AZJAH - A Spread

Me too. And I was looking at all these ingredients. I wasn't too sure what to expect. I thought this was like going to be the tastiest romen I've ever ate. It's gonna be the tastiest from Yeah, so so far every dish on the on these shows, I've migrated to my midnight snacklist. So I'll gain at least ten pounds before the end of the season. Well, I think it's like three. Every reason you will wait, I mean mainly this dishes from like jail. So I personally didn't make

it a journeything. But my dad, he who taught me this because he always fed this, which I love it as a kid. So does that mean your dad learn this from jail and my dad, my brother, my big brother, my uncle's or my uncles know how to make it. Everybody got their own recipe. I put this on time. Everybody got their own recipe. We like it like this, but they had oysters and sardines and stuff like that. Yeah, I'm gonna take the loodles like this crushed up and

just drop it in there. So this is a family tradition. It is, unfortunately what it is. They say it's not good. It's not a good thing to eat. Well, some people that's been a jim you know, they don't like eating it out. They say like it's a bad look. But it's not. It's not a hopefully yeah, hopefully not no, but definitely it's tasty. And as a kid, I didn't think of it as a gim meal. The best junk food meal on earth. What do you think it's gonna look like like with these colors? What color do you

think it would be? I thought some of this was like garnishes. That's definitely. I hate this since I was like four. So does anyone do you feel like anyone else in l A or Compton, has ever heard of this dish? Because I know I have never heard of you haven't heard of it. It's definitely like it's the main thing through l A. Not even just l A like New York, Like it's from New York and I've that's the thing. You have to have someone that went to jail. It's literally a jail thing. It's not even

like state and it's gonna be a jail thing. I'm from New York, so East coast, meat West coast, everybody. Yeah, definitely, So right now, I'm just stirring it up just to let that water, just to loose the lot those real quick, because you don't want them super or too soggy. So when did you get into music? I got into music when I was younger, but not like really like would really makes me get into music. It's when my brother got sentenced life. So that was about six years ago.

He got sense his life. Yeah he got out and went back in. So he in jail right now. But that's what made me like start dealing with music heavy because I was able to cope with how I was feeling that time. Um and then from their own not just like anything I deal with. I used music to coope with so and I end up being good at it. So, yeah, I saw one of your I think it was a promo for like Adidas or Footers, and you were saying that you started with poetry. Definitely poetry. I got that

from Kanye. I used to watch the stand up like poetry shows and Lauren Hill, and every day Kanye West was doing poetry. He did like this poem that was like crazy to me. Uh. I think it was one of the stand up comedy shows at the n they do poetry, yeah, like Deaf Jam. Yeah, I don't believe it was Deaf Jail. And I remember Lauren Hill when Lauren Heill went up there in Kanye. If you find please send that to me. I'm gonna google. I did

not know Knnie did that. He had he had a purple shirt on, some jeans and he did a poem, like a crazy poem. So what I did was I always used to write notes in my book and just write how I was feeling. I was the one that used to sing in the shower, just playing around. I didn't know that I could actually make a song. Like my brother went to jail. I actually made a song like how are you like our oh wow? Yeah, and it was like a banger like it was called the One.

It was you know, it wasn't all that, but it was good enough for me to get some type of recognition. So um I then I dropped a song called Time for It. I dropped that in two thousand and seventeen, and it blew up. It's just now really blowing up right now to but um I dropped that October two thousand and seventeen. Um, it's called time for It. I had all the rappers from the city hitting me up like Joe Loses, I had I talked to Tite Dollar song like everybody started messing with me off that song.

