Episode 137 w/ Akon

what up is d J e f And this drink chance? Motherfucker? Happy all man? And right now when we started this podcast, when we started this podcast, we said we wanted to interview legends. We said we wanted to interview groundbreakers and people who's doing groundbreaking things. And we speak by the man that we got in front of us right now. You're talking about a person who's came from overseas, came to America, lived the American dream, got locked up, and

still came home and lived the American dream. He did what he had to do consistently. And one thing that I love about him he still keeps cruel with him. He still got Black Warrior with him. He's out here consistently doing what he gotta do. He got he got all types of currency in different fucking form, mats, crypto currency ship. This motherfucker got nineteen hundred wives. They got houses, houses, and seven continentses. He's wearing a pink shirt tonight, just

mixed noise. Ain't ain't I gotta correct the salmon difference. Listen, I'm gonna be honest. You have such a like a van glorious career, right, but a lot of people don't know that you actually started from the bottom, like because um, because because because once you had your one like single locked up, like, your career just kept going, kept going, kept going, So no one actually pays attention to the struggle prior to that. So that's what I want to get into right now. So how how how do you so?

You was born in Senegore? No, actually I was born in St. Louis, Taylor, Missouri. I googled that. I thought they were wrong. It was in Wikipedia. I thought Makipedia sucking up. Okay, it's sucking up on everything else. But you, my pops was he was always a forward thinker, like he made sure that we was all born in the States so we wouldn't have no immigration problems in there. Wow, that's what I's gonna go to now. That makes the most sense ever, telling you everything so shortly after birth.

He just shipped us all back. We didn't even spend thirty days in the States after birth, best born and sent right back. Your passport is blue. You got dual passport. I gott dual pass Okay, but it's still because you citizen when you're born here, yea, as of right now. At that time, were not even right now right now. So St. Louis right now, I don't know what's going on. You and Nellie was going to school, yeah, man, and

Nellie was actually racist the same we all went. We all went to U City High like, we all went to the same Now. Now, now I didn't hear this from you, but I heard this from Nellie. That was like a big gang banging. Wow, and you went to that high school? Yeah, that was That was one of the reasons why I moved to Jersey because I was getting too much trouble in St. Louis. But you can't moved from St. Louis to Jersey there. Yeah, but my

parents didn't know that. They put me from one and that's that's that's something that's is very like a key to you. I could see because you know, all the goals, all accomplishments you have done, you still keep your Jersey ties like always. Man, that impresses me. By the way, Jersey was a special turning point in my life for sure, like that's where a boy became a man. Really, you know what I'm saying. And around that time it was a lot of segregation and racist and me being an

African in Jersey City, the Puerto Ricans embraced me. And we say segregation, you're saying between blacks and white, so you're saying between blacks and Puerto Ricans general. But to see the difference what I learned because where I was coming from it was just different, like in Missouri's it like it's a different kind of racial you find what I'm saying, like, it's different, so different. I didn't see difference between that much diversity. Yeah, it was either in

Missouri Naka may see. So me it was either black or white. So if you was a fair color, it didn't matter what nationality was to me, he was white, like you would have been considered white to you would have black. Tell what I'm saying. So when I got New Jersey, it was try to you know. So it was just it was just different. So when I went to Jersey and and I heard Puerto Ricans called the niggas niggas, and I was like, yeah, let this nigga

call y'all nigga. Like I was like, Yo, there's like nigga niggas like when when they were they more niggas than we are. And as I started to kind of sucking, as I started to realize you, I was like, yeah, part because a little bit more niggag like on everything. That's a fact. So if y'all earned the right to say the word nigga, like actual, why people don't even know that? Like Portuguese, y'all y'all sucking Africans. I mean, most Latinos are a mix of everything. No, yeah, African

that's that's the problem. I'm telling this is why, that's why the connection is so tight. Like when I took a lot of my couple of block Royal family members to Africa, they didn't even know the thirty of Africa speak fluent Spanish like they was looking like, right, and French to French is like most of West Africa. But there's Spanish colonialism. Every every language in Africa spoke because of you know, some kind of takeover colonialism for sure. Okay,

So let's just I think that was so beautiful. But I don't understand what cryptocurrency is. Nobody does, Okay, can you break it down. I'm trying to spread it up because I trying to take your investment. Did I make an investment? I don't know what to do. I'm just geeze money and just helping. I'll be flipping if you But that's that's that's that's the thing. It's no different from the stock market, like people buy shares, right. What I ship think about it, The worth is by how

many people buy into it. It's really about it's all popularity. That's all marketing, so all promoting. It's like whatever this is trusted the most, Like in companies, you buy shares and companies that's more trusted. You know they're gonna make a profit, they're gonna yield an investment, right, So you go there with your money because you know these guys in the next four or five ten years. Their projections

say they're gonna make triple what they're making now. So you're like, Okay, that's someplace I want to invest in. When you look at cryptocurrency, it's a little bit different, but it's almost the same concept the way I understand it now, I'm still learning a lot about it myself, because the more I get into it, the more I start to understand. You'll support a coin, Yeah, mine is a coin. A coins is a genius name. By the way,

that's hard. So I'm invested. I don't know what I'm investing name, but I'm invest So what you're invested in is the future of Africa when you invest in a coin. And I heard you also say invest in Africa, we're getting that said that later you continue about a coin. So a coin now is like it's set up to empowered you know the entrepreneur is it? Is it back? Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know about the completely I p o s are backing this stuff? Was that a

company structure that that backs up a cryptocurrency? What does the thing? Crypto ain't really backed by nothing like bitcoining and back by anything. Right, it's back it's the network it's backed by the popularity and the trust factor. You you can trust to know that if you buy a bitcoin is worth a certain amount of money. That's any currency,

it's whatever the people say it's worth. Like right now, these bottles could be worth more than money if we all come out and say that this bottle is worth more than this money. But in this case, the the bottle is worth money. So in Layman's like sneakers, like sneakers. When sneakers, everybody says this is worth this, this is worth so much the same thing. So what do you mean made you even interested in something like? Well man, because I realized that this crypto is gonna be the

future in currency. That fact, I'll just watch how things change drastically in time to digital like and I always compare everything to me, Like you went from you know, two inch rails to eight track tapes to vinyl, two cassettes, two CDs, two m P three's and now streaming. Right, so now when you look at currency, you went from you know, stage coaches, you know, to like literally trading whatever you can trade. They went from trading cattle to

trading you know, gold. I'm saying, actually creating something that gold can be, you know, compared to which is the actual dollar it is today and dollar eventually is gonna turn into something digital tool. So what makes you think that Donald dollar itself ain't gonna turn into a digital cars because saying dollars analog dollars analog dollars. Credit card is digital. But crypto that was money, that was that was so from I mean, now crypto is gonna become

the next digital priss. So if you don't invest in that, now it's like if you don't see that coming. Okay, now I'm blind, right, So now a can I know a corn is rich, I know he know he got everything. Now I want to got send reshirts on. So now I want to invest? How did I invest? How How does one go about someone who doesn't have your phone number? You know what I'm saying, who can't actually get this explanation. So just for these lamest terms out there, how do

they invest in a coin? Well, a coin it's gonna be up for sale in October, coin base, you know, coin base that it's gonna be everywhere. I mean a coin is actually gonna be in more places in certain places, and even you know, because Africa we have an old platform to do whatever, and Africa has been ahead of the curve using yeah we exchange through the phone. Yeah there was, there was a bit point before big like they've been on thehead of thee they've been wait ahead

of it. So you know, eventually you'll be able to go to your local A t M and be able to trade money in for eight points. So so so I'll give you ten thousand. I give like this example, I'll give ten thousand. Now what happens in return? Will you buy? You? Invest in thousands and point you just sit on the in the value goes on wow, and then you trade it in and then you trade it when you feel you need to trade it. You know what I'm saying. It's like it's like yes, it's like

the point. I mean everything. You gotta learn the game, understand how you know the currency fluctuate up and down. If you got ten bands right now, it's yours, Yeah, but it's yours. I don't know what I'm doing, but I trust you because I know you're ready. But that's what you don't want to trust Nobody trust, don't trust, don't trust nobody rich, trust and rich out of you, because that's what I learned. I don't trust rich people. That's how they got rich. You know what, I'm to

be untrustworthy. Yeah, but I do respect him and I do listen because now they're gonna give you information that you can utilize in your own life. But the word trust don't that's that don't like it don't exist in business. I realize, damn that's you know, it makes some noise to that. You didn't there. It's about negotiation, right, and if you want to have the uproar the negotiation, they're gonna be things you're not gonna tell me, so you

can have advantage over the over the negotiation. So already ain't no trust because I'm negotiating to get a better position and you're negotiating to get a better position. So according to what you know and according to what I know, you're gonna hold off a little bit to get in that position because it's not a good business deal if I'm not in a better position to you. You find what I'm saying, trust, it's out the windows. Basically, poker, It's basically that's exactly what it is. Okay. So also

you have also brought electricity to Africa. A certain part of Africa. Of so, so what happened and why did you even like fill this need? Now, first of all, it was a need, okay, and I always looked at when I first did it was just ready to kind of get back and more for plangey. But let me let me ask you, so, were you just going to these certain towns and seeing that there was no electures

it's actually started triggered. How it trigger? It was he was trying to do concerts in certain parts of Africa, but we couldn't do it because there was no electricity. And I was like, wait a minute, you don't tell me if you don't have enough electricity to do a concert. And then there was an area where there was electricity. But then when we went to go do this like the concert, and before the second song even came on,

all the lights went out. And that's what I like, Man, if something gotta some gotta give here, you know what I'm saying. And that was just what triggered that happened to me In the Dominican Republic, I was getting a haircut and half of my haircut came off, and then if the fucking lights went out, and it was like you gotta wait two hours the ship. I'm so sorry I changed the subjects. So it is real, like domic you need to fix your power system a long term,

