Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Colleen Witt, and today we have very special guests. I want him to sing a little something before I introduce you. By the way, I wanted to do a plan words. I kept calling, calling, not you, but your publicists, begging, pleading, come on, let's make it happen. Let's get October in the studio. Damn, I just said to.
And you should have just called me.
I didn't know you could do that. I didn't start into the DM was like that, Start making your ramen.
Start making this ramen. This is I actually call this dish the South Bend Struggles. I'm from South in Indiana, so always good old before I open it, and always breaking in fours?
Does there have to be fours or you just break it up?
I have OCD has to be eating not three years or it can be two. But then I feel like, are you serious?
You really have OCD A little bit, not like crazy like I have to touch microphones or something like fourteen times, but not like that, not that bad, but you know, just you know that.
Type of stuff. Poor. Then oh yeah, this is yeah, this is the bully that we're gonna use for that.
Yeah, yeah, I was gonna have you on these, but I don't want you to burn your fingertails.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know that works. That works. You've got to have that up.
In there, and you gotta make two.
Yeah yeah, yeah, that's right.
You're cooking for you and yeah.
That's true. I'm used to nobody wanting to eating it.
Huh.
I set them, used to nobody wanting to eat.
This ramen that you may how scary.
Son. Only my son's like, oh my god, I love it. Everybody else is just I don't know how old is your son?
Eight?
Okay, but he's bouchie, so I'm surprised that he wants to eat it.
Okay. I feel like the younger kids, they believe in you, like you're a superhero no matter what you make.
Yeah that's very true, you know, but I like it. I like it. It's water. I'm actually gonna need a little bit more, but more, Yeah for sure, Oh no, you're gonna need it, trust me.
Actually I am terrified.
Trust you're gonna need more.
Okay, okay, all right, all right, so.
Then that go to the microwave. I don't do it on the I don't do it on the stove. I don't put anything in it, nothing like that. Obviously, put in the microwave, and I do it for dope. Wait wait, wait wait, I do it for ten minutes, ten minutes, ten minutes. I gotta hit this thirty second button a few times.
It doesn't explode in the microwave, but that heat.
Nope.
Do you put a lid on yours at home?
No?
Really, ten minutes, that's gonna be mush for sure.
No, well it's not really, No, it won't be. It's the it's the cheese part that makes everybody look at it and be like really, and I'm just like, no, it's it's melted.
Will happened to you?
One day?
You put it in too long? And you said, hmm, I like.
This, that might have been. That might have been that actually, that actually might have been I might have put it in. Chel was like, oh for I forgot, and I was like, oh.
You were like, it's the last pack of ramens. So I guess I'm just gonna work with it.
And also, I was a big fan of chicken noodle soup when I was a kid. I would always eat it like that. So when other people would make me ramen.
I'm like, these noodles aren't done, They're not Oh you want this to be soup.
I want no, I don't want to be soup. I want the noodle to be the consistency of a chicken noodle soup that has to be a salt like.
Think I've ate a lot of chicken noodle soup. I barely remember what chicken noodle soup.
See.
But I'm also Jamaican, and Jamaicans they make everything from scratch. So you know, my mom make the dumplings, the whole and everything. I don't know if I've ever had it really in the can see, I'm.
Gonna take you, you know, take you to a place you need to be with the noodles. You know what I'm saying. I got you.
So tell everybody what else is going in this ramen dish.
Okay, So in this South Bend struggle, I put butter in it, just you know, softening the flavor, all that kind of stuff. You know. I gotta put the chicken pack in there that comes with it, pepper, some seasoned salt, lowries.
In addition to the seasoning pack, in.
Addition to garlic, salt, or you can do garlic powder if you want, and sometimes I do both. So you got And then the last ingredient is mozzarella cheese.
And where does the butter come in?
The butter comes in once I take the noodles out add the cheese.
I am afraid and inspired by this ramen, just just when you thought ramen couldn't get any worse, you know, But hopefully, hopefully this makes it in my top because I told you earlier, there's like I've had enough ramen to be able to you know, I'm hoping you yea last so because I've had someone do ramen and I literally ended like this is the worst ramen in the history for rameny, but just so much onions.
It was oh no, no, yeah, I've heard of other things getting added to ramen and all that kind of stuff, but I don't know jalapenos. I've never done that, but that that wouldn't bother me. I don't think. I'm trying to think if that would. I like the way mine is. It's just set just right for me.
Okay, okay, And.
I forgot actually one ingredient, but it's okay, what is it? It was a parsley flakes I like color on it.
You know what I'm into?
Now? Fresh?
Do you do fresh?
I'm lazy that it will.
It will change your life and it lasted your fridge for a while, as long as you keep it dry. But I don't get like fresh, Dell fresh, oregano, fresh, parsley, all of it. And then like you know when you shaw tell your butter and garlic. Really, I promise you changes the game.
It was.
I learned it from this show.
Maybe it's soothing to you, Just no, I.
Learned it from this show. One of the guests on here cooked with it, and she was like, it was the fresh ingredients that made it taste different. I need I'll be learning tips, you know, just be teaching me how to cook.
Okay, I need to try it.
I'm gonna try this mozzarella. May go home and end up eating this for a couple of days because I like it. Yeah, I don't think I will, because this seems like it's gonna be very much. I like geese. I don't know. I love mozzarella cheese on like spaghetti, like a lot of it.
It'll be in your top five at least.
We don't see. We don't see. I don't even think we need a second bowl. We could share your bowl. You just pour some a it'll be enough.
The noodles will be puffy enough. That's where you want to get it too, all.
Right, Yeah, bring it on out, bring it all out, bring them out, bring them mouth. Oh it's hot, do.