It's crazy. Think in that song, you you did it two years ago and now it's yeah, now it's catching. You know they say a hit may take up to four years to blow up. You got to reach all over the world. Now do you find yourself like sick of the song? And then they're like, I want to record something new, and your team's like, hey, uh no, we're going to continue to work this song. I think my team is sick of the song too. I'm sick of a song. I'm sick of the song. I'm so

thankful for the song. I love the song. It made me who I am. But right now I'm at a point where the new music I'm making is more and me. I got to know myself way more so when I made that song, it was in the beginning, you know, like I'm a whole different person. I always have to perform that song. So I'm sick of it for that reason,

but i could never stop loving it. Yeah, but I'm thanking for the song, but I'm definitely on a new way, Like I just I dropped the song in March called Purple Rain, and it was so different from what I usually do, So I think that my fans are kind of understanding what I'm going with it. Do you feel

like pressure now following up that way? Yeah? I always feel pressure because the way it hit, it literally didn't happen overnight, but it hits so fast, Like everybody loved it and everywhere I go there like can you seeing this? And they're singing it? And like even the producers when they send me beats, they send me beats related to that song. You know, that's not the way I'm on

no more. But it's like it is pressure. But when you know who you are, you comfortable, you know what you've got in the storage, never really stressed about it. You look extremely young. I don't know if I'm allowed to address this. No, No, you look so young. Yeah, I don't eat. I don't I'll never play the guests and game. I'm gonna play it safe, especially for someone that's cooking for me. Oh yeah, how would you think I am. I'm not gonna say, but I'll let you think.

I'm not guessing the least skip next question? Good, no, because it can go anywhere from like thirteen the next time the time. Yeah, but you know what, I hate. I hate to say what I'm about to say, but you know, it sounds like you're you got your family has a little background in jail, and maybe like a thirteen year old tattoo. She didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. Breaking. Actually, my family they rested. It was

hard for me to get this tattoo. Mama was mad, She's like, you better making a rabbit because you got that tattoo or Nicknall. Yeah, I can't believe you know. I knew Kaylanni I was first started, she was signed with Nick Cannon and I worked with him for a long time, and she was she had to be like sixteen seventeen and you had gotten a tattoo, I think on her face and I remember going up to her like, oh my god, someone's gotta save this girl. Like you know,

it was the beginning of her music crush. She was super talented but struggling artists, and I was terrified because she had got this visible tattoo. And I was like, I'm going to say something, girl, what's you thinking? You know what I'm saying. What's your thinking? What if this music don't work out? And you know what her response was was like I don't care. This is all I want to do. And if I don't do this, I'll phold T shirts at the store or whatever. And she

was so determined. It's crazy to see her blow up now. And I think it takes that level of as an artist, you know, like you sit back and you're watching everybody else around you. You know, if you're gonna make it, like you know, that's the artist that separate. Like I remember Nify said this, the only thing that I did was not stuck. So if you know you won't stop that little bit of you're gonna give up, so you know, but if you keep going at it, and that's what

she did. She went number one last year, did you Yeah, she she had I think that went number one. I would love to see you guys do a collapse. Oh yeah, definitely. We talked about it. I've met Colonne Um last year. Actually I met her. She came to one of my performances, but unfortunately a girl had got stubbed or something and they had to like shoot it them and were laughing. After that we talked. Then became cool for us. I tried to give him my video. Didn't work out with Clune. Yeah,

we're gonna have her. We have to have her come visit the show. She definitely has had her her moments. So what would you say is the most challenging uh thing that you had to endure so far as an artist, especially being female, especially going at the hip hop like, I'm sure you had to have face some kind of uh, you know what it is. I'm gonna keep the tra here,

I'm gonna start drinking the noodles. What it is is, ah, the comparisons I feel like as far as females, you know, you gotta have a rapper that sounds the same as every other rapper. But when it comes to females, I feel like a lot of people are harder on female artists. And that's fun. You kind of got it, but you you gotta realize that before you come in. You know, I didn't think it would be that hard, like, and I feel like it's not a lot of respect um there.

But other than that, like I just had to deal with being compared to any and every artist, Like I got compared to them, no, no foul to them. I love these artists. I got compared to Dash Love, which is understandable. I got compared to Younger May Now that part I don't get because you don't seem to like

but I love Younger. Maybe it's like everywhere I turned, I was getting compared you know to this person that person, So you have like their fans won't even give you a chance because they'll think you're a knock off, you know what I'm saying. But as time goes, I'm actually like getting over that part. I haven't heard something like that love probably like a year. So that means, you know, I'm just coping it to my own But other than that.