I'm just turning resort system. I'm so sorry, but that's this. It's the same kind of shot, you know that. Yeah, so that triggered it. But then when I want the job, you know, I wanted to both visit your grandparents and when they live in there's no electricity, then you want to really your grandparends. You say grandmother didn't have electricity, she was living what she complaining like when you went to Yeah, but everything that's that's what they lived at

every day. So they didn't even notice that that was a luxury that they never even experienced that the rest of the world is experiencing. Me leaving out of the experience with the experience coming back and you was feeling guilty, So visit my grandma. But you wanted to be you know, because something you like, you gotta think about it. You don't really know what's good to you, you know what

I'm saying. And that wasn't a money play for you, correct, because you actually gave your money, right, put up my own money to get you know, to get it started. And what was it like ten thousand homes at the time, it was ten homes. And what's the infrastructure you're setting up? Like what is it that it takes to start to give electricity to a town? Um, it depends on what kind of electricity you're given. Like damn, what are you guys doing? I mean right now, I'm putting out so

many grids And so that's from I'm the sun. Yes, you know, Africa's never gonna run out of sun never. It was a perfect That's why we can talk like this. God that makes a noise us because in my mind of a dogskin nigger in my mind and my mind doskin, I'm trying since eight to get dark. I'm great to go ahead continue, you know, yeah, but I mean that's

a tad though, bron that listen. I'm not gonna you know I'm Drake color, but you do like I'll just like you know, I was Drake color before I moved out here, Like yeah, I mean, and Drake was the same color. No, no, no, I was a little dark and Drake. But I want to be because big up to Sammy Sosa, Big up to um what's the Jamaican guy that they super soap wasn't named Myles Cocktail that was locked up? Man, Yeah he locked up. But I'm just saying he used the soap to Kim White and

I'm like, that's he's white. Yeah, the soap is white. It's called what is it makes you like black rock? Yeah, it's it's gonna blet so Yeah, it's gonna blet soap. So that's where they say. They say, um, she don't bleach, bleach bleach. So they're big up the girls that don't bleach. But when I see that, say, oh ship, I'm not exact opposite, like I want to be black rock, want I want to use the black soap to get back. You know what I'm saying, because you know why melanin

is a great thing. I've studied melanon, I've understand it and understand that all of us haven't melanin. It's a blessing. It's not a curse. It's not a curse. That's the reason why they try to promote it as a curse, because you know, they don't want you to feel like a king that you actually are like regularly bro even out here man, whenever that's whenever it's hot. I'm gonna catch at least thirty minutes out of that song. Oh you go out in town. I just I mean for people.

I just can't let nobody get dalk to me. I'm asking Michael Black. I was dog goddamn, that's he's so rich. I smell money. Oh ship brother, give you look. Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna rush to the question real quick because I had this question for later on in the show. But you got like a real family, right, No, no, no, listen, listen, listen, listen, you got a real, real family, like your family ain't playing.

And now you're all from Synegal. Everybody, everybody, Now, let me just tell you something I told Europe a lot. There's a lot of Synagale people that that migrated to your friends everywhere, everywhere, at least like Jamaica. Every nigger I looked at in their eyes from Synegal, I could tell they killed somebody. I'm not saying, y'all, I'm just saying, like it's been like Syneage, like part of Africa was going west side? What what? What? What Nori experienced was

no fear. That's what your experience. Okay, when you look at us, when you look at the Senegal and are you saying you're saying that they had no fear? Okay, yeah I had fear, definitely nothing. Yeah, they sit there like it was this guy, right, I swear to guard. This is my CNN getting like twenty five still good money, right, So we go to the club. He pays us twenty five, but he gives us nothing. No, this is in France. This is in France. Does your homie that you've been

telling about this is in Marseille? My homies in my homies in Paris? Does marse Marseille? Actually in soccer they got you can't even mention Paris and Marseilles and vice versa. So we walked in the club and the guy gives us some money and that's it right, and that's it right, and he did no bottles, no no. So I looked at the dude and you know, our real manager at the time. I was like, you're about the flip when this motherfucker, I said, and they go you knew He's like, yeah,

I said this told me something different. He looked at me and Signori, I'm having a bad night. You're lucky I paid you. He didn't say that, but his eyes said that. His eyes is no, I respect you and that's it. That's it. And then we had to leave. Now mind you, we were formed. Man, we do we gotta do. Now, we gotta walk to the car. I was glad. I didn't get mad at this guy. I was so glad. And remember people, let's leave them so God, honestly is probably the most peaceful place in all of Africa.

I never had a conflict. It's very religious base. How about the cos That's why now Congo d the Congo. Those niggas killed gorillas with their bea hands. Those niggas ain't nothing to play with. That was another promoter that I had. I had a DJ. I forget his name. He's from Switzerland. Forgot your name. Um, totally forgot so sorry. But another promoter he came. He booked us same price, the same thing. Did that and then the DJ said leave here about to go people and said and he said,

I was like, you're wet from the Congo. I said that sounds real. Let me let this one to let me let this one goal. Congo is serious in the military over there. They what they raised in the middleity and you gotta stay. They've been in civil war films since I don't know how long, between the East and the West. I mean the Congo these day some fighters. Man, the kids grew up warriors. So that's Central Affica, right, the Congo Congos. No, that's wests. What's the blood diamond stuff?

See what you've been now. I used to wear a lot of diamonds. Now you you light with it because you're so rich. The more rich and you get the last like thing. In the beginning, it was just it was you never had it. So you just go hard on everything, like I over did every like literally over did everything. But then you start to realize how much money you wasting. It just didn't did you realize that it's not even important? You don't even like convict? Change

this big google it. Let me just tell you something. I'm gonna tell you. I'm gonna tell you one of the crazy story. Let me get this off of my um uh my, my ma. Listen, I'm in the land on one day it's snows like snows, but it's snows. The whole fucking city shuts down, right. I think it's just like yo, it's snow I'm like, I'm from New York City, nigga, So like, what the So there's no gas none and like a seventh block radius. So we're like, fuck it, we have to all what's this ship next

to the Living Small hotel? The Swiss hotel? But what was it prior to that? Was the Western I believe, so it is when I was a Swiss hotel. So I'm like, all right, cool. So I get my driver and they said to me, Okay, no sweat. If no one else have gas, don't worry. Acorn has a gas station and his career, that's true, but just gassing you up. He said, you're listen, you know a cos that's my nigged what you said, that's what that's one leg. You know a can gotta gas? You know what I say?

Where he's a kind of gas, Like is it on Peach Street? I said no, in his career, I ain't gonna lie. I didn't even answer the question because I was like, I didn't I didn't know the type of rich that is, right, Like you got a motherfucking get it's a fool. You got a texticole that that's some forward thinking. At the beginning of the block but he got he got a chevron pump in the crib. Okay, you love the parking lot, it's a chevron pump. Because I'm gonna lie. I'm so glad this room was true. Right.

What the fuck made you say I'm gonna get a gas station at the crib? Why not? I'm not gonna You can't what he made you say? Yo? Because I said a lie. It was so rich that when the person said that to me, I was like, I said, yo, I don't think I got a car number. I definitely didn't have it then, so I said, let's just go to the Oh, let's just just chill. Let's go to the bar for a second, and then ship hit me for six hours. Then he got a gas station in

this house. I got to reevaluate my life. Made you he was building the cub and said, fuck it, I want to pump Humber nine right here? Like, how did this? How did this? I told you I was. I overdid everything that then. So that was that phase when I just overdid everything. I wanted to outdo everybody. I wanted to overdo it with another off the block cars, damn. You know. So maybe before I would just you know,

fill up, n done. I gotta pet peep about my gas tank being at a half tape like I don't okay, I never let it get under the half but like below the half mark, damn, a car still fill up my made back for twenty dollars. Think, I'm sorry, I'm sorry to cut you off. I'm sorry, but you said so you're built in the crib and you said fuck it. I never want to go out to get gas. No, I was too popular. It was just hitache. I think it's mad, pctic and then but it's practical, it makes sense,

like sense something you can say. At that time, I was thinking straight too, because every time we used to jack cars, we did it from the gas in Atlanta at that time. That's crazy at the gas, that's crazy. I didn't think of that. I never thought of that. I never thought of But that's still some flo too many cars, and I'm a would have been too many

gas st stops. I'm not taking that chance. So when you say thirty two cars, right, I want to think of this now, when you say thirty two cars, we are we saying made backs because you pulled up in a ghost right, Okay, so you don't got like Chevrolet sixty threes. You know, I mean, yeah, I don't know old schools. I can't do that. You don't do old school I'm I'm mine. I'm gonna get one with schooling by from phone master flex. I'm gonna be honest. Jump cars,

you don't vote with you. You could just call them jump cars. They jump cards, bro. I mean yeah, yeah, I'll take one or two. Huh dirty yea. I saw you on the highway when I was a kid. Tweet my man, my brother is ye can never do the old school thing. Oh man? All right. So the song sorry one of my favorite songs. Also one of the times I kind of disagree with you. I didn't feel like you should have said sorry at that time. Like at that time, I think you jumped in the crowd

or something like that. You know. What happened was I was in Trinidad and we was having a dutty winding contest and the girl came up. She was only four teens. Okay, all right, Now I understand that her father was a preacher. You know, he was a preacher. He was preaching one of the most um you know, respected churches over there. And the concert was a huge success. Even the contest was a huge success. But she won the contest, so she ended up on the front page newspaper along with me,

saying how successful the show was. Dad wakes up to read the paper the next Sunday morning and sees his daughter in the front page on top of me on the newspaper, and he flipped out. So it became a story that, yeah, you know I was sexually you know whatever, dancing with this minor, not realizing that's the culture in Trinidad. However, the story was you had jumped in the crowd or

something like that. I'm that makes total sense because when I actually apologize, I was like, I didn't want you, because sometimes it's artists, we bear on a responsibility that's not all, that's not ours. But you know I got that for sure. And then you know, of course one seeing it and everybody took up and took on the story. All the sponsors started putting out, start doing all this right, So this became where the actually the song came after

