An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J.
Trump's leadership.
I'm Christy nom the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally, your next you will be fined nearly one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported.
You will never return.
But if you register using our CBP home app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
Do what's right. Leave now.
Under President Trump, America's laws, border and families will be protected.
Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security Earners.
What's going on?
Listen, eylu is relaunching, revamping, retooling. That's why we're creating a new educational experience that's more expensive.
Shot.
Tell what we got ys twenty twenty three. We got a lot in still a lot playing for you guys. So you know that ey LU already includes monthly financial planning calls with Me, book club calls with Troy, real estate calls with MG the Mortgage Guy, access to the Home Buying Blueprint Volume one and Volume two.
Part of the.
Revamp will include twenty seven local chapters from across the United States, live interactive teaching hands on not just pre recorded videos, plus fifteen brand new curriculums.
The biggest just got bigger.
Head over to e y L University dot com. That's EYL you n I V E R s I t Y dot com.
See you there all right, guys, Welcome back ey L. We got a special edition Legends only. This is a Legends, yes for sure. Whenever we get a chance to talk to you know, the hip hop Legends is always fun for us because before anything, we was fans of music.
We still are fans of music and just culture.
So you know, people that have help shape it, it's always great for us to have conversations with them. So we have Rashi better known as Common formerly known as Common.
Also known as It's dope that we grew up in the era and we got to watch our artists mature and still have relevancy.
Yeah.
So you know, in the early days of hip hop, there wasn't an act right like, it felt like this couldn't grow. There was a young man's sporty somebody saying that the other day's a young man sport. I'm like, that's true. But these guys that were young have now grown and we've grown with them. So I think this is just this is a dope conversation that we're gonna have. Yeah, no, for sure, man, thank y'all too for having me up here. Man, respect in love with y'all doing. Thank you for sure,
And I want to say, yeah, I definitely creating. When I first started like making music, didn't think I could grow into my thirties forties. I'm fifty two now and be creating music like where it still feel fresh, where I'm still like weird, not being with Pete Rock and I on this album, but just gaining new audience. We didn't have those examples at the beginning because hip I was so young. But when we think about it being a it is a young man's sport, young woman's sport,
but it also is like because it's music. It has the time listeners to it.
Like music doesn't really when you think about music, it don't really deno the age or.
Or even the color.
Man like cause some of the some of the songs I've enjoyed most, man, it's all walks of life, just loving it. It could be Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, or it could be Kendricks Lamar not like us, you know, And I see different like age, different people from different age groups still enjoying all that music. So I feel like music when it's made in its purest way and it really has a soul to it and it's special, it doesn't have that limit on it. It can grow
and be timeless. And for me as an artist, I've been just trying to strive and to grow.
Well, how have you been a So you're one of the few artists that have been able to maintain relevancy for a long period of time and hip hop right. Unfortunately a lot of artists don't have that longevity. And you've done it with different verticals, acting and stuff like that. So what's your key to be able to maintain relevance and to reinvent yourself decade after decade.
I mean, I would like to think I had a formula, but I really didn't have a formula.
I think it was just a faith.
It's about the love for the art forms. It was about staying humble and being like, man, I can learn, I gotta learn.
I gotta seek to get better.
So even when I had those victories, like an album like B I didn't just sit back and be like, Okay, I made it.
You know, It's like, how can I get better?
And as you mentioned, like the vertical of acting was very important to me, and you know, the relevancy that people see some of that is just because of acting or because of the activism, because it's not like every album I put out since ninety two, when I first put out my first album. It's not like everyone is
connected with people. And I fortunately understand the ups and downs of that too and can still stay with my eyes on the prize as far as striving to grow as an artist, but getting into acting, getting doing different things like songs, being in the films, like the song with John Legend and now that you know we got on an Oscar stage. That is something I was dreamed of doing as an actor but didn't know I would do it as a musician sea for some of the
song glory. So that that being said, I think the the key that I can say most is just man just being in tune with the most high and following you know, your consciousness, your gut feeling of who you are. Times you move like like musically, at times I do different shit, man, Like I'll be like going out there venturing off, and I don't be like, Okay, just because people want to hear me do this boom back hip hop,
I'm just gonna do it. No if I'm if I'm in this space I wanted to do some eclectic, eccentric stuff, I'm gonna do it and it might you know, it might not win then, but it could win later. And I think that's just about really. I mean, it sounds so trite, but staying true to who you are and having a face and being humble, it's the only things I can look at that has kept me in this music business.
This business you came in in ninety two. I mean, this is what do you like to call it? The Golden Age, the golden era of hip hop? The breakthrough song is I used.
To love her?
Yeah, I mean they made movies around this Mary Brown Sugar at the movie it's based off the premise of I used to love her.
Yes, I wonder now as you're creating.
Because I want to talk about the selection of from no Id to Yay, the Pete Rock will get into that. What's your thoughts now about him? Like do you still love her in the same way that you said in ninety two?
Man, I really like kind of refell in love with hip hop within the past like a few years, Like I always loved it, but now I feel like it's an energy out there in the zeitgeist where man people are appreciating and open to and wanting like hip hop that has lyrical content like bars, bars, like soulful music that could be it could be a young fresh artist giving you something soul for with new sounds, but it's soulful and authentic, and I just feel like I love
it because I'm realizing seeing that celebration for the fiftieth year did something for me. It made me see how much people will always love this music and you think that the audience Like for me, I thought that the audience was gone for a certain sound of the music, but they still there and now we know, like, man, you can have music, you can have you know, everybody from Future two nots still putting our music and you can enjoy it and different.
Man, I've been we've been touring right now.
It's sometimes us look in the crowd and it's like people twenty three years old.
I'm like, damn, I'm really their father.
But they enjoying the music and they like know the words to the new album, and I'm like, man, it just it just shows me that it can be no boundaries when you when you just put out that that umph, that stuff that got it too, you know, like man, and that don't happen all the time. It's just it's just things aligned at the right time, and you you know. And I'm saying that to say my passion and love
for hip hop is strong. And I was able to connect with Pete Rock, who is the right person for me to create that music with, and it still feel fresh and new, but has the spirit of what we always loved. But you could have asked me five years ago, I might not have been wanting that boom bap sound.
So I do have that love, and I don't think that love.
Will ever go anywhere, you know, like any relationships, sometimes you need something else a little bit. You want to try, you know, you know, like you try you know.
I allegedly allegedly, or you just figure out how to work things out, communicate with each other better.
Let me be clear, you got to you gotta grow and expand it like y'all y'all interests, you and your partner's interest y'all say, growing and evolving and you know, trying new things and remain a line.
Trying to guy me right, so he still loves it.
I love it so like talking about Pete Rock right, legendary producer that comes out around the same time as you come out. And you guys have a unique perspective because both of you.