That thing hot? Yeah. See, at this point you might say they're either perfect or they're like or they're a little overcooked, right or maybe not? So what look how they look now? Right? So people would eat them like that?
Okay, I was expecting more mush.
Okay, no, no, no, but remember I'm about to put it back in there for another ten what why? Yeah, that's how I cook it. I cook it for twenty minutes. It's twenty minute, ramin.
Are you joking?
I swear that's what I was saying. I told you so, I swear to you.
All right, So with what?
Yeah? So with this? Now, take some butter, put it up in there. I'll let it, but I put it in there now. Sorry, so I can put the butter in there, it'll mouth whatever.
Wait a minute pause. You cooked it for ten minutes? Yeah, okay, Now you're saying that you're gonna do what you do.
I'm gonna do what I do. Put not all the stuff. Montrelle is the last thing, okay, and then I'm gonna put it back in there for ten.
Oh, it's like a whole go ahead, educate used. This will be the most memorable. We're gonna call this episode the longest ramen of your life. You can't be starving and you go to October's house and he'd be like, I'm gonna cook you some rum and you I'm telling you'll be better. I'll make a spaghetti.
I'm no man.
Okay, let's see this. Okay, put the butter in.
I put the butter in.
Starting to look mushy. Okay, no, it's not cloudy.
Put your chicken. Oh yes, definitely cloudy. Put your chicken pack in there, all right? And after that, some pepper. I'll throw some pepper in there now, okay, just a little bit, though, I'll put some more. It comes back out. Start this up, get it right, get it even. You know.
You're hilarious.
Oh I love making this. This is so fun for me. I love it.
I think you like everyone's reaction.
Because I don't cook at home, no cooking home. I took it out every day.
You know what it's. But what there's so many things. You probably tried that one to say, Man, I don't belong in a kitchen.
No, no, no, I no I cooked. I just don't cook on the stove a lot. I'll make ramen, boiled eggs, stuff like that, or scrambled eggs, something like that on the stove. After that, I don't do nothing. No, you don't see me cooking pasta. I'll get on the grill though. Okay, okay, I'm outside grill.
Let's see how well you see it though, because I feel like I feel like it. Whatever you make it home could be very salty.
No, not at all, you would think so, because we have the chicken pack in there added some lowries.
You were very very nice with the lorry.
Absolutely, you don't want to You don't want to overdo it.
Don't love overseason like a crazy person. But my food tastes good. But I'll tell you this. My daughter, who's three, she's been every time I cook, she runs up and she'll go do do do do, and she'll grab a seasoning and run off to her little kitchen. And the other day she took the all of the lorries like dump the whole thing in her little season She must think all I do is play with seasonings all day, because all she does is run up. She grabs her little stool and just steal seasonings.
She gets to watch you cook. I'll make all these great dishes, you know what I'm saying.
Yeah. The other day she's like, I'm cooking for my for Kingston.
I said, oh, cooking for Kingston. Who's Kingston? Exactly?
The neighbor next.
Door, like a hole. So I've added the seasonings.
Okay, no mozzarella, guys.
No mozzarella. So I've added the butter and the chicken pack, the garlic, garlic powder, some little bit of garlic salt, some lowries, and some pepper, which I'll add some more pepper in a minute. And now I'm gonna put it back in the microwave. I know Jamie is back there rolling, and I'm gonna add it another ten minutes to it.
This is insane.
Mm hmm. Oh. You're gonna love it. I absolutely love it. You're gonna be like, oh my god, I have to make this once a week, once a week.
Once a week, I could cook a whole chicken meal. So take me back to what was going on during this twenty minute ramen?
Oh, well, you know it was. It was a struggle obviously. You know, now I'm signed to death Row, you know, shout out to Snoop Dogg, of course, and you know I'm doing all this stuff now, But before all that, it was that struggle, like every other artist, man just selling. I was selling CDs out out of this van that me and my boy used to drive called Big Shirley. So he used to drive that and pass out CD Shout out to DeMarco Black.
This was this was when CDs people had CD players, right.
Absolutely, yeah, I mean you're taking out the deck you know what was it, the Kinwood deck man? Yeah, yeah, for sure.
So we're right this time. I mean, this is the you know, you're fifteen taking back to fifteen year old.
Fifteen year old me trying to figure it out, trying to write and everything, and you know, I'm in and out of jobs or whatnot, just trying to find out which job was the right job for me. And I had three jobs at one time. I was detailing cars, I was I was trying to sell cars at one point, and then I was working at Steak and Shake at the same time. So I was trying to find.
Myself while going to high school all of this.
Yeah.
Absolutely, it was a hustler and you had dreams.
Oh yeah, I had dreams I needed. I always had that drive to get you know, get to it and get after it. So you know, I'm at home trying to figure it out, what's the next step, trying to make it. No, I was only making what steaking shake? I was getting paid like what, three four hundred dollars. I thought I was bawling every week, you know, So I was like, hell, yeah, you know. But in the midst of that, I'm hungry. I'm like, oh, gon, make me some ramen. And I don't know where along the
lines where I started making it for twenty minutes. Maybe I forgot about it at one point, but I just really enjoyed it. And I was like, you know, this reminds me of chicken noodle soup. I was a chicken noodle soup head when I was a kid, So I like the consistency of the noodle pause.
Yeah, you gotta pause because I'm trying. I'm trying. I'm trying not to judge you. I'm praying to Jesus that are we got two seconds? Good pause timing. Yes, we be about to eat. We're about to eat some mashed potatoes mixed with mozzarella and cheese.
All right, let's go. It's so good.
I'm gonna judge it really hard, guys, and keep it all the way real.
But we're not done yet. We still have to put stuff on it. You think it'd be done all the way now, all the noodles are. I could have made it better.
I can't wait to see this mashed potatoes.