Pokeepsie didn't. Yeah, that's when I had threw this kid off the stage for throwing something, throwing something on the stage for me, So that's more of So what I was apologizing for but so that's what I thought it was. I mean, sincerely, that's what made me say, you know what, I need to grow up on that part of it. Now. The Trinidads played, I didn't think that was my faunt at all, because I'm just doing my job. I got paid for service. It's not my job to secure security

in that club. I don't even of her. I mean, that's like a dance with the fat girl and then a little different. But but naturally, when you're celebrity, clearly the blame has to be on somebody. So the approach that I took was if the club owners, the security, whoever responsible for that protocol is not willing to be a man and take the blame, I'll take it for you. Then you know what I'm saying. And that's what that man.

God dammit. That's the funny shing about you, right is I knew you for years, always a peaceful, always respectful. But when you google you, right, because I have to google everybody that's on here, the first seven things is a calm, fights serious diego. The first can't you know I didn't even know that about you? That's crazy. The first seven things right, it was the first seven Yeah,

something like that. So are you, like appaused by that image because I know the real a car like I know, regardless it was violence involved, and I know that you ain't started. I know you never ground. But if a person violated, then your people had to do what they had to do. But does that ever affect business in any which affects business in a big way, you know, I think. I think anything negative like that that involves violence is it's gonna stop your money. That's just a period.

But I think at the same time, when you get to a certain level and there seems to be a bigger influence towards real money, the protocols that be is going to actually try to keep you in a place where they can still control you. And I think now that you do it through the internet, and they do it through certain links and searches and so on and so forth, because most people don't go past that first page when they do searches, you know what I'm saying,

to see what you're really doing that. Yeah, And that's why you gotta be careful what you do because every everything and every decision you make today is gonna fake you tomorrow and it always affects you when you're not even on that on that wave. That's not a reason why you heard that you did a big deal with China in terms of credit to help Africa m terms

of getting a credit line. Is that true? I did a deal with China that has nothing to do with that though, saying like US credit line versus a Chinese credit line, um, that gets really deeper into politics. But I would, I would, I would probably say that there's a reason why it's happening because politically, politically, there's a lot of moves that's that's being made. And I'll probably announce him in a few well, you know, months to come. But you know, it all makes sense once once we start,

you know, giving some information out. Yeah, as far as Puerto Rico, we tried to, uh, you know, submit a proposal to be able to provide electricity for Porto Rico at the time, and and and our proposal was shut down. Now government, I mean they only want that, they only want that can make that decision. I mean politically in Puerto Rico and all the same, you know. Okay, so guys say, this ain't gonna look the Republicans, but listen,

but listen now. I had a big debate, right because a couple of the homies they said that Lady Gaga, Right, they said that Lady Gaga, you discover Lady Gaga because she was writing for you, right, But that's not what I heard. What I heard was you discovered Lady Gaga because he was writing for her. I don't know what is what or if you want to answer or whatever, but how did how did how did that happen? Well, Lady Gaga was the first artist sign to UM, well,

first pop artist sign of brand. When I went to con I, it's is your label? Okay? Cool? So UM. To be very clear, I didn't discover her wow um. She was already signed that Interscope. When my deal was closed and Jimmy gave you boy. I went to Jimmy and said I need that because at the time they weren't moving on that because she wasn't the priority. So Jimmy played her music. No, no, I just went through

all the demos. You saw the talent, and I mean I just closed my deal there, so you're saying you close that deal and you went and said, I'm gonna listen to all your demos. I want to see what you've got in this building? What type of fucking like? What? Because think about it. When think about it, let's say, right now, you go to Universal, They've signed hundreds of artists that you don't even know is in that building. I ain't listening to not one of them, niggas demos.

I'm gonna be honest because I ain't. I'm a foul nigger. And this is how I looked at it. The labels have already they already investing hundreds of thousand dollars into these signs, these signings, some of them come sit there to three years, That's what was Yeah, sit there to three years and get dropped and never had no energy

put into him. So I said, before I go out discovering new artists out there that no one cares about, never seen, let me go into the box of all the orders sitting in this building that they already put jam money into. You found out what I'm saying, which makes all the sense in the world. But going through it, at the time, I didn't hear her because she was doing blues like type of you know. I mean, it's

just the look and everything didn't fit. And at the time I was writing for the Pussycat Dolls, and I had just signed a producer name Red One at the time. So I was like, yo, I had the brightest block because I was right, He's not from He's from Morocco. He's from Morocco, Africa, from Africa. Yeah, So ultimately, man was right. I mean, I just couldn't come up. I was I had a writer block that day. I couldn't

come up with nothing. So I needed some information. I was like, yo, get some girls here, get something crazy, you know, give me something that can spark some ideas. He said, well, I know somebody that you can you know, you can come rock with. It's Red One, And you know, he called Lady Gaga now and her name was Lady Gaga. At that's okay. Cool. So she walks into the studio. She walks in the studio, and then you are a con. This is already locked up, this is you're already lit. Yeah.

I mean that you diamonds everywhere, you know. So ultimately, you know, we do the song. She's she goes in the booth and she's dem on your song out and I'm like, yo, this bitch is a star. Now when you say you do the song she dem wing out, you're saying you laid the vocals and then she said your vocals over no, no, like we wrote the song, and she went in to demo without for it sounds well. I was reading for the Pussy Got Doors. So she

came out the booth. I was like, yo, what's your situation? Like, are you signed? And she was like yeah. I said where, Like what building? She said, I mean in the school? I say, are you serious? She said yeah, I sound long. You've been there and she said about it, you donna have two years. I was like, oh, ship, well, let's you know, this works something out. She's like tell yeah,

let's do it. So I called Jimmy. I see you, Jimmy, I know exactly who I want to sign off the label A sad and I was like, he said who? I said, Lady Gaga. He's like really, I said yeah, I know. In his mind he's trying to figure out like what, like what is that? What kind of deal is that though she's already signed to the label, that who kind of deal is that? It's a joint venture, so it changes for her. Her numbers don't change, Jimmy. Jimmy is like the numbers don't change. The only difference

is Jimmy was split. He has to give to you because now you're investing in it exactly. But you're not investing money. You're investing whatever it is. You're not investing money. When you say you know, I'm taking over the project at that point, I'm you know, I'm doing all the music. Him adding yourself to the project is investing in it. No, he's Jimmy knows what I do. So Jimmy had no problem, you know, was saying, Okay, take that and put it under your umbrella and let's make this big. You know

what I'm saying. Now, in any other system, they probably would have been like, do it as well, because they're either gonna do that or they're gonna end up dropping it because it's one of the list of things that there's no attention put on yet. And she was a kind of artist that was so creative it was hard to really figure out what that is because she had been through four or five labels before she even landed

the Amuscope. So so, okay, you have this conversation with Jimmy, Jimmy gives you the green light that Now, now, what's the next step. After that next step, we spent three days in the studio and finished the album here and what studio we're at it was in Atlanta. Yeah, we did that whole album. We did her album and Tammy Chan's album all in the same month, sem rooms, same moon. Because after we finished gu Guy's album and we end up doing Tammy Chan's album, you kept with ging. I

respect your high five. So now when we get into the writing process, But how did the writing process go? Uh? The writing process for me is really simple because after the beat is made, I go in there later melody and then I listened to the melody. Did not put the words to it? Now? Is that what hard as well? Yeah?