It's that, and then it's just the industry is like high school like politics, and you know, you just gotta be conscious of the type of people you have around you. That's the main thing. Be cautious of the people you haven't around you. I see your crew, it seems like they all are very tight now. Even when I was calling in to be like what dish, it was like immediate response. I'm like, did did they even talk to

her about the dish? Like how did they know? You know, my dad is one of my men and my managers and family they'll be. He's like family to me too. I've been for a while now and we always have like a brother and sister bomb, you know. So it makes it even better that he's a part of the team now and everybody else it's like, really my family. Like my aunt is my hair stylus, so she travels with us. My mom is like the road manager, oh night,

So it's like a family. Yeah. But before we had people coming around trying to get in because the song was hot, and they come in and we let some people in that shouldn't been in, and you know that, you you live and you learn though, so se drain and needs. So do you look at it only from a creative side or do you look at it from a business side? I look at it from a business side. I'm really like heads on with the business. Like I

like to look over paperwork. I like to be the one talking to my little year, like, um, I look at it as both. You know, So the business side, that's the same thing. It's just the politics. You gotta be on top of your game at all times because a lot of these artists they don't pay attention to what's going on around them or what's going on at paperwork. I need to know because it's been so many times where I almost made the real move. Yeah, but I have my family to step in, Like Va was there.

What would you say in your career so far was a definite like wrong move? Are you able to share it? Yeah, you don't have to name drop. But it's just people that want to come in and manage you. Yeah, and they don't have the right intentions. People that come in, they just want to take off the relationships you have. So you might have somebody that want to come in and manage you and then it's like okay, yeah, because she's popular right now, but they're not really doing their job.

They're just trying to help to everybody, you know, come back for their whole benefit. I have that issue. That's like the main thing with this industry. Other than that, there hasn't been no crazy issues for me yet. Again, do you feel like any of your friends have switched up? Because I know some people where their friends get a little uncomfortable, they're like, oh, well you're blowing up. So I don't even feel like I don't feel secure enough to reach out. You have that, and then you have

the other extreme. It's definitely like, say, this family, Like I said, my family is close to me, but it's the family that I grew up with that I've dealt with all my life, who switched up all behind the music scene just because of the music, you know. So I'm talking about family that's like your best friends growing up and then now I don't even talk to him it's been like four years. Yeah, yeah, so those are type of issues. Definitely. Yeah, I see a plastic bag

coming out everybody. She just pulled out a plastic bag. So this is a real Yes, Okay, what's going on here? We're gonna do this. Let's actually all that this kind of it's kind of hot. So what I'm gonna do right now, actually, since you don't have an extra bag, I'm gonna just crush this up. You want to crush everything up when we get this bag out the way, Okay, all right, so we just want to crushure every pure good. I should have brought a thunder on this episode. I

got a crush the chips up. So typically, if you were in jail, this would be in a plastic bag and you just break it up. And they put it in the bag and just break it up. You didn't want to just use your bag? Might as well. I mean, don't worry. We're not jumping over here. We're not judging at all. I could put the chips with the beet jerk I gotta pull apart, non think pieces of beat jerky either, and the beans I'll do least. Let me

get the chip. I wasn't too sure if you were cooking the beans with a nacho or no. Well, yeah, they're gonna make sense. So I've never been so excited and intry. It's so good. What's your favorite this? I'm Jamaican oxtail and then second New York Chinese okay, but not l a Chinese. I never had no other Chinese, but Chinese. Ill here is terrible. It's horrible. And the pizza okay, okay, yeah you know New York, I got

pizza every block. Yeah. The dollar slices don't really count, those aren't Those aren't good representations, but they come in Andy when you only have a dollar. Let me ask you a question, what about how was it? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, it's well, that's an easy well after COVID, Yeah, I want to go. I watched a lot the TV. So my favorite movie is Crookly. I don't think I've ever seen likely. Okay, I gotta stop speaking on this because people are gonna judge me. I'm gonna get fired before