It's not it's like it's almost like a pasta. So you see how it still has a little bit of water in it. It's supposed to be like that because if it was dried out, it'll been messed up.
And no, god, no, we can't. We would never eat. We would never eat. Did you ever make this for Snoop Dogg?
No, but I think he would really enjoy it. Matter of fact, I'm think I would make it for him.
I think, and I'm record it. Send it to me, Yes, I would, please.
I would close your microwave. But it's really hot now it's been running for a long time.
Is it really that hot?
No, No, it's fine, it's fine.
Okay, now let's just see it. Let's see if there's a really you're hilarious, that's like a twenty dollars microwave too, Probably couldn't.
Let's go next door get her, get her a new microwave. All right, so it's look, I mean the consistency of a Look at the noodle. Now it's soft, like.
Yeah, you don't need to you don't need teeth. You don't need teeth. Break out the straws. Everybody, your grandparents, get your great grandparents could eat this dish.
There you go.
If you ever have a jaw break, this is the meal.
Okay, here we go this and now we want to we want to finish it off. Okay, first off, I did say that I was gonna add a little bit more pepper. That's the only thing.
You don't even sample to see it this season.
No, no, no, I don't need to know. I already know. It's pure perfection. Okay, pure.
I can't wait to try this mashed potatoes and cheese. Okay, here we go. Let's see.
It depends on how much cheese you want, but I would probably go let's see, I think that's.
All the cheesey doing Okay, let's see. Look the cheese melts it right into the gravy.
Okay, actually no, this is not enough cheese for me. This not for me. I want you to make it how I would make it. Yeah.
Yeah, we want to eat it the way you would because we're gonna see if this will ever make it into the top thirty all time.
I'm telling you it's gonna make it. It's gonna make it. Yeah, to see I need it just a little bit cheesier I needed to. Yeah that should be good. Oh yeah, this is just gonna be amazing. I mean, look at it. You could really serve this, like.
I feel like you was back. They're plotting on how to uh make the worst eating while broke dish, and he was like, I'm going to make twenty minute ramen with some cheese.
Oh definitely not.
I mean it looks gooey. It looks like some really gooey mashed potatoes. Now see yeah, I'm joking. It looks like very it's gonna be it's I'm surprised you're using a fork and out of spoon.
Yeah, you use a fork. Look at the cheese on the fork.
Look you serve me up here?
Yeah, come on, get some of that. Get some of that that.
Oh no, that's I want to get the h That's fine. I'm Jamaican. Okay, wet cow stomachs and tails.
It's a cow stom mix and tails. Look at the cheese. Look at that. Just absolutely beautiful. I'll just I'll just put a little bit in there just so you can.
Yeah, hook me up, I eat hook you Okay, Okay, that's enough. That's enough of your I'll tell you this. It looks good.
Thank you. See but wen't see that's a lot of cheese though. Here.
You can have this fork. I'll take that.
No, no, no, no, no, yeah, yeah, yeah, you take that for it because you have to.
Oh my goodness, looks guys presentation.
You know.
I like the I do agree. You could have done the parsley on top.
Yeah, the party on top. Yeah yeah, yeah, the parsley on top really adds the color. It's not that bad, is it? Go ahead say exactly, you're right, it's.
Not that great.
Serve this up to snoop please, no, I'm telling you this. This got me through.
Oh yeah, this is a one and done. If all start one and done, this is like what happens when you don't cook at home. All right, So okay, so you're doing this music on the side. What was the original inspiration? When did you start to realize you wanted to pursue music.
I was trying to get my writing right at fifteen, sixteen seventeen. I was still working, wasn't really going in like that. But when I turned eighteen, I was like, I think I really want to do this. Started going to my friend's house, my friend Travis's house. I started doing fruity loops. It was a program that you make beats, so I didn't even really want to sing that much. I was just like, man, I can start making beats. I want to be like Timblin, you know, stuff like that,
and then started to sing. And then I saw on TV. I actually came over over Travis's house and it messed me up because he was like, oh man, look it's this light skined do with braids just like you. Man, killing it on TV is killing you. I'm a competitive person.
Ye yeah.
Then I started to sing even more so that was tray songs.
Oh yeah, okay, okay, okay.
I think it was just got to make it or something. Man, it might have dropped.
So okay, so you start doing music, you graduate high school, what's your next big play?
Next big play is trying to find a way into the music industry. I didn't know. I didn't know what to do. I just knew the slang CDs and go to bars and try to do little shows, you know, like, oh, sing one song, not karaoke or anything like that. I never liked karaoke, but I just wanted to go sing in front of a crowd and just see how that felt.
And you're all doing this still in Indiana.
Yeah, yeah, just hitting different bars in Indiana.
Yeah, okay, and your parents are now onto you. Nope, they're not onto you. You're keeping the seagrut.
No, they just think I'm going to hang out with my friends.
I said, you have siblings, anybody in the family know what's going on.
Maybe two, But they were on they were doing other stuff, so I didn't. They didn't pay no attention to her, Like, yeah, you're just doing whatever.
Is there a reason why you weren't telling anybody?
No, I just I don't know. I just didn't tell anybody. I didn't think I was that good like that. So I was like, I don't know if I want to do it or you know. It wasn't until, like I said, I was eighteen where I was like, maybe I really should do this, but I don't know yet. I don't want to tell anybody and get every because then they want to come to the shows. And it wasn't. Then it makes me nervous at that point, I'm nervous, Nelly.
But now you're approaching the bars yourself.
Yeah, with other friends that are older. So I'm getting into these bars and doing that. But you know, bar was cool with us and all that kind of stuff.
So you start performing. When do you start to really believe in yourself?
Probably twenty twenty one something like that.
Was there something in particular that happened that made you go, oh, I think I have something here.