With her, she's she she does pretty much the same thing. Um, I think the melody, uh, the way it was like she kind of adopted it from us because I think, you know, but she you know, she was she was already classical classically you know, treat comes again and everything like that. In my opinion, sorry to cut you off, my opinion, it felt like what you gave to her is the same exact thing what Ussher kind of gave

to Justin Bieber. Like they got sold. But you know, like the sign that This is now what Justin gave to Justin, I mean us gave to Justin Bieber was co signed as far as credibility and a mentorship, right because someone could say that about yeah, like me, when when I get involved with artists, When I signed an artist on a label that's co sign is the last thing that I see as as as a as a you can say, as a an advantage for them, because

we don't. We do beyond that. We we actually develop artists like we artistly develop them, you know what I mean? And then after all that's done, I go on a road with them from radio station to radio station to me the DJ DJ like I put them through the same like the same process I went through. We jump in, but you go with them. Yeah, I'm there, I'm there and everybody out there in the business. No, when I

signed an artist, but what does that turn into? You? Like? Now, when when when someone because we all know someone gets involved in someone's career and then it works, What is now? What does that look like now? The business situation between y'all, the relationship? What is that now? Oh no, that's just good, Like it's still the same business situation. No, it's not, it's not at all. Once she goes on, then yeah, because once she goes on, she's an own ball, she's

our own person, you know, she makes own decisions. So how far along does that take to happen? That normally depends on the person. Depends on the person. You know, some artists after the first hit record, and some artists after five six albums, and some stay together for it all depends. And is it ever like bitter sweet in a sense? Is there a bad business? I don't think it's never really bitter sweet for me, you know, because I I do what to actually empower them to do

it on their own. So you want that for your artist absolutely, I mean absolutely, because it's not every situation. Yeah, I'm developing artists for them to leave them. Yeah, I developed them to be free, you know what I'm saying. And because if you're looking at it from a monetary game standpoint or a financial game, you gain no matter what, because you're always going to be attached to the product, you know what I'm saying. I felt like when you was I mean, you said you went to the radio

station with me as a DJ. At the time, it didn't seem like you were attached to the project, like I felt like the lady got beginning even like it felt like you felt back. You were letting her just be her and do her and then not seeing that. That's what the part you're talking about is letting the world know I was attached because I didn't want her

to be painted no kind of way urban. You just wanted her to be her, Like yeah, because as a business person, I was like, the moment people know that she's with me, they're gonna give her the same shot and she's not going to get that business that I need her to get because otherwise a whole bunch of maiggas will be following her and she'd be like Pink selling a million records and trying to get out of that to do something different. So what happened, I'm sorry,

And I was in the bathroom with quick Um. So what I've been for the separation? Oh no, I just know we talked about that. Terms just expired. We talked okay, yeah, the terms expired, and know what I'm saying. And then I was offered, you know, a buyout to uh, you know, if my share of the proc my part the change the sounds So there is a buyout though, what I want to That's what I'm trying to. Yeah, he's saying the buy that's on a businessman level. I want to know, like,

how does that look? But when the artist goes on you know? No? No, I mean well it's if I didn't. If I didn't, you know, agree to the buyout, I'll still be attached business wise. But as an artist you kind of feel obligated to make an artist feel as a businessman, I raised the value so I can sell it. That's all there. Trying to hear this artist ship that you can say business it's not artist ship right now. I respect that. I respect that so hard. So you

guys made history. It's still cool. Oh yeah, no, it's she's like mother's sister. Okay, would be on your Spanish albums. You have a Spanish album, Greek. Let me just say this South here listen, dog, so rich Man, I just look at me time I look over there and just look at richness man. Yeah, man, would you like to come out have to see you come out to see please? Please? That's listen. That's one guy right there. I gotta tell you I have so much respectful him because he signed

you he's not like he's not. No. When I was at Universal, he was the president at Universe, all I was under here, what do you mean Universal? So I got that money as as many as much as he's a concert all the time. Sohow he just show me membership? I don't want When he was there first, he was first. I'm not gonna yeah, you know he was, he was. He was one of those guys like he was. He understood how the corporate side worked and he also understood

how the street side worked. That's why he was the perfect medium between the two sides, and he was able to create on the urban level impacts that most people could never impact. And most time you don't. People know the name but never seen his face. That's why he can't put him on camera. He like al Haman, Yeah that's exactly you know Alan, but you don't know how you know? You don't know him? Yeahs be like that's our human. I'd be like at because I got our

human check once. Once I got one, and the game booked me again, I don't know what I did? You know? Embarrassing? Was that Chris fighting way right? No? I didn't try to that was not you that he was right, because so he says to me, No, that's what Jacob Watch is real popular. Right. Remember he says to me, he's sit in the road in front of me, so he's cracking jokes and ship when your Jacob Watch. I don't know what I said, motherfucker. I've brought Jacob with me

translation for the audience. He's started on. He won. He is a good guy man. And you know what Pop said something the other day, and I would like to reiterate what he said because I want to look at

good dog. I think of this man. I think IRV Gotti, I think of Dame Dashes, I think a BIGS, I think a whole and Pup said, there's so much limited Mark pitts um Chaws suit, there's so much limited black CEOs out there right now, and Puffs and plaint was that corporate America, hite America, whatever part of America you want to call it. It's not even investing or even trying to make more black CEOs happens. We got no idea. We got these certain peoples out there that's gonna be funded.

It should be fundy, whether it's their own independent company or whether heading Sony or heading you know a depth, Jam, what do you think about that? I think it's happening because we ain't making it happen yet, who do you think? Who do you think making them billions? We're doing it, so you expect them to invest in us? Like why we can't invest in our own they think about it? Why we can't do it? But what I want to

understand what you're saying. But what pupp is saying is this is our industry, so so so the company is should be invested and to our people in this particular industry. So he's he's not saying, everybody start our own companies, which we can know. That's what he's saying. You know, def JAM should have Gotti running it should still be running University. Uh, you know, still we're wrong and so on and so forth. It's their company. Okay, that they built. Okay,

you want that? Did he? How about we started our company that we build and we've become to see you. That's why revote right now. I got down because think about it, bro, Like the problem is nobody thinks tomorrow long term, universally in the company that was built yesterday last week. Let's come to damn it. Almost a hundred years old, bro, So we gotta think a hundred years tomorrow. And they funded by Vivendi, right, but even them, that's

all European niggas on all the water in France. Well, how to funk you on the you know, one day smoking death jam all the time. Right today, you're the owner of Avendi's coming today. I said, word that Nigga's ill. What the Vendi said Nigga owned water water in France? I said, I'm put out my weed. They asked me to put the weed out. I was just like, I

went too far. He's one of the shareholders of Ani and he's actually he owned a majority of the ports, you know, the ports on the water, all the shipping and all that come in the majority of his money come from Africa. And you know that I know him because you know him, Like yeah, I gotta I gotta stop who, I gotta remember who I'm talking to? Brother Electricity. He did everything in the funk he had to do. Okay, So a com I got something, I got some question,

God damnit. I I was ready for us a long time. Brother. If you got the lady guy, I got ship out of here. Okay. So now here's where we gotta go. I would like to say rest in piece of Screw. Um. I had never met Screw me personally, but I've been affected by Screws death because Capone and you guys somehow was was whatever. I don't know the story right, Me and Capone was actually not in good terms at that time.

So but I remember how how much in the beginning when this first happened, how much you know Block Roy, They wherever I was at, people from Block Worrior there come to Yo and I'm looking, and there'll always be somebody like, no, it's not him. It screal ship like and they're like, no, it's not him. And I was just standing there and never be like I was like, but I understood because I had never met Screw, but understood how important he was. And then it's who me

as a person, Who's who used my intelligence? I went studies, So I went and that was probably one of the most genuine enough I've never met him, but I'm just saying from what I've researched, probably um one of the most straight up that I'm down on, the most realistic people. So, how did you even meet Screw? Yeah? They don't make him like him no more. I've met him when I moved to Jersey, Okay, you know, um, he was actually the one that uh kind of mentored me because he's

like a big brother to me. And then he introduced me to the whole you know, crue that ball with the balling posse at the time before Block Royal had even existed. And that's how that whole concept came about. Because we was like worthy on our own, block was wanted and that's how it all, know, the whole concept came about. But he was He was clearly a leader though,

that's for sure, you know what I'm saying. So, and everybody looked up to him in a big way because he was he was the person that there was a problem, they would call him to you know, put both sides together and pieces together. That's why they called him to screw because he was, oh everything together. Puerto Rican that can go squap exactly what he Blacks and Puerto Ricans. Everybody knew him. So when there was a problem, they're called school, they're like out of respect him. He'd be like,

all right, cool, we're talking to chopping up. And he always put you know, put people together. That's that's you know, that's that was his thing. Problem. So do you know that? Do you know the actual story of yeah? So, which you because I don't know. So it was me, Screw and Capone. We were all hanging out that day because the whole week moves together, the whole week, you know. And then um so I was leaving me, me and school was leaving out to go to the Bahamas that

day that happened. So me, you know, we was coming from New York from school. Campone, this is after locked up, this is Acon is Acon, Acon is not like you're not coming up, You're on your way. Yeah, I'm on my way. So you know, he was like, yo, we're heading to the Bahamas. Everything was going good. We did. We do this thing every weekend at the ring side, ring side, you still do. I just you know we sent picture with you and Snoop Dogg at ringside. That true.

So Mario is the guy that Mario, he's like godfather. Now okay, right, you see my research. I'm good at my job. Coming Yeah. So ultimately, you know, so we invited Capone like, yo, man, you gotta come out with us. You know you're gonna have what's campone? Eventually supposed to sign to or I was thinking about commit school was actually, you know, it's my brother, so everything he was doing together. So the whole idea was, you know, the Block Royal

would be the music. Well it was Convict was already in place, but Block Royal was something. We want to do it for the community, you know what I'm saying. And more so anything we want to make it more, keep it latin. You know, comic music be the black side. Block roils the Latin side because it was different music, different genre, different, you know what I'm saying. So ultimately, you know, we we went up and had the comedy show.

Everybody had a great time. Now I had to go back to my hotel to get grab my bags and everything because we're leaving out that morning. So as I'm saying, okay, we don'ta gonna pull out, we're getting the call. We start pulling in. They're still in the um in the in the comedy center. Everything. Let's out capone and everybody's downstairs chilling. N It's about to close out, but not quite. Everybody's out front. The pone was about to pull out.