I get hired. It's slightly Crookly, based about the kids in Brutly watching when you get the chest? So are you mixed? R? Yeah? My mom is creole. She has other things in there, you know, like Creo was just a bunch of yeh, mixed stuff so French. Oh no, but Manna did and someone uncle's do. They told me a few things, but I don't really. I was gonna say, if your mom gets upset, she doesn't break it out. My MoMA knows that's what would come out real quick when she was about to beat you. I forgot what

my nana used to say. She used to get nadyat her water or anything. But yeah, they're from fit Let's looks fit La. We got land up there too, all right, that looks nice and red. Yeah, so you know what I might as well? Little's that here now? So what are your aspirations for your next thing? Are? You haven't released a full album yet. I've released, uh, you can call it the album rand I just released it ilpie me. So okay, so you're pouring the noodles in here. Okay,

that's officially just got crazy. Everybody's about to get crazy. You just poured the noodles in the plastic bag with the chips in this bag, it's staying to something gotta be carried. I hope the cameras above and every I wish y'all can see this. Yeah, it's like chips right now. I mean, this definitely looks like something you would create in jail. Yeah, it's like you don't need too much to make this. No, so what's the you guys don't

use the chicken packets the seasoning packets. Yeah, I'm gonna throw that in there, but you don't use it like how you would with noodles. So why why the bag and not just mix it all in the pot. You gotta mix all the flavors and there its better with the bags. You can tell a word too, not the pot, just like tell where you gotta shake it up. Really, guess when was the last time you ate thistlea? Probably

like I eat this probably like every two weeks. What But that's because that wait, this is a meal by choice because it's so good, not a budget meal, right, because it's so good. But you know, I posted on Twitter and they chewing me up. There was like why are you eating you at jail? Are you serious? As funny though? So your brother who's in jail now, yeah, he's in jail though, how type of stuff? How often are you talking to him and seeing him? Um Man,

we've been getting into a lady. I don't capt, so we're gonna kept about me and him been getting into a lady. You know, my brother is just like Mesa. We have rebumpads. But we'll start talking like mm hmm if we get into talk, probably like two months. But I always I make sure he's straight. I don't like just leave him head. He's good though, if you ever needed something, you know, yeah, you know, you look like

he's good. Do you feel like you in third being broke or do you feel like you just kind of just grew up in a household that's culturally enriched in um. You know, my mom always kept me well fit, well dressed. But you know, we experienced broke times. But at the same time, my mom and my dad they both like kept a roof over us, like it wasn't like homeless

or don't like that. But we experienced till times where you know, like my mom was just telling me, like, y'all sometimes I feel like y'all spoiled these days kids, But y'all don't know how it is or you don't know what you don't eat. But we never knew because the hype that from. You know, do you think growing up in the hood or where everyone in the neighborhoods on the same budget, it's like you don't even notice stature broke because it's like everybody's eating. Nobody's coming home

eating a lobster, so you don't really know. Yeah, that's a that's a fact. Like where I grew up in the woman to norms, everybody we all had the same a mental things. But if you leap outside to use gates these projects, you see fast cars and we're not chipping up that because where we are we don't see that day to day. So like growing up, I thought my dad was rich just because he always had him up, but it's always old. Course was a him an old car he cooked up, but he wasn't rich. I didn't

know I was broken till last started. What do you mean by that? Like, you know, you've gotta have the chains and everything, and sometimes it's hard to keep up when you you know, you didn't grow up with that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, this looks like uh, some animals or something. And I just saw the Reverend last night, so this sucks like an animal. I don't say it looked like that. I shouldn't have said like this. Oh my gosh, that's we

needed more chips. But that's fine because we got the cheese alright, So here's the cheese, right, Yeah, we'll put it in there. Let's put a lot of cheese. Oh my goodness, you like cheese? Yeah? I love cheese. Making sure I can't believe how gore mate this this really is Honestly, you just keep mixing it up. Yeah, next time, how LB we need a lot of sandwich bags because back this bag is gonna burst. Now I'm gonna make sure you're doing really Look there's it's just we almost

then listen, I'll put it in there mixing. So if your inspiration for your music originally started with your brother going to jail, where do you see your inspiration coming from now that? Yeah, Like my music don't just be based off is based off a lot of things experience, like especially like how my family did me. Like I told you when the music started going, like the separation with that relationship stuff, you know, like do you feel like family was like supporting you or eat it? I'm

feel like they were saying. I feel like they was because it was another rapper that they decided to that wasn't the family that they decided to rock me. I felt like it was. But they didn't know like that, you know, they didn't know this rapper like that, but you just came around they decided to run with it. Was never no support and my big brother, he he agreed with me all that, you know, like, I don't support my sister. Yeah, let's probably put this this actual