I don't. I can't remember. I don't think so. I think I was just I think I just started to progress a little bit more and started to meet more people. And the more people I met, I was like, oh, well, they like it. This person likes it, and he's close to this guy that's five degrees of separation from that guy. Maybe I should keep going. Yeah, okay, And then that just kept going from there, and I still started to meet different people, my boy Mike Letter, which I wrote
several songs with or whatnot. So you know, I just it was just the constant going and finding different people to talk to.
And then while all this is going on, you're still working multiple jobs.
Yeah, yep, I'm still working multiple jobs. Until jeez, when was that? That was? Time has gone by so fast? Because that was what I was fifteen. That might have been two thousand and eight, so we're talking maybe two thousand and fourteen or something like that. I don't know, it's time's been going by so fast. And I think about I never sat here and thought about how long it's been since I actually started.
Since you actually started, or when do you started to like actually one hundred percent go into.
No, since I just started writing, like at fifteen and being like, whoa, it's been a minute.
That's a long time. But even at fifteen, you don't see the average fifteen year olds saying, Okay, I'm going to start writing songs unless they kind of call a cliffhanger of someone else's story, like oh, you can make money, especially it seems like money.
Oh. Star Kelly R. Kelly was the one that really pushed me to like do me like I was just his writing style was cold.
It was amazing, It was amazing. I remember I remember seeing some of his music going. I had never seen anything like it before. It's really the Isley Brothers. I was a little late, obviously, I'm yeah.
It was.
It was when they did that, I was like, oh shit, yeah, this musical on wheels is crazy. It's crazy good. Still have the hooks in my head. Okay, okay, So you see that you're getting inspired, you're pursuing writing and your echine towards the promised land in towards it. Yeah, echine towards it.
The term is step forward eight steps back.
Yeah, So give me an example of a four step four like where you think you touched the land and then landed right back.
Mmmm. That would have to be I want to say. I want to say, I don't know what year it was, but it might Oh no, it might have been like two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, something like that. The years are all bunched up, so I probably got those wrong anyway, But whatever. I was with one of my friends, Mike Letter, who lives in Miami where kicking and we end up meeting in a circle who made the bad Boy song, the you know, the off of
Cops or whatnot. And I'm just hanging around all these people producers like d Nad which was you know, with with other with other artists, and we got to call that we're gonna go to Lenny kraviatt studio in Miami. So I'm like that. It was the guy that works with Lenny. I'm like, this is it. You know, we we got all our songs, Like me and Mike are gathering all these songs in a hard drive, like, no, speck this one out. We're just like, no, he's gonna
love this one. He's gonna love this one. He's gonna love this one. And we went there and the dude was like, yeah, you got some potential, but you know, you're like you might be like five to ten years off. I'm like, to get on now.
Were you going over there to like sell him your songs or to.
To get a song to Lenny and to get a deal.
Yeah, yeah, we get signed and be on a ten years. That's that's not the response you're looking for.
I got that within the same week. Another person that was working I think for Bad boy. At the time, she said the same thing. She was like, yeah, I think he needs development and it's going to be at least ten years.
And I'm like Jesus, and how many years in the game were you at that point? You were probably almost ten, right at that point, No, fifteen, at least seven, right, something like that. Seven Damn? Could you imagine seven years and be like I got another ten to go?
Oh, I'm like yo, I'm like, man, this is not it. So I just crashed back all over again. Go back home, go chill all the way back to it. Yeah, go all the way back to Indiana, go back, get a job, restart.
Damn. I stopped that really knocked the going out yourself.
Oh yeah, I stopped doing music for a while. Stop doing music for man.
You know, my little brother is a comic. But I remember when he first started. I said to Ego, you got to choose your ten. Even though it sounds like you chose your ten, but I noticed everybody industry like they had to do their ten.
Yeah they said ten thousand hours.
Yeah, well yeah, we're ten thousand hours. Yeah, that's that's a better term. But I remember Gabby Wilson, remember her, I remember when she was a little girl. She's coming to our next studio, and she was like seven or eight, and she was so talented, and nobody knew what to do with her, and she kept coming back. And then one day I turn on the TV and there she is. I'm like, what the heck? But it took her, like the animal, twenty years. But you don't know that it
takes that long. So you go all the way back. They knocked the one out of your cell. What makes you pick up again?
Just not wanting to struggle, not wanting to do the job anymore. It got to the point where I wasn't keeping a job very long because I just hated it. And I was like, dude, I don't want to do this shit.
Do you think in the back of your mind you got a taste of the promis Land? You got so close that you couldn't like shake it.
And you know, went back at it again after a couple of years or something like that.
A couple of years.
Yeah, I was like I was listening to music and still studying.
Yeah, you know, were you still playing in the studio, like still coming up with music or where.
You just a little bit a little bit. But as far as like me going full in. I'll knock the wind out of.
Them, damn. Okay, so you start to get back up. I like this this the hero is Yeah, of course, okay, everyone does that. Okay, so you took a step back, Okay, you come back. What brings you completely out of the closet? Besides you hate the job?
Uh? I just felt like, man, so many great R and B artists, and I really wanted to be a part of that story of music, like having my name in that. You know. I don't want to be better than them or nothing like that. I just wanted to be I'm competitive, yes.
But I like your competitive space.
Oh yeah, no for yeah, it's bad, but you know, I just want to be there. I want my name somewhere in that in that list, you know, for for R and B or for any genre really. So I just it was just the yearning of it. I And like I said, I didn't want to work any regular job anymore. I had great friends around me, like, no, man, you should really still do. They're playing my music in their cars and I'm just like, oh, I stop playing this ship like I'm not gonna get on and it's over. YadA, YadA, YadA,
all that shit. So what you know, end up leading to me going into truck driving school.