So schools like all right, were cool. Let me just make you walk into the car and make sure everything is all good. As the phone was moving out, he we went to look. We went a little here to Screw because there was a conversation happening. And as Capone was coming out, somebody jammed him to against the door with a gun, trying to rob for his chain. School noticed that dude was trying to get at him, so he rushed out to the front and caught dude. Didn't

act as he was robbing Capone. Now you're not dead, but this is what you're here, you know, it's robbing Capone. So Screw stepped the front, grabbed the dude you know with the gun, and snuffed him. As he snuffed the moves, everything was going on, moving around and going on. Everybody came out realized, okay, was does a fight? They all go jumping and everything else, and Screw was on top of him just punching him, punching him, punching him. Next thing you know, he just fell on him and he

was like, why everybody jumping? Anybody going on? So you signed out because of all the commotional was going when when the Screw grabbed him punch dude, the gun went off. Wait, so the guy on the floor. Um shot shot him, Well, the guns off at he was snatching the gun to hit him. Understand, you're saying that, you know the guy's partner because on one point at you, So the guy's pointing at him, School grabs him and then in a mix of all that happening, okay, schools on top of

him punching him. Now, so they're not thinking that nobody got shot. He's not even know when he got hit. You following when when it went off. So when he fell on him, that's when they realized, oh ship, he's actually hit. You find what I'm saying. So as they was rushing him to the hospital, he got there safely. But then by the time he got there, by the time I got to the hospital, yea God, blessed God bless and um because the reason how I heard about

it was paper and Jersey had wrote about it. And when they wrote about it, they said nor Hea and I was like, what the because they couldn't tell y'are too part of the time, you know, So I was like what because I kept calling him no, like you I know, you just remember Noriega? What what? What? What? Remember? But first off, everybody, please right now, I would like to have a moment of silence. Screw so everybody. It

was three or four seconds? God bless man. Um. Yeah, I never, like I said, I never met the homie every every quarter weekend nigger I ever met that knows him. They sit up to him like, and I'm like, so, I appreciate I appreciate you keeping his memory alive. And I appreciate you keeping black warrior people around you, like because it's an honorable thing to do. Because the level you're at, you don't have to keep ties with anybody. I mean you don't have to. You should, but you

don't have to. But the fact that you do shows how honorable you are, and I have to respect that. I got a couple more questions than we are. You are? You got one? E oh you were okay, because what you got I got I'm going, well, yeah, yeah, I'm going is different. So you are married human, but go there just yet. But you got like nine though, right, that's hard. That number is inflated. It's inflated. That's four. Yeah, I got more than one. I can go. I can go that far, okay, but I can't go deep into

it just yet. Okay, So you multiple wives. That's hard. And now now in order for me to do that, I gotta be Muslim. I gotta take much Huh. You could be Mormon. Mormon, No, I can't be woman. The niggas gonna watch TV. I need my TV. Come on, Muslim even not. You can actually be Christian too, it's in wait, wait, tell me tell me the body because scared.

I'm definitely scared. Definitely you can do it, all right, So so alright, explain to the normal nigga that's scared that you can have you can have Keisha and if you wanted to, I need you to dixplain it. He's like, it's not that like in Africa is a tradition, So isn't just a different African That's what I'm trying to say. I got to be a student right now. I'm a therapy class. How did you pull us off? Sir? But it's not really nothing you pull off? Like think about

look at the average person to day. Right, you got your main girl, your side piece. Listen, listen, I hear all that talking, mistress. I'm just saying, I don't know how y'all title them, how y'all say it. But if you go down we are going down jack, see no real talk. Okay, this may not apply to you or my brother, oh or whoever else that it may not apply to, But the average guy has his main chick, side piece or mistress, jump off and whatever else knew

that come about. It could be a one night stand, it could be somebody you meet the club, whatever the case. Maybe now at the end of the day, we can say that that your girl don't know what you're doing or don't know what's happening, but she knows you better than you know yourself. You know what the hell you're out there doing, bro, she just don't call you out on it. And women have this tendency of well, it's

actually natural. If you tell her that this is what it is, she builds and starts to structure her life around what you tell her. Coughing back there, it's just one of So that's how women do because they're very emotional creatures. So they're gonna build their life around you and what makes you happy, and not only that, but what makes you comfortable. So if you tell look, baby, this is what it is in my life, this is how it is, she builds her life around that. Now,

So now imagine being a person that caters. You're the whole way of existence, around the way you live, and then one day finds out that everything you can tell her is a lie. So now she just structured her whole life around the line. What did she do then? I mean, every woman is different how they react to it. It depends on the woman, but they're gonna react. My approach is just totally different. I'll keep it all the

way one tell them from beginning. I'm married, I got not another motherfucker's straight up, and we're gonna fuck and you might be my temper credit cards. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I said it in the Norry way, but like in the acorn way. Is like, is this similar? Like you listen, baby, you can't be there prize when and you're getting it. It's not like you like you're approaching it from a pimp. No, I don't want to trying to be a pimp for a week. It didn't

work out. I didn't didn't work out for me. I don't want to be a band. Yeah, so it's nice. Okay, let's put this way. It's as simplest this. Let's say you're married, I am oh we're not trying to trying to look good in front of his wife. And so what I'm saying is that makes you look guilty. You don't have to try hard if you're person If you don't, that's awesome. Can I tell you something, I'm your good husband. You gotta wave the white flag. That's very true. I

don't got to do that. That's very true. That's very true. Good right. You better you want to claim that too. I'm claiming that. Let's say the average guy, it's taken right, and he meets a girl, and the girl that he's with, now that he's taken with, he's already had a conversation saying, listen, this is my way of life. This is a tradition. Yes, I'm planning on marrying you, but I'm entitled to happen one, two, or three or four wives. All right now, you explain

that to number one from day one. If she's cool with that, and that's you. If she ain't cool with that, then she's not the wife for you. If that's what you plan to do. Now, on a woman standpoint, this is what happens. Two things happen. First of all, you keep it real with her, so she keeps that respectful you because you didn't lie to her. You told her

exactly what you feel and what she's getting into. And number two, now she can prepare herself mentally to say, Okay, you know what if I deal with Nori and this is what he wants, is this something that I want in my life? You find what I'm saying. Now, she can make that decision because you gave her the option

to make that decision. Okay, but have you ever made a bad bitch where you're like, yo yo was something baby yam trying to give like and then you're like, I don't want no nigga with a wife, and you just lied for that moment, he was like, I ain't got no visit never come on never bro never never. He wasn't in Mexico one, I ain't no listen never. Oh Ma, you know this before I was who I was, So you know this. So what I'm saying is at the end of it, too, you look like you're taking

bitches down still fill to this death. I've seen if that happens, I tell a straight up look, look it's right now. I don't even try to hide that. I let him know straight up I'm married and like this amount of kids and they come first, how many kids enough? I got six and impossible. I don't know what other nigga is the possible man I got, I got a running around there, I got a space. I'm sorry, and what's saying I mean at that point, if it all fails you, I can always just to be friends. But

if a woman know what you'd get into. Bro in the problem. We were just in the club just the other day, brother and re knowing what everybody already know. The chicks came to me ask him to be a wife. She introduced herself to me as his next wife, like, Hi, I'm your brother's next wife. I'm like, you didn't even met you yet, Yeah, that's all. And then then she went to him like, hello, I'm your new wife and let her she let him know that she dude, that's

a regular. Dude, an't communicate that. You followed like, if I already communicated that, this woman comes to me already knowing what it is, now you haven't communicated that. So she's coming to you knowing what it is to her. You know, you know his girl, you know his girl was in Big pim My Girl. Bro, like his girl let me a friend from like high school yesterday his girl. Listen, listen, his girl is a big video. His girl is in my gade. You look and videos, that's all you're making

up videos? Now you know a grape fine stories. This motherfucker takes it to the level. I'm trying to think in a major little video, wasn't there's only due to that. Listen, listen a car, I want you to answer and bro, bro listen up. I want you to let me know he was listening to hear his story. But then there's a real story. I listen. I want you to tell me if my friend is petty or not. His name is DJ, he's my brother. He's in my story. Makes some noise for him. God, what but his girl went

to big payment video. A real girl hates that. You bring the story up all the um and then she went to video and then he never out both videos. Was no, no, this is my story. I'll let you tell you a story that. Now, if your girl went to a big pimp and video to say a girl she's inspiring to be a model, would come off a girl inspiring to be a model, inspired to be a model and goes to I'm not gonna lie. Don't listen to inspiring to be a model. I worked for the

casting company. So what she was doing in the video making them to be inspiring model the way you just trying a business model together right shot out the casting by country. That was funny but alright cool, especially in that era of hip hop. Yes, models don't exist in casting. Like you said, you knocked down a lot of models. You know what I'm saying is I was trying to go there. You know what he's going on. What I'm trying to say is music videos were never made for models.

So if you're trying to be an inspiring model, the video scene is not where you're gonna be that because, first of all, if you've been in the video, agencies ain't even gonna accept you because they just they never at that time, especially they didn't look at hip hop videos as something classy to looking at it with something ratchet. He pleaded my cane for him. You know what I'm saying, But the video models popping, I mean, it all depends.

I'm good. I'm gonna try. He almost he almost, and so um you said you said the video of okay, so now, but he was wrong for cutting off of being and I didn't cut her off. He did the right thing when he hold on what was the first video she was in the song, song, song song? If she was just a song? Did he do the right thing about coming? He did the right thing, bro this Wally. There's a longer list of videos like who you're talking about?