I'm gonna put it in here, man. Yeah, this thish by far takes the cake as the I don't I don't know if anyone's gonna be able to top this dish. To be brutally honest, you ask any other repper that really came from the trenches and everything. I guarantee you they know about this. I worked up with this, but you could just put it in one of these Yeah. Um this this, this makes me want to reach from my iPhone and just snap pictures because I've never seen

anything like this. It looks good, but it also looks bad at the same time. You're gonna hear that it's definitely ugly. But trust me, yeah it looks and you eat this once all the time. That's why I gained weight. I was one eighteen m one thirty plus. They're gonna say, yeah that, Well, have you ever made this for a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Um, my girlfriend don't eat meat, so you didn't do that. She dates. Yeah, like, I'll order the burger and you can have the fries. I'll get a steaks she can sell.

It's perfect. That's a perfect I need one of those. No, she don't eat no meat, no seafood. She's a real animal looker. So what other collaborations have you done, like on the I guess business side. Oh, working with young Blue Lucci. I'm trying to drift off to the artist that's outside of one. So like ty dollars and I got two songs with tight dollars on it. But he's someone here, but I got two songs for him. Ummm, don't try to think of who else. I can't say who.

I want to say, but I can't say. Shout out to Koresma. She got me a big feature too. She's really sweet. You gotta thank her for a lot. She put me a lot. So we almost Yeah, I can't. I can't wait. Let's let's get this dish crack. Let's get these pickles. Let's sit there. I mean you your kitchen when you're cooking, does it look crazy? Yeah? D I feel like this whole table is about to look crazy. Get these picturkeys. So what can your fans expect in

the Yeah, a lot of music this year. Like last year, I always dropped like one project and go goes because I was having issues when I said behind the scenes getting my team together. But this year we altogether be ready. So I think I'm gonna drop two projects, two projects as a single, as an LPs, like ten like ten songs, projects, mixtapes, a lot of singles. Yeah, I'm gonna just stay consistent

the whole year. But now, don't you have to stay consistent in working one single to get into poper is it? Just like? Yeah, I always drop one single like something I feel like it's a banger, like Purple Rain I dropped at of March that went crazy. I got a

hundred thousand streams the first week. So now on the business side of things, when you're releasing an album, like, do you make money off the music or do you just make money off of Yeah, because I'm independent, but I got a distribution with Empire, but I'm independent, so I still own my masters. So like if I do a song, if I drop a song, I get paid off of it. Now, in today's world, just to break down distribution for artists on the rise, what do you

exactly need distribution for in a digital age? And this is a serious I have no idea question, Okay, seriously, um the distribution. So basically, Woul imper a different me. They distribute the distribute music everywhere Spotify, Amazon. You know, you could do it yourself, but sometimes it gets a little hard because they might take it down if you don't do it the proper way. Spotify to people use tune core to distribute their music of Spotify, Apple, Amazon,

they distribute your videos. They help you. Also, they give you like a marketing budget, so they'll give you money to help market yourself. So it's like a record label. It's it's like it's definitely especially they're giving a marketing budget. They just take their percentag job, which is always a short amount, or for me it is. They take their percentage job and then it's still on the masters. That's one thing I don't think artist should do these days.