Have been on major labels. Now you're doing it the independent way.
You've seen it transition from physical CDs to streaming. So from a business aspect, how what's it like now in twenty twenty four as opposed to nineteen ninety four?
What have you learned?
What are some challenges now as far as on the independent side as opposed to just major.
Label Well, business wise, man, I feel like the music industry was just making a lot more money when we initially were coming out, maybe not right at the beginning when Pete Rock Pete Rock came out ninety ninety one, I came out ninety two, samey.
At the same time.
Around that ninety four ninety five, budgets started going up. Like my first videos was like twenty thousand and thirty thousand dollars. You know, one of my was only able to spend five thousand dollars on the video. But then I can remember spending two hundred thousand dollars on the video,
four hundred thousand. But it was denoting that because the record sales were coming in and record labels were just making money, and once obviously streaming came and that that partnership partnership didn't work out like you know, because obviously I heard Apple approached a lot of the labels like let's do this together. But the labels were like, nah, we're good, this is our thing. And Apple came and
manifested that business. And then it made the labels have to pivot and move and shift and find so I find it now we the.
Pot is not as big.
That's why you know, you do to me have to go out and establish other things revolving around that. I look at it like, and I started figuring this out early on, was like, Man, I'm investing in my career
because that's investing in my business, you know. So I was I was like, Okay, if I'm I'm gonna spend these money on rehearsals because rehearsals actually will get me with a great performance, I will be able to perform for the rest of my life if I like impact with these shows, doing great performances or out investing in my own self like this, I'm a higher the chef, the chef so that I can take care of myself so when I am in an older age, I can be doing all the things I need to do, whether
it's stunt's in a movie or jumping around on stage. Those those investments, I think for me the business change where we used to depend on the labels to make those investments, and now as our own entrepreneurs and visionaries, we're like, oh, we gotta But.
That's interesting because Lebron is notorious that he puts a million dollars a year into his body, from his trainer to his chef. I saw somebody running back, Yeah, crazy vegan alkaline type diet, But I never really looked at it from your that perspective as far as like a performer artist, but I guess it's the same thing, like you gotta.
Be able to breathe correctly.
You gotta be able to So that's interesting that you that you look because like athletes. I heard it from the athletic standpoint, but I never heard about it like an artist looking at it like I'm gonna pay for a chef, I'm gonna pay for this coach. I'm gonna do this so I can have more longevity.
Oh man, it's like, yo, that like I understand, you know, it seemed like it's no brainer for an athlete to be like, let me invest in my physical well being because they use their bodies all the all the way. But so do artists really like And that's the thing that we we don't think about sometimes because we came up now, I'm gonna drink this up, drinking this and kick it. And I still could go on stage and rock.
But at a certain point it started looking sloppy and and you don't have as much like just like focus, and you don't have like the energy and and I think what I've learned, and I learned it early on. It was thank God for some of the eclectic, you know, eccentric people or just you know people I met when I moved to New York, because I was already on my path, but they were showing me like yo, eating this stuff, taking some of this alkaline, getting some of these green drinks.
Well that we were just doing it just to be healthier.
But little did I know it would affect my well being in my business too, Meaning like I think clear, I got as much energy you could put me up. I was just racing against some twenty two years. I mean I lost three of them. But I was like, you know, like my point is is like to be able to do function and move around and do all those things at a high level, you got to invest in your body, yourself and well being. It also affects
your emotional well being. So I kind of got that through just the process of me picking up information, being around people who were in tune with that, and just seeing it from myself. And yeah, man, I think it's I feel like when I think about the music industry, I really wish we would have had more health and wellness like attention given because a lot of people have went and passed on just because of those things and not having helped.
It's the opposite. It's promoting drugs, alcohol, staying out later.
Yeah, but you don't even come to that because this is an important part of your life. My mom was a teacher, yes, right, so the education pieces there. And like I said, I read in the book the summer vacations that were instrumental and developing. But moving to New York the role that that played because at the time, and people they kind of can't understand it now because they look at Chicago and they think, oh, wait, that's where where Little Dirk's from. But that's what Chief Keys
from and oh you're not. Ya's from there, But like when you're coming up, it's really like it's you and maybe twist twist, and then crucial conflict is like a couple of years after that, but it's not.
This isn't like a well respected place for hip hop music.
So coming to New York the role that that had, because I remember the line and nobody argues you about it, like I'm the shot Town's nas and I'm like, maybe right, talking about the role that coming to New York and the influence obviously getting around Native tongue a little bit with that had on you.
Yeah, well it was first of all, man, I'm like super grateful that I was just born and raised in Chicago because it's just it gave me something that I carry with me that I think that's the authenticity and and a love and just you know, a down to earthness that I love. But New York is is a mecca for bringing all these different people together, like bringing
all different cultures. I think when you're from New York, you live, you don't even see it from how great of a city it is, because it's not many cities that can go that you can go to in the world and have this mixture of cultures and it really blends naturally overall, you know.
What I'm saying.
So my foundation, it was hard being in Chicago and trying to get even signed or get heard.
And once that.
Happened, it was me and Twist and shout out to Twist and then, like you said, crucial conflict, those guys got out there. But I still wasn't like playing it in the industry. I can remember going into my third album like, man, how am I going to make a career this Because I wasn't making a lot of money. I was as Andre's three thousands said live in check to check, you know, if you don't move your feet in.
That.
So I was in that space and I just people that I was like when I would come to New York, I was like connecting with people and with certain things would happen, Like when Daylight and Daylight reached out to me. Dayla Soul reached out to me and said be on this album. That was a game changer for me. Be on this song that the first time I went to London. The business the business on the States is high album and funny story, they wanted Bizz on that song, but
he didn't show up or whatever. So they eventually called me and I was super geek and all my friends. It just was a big moment for me anyway, like being accepted and being out here on the New York scene. I started running into different people and I was like, it's almost like being in the industry and going to the to the center of that industry. I'm in the
music industry. But me decided to move to New York, was like, Okay, now I might run into Premo, so that's how I can work with Primo or when somebody need me on this track, I'm around like I'm here, you know, and you just never know the connections. But it's being in that in that hub of where the music was coming from most of the music in the music industry. So moving to New York gave me that, and it also did open me up to different open
my mind up, two different aspects of life. But I was building that in Chicago, and Chicago gave me a great foundation.
I wouldn't change the course of it at all.
Which is the record that you start to say, all right, this has turned around for me.
Is it the light or is there one before that?
That's all right, here's a commercial success that everybody in the quote unquote industry is looking for me to have.
Well, okay, the first step I would say was Resurrection album, which because had I used to lover on it. And the reason why I say that is because when I released my first album, it wasn't any response.
Really, it was like okay, yeah whatever, And then when I released I used to lover.