She was long song. Ain't even no threat? Why threatcause he's going trying to knock down their hands and all trying to knock it down because anything back. There's a good guy. I thought she wasn't one of your videos and the joint they never came out, the John Roo joint. I'm gonna live my life. She was there was a good guy. But y'all niggas. Man, My woman talked about she coming to you. What are you'all? Man? Now, I ain't got right now. If your woman tells you swing

to my video right now, she's safe. Yeah, I mean man, by Anna, listen, your ring is the biggest. Yeah, we're in the same boat. But you got eight of them though, my nigger, I got one. But I ain't gonna lie. I know, I know you're doing something good because I can't do it. Man. Eight or whatever you got. It doesn't matter how many of you got that ship is you got more than one, and you're and you've got

great hairs. Why are you gonna got great hairs? I don't know, bro, So I just communication, man, dope, it's communication. But the hardest part is the time spending too. That's the hardest part. The hardest part, honestly putting the time in. So what does a corn do on the date? What do you do? You go the roller skame rings? You mean for fun? Yeah? I go to movies, movies. What's

the last movie you saw? Uh? I ain't been the movies in a Minutely the ladies is listening, like I've been working so hard, man, I don't even So what do you do for fun? What is the fun day for the studio? Honestly? No, man, you can't do no no, no, no, no answer like me. That's exactly. But but everything. Yeah, but I only got one of them women, so that's cool. But what do you you gotta satisfy? All right? So, now one of your wass we don't know how many

wives we got, We don't care. We just know you got locked one of your whiles come to you and say baby would like to spend a day with you. What is your plan? Take it from there. I would tell you to make the plan. You would tell them to make the plan. Okay, so now they got more time to think about they do great. I mean when we do things, ain't very much we could do right. We don't do much because you can't really walk through the park because they can't walk like they know all

the fun stuff to do right. You can't go to no noble by yourself, No, yeah, everybody noble. You could go to normal by yourself. What's noble? Though New York? I ain't never been a noble. You ain't never been a Come on, you've never been a noble? What is noble? Man? I don't know what the fuck? I don't even know if don't even know who I've ever been to? Was the one in the UK, but not in the States. You gotta go to the one. Amalapo brother ain't been one,

you know what. I take that back, I didn't go to. That's a new one, the one near the Yeah, goddamn five five, you're listen. That's I gotta get used to the high five that's hanging around white boys a long time. Many a little crazy, but you have ain't a no. But that's that's that's a good thing. Nobles was never really um like an industry restaurant type of dude. That's why you never seen me in the restaurant. Food is bland, The service is mad. Little I like, I like like

a hole in the wall. Got to like soul food Western. Okay, let's find me in the hood for food. So let's let's describe one of your favorite hood foods. Because you know I got a food show as well. Let's describe one of your favorite hood food shops. Oh Man Island Cafe in Atlanta. I'm more Dry Island Cafe. Bro Listen to me. I don't care what where you ever ate Western Indian food. You ain't gonna find no place bigger,

better than Cafe Island Cafe. Have you eight ever a famous fish or hunting forty Fish Street and St. Nicholas in Harlem? No, I don't think so. I might have done. I might have done. What kind of spot is it? It's fry fish. If it's fry fish, I ain't been in the oh. You don't fry fish, not since high school? Why what happened your girlfriend? Everybody everybody big in the world of fry fish white down. It's not even when when you start experiencing other types of fishes. Yeah, that's true.

This is different because Prophecy, when you start that a flavoring fried fish until you put some hot sauce on it. Whereas when you start eating like this, Nigga, this coming out of him like hell. St. Louis, that's Louis, right, Nigga said, you ain't even tasting the teap of hoss Jesus you are dirty more right now? Yo? But um okay boom so locked up we already covered that. No, we did not. This is your introduction to the industry lot. They won't let me out. I know I can't sing.

I apologize, but you understand my passion. Locked up comes out now. You said he was born in St. Louis, so you're actually not the emigrants that yeah, um, that's going through this immigration ship right now. But you could have easily been born in Senegal, but you went back to Senegal, right you were just born and coming back you are like so locked up. If you would have been born in Senegal two days before came to St. Louis and then went and got locked up, you wouldn't

even be here. Possibly not. So how do you one, how do you feel like about the you know, the immigration ship. That's it's horrible. That's horrible, bro. Honestly, I don't even know what to say about it. You know, it's it's just in human to me. I was never a kind of person that liked anything like gates, barriers or you know, borders anyway, you know what I'm saying. I just feel like the earth was built for us to roam through it like this should never should be

like orderline where you can go on Earth. And I'm talking about you reside in the States right now? Yeah, do you ever feel like everything going on right now to like lift somewhere else another country? Um? I mean I got places in other countries, but I prefer to be in the States. Yeah. If I had to make a choice between living in Africa and living in the States, I would chose Africa. Get the funk out there. We're part of Africa, Senegal Synegal ship. Really like that, It's amazing.

It got like a Miami type of place. I'm man, we're right, what's my money about it? Yeah? You go to cork Bird all this right next door to each other and beautiful. It's me. It's like, it's like, okay, oh, that's where k Verdians comes out. Oh wow, that's where I'm like, that's where all Boston is from major Rhode Islands. It's from there. Your triers over there too, and Adria. Goddamn it sounds very exotic. So so now locked up so this song comes out now it's inspired from you

being locked up? Where at what time? Um? What do you mean? Like when yeah, I got locked up in around eight I got locked up a nine in r E album. I was shining at that time, so sorry, so sorry, what you listening to my album in jail because she was lit I got out? Okay, So locked up, you come home, You come Home? That s r C. Correct. This is Steve Ripkin, which is my boy Steve for Loud Music Formal Love Music. So how does this connection

come out for Locked Up to even come out? Um? Well, when I got out, I was I was at the crib, just kind of just in the studio, Ary City. I was in Atlanta, okay, and then um no gas station at the time. Yeah, so, uh, Divine was shopping five songs that I just recorded. Who divine. Yeah. So ultimately what happened was we had got office from like four or five labels, and Steve Rifkin was brought to our attention.

UM to a friend of ours I name Bernard Alexander said that but at the time Steve Brook never had anything R and B. Is that correct? I wasn't quite sure what what what is? I didn't even know who Steve Rippin was at that time, but he was coming all those guys, big pun big um. So at the times, um, it was literally a little the hood like we lived in Atlanta where I was staying at the time. We was like in a little si in the Senator hood. But we had like a huge mansion right in the

middle of the hood. And I was upstairs and the vine was like, yo, man, you know, we gotta exact that's gonna come by and you know, meet you, you want to meet you. So I wasn't show from what label? Who you know? And then I looked outside and I see, you know, these two white guys coming to the door with T shirts and jeans and one who huh Steve

who it was? I don't know, I don't know who the two guys d no you know what rich Isaacson I think was one of them at the time, I think he was one of the other one was a security some Russian security dude, but I thought he was the fair. So I ran through the back door way coming to sign you what kind of life is living? Jesus? Okay, okay, right, so now then a little room away to bud like what else? Card come back, come and find out. I dipped out the back though, so he gonna find me.

I'm at the park, like and then you get over here. But I said exactly, I was telling you about like oh ship. So I come back through the front though, and I see Steve Rifkin, you know, and you don't down the earth though, you know, mad cool He comes, he said, listen, I know you got other offers on the table, he said. I'm you know, I don't have any money. I'm gonna tell you right now, I don't have enough. I don't have the kind of money he said.

But I can't tell you is that if you signed with me, I'm gonna hold you down and I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure I'll make you a start, no matter what, whatever sacrifice I need to make I'm gonna make it. Wow. And what drew me to Steve was the fact, first of all, he came to my house in the hood when nobody will

show up in that area. That was four for So for him to come that far and take the first flight out after hearing the records and come to me, that was worth more than any kind of money anybody. But how did you guys even getting him the records? I'm sorry, it was sent to him. It was it was, you know, the records was sent to him. But y'all mad him somewhere or something or we had never met until we all sending records out to labels. No, Bernard

Bernard came and took my records. Oh you know, the Bernard came and took my records and he went around, you know, shopping him and um, he got I think he connected with a guy at the time. It was Kenny Burns. Wow. And Kenny Burns was the one that took the record to Steve Rifkin. You know what I'm saying. You got you got a matter of fact, I'll take that back. Um, you know it was it was, it was,

I was, I was Isaac. Yeah. And then um, when when we got when he was on three Way, Kenny was on the other side, Like I told you, nig I'll tell you Nigga, I totally you know he's one, But yeah, Kenny, Kenny definitely was the one that passed over to Steve before Steve came out there. But it was more about, you know, I knew at that moment that I can build something with this with this guy

I'm Steve. That's when I knew I can build something big with him because it was about his passion for what I did and its willingness to be down no matter what, and that meant more to me anything, especially with that mentality street retality at that time. So when you think about the word lonely, it's the first thing that comes to your mind. The cab county that's selling her jail. Is that a jail? That's why, that's that's

why I wrote the song. I did not know that smoke some morely, I had no idea, but I had locked up and lonely next to each other, had no idea, So Lonely it was locked up in the jail. Yeah. That whole first album, majority of it, every song in there was wrote in jail. Except Trouble Nobody Wow, because I wrote like Don't and the reason why like Ghetto was written there. I mean, all the songs except Trouble Nobody.

Trouble Nobody was only song off that album that I didn't write while I was locked up, and I wrote that after I left court. I got out of court, and I wrote that one because George told me not the trump of nobody Wow? So um, you come home? What makes you want to keep these songs? Not? Right? All new material? I wouldn't know how to write new

material because all my songs based on my experiences. So I didn't know how to not talk about what I was already going through, first of all, because I was surrounded by it, Like I was being drowned by everything that I'm going through anyway, So I couldn't even think outside of what I was dealing with to even make up a story or make up uh, you know, a song for that matter. You know what I'm saying. So that experience actually became the content in which I wrote about.

