my whole fucking show. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:05:03):
Yeah, it was crazy at the time.
Speaker 2 (01:05:05):
Yeah, but you know what, as much as it's like
you know, there's a lot of outlets that have you know,
it's like it's like it's like a taboo to like
to fuck with me or like or maybe it's just
they never met me, am. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:05:25):
I think I think a lot of people might be like, well,
you mean the guy who like performed with Britney Spears
on the fucking audience, Like like.
Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
Yeah, like you fucking wouldn't like any feel like I
remember being a little kid watching her kiss Madonnavan, Like
you kissed her right? Like you Ki.
Speaker 1 (01:05:40):
By the way, I don't want to say any names,
but I would just like to point out that young
Gerald here has kissed all of your favorite famous rappers
before their boyfriends did. Respectfully, I would like you have
one of the most legendary hit lists in all of
hip hop. That is not public. That's not public, not
I'm not somebody anything public. I'm talking about the other ship.
You're a legend, sir, You're a coxman. So anyway, they
(01:06:02):
gotta put your jersey in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (01:06:04):
Hall of Game, the Hall of Game. H Where do
we go from there? So anyway, how about them? How
about about how about right? Christ? Better luck next year?
Next year?
Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
Do you just have like seasons like you're always court side?
Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
It's like, yeah, man, I love going to games. That's
that's that's the best. Man just shouts out to forty
in general man like like he he could never get
enough flowers because you know, it's like one of them things.
Tell me somebody else as prolific. Now think about the
(01:06:47):
word prolific. That's like, you know, he who has more albums,
you know, a bigger body of work. You know, it's
still still working his ass off.
Speaker 1 (01:06:59):
Like reinventing himself having.
Speaker 2 (01:07:01):
Slapped and then he's multiple different ventures.
Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
Just motherfucker got goddamn he got.
Speaker 2 (01:07:06):
He got a whole icem alcohol, he got in gooon
with the spoon, like with the spoon, he's got the
Filipino ship. I don't know how he's he's got the loopia.
He just has a never ending hunger. And and that's what,
you know, like to have to have a OG like that,
you know, to have somebody like that, not only as
a you know, as a mentor, as an un as
(01:07:31):
a hero, as an inspiration, as a goat, as a
big bro like you know, as as a genuine real
friend like you know, that's like it's not too many
forties on this planet, for sure, not too many that
have ever walked this earth. And he's still doing it,
like still putting our music, still relevant, still tapped in,
(01:07:53):
still sharp, you know, and it's like I get it
because you know he's he's so distinctly you niekly himself.
He won't try to just blend in just for the
sake of because the worst thing is when a when
a o G tries to do some ship for the
kids and try it feels like he's reaching or something right,
It's like forty is like you either going like you
(01:08:14):
feel me, You're gonna meet me here or yeah, Like
it's like he's going to do his thing, you know,
his style, his way, and if it's not for everybody,
it's not for everybody, but like, man, he's a legend.
Speaker 1 (01:08:29):
How how much are.
Speaker 2 (01:08:30):
You uh hip to?
Speaker 1 (01:08:32):
Like you know, obviously there's a lot of dope young
energy out of the bay The Russell's going crazy crazy
are you still like because you're a fucking hip hop
at a heart? Like, are you still like pretty like
trying to keep your ear to like the ship happening always?
Speaker 2 (01:08:46):
Man, the Russell was on told me on this last run.
Speaker 1 (01:08:49):
The last like the last last run because there's like
the run currently, but then there was like the first half.
Speaker 2 (01:08:53):
Of the we just finished, but broke it into like
six six like two separate, separate legs, but the first
like he was on, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, And
that's just like I said, like I've always you know,
brought you feel me some like Bay Area rappers and
artists like with me on every tour I've done, but
(01:09:14):
like I'm careful about who I picked, you know, to
bring on tour. Because it's like who do you want
to spend some time around with? Who do you want
to hang out with? Whose music do you want to
like listen to listen to every day and watch reform,
you know, and see backstage and kick it and like
hang out with. So L Russell is like one of
(01:09:34):
those like every so often somebody comes along. It's like, oh,
you're like that, You're one of those special man. You're
gonna be here a very long time. Ye, Like it's
it's entirely in you. It's like it came from that's
like something like.