I remember Biggie doing one of those promos for me, being like, yo, this I wash. This kid was from Brooklyn. I remember seeing Nas and he was like keep doing your thing, and so I started like realizing that some of the people who didn't probably pay attention to my music before it was starting to and it was those greats and I was like, oh, the game change. The album was like water for Chocolate because of the song
The Light and the reason I seen the difference. And that was before I was like a well known hip hop artist right like on a hip hop scene but mostly underground.
Wasn't like I was getting radio play.
The Light was the first song I was like starting to I got radio play and I was doing the summer jams, and it was the first time I saw people outside of hip hop culture singing one of my songs or like even knowing who I am or caring about who I am. Like I remember doing a performance in seeing like young black girls singing the Light, and I was like, wow, they never was singing any other
other music. So I saw the difference. I saw like me doing top forty shows at that time and like, and to this day, that's one of the songs that when I performed, people know it the most, you know. So that was the game change. And then I think b was the one that elevated it even higher.
Well, b that's when that's when you connect with Yay, you on a musical level, right.
Yeah, when you meet him, you knew him before.
That, Yeah, I knew Yay and I would say like ninety six, ninety five somewhere around now back then, Yeah, yeah.
He was. He was just out of college. He might have been in college.
But no Id, who's my producer for those first three albums, him in Twilight Tone, but no Id was one of the main producers and one of my best friends. His mother, Kanye's mother, doctor Dondr West God bless Us Soul.
They were they talked together.
They were are both educators and and she brought Kanye over to meet no Ida and yeah, he was making beats and he was always making beats, and his beats was dope. But it was like no Idea was a master at that point. So I was always like, yeah, yeah, this is good, but no Idea got this and then Yay were like he would he would come to my basement sometimes and like battle he wanted, you know, because I was one of the Chicago dudes out at that sounds like nice and so he like, yo, he was
battling me and he could rhyme good. So it was like it was just that we was cultivating ourselves and I never took any I never got any beats from him at that time. For me, I was like I needed them drums to snap, and he was getting there. But then, you know, eventually we reconnected because he had moved out to New York and was living out here and I started seeing him and he was like, yo, let's He's like, I got to get you on my album.
I got everybody. He was like yeah, I said, of course, I'm with it, and we just I got on his song get Them High, and we were at the time we had already started. We kind of like started connecting on beats. Because it's funny, one of the first beats I got from ya, he was already excited to make some beats for me, but he was in the studio session for somebody else making a beat and he told me to come by and I came in and I was like, what's that? What's that? He was like, oh, man,
that's this beat I just made. He was like, man, take this beat and leave, Like like, basically, what to do with this?
If you wanted take this?
And then I guess for that artist, he did something else for them, but I came in and got that beat and that turned out to Beat the Food.
So you better ask questions.
I'm just re even the sound of the Food on some of my favorite tracks on there, the sound was incredible, Like this a double question, right, So at this time you're almost your twelve years into the career, but this album critically came from you know, all other outlets, but it's five mics. It's like at the end of when five mikes was meaning something, but you got the five mics and I'm sure at that time that that had to mean something.
But I also want to.
Talk about the visuals for the project too, because not only did the sound match it, but like the videos that were coming from it were incredible, right, So the corner right, you had Taraji stand right like it was like everything was coming together at that time. What was that moment, Like obviously getting that acclaim for the five mics, but then like, yo, we have to match the sound with the visual.
Man, five mike's meant a whole lot.
Like what I was telling I was telling somebody who used to work at the Source, Man, we literally would be making our albums like man, I want to get five mics. That's something when you like creating an album to get a rating. It was nothing else that like no other like publications or things where we're thinking like I got to get four stars five Stars and Rolling Stone or this and that. It was like I want five mics and a source or once double excel, I
want the double. So getting that recognition was like, man, it meant a whole lot to me because it's just as a coming from the culture of hip hop, that was like that was like a gold medal.
That was like an NBA championship for us. They can't all classic the.
Classic, and your goal is to make a classic man, no matter what. Like even for me at that time, obviously beyond record sales, I wanted a classic album. So getting that recognition and it was something, man, I'll be telling the story when I speak at colleges and stuff. It was it was something for me growing wise as a human being with that album because I was watching Ya at that time while we were making b we were both creating. You know, he was pretty much done
with college dropout. But I watched his faith in himself and his confidence and was like he would be like yo, listen to it was college dropout. We'd be doing listening session and he'd be like, listen, this is amazing, this is incredible, like presenting his music with confidence and you know.
Just the way I was raised, I wasn't taught to do that.
And I felt like doing the album B was the first time I kind of declared my music to be great and classic and really believed it, and it got classic ratings. I mean it was the music itself, but the fact that I was able to say it and believe in it and do it, you know, with like the confidence of Muhammad Ali not trying to make some arrogant and being like I'm better than you, was just like, Yo, check this out. This is dope. This is incredible. So
that was a stepping stone for me. So that meant something five mic and all that just kind of it kind of solidified. Yo, man, you gotta believe in yourself. You gotta speak And then you know what was the second part of the course, because I forget the videos.
The video the videos was.
I gotta say I always used to want to be dope visually, but wanting to and being able to execute his two different things.
I think having Kanye.
Really helped from the standpoint of he was gonna make sure I had the budget I needed, make sure we got to the right director because we was I was on good music. It was no like he wasn't accepting nothing less than high level visuals and which pushed me. And as soon as we made the corner, soon as he made that like he heard that rap, he said, Man, we gotta do this video on Chicago. Man, it's black
and white. It's gonna be cold outside when we just in Chicago in the hood about and man, he directed that video and we was in Chicago was one of the coldest days I ever felt in Chicago. Looked like I was sick already, but I was so half the energy of what we was doing.
I just was able to get through it.
But it was those visions that that I got to say, yay as a as a and if it wasn't him director, he would try to make sure we had the right director. And then by the time we got to that video testify with Taraji and Wood Harris and Steve Harris, all these great actors, it was like I knew that I was studying acting, that I could do a story and make it a film like we wanted that to be a short film and Anthony Manler directed that.
So how did you actually transition from being a rapper into an actor?
Like who actually gave you a first start? And how does that well?
That?
I felt that at one point, as we talked about earlier, sometimes you know, when you create music, sometimes you got that I can't wait to do the next song, and then sometimes you're like, Okay, I ain't in the spirit to create this music right now. When I found myself in those places, I said, it got to be something else artistically out there for me, Like I just I just knew I had to find another expression. This was like late nineties. I was always in the films, going
to plays. I loved it, but I never knew I could do it because when I first did it, when I was a kid, my mother saw my play and she kept talking how good my homie was.
You know your mother.
You think your mother will say good jobs, but she was like, yo, Derek was incredible and that I was like, okay, well.