Before you were any were you are already an aspiring artist. Before I was in I was and hustling. I think the me music it was more of like uh uh, a way of kind of event, you know, event kind of platform for me like that, because I didn't really talk too many people about my problems. So whenebody was going through, somebody just read about it. So yeah, so music is more like a hobby for me at that time. I didn't think it would be some about utilized as

a career. Okay, Um, now, invest in Africa. No, we touched on a little bit earlier. I like to go a little bit more deeper than debt watching watching me invested in Africa. I know, Washington, we should invest in Africa, Africa, but I would like for us to tell the masters that the whole world, well this, this is what I can't tell you. I know a lot of times we we have the tendency to blame the white man for everything that's going wrong, right, and white man is fucked up.

I mean, I mean that's how I mean, that's that's the majority of African Americans in America. Film. You know, you're not saying nothing that everybody don't feel nothing. That may not mean that don't necessarily mean it's true. But with the circumstances that surround us, that's why we believe that way you know. So at the end of the day, it was like, if you are in a position in life where you feel like you don't own your own content, you own anything, and they should be investing in us.

This is the opportunity now to be able to own that in which we're complaining about. Because in Africa, it's a clean slate. You can build that empire there, you can build that infrastructure there. It's just and you already got there. You know the information, you already educated on how to do it, because we've done it here and

made billions of dollars for corporations all day. Africa is the only place in the world where black people can go and build fortune five hundred companies from scratch within five years. No, seriously, and this took them hundreds of years to build. You can build it now within five years. China took that same you know mind state only five years ago. China was no different from Africa twenty five years ago. Go to China. Now, look at Dubai, the

Middle East. They just started fifteen years ago. And I'm kind of me We're just gonna be one of the say I understand what you exactly mean. So you're saying that Africa right now? So how how could Africa be to New China? How can we say that? People, Yes, go back to Africa. Whatever you're doing here, do it there. So the state, entertainment, education, sneaker company, whatever clothing line, whatever started there, do it there. You don't even start it,

do it there. It's gonna grow out of there anyway. But Africa's big enough you won't ever have to need no other country anyway. Think about it, everything you do to Africa. Africa's the second biggest country in the world. It's over a billion people. Who Who's who's the biggest continent Europe? Who's the biggest continent? Asia? The biggest continent Asia?

And that's China, Korea, it's India, all of them put together though, that makes Asian, and it's not that much bigger than Africa, and Africa the second biggest continent with more natural resource, with all the natural resources, that's the difference. So we got we gotta literally got a pot of gold, and nobody even going forward. So how do we start this? How do we start How do we start to say,

you know what, let's invest back in the motherland. I think the keys, you know, first of all, you got to release the fear because a lot of you know, African Americans are afraid to go to Africa. Because I'm not gonna lie, but I mean, I was off so many shows to Africa. I'm gonna be honest, and then they told me I'm gonna get shots, and I was like, I'm good. And I've never actually been in Africa because I didn't want to get the shots. I didn't know. I didn't know they injecting ship in me. But I

was scared. This is back in the day. That's why I said, gott to release the fear. The fear you have to because first of all, only white people need shots to go to Africa. Black people don't need no shots to go to Africa. But why why is that even the room one that you need shots to go to. It's the same way they told you Aid started that Africa you can die from malaria. They're telling you all

this stuff, none of stuff. You know, they'll tell you what you go to Africa, take you know, shots, you gotta take like five or six different, you know, types of shots to save you from this, save me from that. Why does that rumor even exist? Though? I mean, hope because they know the value of black people going back home. Can you just imagine if African Americans in America decided, you know what, man, America, we're going back home, and then every all the value that we bring here we

took over there. America wouldn't exist. No club Live and zoomand none of that will work. Think about it. Just imagine, man, all the major ball players left started their own team back, all the major recording artists left, started their own labels back. Just imagine just those two sectors. We're not talking about all the inventors that never got the credit for all the ship that they're invented, like cell phones and all that that black people invented. You would never even know

all these these software companies that's taken. You know, you have no idea. Like people, we don't even know how much value we even have. Damn we have no idea. Let's imagine if we just woke up one day, I gotta wake up with you. That's real. That's that's that's real. That's real, man. No, that's that's that's real man. Because collectively we got enough to do it. We don't have to buy borrow anything from nobody. We can do it ourselves, if we just came together to do it, right, that's

that's such a beautiful thing. I really like would like to be involved or something like that. I want to ask to Africa. I want to invest in like you know, um, the left frack city of Africa. Just starting with land. You start with Lamb. Think about it, Lamb land, Okay, I had to buy animals. Just think about it at Lamb. I don't like you, No, I don't like Lamb. Just think about it. Right. What's the average cost of a

lake acre in New York City? Right? You can't, but if you could buy it, you're gonna spend at least No. Five six million acre? Ye? Easy? So now imagine you had that six million in Africa. You know many acres you can buy for six million in Africa? Do not know? Because I've ready to move podcast we're going out there. You could buy a thousand acres six million dollars and I could live like the King of the Moon where

they watched my royal penis. I just needed to understand that because because I'm gonna be honest, I think even my wife would let that go down. Alright, cool, this is that's it. It's gonna watch my word, penis. Is it nothing else going down? Baby? So let me look around my wife, my head, she just pop up right. But that's how that's how we could live. You can live it up. Have you been Aza Moon though, where Eddie Murphy was from? And um um, you mean today's

what kndo? Today's what kind? That was the original condom? That was original condo. It was coming to America's the original condom. Right. The nigger got his own money. You got your own money. Oh my god, I'm trying to have my own money. To man, I don't want to. I'll have your money. I'm gonna spend your money. Sunk that all right? So now so survivor young Jesus. I've seen y'all twenty years later looking young, just recently performed that.

Both of y'all. The suits on, Jeezus, I don't know socks. It was crazy, you see, Jesus, Jesus different shorts. Now I went to his career. His shorts is different. He's getting a lot of money. That's that's I'm getting a lot of money shorts. When that first the first initial phone call happened, Jesus a new artist because he's predominantly a new artist. And then he and then you guys read uh created paid it fall. So what where were you at and what positions? Heah, oh yeah, that's right,

you did establish it. So they get that call, So so what do you think from there? We called which one you're talking about? Jeez jeezy because so survivor. So you get the call to say that you that they want you on so survivor. No, No, that was actually Meach was the one that called me. Told me to hope. You know, you're part of turning them up. You know that D want to be at that time. Of course, at this time you this is already locked up, is

already Oh yeah, that was already yet. Okay, you know, so you know, everybody had a huge influences at the time. Bing meth was one of the biggest influences on the street side in Atlanta. In Atlanta, my brother Boo, I mean Omar was running around with them, um heavily. It was booted, nigga knocked out, shook Omar's nigga here established that. So yeah, that and me, I couldn't be around any of that at that moment in time when I was going and all this other craziness, but ultimately music was

what I was known for in Atlanta. So was like, man, that's all I need you to hear this. When I first heard and I went to Patrick and met Jeez personally and played me studios just ridiculous. Yeah, okay, So man, Jesus clicked instantly from that connection, and then I thought about it the whole time. I was in Vegas and I had this record that I had wrote when I was trying to figure out when I was going to release it, but him, Joe, tell me you gave Jesus

Soul survived Listen. After hearing Jeezy on that record, I said, Yo, this record right now, especially what's happening with that buzz and what's going on with him, this record gonna change change the change the game. So you're telling me, are you telling me you gave Jesus soul survived him? Yeah, but it did what it was supposed to do. Is exactly what it's supposed to do. I love this quietness and yeah, not everybody makes a noise. So the guy

wants to do a record with you. You've never really heard of him, but you you know, over the family being lit and you say, let me let me this is the record. I'm a so survivor. Was was your your vocals already on that? Yeah, the vocals already on it. No, like literally, I called him. I said, there, I got the record for you, jeez or Jeezy. He instantly loved the record the moment I sent it. Five minutes ain't go by. After the chorus came, he called me said, Nigga, Nigga,

this ship right here. I said, I'm telling you it was. I knew it too. I was like, I knew it too. I would have knew it too. I knew it, but he would. He was the perfect. I feel like he was the perfect perfect At that time, I thought he was more perfect for that record than me. And you made it your producer. That's when I was in full production mode. I just felt like it was. It was a stronger record of being his than mine as an

artist at that time. You I'm saying, he gave it to him, he lays it, and he keep be bodied the two. And that's what I was more confirmed when he said when he sent some verses back, I was like, oh my god, so he sees you to record back prior to his release yeah, you heard it. Where was you at? Oh? I was I was selling Vegas when he sent the back. He said the back the next day. I feel like he was in tussies for some reason. But then again I used when I was in Miami.

That was That's my spot. See, I want the thing about Tussie's day music stuck. Let's just throw it out there. Music is horrible lows carb when Tussie's food is fantastic woman, fantastic food. I'm a fat guy like I like the Yeah, I like a little bit of limon pepper. I gotta relax. What's up, my man? How are you doing? Man? You look you look like you're very artistic. I'm just throwing out there. You know, when I first met him, I told him to saxon, alin't gonna lie. You look like

somebody for where all were higher. So so I don't know, you know, my friend so a co all Right, you've basically done like if the industry was a girl. You fund in the air, sucked in the nose, you sucked in the ass like this that you started out with that that's the first that's the second thing you did after you with the Pussie. What is the next thing?