Truck driving school.
Yeah, I was about to be a truck driver.
Oh my god, this.
Was now, this was two thousand dollars.
Could you imagine if you actually didn't come back, it'd be a waste of great talent behind the wheel.
I'd be eating cheetos and ramen mozzarella. Oh god, just chewing away.
Oh my god, driving Oh my god, thank god. I hope. Well you still eat mozzarella ramen.
So yeah, I always gotta go back.
No you don't. If there's one thing you ain't gotta do, it's go back to mozzarella. Twenty minute ramen, go back, go back. All right, so you come back, what's your This is twenty fifteen. Now it's twenty fifteen. Okay, okay, you're coming back, damn twenty fifteen. Yeah, I see. I see how the road can be fast for you. Okay, So then you come back. What's your first play coming back?
Get a get an actual job, not like a well, I want to say actual job, but you know, you have your stake and change over your stuff like that. But I was like, I need something that's going to pay me, you know, eighty to one hundred a year. That was my that was my goal.
Yeah. Yeah.
So I was like, well, I like driving. I like being on the road a lot. I was always a road warrior. All my boys are like, we'll get in the car and just drive like no problem. So it's like I was like, well, I'm a car person. I don't mind trucks. Let me just try a truck driving school.
Okay.
And I was doing truck driving school.
Did you like it?
It's cool. I don't like the studying part. I hate that. It was just a lot of I learned a lot, so respect to the truck drivers, and I learned a lot. I was like, oh, you.
Like I learned enough to know this job.
Yeah. Man. But I was almost about to graduate. I was maybe a couple of weeks or a week or something like that from graduating. And then got the car from Jazzy or I want to say, I got the car. My boy DeMarco Black rest in peace. He just passed my That's my ace that I started in twenty fifteen with. He had a connection and got me to do the call with Jazzy, and Jazzy was taking my music to Snoop, but I didn't know that, so I sent my music
to Jazzy. Jazzu was already going to meet with Snoop, so he went to go meet him and he was like, Yo, you know, I ran to this kid, he's out of Indiana. Let me play some of his music. He played some of my music, and he played one of my songs that sounded very Marvin Gay esque, and he loved it and he was like, Okay, I'm gonna sign this kid. And then three months later, well, I quit truck driving. After that, I was like, okay, this is the big break.
Yeah, like this this is off the word that he was going to sign you or off the eng This.
Is off the word I was. I was like, I'm not peace. Jazzu was like, just sit tight through Christmas and I was like okay, bet. So it got through twenty fifteen Christmas. January, I was getting nervous. I was like, Jazus, we're still doing this right. He was like yeah, no, it's a lot going on to holidays and you know all that. I was like okay. February came and then Snoop called me and was just like before right, I think the day before the super Bowl and was like, yo,
I'm definitely I definitely want to sign you. I want to get you out here while you're out here, and I flew out March sixteenth, twenty sixteen.
I love how you remember it. Why do you remember that date?
I don't know. I just remember that I thought that day was going to change my life.
And was that your first time on the call with Snoop?
Yeah?
Okay, so you were like, oh shit, this is real.
It's like real because he was like, oh, I'm a fan. I'm a fan of you, nephew.
Oh my god, do that in person.
What's up, homies, it's a big homie Snoop dog, I'm a fan of you. Player Like all right, cool. I was like, I didn't think it was really him at first.
It was like a prank call from Jazz.
If they did it today, I'd have been like, that's ai click no he I know.
So you get the call, you fly out. What's what's the first experience?
March sixteenth, meeting him sitting in that lobby and just looking around like the pictures of him and your doggy style and I'm just looking around like, man, this is crazy and he comes out and he's a labor and I'm a laborer. So we just yo, what up? Man? What's like we knew each other.
You weren't nervous at all? No, okay, did you wear a suit?
No? I didn't wear a suit, but I was probably I probably was dressed, but I didn't wear a suit. No. No, I don't want to go that hard. And he'd be like, oh, I got a preacher or something you don't like. So we went into the studio and the rest was history. He put on a beat, saw my work ethic, and I just knocked out one song like that, and he was like damn, okay, throwing another one, knock it out,
another one, knocked it out. It was like he was like, okay, all right, you got the voice, you got the work ethic. I see, but we'll just keep going. And in a week I did. Oh No, I did in three or four days. I recorded the album that we're supposed to put out. I did eighteen songs in three or four days.
Get the freak out.
Now.
Did you already have your deal signed already or no?
I was still in process, But I was like I'm going in. Yeah, I'm going the fuck in At this point, I'm passionate about what I'm doing. I you know, feel strongly about the way I'm writing and all that, and he let me just have full autionomy. He was like, well, call me when you're done. I was like, for real. I was like, this ain't how labels work. They used
to be on your We don't like this. What are you feel like and going through like artist management and artist development and all that, and it's just like he was just like, I love the first song that you did, man, see if you can come up with another one. Came up with another one within an hour. He was like, what you didn't have you had that sitting. I was like, no, dude, I just knock him out. And now I knocked out eighteen in three days. Got my I was actually sick
after that. I was just stayed in the studio.
I had no rest or nothing.
No rest or nothing. And he was like, dude, go back to the hotel, go rest Let me listen to these songs. And he was like, yeah, we got an album and we put out color Blind.
Wow.
We had to do a two part because it was you knows.
And then at what point was the deal done?
Deal still wasn't. Well, the deal was done right before the album dropped yet, Okay, so then I'm signing and I'm like, oh, it's all. It's on to the races.
Now. Did you have to on the business side, did you have to like contact lawyers and do all that or did you did you even know how to move in that space because you're coming from truck.