I said, yea, I saw you up there too. I was like, okay, well, So.
I ended up not even thinking about and plus like at the time, it wasn't like I ain't gonna put it all on that, but a lot of it was like I'm into this hip hop thing, and so I wasn't thinking about pursuing it for myself. But somewhere in that late nineties period, I was like, man, I want to try acting. I really want to because I always
loved it and love watching movies and love theater. And I went to acting class and the first acting class I went to, I was like, man, this is incredible, Like I feel that.
Love like that. I felt.
It's not the same exact as music, but it's got just as much love for the art form. And when I started it, so I was like, man, I got to just keep going to class. So I was going to class. I would be on tour every time I would come back. I was just going to classes and going to classes. Then the classes started going to Okay,
go do auditions. I was going to auditions getting turned down, turned down, and ironically enough, when I was we were editing the video for Testify and I had did an audition for this movie called Smoking Aces, and that was my first movie, and like it was the first time I got a call back, and I remember going into the editing room.
I just come from. I just come from, like the audition.
I still had on my suit because I was playing this character that you know, it was like a bodyguard, but he was sharp. So I went into that editing room still geeked, like yo, and I got a call back, and then it happened where I got a second call back, and that's when I had to Actually I got the second call back which was like, you got the job, and I had to literally.
I was literally I was crying when I got that job.
I called my mother, like, yo, I got the I got a movie, and it was but I had to hang up that phone with all that joy and then going to the hotel room next door and tell Kanye I couldn't go on this tour I booked. I was they had, they had promoted me in everything it was with him Keisha Cole. It's probably around two thousand and five or six. I don't remember the name of it. It had to be two thousand and five because that's when we started graduations. Maybe it's Glowing the Dark.
Yeah, it might.
I think it was before Glowing the Dark, but it was anyway, it was. It was a real crazy dynamic because Yay definitely was like, man, it's all good, bro. Like he kind of was supporting me going into my dream.
And though it was some business aspects that had to be maneuvered that my manager at the time, Derek made happen, it was a that was my step into acting, and it was good to get that love and support from like somebody who I was like, man, we in this partnership doing music and things, but he was like, man, go pursue that.
That's your dream, go do it.
Yeah, So that I mean that I remember that with the announcement when you got smoking aces, because that leads to just right, yeah, which is now you're not just like a role, like you're the lead.
That's the lead.
You and the queen, right and obviously Cuba had done it at the time Will had done it. I was to queen Latifa had done it pac obviously and now the other guy that is having a lead role in a movie you cried the first time. What was that reception like when you got the call to say like, nah, you're not You're going to be the lead actor in this movie now.
Man, I was.
That's one of them calls where you as soon as you get the call, you start going into like training mode, meaning I was.
I was.
I was super excited because Queen Latifa is a very talented actress and she just people love her and people show up for her movies. And for me, it was Wow, I'm about to be a leading man in a film, and I hadn't had that opportunity. I played all these supports, the roles, so I felt the pressure.
To be honest.
My first days of filming, I wasn't doing good, and they had talks behind the cameras about like, are we gonna keep this dude on for this? And I remember it was the scene that Queen or Tief and our characters had sitting in this jazz club, and it just was something about the scene that felt good to me.
It was natural.
Ween, you have a lot of dialogue, and from that moment, the director was like and the producers like, that's all we need, just do that. What I didn't know at that time was like in a romantic comedy, people are mostly themselves in a romantic comedy, right, like they bringing more the essence of just them. It's not like you disappear in a character in a romantic comedy.
Most of the time. Like you know, when you see Heath.
Legend as the Joker, God bless his soul, he it's the Joker. But when you see like Matthew mcconnie in in a in a you know, a romantic comedy, or you know, even like what Queen Latifa did before, it's like it's some of the elements of herself when she's doing set it Off. That's a different thing. You understand what I'm saying, y'all understand, like it's a it's you gotta go deeper in those dramatic roles or those characters where you're creating a whole character romantic comedy. They they
want you to bring more to essen to blight. I didn't know that, and I was trying to do something else in the first days, and then eventually I just had to let go and be like, okay, cool, because one of my favorite things about acting is be becoming somebody else in different ways, you know, like like and I love when I'm watching a movie when somebody's watching the movie that I'm in, it knows me and they say, man, I ain't even see Rashid in that, I ain't even see you in that.
I saw this I saw the sir.
Ivy or or Cassie and from you know, from John Wick two, I see Robert Simms. That's a compliment, Well how do you because from you know, yeah you can play yeah who because that's part of the role.
That was that was part of the role. That was part of the role.
And I made sure that my stunt double didn't getting you know, I was like, you know, there was no way I was gonna go back home to Chicago and they see a stunt double in the movie where I'm playing a basketball because it.
Wasn't double for basketball.
So but from an actor standpoint, like I've heard actors say they struggled with getting out of character, like when you go that far into character, have you ever been in that vibe with I thought, who was it?
Somebody said it took like.
Six months for them to actually get out of the character and it actually caused a lot of problems in their life.
Might have yeah, I think said that.
I definitely have had times where you know, it took me time to get out of the character, mostly while I'm filming, meaning like I come home with some of that energy and I've time. It's times where I've been like I've had heavy days of filming where like the scenes is heavy, and on the ride home, I just broke down because like I've had a I played on a show called Helen Wheels where my character was getting hung.
It was like taking place in the reconstruction era where it's like the building of the Continental Railroad and man, my character was getting hung and man, I couldnot like man that feeling and just thinking about all of our ancestors that it went through that And when I got in that van on the way home, I was just like, couldn't hold it, man. And you know it comes out in different ways too, like where you like you and you playing that killer and you shooting somebody all day.
Like I remember just coming home one day of being like I gotta go watch a dumb movie, just a movie that don't got no Well, I ain't got to think about nothing because I just was feeling heavy, you holding that gun, shooting somebody. Them guns is real powerful, like they it's just they just don't have gunpowder in the bullet, but you still getting the same charge.
So this episode is brought to you by P and C. Bank.
A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring, and sure they definitely can be, but understanding a professionals routine shows us how they achieve their success, little by little, day after day. It's like banking with P and C Bank. It might seem boring to save, plan and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is what helps you live or more happily fulfilled life. P
and C Bank Brilliantly Boring since eighteen sixty five. Brilliantly Boring since eighteen sixty five is a service mark of the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc. P and C Bank National Association Member FDIIC.
Earners. What's up?
You ever walk into a small business and everything just works like? The checkout is fast, the receipts are digital, tipping is a breeze, and you're out the door before the line even builds Odds are they're using Square? We love supporting businesses that run on Square because it just feels seamless. Whether it's a local coffee shop, a vendor at a pop up market, or even one of.