Speaker 1 (01:09:52):
What you said about forty that like you got to
meet me here.
Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
That's L. Russell. It's like, yeah, you don't got to
fuck with me. Yeah, but if you're going to fuck
you gotta come over here. You gotta come. Yeah. And
it's crazy because he was telling me like he was like, gee,
like you know, I don't like to perform like after
like two pm you found.
Speaker 1 (01:10:09):
Me, Yeah, he performs in the afternoon.
Speaker 2 (01:10:11):
Like yeah, He's like, but but but like you feel me,
you're gonna come see me here? Ye, Like I'm gonna
do it my way and stand on it. And that's
like that's that's very Bay Area where there's long lineage
and history of the independent hustle, you know, short and
forty and us just being uniquely, you know, just a
very special, unique place of culture and and all that,
(01:10:34):
like we're not finna try to be like nobody else's
it's us. But but he embodies that and and does
it his way and and like you know, the backyard
shows like his tiny I've been his house told me
on the tour. He was like, you know, I did
the ship for you, like you got me out here
after dark Man it's out like it's dark out. I
(01:10:56):
don't do yeah, Like I'm like, well, if I don't
see anything shows that Batman doesn't pop out till it's
dark out, I can't. The best single doesn't show up
in the daytime. I'm I'm an only at night kind
of person. You got me out in the daytime. I'm
coming tomber you hear. But the Russell was like, you know,
he was like I did it because I fuck with you,
Like I'm I'm doing this because I want to hang
(01:11:18):
out with you, and I fuck with you and the
combos we got to have and like picking each other's
brains and like he's sharp as attack and can wrap
his ass off. It's just so innate, so natural. So
he's so blessed and talented, you know, simbolars play.
Speaker 1 (01:11:36):
Man alien as off. Sim is a great mind too,
man that Motherfuckers podcast and he hang out.
Speaker 2 (01:11:41):
With Gilbert loved. I loved what he said here, which.
Speaker 1 (01:11:45):
About Aiden ross Oh yeah, Aiden Rosses.
Speaker 2 (01:11:48):
I don't know, but just like you know, just just
in general, like why the fuck are you talking about that?
Speaker 1 (01:11:54):
It's it's just you know, I don't know that man.
Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
But but when I saw that clip, it's like Brad
like a like are you drunk or what? Or like
but who, like why are you? I don't. I just
don't believe in Like, I don't have no beef with nobody.
The only time I is if somebody like is that
being that that that that negative? Because otherwise I'm just
you know, it's just it's just what sparks you to
(01:12:18):
even talk about somebody else. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:12:20):
To me, it's like we've had this weird three or
four years where like there's been like a and obviously
you and I have both the white guys and hip hops
were guessing the culture it is what it is, But
there's been.
Speaker 2 (01:12:31):
Like this.
Speaker 1 (01:12:33):
Weird mixture of worlds where it's like, all of a sudden,
there's the there's these characters who have followings online, who
are who whatever they say because of how many people
follow them or how famous they are. There's coverage which
gives it some sort of merit to certain audiences, and
you're like, yo, like you know, like I said earlier,
(01:12:54):
I said, uh, you know, I saw and I'm cool
with the NELK Boys, but I saw Kyle from the
NELK was talking to Aiden Ross about Kendrick Lamar and
his album, and I was I commented under it, and
I said, this is like watching two blind people talk
about a painting because these motherfuckers have no idea what
they're talking about, Like what are we even doing here?
Speaker 2 (01:13:16):
And like that's not to take you knows. It's an
interesting time in the world where you talk about coverage.
You talk about you know, because mainstream media or radio
or television doesn't exist in the same way, and you
have these fringe guy platforms that are like have massive
followings and like they talk to the world, you know,
(01:13:38):
But who gave you that like like credibility or or
like like.