We weren't even As a matter of fact, I now, actually I have to go back because hold on a lot. Me and him never had a contract until death throw, so we went years of just handshake loyalty just to find out who you know, the loyal part. So I forgot about that. So we didn't even have Mentally, I was like, I'm signed to him mentally he was. So that's why I'm like, oh, yeah, you know that was done.
To be honest, I like those deals better. Yeah, it's like something about it.
Yeah, was he gonna steal from me? I have ship? I'm broke. I'm broke.
I mean Ramen, hopefully not Mozzarella Ramen.
I wasn't making it like, I wasn't making it this good that could it's good. Oh yeah, I was making it the regular way, you know, the regular way was yeah done. Yeah, you gotta adkice to it. Yeah, be sexy ramen?
Yeah yeah, I know, absolutely not. You need to go back to the classic ramen with just some butter and call it today.
You can't do that.
I never knocked the butter in the ramen. I think that's the secret. It makes it creamier. But okay, but that mozzarella.
It was the butter.
See.
That's why I should be in the top five.
It should definitely be in the top ten. So going back to the worst rum and you're not the worst. I'll tell you right now, you're not the worst. I would do yours over the absolute worst. But you don't like that cold mozzarella ball in your mouth? No, you know, you know, like no colds in your Okay. Uh so okay, So you and Snoop, you guys, you signed to him. What are your parents saying? I want to know, like what your family is saying, what the people around you are saying. During all of.
This, everybody's just like, this is it. They're hoping because they saw me go to the struggle. Yeah it's it. No, it's not. Oh yeah yeah, no, hey damie, yo, this is it man. I'm on my way to never mind it, like they're just like Jesus Christ. I really hope.
I don't know if I can't see him trying out for cold air school next day.
I was like, yo, like color, I would have killed it in culinary school.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you would have killed something in culinary.
My pork chop surprise would have been a killer in culinary school. And I don't even have a pork chop surprise. But I'm making now.
You don't make it now, it's.
Gonna be like it's gonna be stuffed with ramen. Cut it, open, stuff it you.
If you belong in music, you belong in music. You belong in music. I can't even say if you should know you belong in music. This is where you need to be at that. And the styling of your dressing is very nice.
Thanks.
Yeah, okay, just stay out of the kitchen. Get you a wife that I'll.
Stay over there and kill some steak, though rib steak. I can't cook chicken.
I'm gonna ask you a team if they would ever trust you to cook for them, they would.
As long as I'm on the grill. Not They don't want me to do nothing on the stove.
No, no, no, he probably put mozzarella in mashed potatoes.
If they saw me cooking on the stove, they would probably leave immediately, or they'd just be like, yeah, we're good, we'll order out. Yeah. But if they saw me on a grid, they'd be like, okay, about to get down. They trust me there.
I don't trust you there, but okay, I don't trust you.
All right.
So you're doing your music, So tell me about some of the highs, like the very first high of your career, after the signing, after the album's done, m what's the next?
First album was first?
Because you have? Is it three?
Now? Colorblind was a double Okay, it was a double disc. But at that point, I mean, people are liking the album, but we weren't really pushing it really hard. We just kind of wanted to see organically what it would do. So it kind of I don't know. I was on the fence. I was like, do people like it? Like, do people love it? I don't know. Maybe people don't want to hear the type of music right now. So at that point I'm just more nervous. I'm like, okay, I'm sign a snoop.
Yeah.
Mentally, you know, we're you know, we have this agreement, and I'm like, why isn't anything going number one? Why isn't anything Like, Oh, I don't understand, Like is it people hated people and end up people actually loved it. I just didn't know. We didn't. We weren't really we wanted to see organically and it just worked out. No,
nothing went number one, you know. No, it wasn't at the top of the charts, but it was like one of those underground things that felt yeah, where now people know those songs so worked out?
Yeah, now you're being competitive. Did you feel that pressure of like, oh my gosh, I'm signed to Snoop? You know these the people that he's worked with you did you play that? Did you play that in your brain a lot?
Well, a little bit and not too much because I was like, he's a rapper, but if he was a singer, I'd be like, oh boy, this's gonna be a problem. I really got to go. But is he's a rapper and he has these connections. I was like, I think I'm in a safe space, which.
I was, Well, I feel like too, your style compared to everybody else, is very unique. It's definitely sets apart, so you can't really say, oh, I'm competing with the say Chris Brown or anybody else, because you you kind of you very well own your lane.
Yeah. Absolutely. If I would have been in like the same lane or the same label as a Chris Brown or just him alone, I'd have been like, Oh great, I'm gonna get shelved or I'm put this album. They're gonna go back to him, And I was like, it's not gonna work out. So I was it was a great lane to be in.
It was a great lane. Yeah, And I think for death Row you definitely added a surprising element. And not talking bad about death Row because I be honored to have Snoop, you know obviously, but you added a level of like, oh like level of like classic layer of all Man.
When he said I was gonna be the flagship for death Row, I was like, huh.
But you could see it. You could see like it to me, you you really bring something to that label.
I'm just happy to be on it because I was like, I'm you supposed to be signing like rappers to this label, like you had Park and all that.
Like, were you a little nervous too about like his direction? Like obviously he was off hands. He lets you be you, But were you nervous like a rapper kind of?
No? No, No, he knew what he was doing.
And you know he had good taste. He had good taste, right, good taste.
Do you know what I'm saying?
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, And he's a liver. You know, it's the best.
Okay, Okay, livers are the best, got it? Liverras and ramen. Okay, So take me. So you end up going on tour, how was the tour?
Serenade tour with Maxwell and Jasmine Sullivan was amazing? Yeah, it was amazing. It was. It was really dope. You know, Maxwell was in my top ten. So I love being on tour now.
Now personality wise, I got to ask between Jasmine and Maxwell, who who would you be locked in a in a room with for a long pero?