Our merch partners.
Square makes it easy for them to take payments, manage inventory, and run their business with confidence, all from one simple system. If you're a business owner, or even just thinking about launching something soon. Square is hands down one of the best tools out there to help you start, run, and grow. It's not just about payments, it's about giving you time back so you can focus on what matters most ready.
To see how Square can transform your business, visit Square dot com backslash go backslash eyl to learn more that Square dot com backslash, go backslash eyl, don't wait, don't hesitate. Let's Square handle the back end so you can keep pushing your vision forward.
An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from El Salvador accused of murdering a Texas. Man of Venezuelan charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J.
Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Nohm, the.
United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you were here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly one thousand dollars a day.
Imprisoned and deported, you will never return.
But if you register using our CBP home app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
Do what's right. Leave now.
Under President Trump America's laws, border and families will.
Be protected sponsored by the United States Department at Homeland Security.
You know, it makes you have compassion towards people who dealing with that type of stuff all the time.
Who like this is because it speaks to a couple of pieces.
Obviously the mental health side of it, right, because yeah, you're crying and that's just you.
But number one, who do you call? Who did you call it during those times?
And was there somebody in the dustry that was a confidant?
Right?
Like like I said, those the cubes of the world that they're from hip hop, but they're in the in Hollywood. Like, are those people that you were able to call and reach out to during these times for advice?
Well, I mean I still had an issue with you the.
Specifically were gonna get to that. We're gonna get to that.
By then we have resulted. By the time I was acting, we had resolved that. But a lot of times it would be cast members. Like even on the film American gangst I didn't have no real like like I wasn't like going through it or whatever. But jen Zel was like guiding and helping and giving me gems, like and giving us gems.
And I really respected that.
The fact you know, this is Denzels is crazy. It's like I worked so hard to get that role because I tried out for the role that Isses had and they liked me, but they was like no.
Then I tried out for another role and they like, you're too young.
And I went and made another just tape, another audition tape, and in the casting director was like, man, you dope and and you passionate, We're just gonna cast you as this to y'all's father. And I was like, okay, I'll take it. I'm eight years older than them, but I could do it as an actor. It's funny because you know, for a long time, see I would see me and be like Pops, like, oh man, this is gone too far. But you know, I was grateful that Denzel was sharing
information with us. That's what you want, like from somebody who's that gifted and you know, just a legend a guru in it to give you you know, that wisdom. And Ruby D was on that set too. I was just watching her and just being like, God bless us. So she was a master. I was like, I'm this is you know. I took that bro I got that role, and I literally only had about four lines in the movie.
But I knew I would be throughout the movie like learning and I was gonna be on set with Denzel Washington and Ruby D. And it was like some of the great lessons I have as far as those times when I was going through stuff, only mostly the actors around me that I would you know, talk through with
stuff or therapist, you know. But ultimately acting was great for therapy, you know, like it's a therapy in itself because you you are releasing some of that energy if you're going through those scenes, whether you're crying at home or crying on the set, you're getting it out or that anger you getting it out. That was one of the things that I always would tell people, like, man, this has been a good thing for me because when I'm dealing with all this stress, I get to release
it through these characters through this artistic expression. So yeah, and most death I'll say most Death is somebody who acting wise that I was able to talk to a little bit about acting because he's a he a brilliant actor.
He is like he is super dope.
Well speak speaking of most Death from the music side.
You know, you guys, most people will look at as conscious rap, right il quality most of yourself? How has that been? Because sometimes people don't want labels or titles because they feel like it boxes them in and it's limits them from doing like just being a person, like they might want to do something that's not necessarily conscious. Right, So, how has that title as far as being a conscious rap or how have How has that blended with you?
Well, it's been.
You know, I went through a journey with being called a conscious artist because at first, when they first said it, I was like, man, why they calling me that life? You know, like, you know, like because it did put me in a box. And I'm like, man, I like women, and I like drinking and automatically if you you know, if you put in a conscious box, they expect you to just be like only talking about a side of the court or you know, or the Panthers and and
Malcolm Xell, You're always gonna be serious. In fact, like being on tour, I would meet girls and that's all they wanted to be.
Like, look, I like having fun. Man, let's kick it. Let's st.
Ain't gotta stay heavy though, so I and and I think too, to our own fault, we fell into that box and it and it separated us from other artists like the jay Z's or the dmxes, and you know, we weren't like working with those artists. And I felt like at a certain point, Yay Kanye was one of the bridges for that because he did put freeway in most step on the song, you know, or he was like rapping some things that was like artistic and his
music is very artill. And he was throwing up the rock sign, throwing up the you know and having this rock and Feller chain.
You know, he blended those two.
Blended those two worlds, and it was like a reminder that man were not separate.
It's still all our culture. It's all us.
And like I have been around jay Z and kicked it with him and blah blah blah.
So why just because they lave me as conscious do I need to.
Feel like when he said I was gonna how validating or is it a gifting the person He says.
I want to rap like common said, are you are.
You saying to yourself? Damn, this dude just said he wants to rap like me. Or you're like, he's still putting me in the box a little bit like, how did you.
Respond to that? That's thinking the same thing.
I love that he said that because I mean at that point for me to even be in his thoughts of while he's writing a song, I mean that he recognizes me as an artist, that is valuable. And for him to say Jay is brilliant as Jay Z is as a business man, he's also an artist. So for him to say, man, truthfully, I want to rhyme like common sense, he expressing one thing about him and dope enough He's like, he expressed what I be the feeling like, man, why don't we do it more of this? Like we
could feel more than one thing about certain situations. He saying, Look, I want to rhyme like this dude and have some conscience, but I want to get paid to money.
I'm doing fire I did fire man, I'm selling records. I'm not listen.
That's cool, But these dudes and the truth is we weren't selling like that, so that was you know, his path and his choice. I felt good that he that he mentioned me because like at that time, I remember my cousin calling me like, damn, Jay Hope mentioned you, bro, you made it?
You Did you get that from people like that?
You might not, like you said, like when you saw big, Like, did you get that from people that you?
Was like, yo, I really appreciate it.
They might not have things publicly, but it's like they talk to you and they like you kind of know like that they do want to tap into that, but for whatever reason they're not.
Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean when you get that from from the artists that you really appreciate, even something that you like, Damn, you appreciate my music?
You like my music?
Damn, that's crazy, Like you you know, you feel good about it because man, like you want to be respected by people you love and your peers and people you fans of so and and you also understand like, man, they have this other path and desire and vision and qualities that may get them to a higher level commercial wise. But you know, once you for me, once you start embracing like this is who I am that's when things started to thrive for me.
Was like I wasn't trying to.