I felt like I went to all right, you might were just a little bit all right, so what's the next thing for a because now you got the cryptocurrency, you got, you've discovered the biggest white girl, You've discovered the new Britney spears and our day and time, lady g guy, I think, I mean, I'm just saying that is I'm good, Mike. Still, um, so what the fund

could be left? I was for you to do that, say, just build a legacy, built a legacy, keep the platform available for everybody else to be able to get up and have an opportunity to the same thing. H That was so corporate. I don't even know how to answer that. That was really say that. Yeah, I'm sorry, fun, it was real. I wasn't very for it. I wasn't ready for it. Yeah, I mean, we don't put it. We don't. We don't put each other on enough, right, we don't put each other on. We just know I built my

career off making other people's careers. If we all did that, we'd be good. U H. Now, Also, French Montana was your artists first? How how how did that transpire? Oh? Man, actually gotta be brought him to me. Gobby from loud Src. Yes, brought him to me. My man, Gobby that he beat this nigga. Yo, this nigga his phone it just sticks to just sticks to his cheek. Don't give me that one. Yeah, so Gabby brought you from face. Now what happened now?

Is this the DVD era? Yeah, it's around the time when he was um he had just did the DVD. He was doing DVDs. Uh. Then I signed him and then we rolled together for about a good year, you know, um flowing to Atlanta. Uh. That's what he got inspired on that side because French was a he was a chameleon, like he can adapt any style. And a good thing about him that he was one of the artist and didn't want to be putting one sicking boxing and try

different things, you know what I'm saying. That's why I liked him a lot, you know, so he definitelyn't go off to that. And then we working some records in New York and he called me, was like, yo, man, I got a call from Diddy. Did he really want to be a part of the project? And I said, well, ship, let's let's talk to him and see what's going out. And you know we met with Diddy, did He? You know?

At the time, did He and French would spend a lot of time together, you know, because I'll be wanting everybody to get around and just make sure they understand the game who they're dealing with. And did He was always one of those dudes when when they comes to artists from New York. I always felt like he's a good part of the half running around New York. So he called, He's like, yo, man, you know puff on the sign. What do you think? I said, well, ship, Nick,

you should do it? He said, what you are? You're gonna feel some kind of way. I said, nigga, you are a New York based artist. All right, y'all niggas new New York, New York ship, I'm international. I can't do shipped from you until you break in New York anyway. They know what I can do it for you, you know, and that nigga believe in you. I'm not gonna tell

you no lie how that nigga believe in you. So I restarted Diddy and Didd he was like, because I just did the joint venture with Diddy in Red Cafe right shortly before, you know, and He's like, Yo, Nick, I'll tell you we got another. We got another. What's so with this nigga? French? I said, did he? Man? Listen? Please, if that nigga want to be with you and you feel like this is something that you can take the next level, Let's work these things out. Let's just let

him go. Let you don't make it happen, because I think I always felt like, you know, collaboration is gonna be the key to your advancement anyway, but you gotta just make sure you got the right partner, you know what I'm saying. And the things that did he could do for French at that time, I didn't have the time to do it for him. French is like my little brother, and I wanted to make sure he got the best of the best for what it is he was trying to do. And at that time, I thought,

did he was that guy? You know what I'm saying. So we make sure that deal happened for him and bad Boy. So now that deal didn't happen, are you in that deal? Like you know what I mean? Like I told you ill build him to fly? Yeah, yeah, I don't. Like, I don't think that I don't know if I'm gonna smooth as I don't. I don't lock them down to where they can't move. Okay, this nigga is an honorable nigger. You don't let the nigga go? Why not? Like, why not? Look where you're at the

day though, look at him, and there's nothing. It ain't not for me to pick up the phone and say, your friends, I need this, I need that. No, don't get it. I mean it's it's only empowered me. But is there ever any move that you actually made that you regret it anyway? Like you mean, as far as

artists anything, just like you you did it as artists. Oh, the one the one thing that I do regret though, And I think I would have probably handled a different with the mindset obviously what the mindset I had now. But if I can still have the mindset had then and make a better decision, was that Pokeepsie situation. That's the one thing that I did it on the ground. No, no, no, no, Not that d don't toss enough kids off the stage.

Well that man, that nigga was no kid. Wait, I forgot what happened in this situation, but it was a big concert in Poughkeepsie, New York, and I was performing headlining and as I'm in the middle of performance, somebody threw something on stage at me and I caught it like right before me, and I looked, and at that time, I just felt disrespected, like I was always when it comes to disrespect, I just don't know how to handle that, Like I just don't let nobody respect me, especially from

the twenty people. So I was like, yeah, who threw that? And the bill crowds were like I just literally you're literally pointed him out and I was like, yo, get him up here. And as he's coming up to the stage, I'm trying to think, Okay, what could I possibly do to this nigga? Let everybody know they're disrespectful at Volunteer. They actually they brought him to me, and in my mind, I said, okay, cool, I'm just gonna knock him out on the day. But then when he came, you have

knocked him out, you just kept reform. Oh No, I just knocked him out and just kept reforming. Yeah, but I wouldn't have cared because I got I got it out. But then when he came, because they brought the side of stage, he came. I just saw the look on his face, like the nigga was happy to be up. He was like, so I'm looking, I'm like, damn, this ni is actually a real fan like and he's happy

to be here. So in my mind, maybe he was just doing that to get my attention round house king him no no. But so that made me not knock him out. But I said, he still gotta you know, he still gotta something got because because even if they for him, is for everybody out there, I think they could do the same thing. So I was like, yeah, so I had to find a punishment that wouldn't kill him or heard him, but at the same time will give the word out that I didn't wanted to be

sucking out thing. So I said, I got it, and I said you wanna be you want you know, throw, They're gonna stay. So at the time when I feel like I for an eye, you throw somebody, may I'll throw you. Right, I just picked him up, sauce soft spot and tossed them over there. You know that's how it was happened, did it? It was like Cardy Be's a little baby picture. Yeah, but that's exactly what happened, right, you would like Cardy be a little bit. Ain't that

what happened? And then what was this? That? This was? What would you have done different though you said that you would have done that differently, what would you have done? Yeah, Honestly, after that happened, I would have just kept going on with the show, like I ain't even I ain't even see it now, you know. But then I stopped the music. I got mad dramatic that you hold on, stop them

stop mute. Ohally the nigga. I'm just winning. Oh, in my mind everybody saw it, like in my mind because I saw it, everybody saw it, and it's a mind you're probably my mind state. Then it was just different, you know what I'm saying. It was just different, ignorant. That's the only thing we take back in life. Sick. That's it. You're not gonna throw that nigga in the crowd again. That's it. Everything else, I'm glad to have anything else, even though I'm sorry, record, We're sorry for

being sorry. That's all we're being sorry for. That's motherfucking motherfucking listen man, listen, I can't thank you so much coming down sitting down with us, drink champs Um. Like I said in the beginning of interview, me and E f M. We started this. We wanted to interview legends. And it's not that we don't love got love for the new generation, but we want to when you got ten years and more in this game, we want to salute to people. We want to letting people know that

you appreciate it. No, thank you, brother, I appreciate that. And and you you appreciate for standing in, standing relevant, and you appreciate it for doing what the funk you gotta do. And we need to represent that every other genre in music. When you have ten years of more, these people salute you. In hip hop, they say, nigger, you've got great hair now, So I'm glad you've told my partner his bed looked good, because no one else never told you do look younger him? And who else him?

And buston because nobody you tell somebody your gray hairs make you look younger. If you think they're trying to sell you something, you know what I'm saying that you take it differently and you should look ya. Thank you so much for coming down because you know why the thing about media is going on, and you know me and my partner. We live modern day R B and rock Kim meaning this is a hip H M C and the DJ and we want to we want on

our artists. You know, there's so many platforms where you can sit down and you can you can talk to them, and as soon as you leave them, you go fuck fucking you know, Zaraya from Amazon dot com. And then now the gossip, that's not what we do here. We're here. We want to salute your career. You want to salute your thing because we want to. We want to promote that that the gossip and everything else a part of anybody else's life, is not a part of our life.

Our life is just the music. Every person that does hip hop, R and B, you know whatever, we're superheroes that salute them as such. Everybody black panther is so dope. But guess what, every one of us is a black panther. We just gotta put on the fucking suit. That's hard. Please recall that that was hard. That's another sound bite. I don't know what album used that on. We're gonna use it, but y'all a con thank you for coming through.

Gonna take a couple of pictures because some drops man, and I really really really appreciate you doing what you gotta do. Man, Let's make some noise for motherfucker. And also, I cannot in this interview without big ing up black motherfucking royal. Let's make because whatever I'm at, whatever I'm at, like we we they know who I am. Man, Wherever I'm at, I'm talking. I'll be anywhere in the build the Norway. I'm over here. I'm like, I'm over here.

Anything happened, I'm like, oh, I'll be in, Like I'll be in. I'm being fucking talk him off, Missouri. No, we we deep though. These niggas be out there like that, but your glory anyway you anything happened, And I'm like, yo, my nigga, I'm in church. These niggas is in church like I'm at, and you know I'm I'm like, you know too, So it's a little deeper with me. So they're like, yo, be we understand what happened. But we know. And I appreciate you holding that that that those people down. Man,

make some motherfucking noise, So do the thing. And then yeah, let me let me take a s