Maxwell? Because me and me and Maxwell just we vibed, like we talked a lot. We talked like every couple of days, just like so where you going and like where do you want to go in life? Like where do you want? Where do you want your music to go? And just get an experience from him. So we had like just great talks and just great interactment, you know.
Okay, yeah, so Max, Okay, damn, I would have thought jazz, you know, Max, like big brother, was you scared of jazzmins?
No, no, no, I just heard she couldn't make rama.
Anyone can make rama except for you.
Okay, No, she was great.
I just you know, yeah, Now I'm curious. I felt like that tour was a really good lineup. It was a really good, well rounded lineup. It was very impressive. It was very impressive. Okay, so take me down to Doggyland.
Oh yeah, yeah, doggy Land.
How did that happen? Doggy Land? For all of you guys that don't know, you could break it down.
Doggyland is a kid show on YouTube, So you can look up doggy Land kids on YouTube and find it. It's just educational and just great music. You know. I do the music. I do some of the music I do. I voiced the character Woofie, and I'm co owner of the show.
Yeah now how did that come about?
So I was in the studio working on songs and Snoop comes in and he's like, Yo, we need to start. We need to like do a kid song. I'm like, all right, He's like you think you can do that. I was like, yeah, okay, cool, and he just walked out, all right, let's stop what I was doing. I was like, all right, whipped up a kids song about thirty forty minutes something like that, and then he came back in. He was like, what you got and I played on
a song. I forget which one it is because we have so many songs now, but I played it and he was like, I like that, that's joke. Can you do another one?
And I was like, why was he asking you to do kids songs? You didn't even ask just he'd be okay.
I know, like after I finished and I go in the room and we like, you know, we have like this.
He didn't even give you a topic like ABC's.
No, he knew what you know. You know, I was gonna come up with something. So then made another one, came back in, and this time I put my son on it and he loved it. And it was a song called brush Brush Your Teeth and he was like, yo, I got to make a call. And then him and Claude Brooks, the other co owner of the show, they got together and was like, yo, we need we need to do this kid show. We need to work together,
YadA YadA, pull october Man and they did. And next thing you know, we were five six, seven, twenty songs deep and the show was getting created and animated and it just blew up, you know, over almost Yeah. Yeah, it's like over a quarter billion views. Yeah, it just it really blew up. It's in Africas and it's everywhere now.
It doesn't make you look at the kid genre like differently, like, go, man, there's money to be made over there. I mean I hate to talk like that, but it doesn't make you look at it like I mean, that's a whole space over.
There, there is. It's a whole space. And yeah, you can be very lucrative making making children's music.
You ever You ever hear the Baby Sharks song and go, Yeah, that drove me nuts. I hate that song, but I'm like, how.
And let it snow or let it let it, let it go?
I love that song. Don't hate on that song.
Don't let it go.
So I was like, I was like, bro, let me tell you something as an adult, which is good for them without anybody any kids at the time, I definitely downloaded Demi Levado's Let It Go without anybody knowing, like, you know what other song? I have to admit to an artist that I really liked when I was younger, and I was ashamed to other artists.
It was.
I'm not going to No, it was Jewel. Jewel. You don't know who that is? The white girl guitar folk music. I like Jewel. I was definitely ashamed, didn't want anybody to know about it. And I actually like Brittany's. If you was black, you wasn't walk around like here with Britney Spear, but you was watching the video when nobody was around you was definitely you know, hitting a couple of songs, you know, you know, yeah, so I had them.
And it's so funny because sometimes if you listen to my iTunes, you'll see them pop up and people be like, what's that?
Like, I don't know click no no, no, no, no no, I'm about to play some gangster music.
Do you ever do that? Do you have people that you listen to that you kind of weren't proud to listen to?
No, I don't think so.
Let me come on, everyone has that one? No, I know dudes. The other day shout outs to Jerry back there. He said that he liked Taylor Swift. I'm not trying to put you out there, but.
Taylor has some music for sure. She has I listened to like and when I say listen to it, I'm not in the car listen to it like I'll see an album. Actually, no, because I think Taylor's nineteen eighty four album or whatever. I was like, let me just see what this sounds like. I'm on the plane. By the time I get off plane and be done with the album, I listened to it straight through and I was like, god damgn it straight through. Really, I was like shit, and I was like, hey, she is dope.
I was like, I'm look it up now I'm writing. Oh. No, I think nineteen eighty four was probably I can't believe I'm saying this.
That's amazing. I love that you're saying that.
I think it's nineteen eighty four, so you.
Can relate to having that artist that.
Really one of my favorite artists is John Mayer, so it kind of reminds me of that.
Yeah, John Mayor is pretty good.
Yeah, r Kelly Shade, John Mayer top three, and D'Angelo top four all time. Really absolutely, yep. Oh, I could listen to them.
All day okay, and hip hop you can't say snoop Top three and hip hop can't say snoop because you know we're just gonna assume Jewel uh pray bang them out.
Man, if I were to, really, I have to bump in the car.
What do I mean half to? You don't listen to rap music?
I do, But man, I was just banging Young Jeezy's album.
Young Jeezy. There was one album that Jeeze put out that was really amazing and I still.
Can't motivation one on one. I think it was listened to in the car and I'm.
Just there was one where he had like a bunch of bullets shooting out his gun. I forgot what it is. It's my favorite song. I still can't find it to this day. I go through and I.
Look for it. It's it's probably And I was just, is it a It's like hands in the air or something like that. It's because when it first starts out, it's like bloom boom boom boom boom boom boom bloom bloom. It's gotta that's gotta be it.
I think it is, but I can't find it. I'll go through like every one when I'll go through and I listen.
And I'm talking so much. D I really lived it, man. I was in the car, like yeah, and I was going to Target.