Be like Biggie or Nahs or Daylight even you know, all them inspired me like Daylight Tribe Day, but I once I found my voice. At first it was like like, Okay, I got all pieces of these, but then I started to be like, Okay, I got influences by these inspiration, but I got my voice now. So yeah, these artists are these artists that can make dope hip hop but still reach high levels of radio play, and I just accepted that for that and being like, Yo, I'm an
artist that's gonna do these creative things. I'm gonna go out there and do live performances and rock. The people may have a song that get on the radio, may not, but I guarantee you that I'm gonna make some music that you're gonna listen to twenty thirty years and now and hopefully hundreds of years now.
That's the fact I think the transparency, even when he says it, it's like I dubbed down my audience a double. My daughter'll all criticized for it, but y'all, y'all holla. So it's like, what do I do the fact that you're making music that it's sending in a test of time. Like I said, B is incredible. That was five mics. Love is my favorite track sometimes I just put that on just because the way you're talking about love and how it manifests in different ways. But fine forever, I
think it is equally almost it's right there. It's on the Cuss south Side on there, the people's on there. Yay's is the producer for pretty much the most both albums, right, And so that's like the traditional model of hip hop where you have one producer produced the whole project. And obviously throughout your career you've changed that. You no I d started at first, then you had Ya, and now you're back to Pete Rock doing predominantly the entire album.
Talk about that process of going back to the traditional ways where you had your one producer and we're going to make the click this together as opposed to the allmatic way, which is a classic classic. But I'm getting the best five producers that I can find to make this manifesto.
Yeah. Uh.
I'm one of the first to acknowledge that Jay Diller on be and Finding fact did like he did that love his song and he's one of the greatest producers and ever live and also inspired Yay and many others like Pete Roy. Making an album with one producer or two at the most, for me has been my my way of operating because like, I like creating sounds with the album, the albums that I've loved throughout my years. When I you know, when they say what album would
you take on an island? Like Off the Wall by Michael Jackson is one of my favorite albums, you know, Lawrence Hill's mis Education, myb Deep, the Infamous, you know, like these are some albums that will be with me forever. That being said to try Midnight Marauders, like these albums, like were they created a sound like Purple Tape?
Yeah, yeah, Purple That's something that's definitely five mics.
Yes, Tribe is the first group to have three five mic albums and like Marida's low End Theory in their first time yep, wow, yeah, I never knew that they got three.
They well they for me, they well deserved. It's like earth Winding Fire is one of my favorite groups. E and Tribe is the earth winning fire hip hop to me. Fact Yes, Sir Resting Piece to Fight and Maurice's wife for Earth Winning Fire. So I'll say, man like I like locking in with a producer because it gives me that.
Man.
We start bonding and creating and talking and going through stuff, and we started developing a rapport, a collaboration, a sound communication. Like it's just like me, ain't got it, ain't gonna always be perfect, but it's about getting Like real creativity is about getting to know each other and then getting into a certain vision and being able to create that vision and like iron sharpens iron, y'all get better. And that's what Yay did. That's no idea did it from
the beginning. That's what Questlove as an executive producer, and Jay Dillar did for my arm like water for chocolate. And that's what Pete Brocket's done where we just get it. With this new album, Auditory in Value one, we wouldn't we wouldn't have created something to me with the level of quality if I wasn't going out to his crib and like him playing records and being, oh, you like that, and then along with that just watching his dog and
go around the house. And then we're talking about life and talking about therapy and talking about like man when he first started doing this stuff and like took me all that shape up into creating the best work. You know, and you ain't doing it for that. You ain't You ain't like faking the conversations. But I'm just saying that type of bond. It's like any teams when we watched sports, some of them teams were just able to reach that level because they was able to connect to as people.
That's why Phil Jackson had them handing out books to them and doing like having them sit down and put the thing in the fire and all like those are the things that you can't let Those are priceless things about connection that come out in any project that you were doing together.
So, like, let's talk about Chicago because music, I think music hip hop has served as like a tour guide of a city when you like, before I got to LA, I had an idea of what LA was like from listening to Snooping Dog Found, and then when I got there, a lot of the stuff that I thought was going to be La wasn't La, and it was kind of a different perspective. But it's the same thing with Louisiana. Cash money, like you saw. I saw the visuals of New Orleans and the hot video, and that's what I
thought New Orleans was, right, So it's like Chicago. I always loved going to Chicago because I feel like that downtown is like one of the most beautiful downtowns, right on the water. It's the vibe, the food, everybody's like, it's just good energy. But of course there's issues, but
I feel like a lot of it. When once drill became very popular, the image of Chicago changed, right, And so what's your thought process as far as how Chicago's viewed, Because most of the time when you say Chicago, people were like, it's dangerous, stay away while you going there. It's just a very negative connotation from at least black people when they think about Chicago. And then drill music has definitely played a part in that for sure, and so like and drill has went over the world, London,
New York, everybody's doing drill now. So what's your thoughts on Chicago's reputation as far as violence linked with drill music.
Well, I think drill music wouldn't have been able to come about if Chicago didn't have that type of angst and type of like if parts of Chicago didn't have the violence that we have. That was the expression of with Dirk with Reese or Chief keef Man. They was them dudes is from a really tough neighborhood in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the world, and they were talking what they've been exposed to and what they know.
And it's really powerful.
How like we as black people, and I say black and brown people really, but how we all right take some of the heaviest things, the most difficult situations and make something golden out of it. Because Drill is a they created a sound and it's like influenced the world and it's dope. But as you said that, it's other sides to Chicago that I feel like.
People don't know.
And I mean, if you think about it, sometimes people got a tendency to come from the glass half empty mentality anyway, like, oh you hear that story. So it's just like you generalize that's what it is, that's all it is. And I can understand why you would think, like, man, if that's what it is, I ain't going to visit that place. But once you touch down or just even open your mind.
Because there's other artists that expressed what Chicago.
Is too from early on Loop Chance Chance No Name, like they talk about it, but like just did different artists they talk about a chance to show the whole nother side of Chicago.
That what you say, yeah, yeah, but why do you why.
Is Chicago Because there's a lot of cities that poverty is is pretty much in every city unfortunately, Right, what makes Chicago so different as far as the the violence, Like why is the violence so heavy in Chicago as opposed to New York or like you know what I mean, Like it just seems like Chicago is just really intense in that in that violent aspect.
Well, I think.
Like gang culture and I know gangs is just everywhere, but for us, like gang culture was part of our parents growing up, Like the gangs was existing in the in the sixties, right, so that warrior spirit has been like in our DNA. And I'm not saying that it's gangsters everywhere, but that being said, it was organized for a while and then it's you know, certain people got incarcerated and and and it was not a lot of leaders there to like guide those who were dealing with the gang.
Culture, and they displaced people when they.