A sign these big little deals where you get three hundred four hundred thousand, but you don't own your masters, and then that's all you get. You're not gonna see anything else. See with me and Empire, I dropped my project. I get my whatever little male from them, but I don't get too much where I got the exactly and I still see revenue from my music. So how did it feel seeing billboards in Compton that was the best thing game. But I think I Joe pass it, but

it was the best thing about it. My exit just did me dirty, right, I'm gonna keep going. I'm so sorry, day, I'm sorry. I got to tell the story. My eggs did me dirty, right, like real dirty. It was together like the years, and she had to see that billboard every day. That's hilarious after we broke up. Like you don't think she tried to drive around it. She came. It was on a freeway after he broke up. I'll

start watching that career started. Yeah, yeah, So she has to see all types of stuff at that time, and that bill Burt was one of them. I had to so I had one the company and I had one in the south Gate. I think do you think the breakup gave you either free time to focus or do you think that sometimes people's energy being removed can just pave a grade all the above? Uh? After I got out, after I got off that situation, I just bloomed into

a whole different person. And then also it gave me a draw like I was hurting, so that hurt turned into a hustle for me. So I'm doing that. I'm not sleeping. I'm at the studio because you're already dealing with what's going on. Why not deal with it in a better way. You already can't sleep because you heard I can't sleep, but the studio. Yeah, yeah, so that was there ever a point in your career where you

were like, I think I'm gonna quit. Yeah, because of the whole thing with the family not supporting you know, that bothered me because I was seeing what they were doing for the other arts, like wearing T shirts with spaces, and it's like him like, yeah, but I'm pumping on my ya. It's like, so what that bothering me? Knew it was? To a poem, was like, okay, because at the time, I feel like I don't have nobody like

I always had my mom, always had my dad. But I feel like I don't have nobody still compared to if it's in your face you yeah, of course, you got twenty family members surrounding this one person, and you got your households, and you still feel like but especially when you think about parents, you kind of innately think, Okay, they're always gonna be there, so you don't help them as a cheerleader. Then when you get older, you're like, oh my gosh, I wouldn't know how to survive without you, guys.

But my family something special, like for real to people, I got in my corner right now and they've been with me through the whole journey. And like my mom, like every time I have these situations, but for like giving up. Oh every time, I all like I'm getting up, giving up. She come to me with this long speech.

Hit it on the nose all the time. My mom was like that person you go to she always has something like something to say that makes you feel better and not she'll tell you about your bull crap, but it's like she's genuine telling the truth. I really wish we could take a picture of this dish. This dish looks so good and colorful. Uh, And usually I would have my phone on me, but this sucks because it's a beautiful dish. Everyone should watch the video of this interview.

Oh my gosh, Yeah, you need a cooking show. This is what I want to be. Oh, you're gonna mix it in. It looks so pretty in I want to mix in the bad the bag and look at that. That is absolutely amazing, full of color, full of flavor. I've almost starved to death while she made it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. So I'm hoping that I could taste all the cheese, the meat. There's meat in here, right, chi and yeah, hooked me up. We're gonna take a bite at the same time. I want you to. I

don't want you to think it's nasty. If you think it's nasty, just oh, you'll see it on my face because my face scrunches up really bad. I've tried to make it through interviews and and be like this is good, and then all of a sudden I'll bite into something. I'll be like, oh no, this is this is alright? Here we go chairs, chairs, all right? See? Does it salty? But I love the crunch. This tastes like chef for I d with crunch. That's how I'm trying to describe

it to every every listener out there. But this is like every for lack of better word, this is like every fat king stream man. Right. I don't even smoke no more, but the smokers I know they love this. How it was a leak, I didn't see why. So did you get the nickname Princess of Compton from Hilario? I could see from this meal alone. Why with your personality? Oh, thank you appreciating your music. Thank you you are a deadly forced I'm really really looking forward to the future.

I appreciate that. Yeah, listen to your music and I was like, yeah, we definitely want we want to have it. I appreciate you, but haveing me. I always want to do something like this. Side note. It's way better when the cheese is super hut. But it's good though, And my question is unch up everyone. That was good. So many flavors going on, so spicy too. It's a spicy jerky. It's a lot of flavor. Asia. Thank you so much for coming to the studio and making this amazing gourmet

homemade spread. Thank you. I'm glad you like it. Thank you for having Yes. The family tradition has definitely been passed on from your family. Now to everybody who listens to the I Heart Radio podcast, thank you for having me, Yes, thank you for coming out and what can where can we find you next? Just follow me on Instagram though a z j H underscore Stay tuned, stay tuned. You heard it here first. He's out. Keep