Yeah yeah, I don't know why I like that album, but so geez in Top three, man, between your mozzarella and your wrap is not good mozzarella rap. Okay, come on, come on, just hit me with the top three.
Please. What's not my top three of all time? This is just what I'm about to bump in the car.
Top three of all time.
Oh no, you can't make me do that.
Yes, you can't leave, you can't.
No, I can't think of it. Okay, all right, okay, okay, I know one off the top, JA Cole off the top, I know, I know, I know Jacole, J Cole off the top, J Cole, jay Z.
You mean jay z thn JA Coole.
Yeah, I'm just not in order, okay, j Z, jay Z, J Cole.
Oh, I'll throw you out some some freebies just to help you out. There's Kanye, there's Wayne.
Yeah after them. Yeah okay, okay, yay, and and and Wayne. I can yeah, I could go there you go, but you said top three.
But okay, yeah, yeah, Wayne, Okay, I would.
Do Wayne Bananas still.
Yeah, jay Z, who did you say was the second z Z? It would be jay Z, Wayne lyrically, jay Z, Carters, Bro.
Jay Z, Lil Wayne, j Cole, Kanye, but no, because Kanye's cold blood.
Yeah, Kanye would go before Ja Cole. I love you, I love you Jake Hole fans, and I know how much you guys love Jake Hole.
It's gonna be so much. This is called this is gonna cost so much slander. We were good until we got the hip hop, and now it's gonna be nothing but slander.
That's good. That's good. As long as long as they don't focus on your mozzarella ramen, you'll be safe.
No they I wish they'd go back to that.
Okay, so we have October nights. Is there a record on that song that you play or you played repeatedly? Mm hmm, Which is the song that you like the most on that record? Oh?
Probably kill Shot? Either kill Shot or uh it was an interlude at first, and then I can't remember what the hell name of the song.
Is, but that's hilarious, okay, kill Shot? And then which song?
Too much music? I don't, I don't. I don't. I don't remember a lot of it.
Okay. And then when you write music, is it Taylor to just your life or is it Taylor to like things you see around you? Okay?
Because I can't. Once people start doing it, you can make music for you. That's cool, but know that, you know, you got to reach out to an audience. Now it's like rappers getting rich and then that's all they talk about his rolls, voices and every like. You know what I'm saying, Like Drake does everything is oh, I'm at the my doing this. You like niggas about your album? They ain't all got a billion dollars.
Bro. Speaking of Drake. Don't want to get off chap, but I hate Drape as a Drake as a singer. Any any parts of his album where he sings or does his whatever he does, I can't do it. I don't even listen to it. I just listen to the rap. That's it. How do you feel about that top Prime and please no time? Please? Oh my god? Do you feel the same way I loved it at first?
I absolutely loved it.
You know what I could tell because you're struggling with your rap, your rap, So yeah, I'll give you that. I can see that for you. I can see that for you. Hey, all right, is there any songs that you wrote that you were crying behind the booth? I have to know, you know, one where you tear it up right and come on, be mad enough to say it. Breakup?
No, hell no, I've never done that. No, never done that. Breakup.
Oh no, no, no, no, there's no no break yeah yeah yeah, no, no, no, there was only one and now I did a song called say I had a song called say Goodbye with that's because one of my best friends that passed away.
That was only one. I've only cried on one song and that was that.
Okay, And you cried during the making opp like had to take a break?
Oh absolutely several times? Okay, absolutely, but that's it, okay, Yeah, But as far as.
Like, you're not crying over girls, oh my gosh, it's savage. Just so you guys know, October is very impressive in the music lane. Go out there, check out October Nights. It's out right now at right now. Hopefully we'll see him on tour. Yes, and shout outs to your crew. I know you guys have these micro waves on the tour buses. Please stay away from bunking near October for your own health. Matter of fact, just remove the microwave from the bus.
I'm gonna get first off, I'm gonna get your new microwave.
Why because you blew all the kilowats in this little it's twenty minutes? Is it done? For real?
Just choking?
All right? Thank you so much for your time. I had so much fun, even though I don't think I fully got your whole story.
I'm sure there's I can make the stuff, though. No.
If you come back, I will teach you a quick, simple dish that you cannot burn down your house. It doesn't require a microwave. Yes, okay, you know when you're a mom, you learned twenty I call them like twenty dollars twenty minute like cool ass dishes that you can make that are banging. And I cook with a lot of high end like I cooked crab, lobster, a lot of seafood, and I still manage to do it under a budget. Just you know, tastes great, tastes great, Yeah
you sure, as long as I have Butter'm good? Oh yeah, got butter, I'm good. I can't make anything taste but I just don't cook red meat.
Yeah, and ranch have a ranch.
I agree with that.
Having in fact, like like I said, put on everything chili lasagna, not ramen pizza.
No, no, did you say ranch on lazagna?
Absolutely, you just draped after it comes out of the oven.
All the women out there, all the women out there, all the women out there. I'm telling you, if October asked you on a date, make sure it's at a restaurant. Make sure you don't go to his house in Cereal with some ranch, come to some butter. Do not go to this man's house. Come on through unless you ate first, Come on through, get this noodle.
And with that.
Guys, we signed out piece out, check out October London, October Nights out album out right now.
Hope.
Well, he'll be back on tour. We can catch him in person singing Ye anything else and Doggie Land out anywhere on YouTube yep.
And go get the toys. We just drop toys at Target and I think at Walmart too.
Holy cow, these guys don't play. We are moving hustler spirits over here.
Right. That's what I need to do. A kids cooking show there it is.
I would love that. I would love that I would love that you can use our studio anytime. There you go, all right, Peace out, guys, peace, Peace for more. Eating while broke from iHeartRadio and The Black Effect, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.