To throw the buildings down, displaced people. But it essentially you know that warrior gang thing is is ingrained in us, and that's part of like one of the elements that I would say it's different from most because where you got where it's poverty, where it's lack of jobs, where's lack of like education and kind of overall lack of hope, you gonna get that. Like you can go to Brooklyn, you can go in certain places in Harlem or Atlanta or like where you can go to these neighborhoods in Oakland.
And you feel that what you feel in Chicago.
But I think it's intensified just by the gang culture that's been there for a long time. And man, I always be thinking, like one of my whole life missions has been to be a part of the peace in Chicago, like to really figure out, like man, because I don't have all the answers, but I do know creating jobs, education, like education from a level not just only in school, but providing people with ways to get to their dreams and stuff is important. And just like hope, man, Like
hope is a broad thing. But it's like I grew up like my neighborhood. Ain't ain't far from where dirkdam grew up my neighborhood, or where ge Herbo and Bibbie grew up. I grew up around some of the same stuff. But it was the hope that my mother instilled that I saw for myself that made me say, Okay, I don't want to go too.
Far over there.
I might be around this, I might be, you know, banging with these guys over here for a second, but man, I ain't really trying to shoot nobody. That ain't that's too much for me, like, and that ain't what I'm on. So my point is, and that was because I felt like I was I had some value and I think, you know, I like to think about the solutions to help our city and in cities across the country.
To be honest, that's crazy.
As you're saying that, I'm listening to the line that you said used the game right in the shop.
We're even rooting for a garbage tine.
But so like the picture that you've painted, I mean, it's been pretty consistent, Like you've you've painted a narrative that's different from the one that's being portrayed. Whether it was on your world or whether it was on the.
South side of the Shah.
It's a different perspective, but it's a mature perspective as you're growing. You talked about the music, we talked about the acting. Obviously you're an author as well. Who starts or are you doing this on your own to say I need to diversify artistically through music and through the acting,
But now the author is something different. Are the other things that you're getting more adept to or being made aware of inside of the world As you're your finances are starting to increase, you're making more money, Like is there somebody gotten you through this or are you just walking in the rooms and you seeing new opportunities.
Now it's like one thing I learned if I was gonna make it in this business and and and pardon me, I should have said this earlier. Another thing that definitely helped me to continue in this business is constructing a great team.
And that for me, I was like, oh man, okay.
My manager at the time was one of my best friends, still great, Like Derek Dudley, he was He's a smart dude and he just knows business and knows how to handle cares about this, But when it came for us to really get into the acting world, I had to get an agent that is in that world, living in that world.
Right.
So then when it came to doing voiceovers, I had to get a voiceover agent who was in that world. When it came to doing investments, you got to go get the person that is going to do that. Oh when it comes to marketing and development, well, if you don't go hire a firm, do you have somebody that will focused on those things, even if it's from a consulting perspective. And it was me understanding that first of all,
I don't know everything. I might have some ideas, but it's other people with great ideas around me, and along with ideas, who are the people that can execut those ideas? And it was about building that team structure. And it continues to grow too, like because new things come up, Like I got into producing films and producing plays, and I had to get a structure for that because if you don't have somebody working over there, and that branch of work is not going to get maximized.
You know, it's not going to reach the levels that you want.
Even from philanthropic like my social activist. I have a team that works like so it's not just like Okay, I'm just gonna do everything that comes through or Okay, we got these things going and that's it. That focus has to be there every day like any other business. But this is a business is not for monetaries, for the people, so it got to be there and that got to be somebody heading that. So that is what to me has allowed me to continue in the business
too and figure other ways. But also it's not coming off from me, you know.
From a hip hop hip hop question, we talked about like you being categorized as a conscious rapper, but you also obviously have Looking at your battle with Ice you, I'm wondering what's your perspective on seeing what now would be considered a conscious rapper and Kendrick Lamar have a battle with the most popular rapper and win and now
he's actually ascended to like the number one position. It's an interesting dynamic right where his music is in the vein of positivity, revolutionary, but he's still dangerous, dangerous, right, So like do you got do you have like some like pride in seeing.
That put the flag down? Shout out to Drake No disrespect to Drake, but I'm just saying.
Yeah, well listen, let me okay, let me answer those things. So, first of all, Kendrick is a masterful artist, like one of the greats. Before the Battle, he like he won a polar surprise for raps. You know what I'm saying. That's how great of a writer he is. And each one of his albums have been different, unique, dope like you know, and that's what it is to do. One
of the greatest in any generation. Drake is one of the most talented songwriter artists to do them to do music, man like, one of the most successful to be able to make songs like at that level and be making hits over and over. That says something because even pop artists that they had some big hits, they don't last decades. So Drake is a super talented dude. The Battle, I gotta say, I was like, man, Initially, I was like, Wow, this is real. These dudes was going at it because
Drake was delivering. And then Kendrick came and then Kendrick kept giving them flows and he just like did what he had to do, and just man, he came out the victor. He was a victor, like this point blame he won and it's is it like if you're asking it's a victory for me, I think it's just a victory for hip hop that that battle went down the way it did and had people paying attention to lyrics and hip hop, like different generations was paying attention to that.
Like I had some of my youngins hitting me up like, yo, you hit a new one. And then people my age hit me up like, yo, you hit what you know? You hear what Drake just dropped? You know what Kendrick said. I think it does. I love that Kendrick is within a battle, is able to give you like lessons and spiritual.
Damn, not just but the truth. That truth is.
It's like this dude dropping like knowledge and still battling. It's like ridiculous. But that being said, it's funny you said, like some he's a revolutionary and still dangerous, because when we think about it, our revolutionaries were dangerous, like like Fred Hampton Chicago, he was dangerous, like but dangerous for the right thing. Shoot, Malcolm Max dangerous aside, I should call dangerous in a wait that they are dangerous for
their people. And at the end of the day. Kendrick is dangerous for his people, so I got nothing, but you.
Gotta protect them. Love for protect our people.
How much did it make people go back and revisit old battles, because right once they say that battle, it's like, oh, that's the greatest battle of all time, and we're living in that moment and people are like, well, nah, there was this either thing that happened. It was like, nah, there was like I see the bitch of you. So now it goes back, people get to revisit it. How much of it was brought back like a little bit of nostalgia for you. Yeah, we were in that moment.
We've grown past it, but like I remember that fire that I.
I mean, it was more like people was bringing up the battle I have with Cube and the battle I had with Drake.
Yeah, that's the fact they brought that up. They would bring that up.
But I was like, listen, first of all, we both those battles got squashed this now, so I appreciate that y'all loved it. We had the battle. I was worn at that time, but you know, I'm just watching the battle now, so don't drag me in. And somebody was like, yo, I was like, no, don't drag me in. I'm good man, let me let me watch this and just enjoy because they both going in and I think it was I would have to say, man, it probably was the greatest
battle we've seen. But and even if you feel something else was back in the time, it's still one of the greatest, Like you know, it's it's like it because that back and forth we you didn't have that much back and fourth flight right direct and have all the artwork to go with it, and it was levels today back we thought out.