Speaker 1 (01:13:45):
I gotta you gotta give some blame to the people
who validate them. Yeah, and I gotta give blame to
Drake and all those guys because because instead of Drake
going and sitting down with like a hip hop platform
or even someone like Academics, however you feel about academics,
Drake should have went and sat with Academics before you.
When I'm eight Ross's stream. I mean that with all
due respect, but it just is what it is. So
there are people who do validate those guys because they
(01:14:08):
deem their following big enough to put whatever they feel
about whatever to the side to go sit down and
shoot the ship on the lane. So there are people
who have validated those folks, and you gotta kind of
look at them and be like, hey, why not go
sit with Kay Sanatt or fucking or DDG or you
know anybody who's like not a fucking goofball.
Speaker 2 (01:14:28):
Like anyway, I see all that to say, Yeah, So.
Speaker 1 (01:14:31):
The new album is out. It's called Helium. It's incredible.
Uh and uh are are you still?
Speaker 2 (01:14:37):
Is a tour over? That's a tour never tours, never
over tour for you for the rest of your life.
I always gonna be able to Vegas Friday. I count
are you still doing zooke? Now I'm at the wind now,
Oh the win much much better much. But the resources
world's a fucking shit shown man.
Speaker 1 (01:14:56):
Not no, I mean from a gambling perspective, because I'm
a fucking degenerate and every time.
Speaker 2 (01:15:00):
Luckily that's advice. Don't every time I go to fucking
resorts world, it sucks to me. I'm like, never been
to Zook by the way. Never People people without seven
vices always like it's crazy because it's like makes no sense.
Miss always win for sure. Like that is one vice.
You don't have things. That's one advice I ain't got. Man,
you got some vices, you know, I'm trying to collect
them all. It's not pokemon pokemon, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (01:15:23):
So uh yeah, the wind shouts to the way. That's fine,
that's a that's fun. Shout to the wind. It's smells
so good in there.
Speaker 2 (01:15:30):
Yeah, you walk into the wind. You want to give
them your money. Those fucking carpets in that set, I
want to lose money. They're in the aria. Now I'm like,
I'm like like the business model of a casino, Like
imagine like I'm gonna be the one that win. No, right, Yeah, listen, gee,
I appreciate you always win. That's why they call it
the win.
Speaker 1 (01:15:48):
You know what's crazy, I said, I don't the only
time I've ever done the only time I've ever destroyed
a hotel room. Yeah, you were doing Dre's. You got
a bunch of.
Speaker 2 (01:15:57):
Rooms where you're going, but that you were doing.
Speaker 1 (01:15:59):
Dr Me and fucking mod Me and mod Son. Me
and mod Son are up in whatever suite you have. Yeah,
and we've destroyed your room on purpose. I'm not sure
you were. I think you want to watched us, But
we fucking broke everything.
Speaker 2 (01:16:13):
In the room, like shattered the night. We like got cool, like, hey,
we could almost died. Like likes to break. Sure, he
likes to climbing in structure outside of our hotel. There
was like one hundred feet tall. There was like an
art piece of something, and I climbed up to the
very top of it and I felt it kind of wabble.
And we're just up there like drunk, just like not
(01:16:33):
a good idea, like whoa hearted yourself?
Speaker 1 (01:16:37):
Yeah that's a bad look. Anyway, I appreciate you pulling up.
Speaker 2 (01:16:39):
Man. We shattered the hotel room. Shot at the hotel room.
It is fun.
Speaker 1 (01:16:43):
Yeah yeah, fuck the hotels anyway, appreciate you coming through. Man.
The albums is incredible if you have not heard it.
Helium it's out front.
Speaker 2 (01:16:52):
And back Helium out now it's our records and warehouse
music on. Do you know what's crazy? This empty building
next to the studio used to be.
Speaker 1 (01:17:00):
They turned it into a tower records just to shoot
a scene for the new Michael Jackson movie. So for
like a week next year to us, we had an
eighty style tower Records. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. Anyway,
Appreciate you Ge
Hosts And Creators
James Andre Jefferson Jr.
Bootleg Kev
Brian Baumgartner
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