Videos shots they were doing ten minutes later he dropped.
The joints stepping on each other's tracks.
That was definitely crazy.
And now we got the Super Bowl.
I mean, will anticipate on some hip hop like not who's the best artist, but like who do you think of the most Like who's some of the most dangerous rappers? That because I heard Nas when he was saying like he used to fear Big L, so like Big L never really reached the level of success that people. You know, he's not on nobody's like top five, but like as far as the rappers, rapper.
He's highly respected.
So like, who's some of the people on your list that like you just like you know that these dudes is just different with the.
Pin Andre three thousand, Nas Kendrick of my old the older guys I grew up with, like Big Daddy Cane and carrous One rock him. Let me see who else those I mean, those are some of the ones. Sahai, the Prince, the Press, he he gets he one of them guys. When you hear him dropping bars, You're like, Wow, this dude can say some stuff. But as far as the ones I just said, Kendrick and Andre three thousand and two are like ones. When I hear I'll be like, oh nas Nas for me is like that shot.
Who's we always do a Mount Rushmore of a city shot towns Mount Rushmore.
Okay, if I'm gonna take myself now, you gotta be myself. I'm putting you on it now. This is the other slock put it in. Okay, so it's four people, it's me Kanye. I'm gonna put Twister and probably Dirt Dirt.
I was gonna say, Dirk, Damn, they're gonna be like what Sosa shout out.
To Sosa, Dirk's I think it has been more consistent, has been.
Like revolutionized that at sixteen, like Sosa that sound comes in after him.
He did, but then Dirk took that. He ran it. He ran it. Yeah, he's carried it for almost ten years now.
He been consistently. Now he's the guy we're not going to. We're not going to. That's good, that's a good yeah. I mean I know chances like we're about we about to get a text message after this too.
But anyway, I gave my food and Liquor is another classic.
So what can people expect from this project with you and Pete Rock? Is it? Is it nostalgic to the nineties? Is it new?
Like what's the what can they expect to hear when they when they when.
They get this.
I think I think it has both those things you just mentioned, because it has the spirit of what we love in the nineties, like just the spirit of the music. But the sound is new, Like don't sound like okay, all these drums is oh, like Pete could have made the beats back in ninety In the nineties, it's got the textures in the in the sound and equality and
approach that is present day. It don't sound like something he's done or anything like I've done, and I'm rapping about what a grown man would rap about right.
Now, Well that's thank you to thank you.
That's a good thing because that's one thing I liked about NAS's journey is that he's like, life is Good is one of my favorite albums. Like he's talking about his divorce. It's things that you It's like saying jay Z for for four. What I don't like is when some of our hip hop artists they're still rapping about you.
Know what I'm saying.
It's like it's like it's like, yo, your grandfather's being wealthy and longer than you've been. Just like that's what I don't That's what I don't like to see is like age appropriate rap.
I think is man, if we listen to you when we were teenagers and now we're grown, you're grown too.
Because you got to you gotta you're grown too because you have an audience that is listening for that reason. Like if you forty or you fifty, you don't want to listen to what a twenty year old is.
Like there's the twenty year olds make me for twenty.
Year old exactly exactly, and if some of those songs end up like hitting it for twenty year old's song end up hitting other age groups. That's great or you know, but I don't. I don't believe. I don't believe. And even when I made I used to love her. I was talking about like just man, being authentic to who you are and where you are, not chasing what everybody
else is doing. I think when you see older artists trying to sound young or just getting all the young artists so they could be cool, it just don't feel it's good. You feel out so and I love that it that man, we can't talk about like you said nas on life is good, we talk about divorce or you know, shoot, I mean you've heard artists talk about therapy or like these are things that man, as we grow, we talk about these things, and I think one thing we forget.
You said it a little bit Jo.
It's like, man, we growing up, like the audience growing up, so we don't want to hear you talk about something we used to do when we was twenty year years old.
Either. We rather hear you talk about something grown and just say it in the fresh way.
My kids are graduating from high school, like, y know, these things are happening Bro, he's happening.
Bro, I'm buying a house right now. Man.
Man and people that's dope, Like Andre three thousand, like he be making stuff sound good.
It could be. I remember he did a rap about being in the line and whole Food that was fire am. It's like brunch on Sundays.
We actually go to brunch on Sundays, Thanks NASA exactly.
That's it.
So I love that approach and that's what this album. This album is. When I when I I had quest love from the from the Root sequence, the album the Pete Rock and Our album, and when he heard it, he was like At first, he was like, man, it's one of your best albums.
Man, it's in your time.
I was like really, and he's like yeah, and he said, this is what the album should be from somebody that's adult in hip hop.
This is what it's just say, adult contemporary.
Yeah, yeah, tradition. Somebody's asking me how I should it be? Category rise, Like, what do you think is a good category? I'm like, hip hop? This adult contemporary hip hop, traditional hip hop.
But yeah, when you was twenty, you rapped like you was twenty.
Yeah your fifth rap like that? Bro? Yeah, shout out to you. Thank you.
Yeah, well I appreciate it.
I appreciate you, my guy, thank you.
I'm glad I got to tell you in person how much I love being That meant a lot.
Twenty years next year, Yeah, can we get one show just the album?
Yeah, I was going to ask you are you going? Are you going on tour?
Yeah, definitely, gonna have to do a be like twenty year.
I'm just telling you that I might be at multiple shows and if you need me to do a few verses, you ready, you know, like verbatim?
You ready? Okay straight?
Are you gonna hit the road for the new album?
Oh?
Yeah, We we're on tour right now. Actually be the auditory in Volume one tour we're doing we now we ending it off in New York. Got some shows at the Blue Note that sold out, but now we're doing Webster Hall. It's just dope. So man, I'm excited that the tour has been amazing. I can't wait. I can't wait.
Thank you.
Like Troy said, man, somebody that we listened to for a long time and never compromised the art.
That's that's important.
So I think that that's that's something that you know the legacy is gonna live forever and definitely classic timeless music. So thanks for all of the inspiration.
Thanks y'all. Thanks, it's been great to be here. It's beautiful man.
Thank you all right, guys, thank you for Rocke next week, who is an.
Illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J.
Trump's leadership.
I'm Christy nom the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred thousand illegal aliens.
Have been arrested.
If you are here illegally, your next you will be fined nearly one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported.
You will never return.
But if you register using our CBP home app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
Do what's right. Leave now.
Under President Trump America's laws, border and families will
Be Protected, sponsored the United States Department of Homeland Security,