The craziest part of my life.
I can go from performing in front of forty thousand people to either being in a dressing room, being.
In a plane, or being back in the bed all by myself. He is a multiplatum selling recording artist, minima and an actress. What's a mother one? The only.
Did you feel like a big break was coming?
I didn't know what that big break looked or felt like, but I knew that what I was doing was working.
The gang banging and the drug selling. That's not really for me.
But they looking cool to having girls and making music.
I'm like, I like that part of it.
What's it like to get a record deal and then music record deal?
Oh, there's no bouncing back from that?
How unsafe was it where you were in Pittsburgh?
The streets is crazy out there.
I remember like one of my first friends getting shot and killed in seventh grade.
Wow, when was your sibling who posted away?
She passed away? I think maybe seven years ago.
I was that experience for you, losing someone's so close to you that you love.
I am grateful that I was able to have like the last moments that I had to be able to prepare for it and It's something that I'm still dealing with.
What's a misconception you think people have about you?
The number one health and wellness podcast.
Jay Sheety Jay, Sheddy Sez Jay Sheet. Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health and wellness podcast in the world. Thanks to each and every one of you that come back every week to listen, learn and grow. Today's guest is the one and only Wiz Khalifa, multi platinum artist and Grammy nominee who rose to fame with his twenty eleven debut album Rolling Papers, featuring the hit Black and Yellow. Wiz one Best New Artist at the twenty eleven BET Awards and Top New Artist at
the twenty twelve Billboard Music Awards. His song see You Again from the Furious seven top charts in ninety five countries and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Today we're talking about Wi his newest album, Cush plus Orange Juice to Please. Welcome to the show. Wiz Khalifa, what, Wiz, I'm good. I'm good. It's great to have you here, good to be here. You walked in with this real chill energy today. I was like it was it was very calmy.
Yeah, I'm a super chill dude.
I love that man.
Yeah. Yeah.
What's the first thing you do in the morning? Smoke wheed every day?
Yeah? First thing, Well, I take my dog out outside. I have a dover man. He's a puppy, but he's a big puppy.
He's like he's ten months now, and he wakes up pretty early, so I take him out and then.
I smoke wheed.
Do you ever remember a day before that was the case?
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I remember the days before that was the case.
What were those days?
Like?
I was in school, get up and earing my clothes and you know, go after school.
Yeah. Was there ever a time in your life where you tried to stop smoking or has that ever been a goal?
Nah?
I never. I never really never really fell back off of it. I never had a reason to.
Yeah. Yeah, what does it do for you that you feel it needs to be your first habit of the day.
For me, it just kind of gets me in a relaxing mood.
I have a lot of things on my mind, like as soon as I wake up, so it's like here, I'm there, I'm everywhere. But if I smoke, I kind of chill, relax, put everything into his place. I write my goals down, I start to you know, make some text messages or phone calls or whatever, depending on what the situation is. So everything just starts to come into place.
You write your goal goes down regularly. Is that like a regular habit or consistent habit?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely through what that looks like?
It's really like me kind of like just spitball and stuff whatever it is, like short term goals of mine, whether it be about clothing, music, family, visuals, content, just kind of like just writing the first ideas, like really short, really just.
To the point, nothing really crazy.
I have a blackboard, so I sit in front of the blackboard and physically write it, or if I'm in my car or something like that, I'll write it down in my notes, you know what I'm saying, just to like little reminders and things like that.
Yeah, I love that. Man, How long have you had that habit for?
It goes on and off just due to necessity, Like how crazy my life is. So I just I feel like I don't know how long it's been because I do it like so regularly, and then I look back and I see how much I've done it. And I'm like, Wow, I've been doing this for a long ass freaking time, So I think it's kind of like a like a second nature type of thing for me.
What do you find is the craziest part of your life.
The craziest part of my life? I think the entertainment part is there easiest part.
And I think it's because I can go from performing in front of thirty thousand and forty thousand people to either being in a dressing room, being in a plane, or being back in a bed all by myself. And it's like to go from that much energy to just be it all by like, back by yourself.
I think that's pretty crazy.
Walk us through what that feels like mentally, Like you just described two polar opposites, and the majority of people on the planet will never really experience those extremes. They might experience the loneliness in a room, but they won't experience the thirty thousand people screaming your name right, wearing your merch right, you know whatever, it may be, singing along to your music. What are you feeling in the in betweens in the transition of that to that.
You have to have this thing where you kind of wind down and you know what is forwear, Like you can't bring the stage home because eventually you have to you know, wind down and go to sleep and wake up and do it again. And you can't be you know, too turned off when you're on the stage, because you have to bring enough energy to where somebody is way
in the back and they can feel you. So it's really just like a projection of like, you know your energy and how you feel, and the majority of the times I'm in a great mood, I have great interactions with my fans and the people around stage and things like that, so it goes good.
I'm in a great mood.
But it's just a lot of this goes from really really intense and then it could just all just be shut off at one second. And I think that that's like the craziest part to me.
Yeah, I can relate, you know, I'd heard that before, and I can relate in a small, very small way comparatively. But I remember doing my first have a live show in twenty nineteen. It was at the Ace Theater or maybe twenty eighteen something like that, in the Ace Hotel, and what it's like, I don't know. Fifteen hundred people,
two thousand people. Maybe it was my first of a show, and I remember walking off stage, jumping into the car to get driven back home, and it was just the strangest feeling, like it's so hard to explain it, and I wasn't you know, It wasn't like I don't do music, I haven't got even with that experience, but I'm feeling connected with my audience. Then you get into the back of a black you know, a black car, you barely know it. I didn't know anyone in the car with me.
I was alone, and I'm driving home and I just felt I was like, wow, I don't even know how to describe the juxtaposition. And then I went on my world tour last year. We did roughly forty cities around the world, and that was like you're in a new place every day and now you're feeling that same thing every day, and so I know it's much smaller compared to what you've done, but to me, just getting that experience,
and I remember that night, I was lucky. I came home and my wife had planned a surprise party, so my closest friends were back in my house and that kind of like it was a relief, but it is a weird feeling.
Yeah.
I don't think the feeling is smaller due to the crowd or whatever. I think the feeling is the feeling. It's like when you're on a roller coaster and like you get back and like you're in your bed and you still feel like you're on a roller coaster.
Yeah, it's like you know what I mean.
So I feel like we still have that in common, even though it might be at different levels, and it's it's not even always thirty thousand people. Sometimes it could be a private event or sometimes they could be an event with some kids or something like that, to where it's like you just get really two totally different, you know, parts of life, and they're both great. I love my normal life and I love my work life too. It's just the difference between them is crazy.
Yeah, what's helped you continue to love them and deal with that paradox with that ease and comfort. What's really sued your relationship with those you know, challenging or crazy experiences that you mentioned.
I think it has a lot to do with my relationship with my fans, because I love the people that I do music for and they give me a really really great response and reaction not only to my performance but to my music and just the appreciation that they have for it. So I appreciate them as well, and it makes it easier because I enjoy it and I love to create.
I love to be on stage. I love to be in front of people.
Yeah, So it doesn't feel like I'm like doing anything out of oh I just want the money, or this is just for this certain reason.
It's really really enjoyable for me.
So it's beautiful.
It's a great experience.
That's such a beautiful place to be.
Yeah, yeah for sure.
Yeah. Yeah. That gratitude to your community for being there for you, Yeah, for being present with you.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah. What's what's been What's been like your craziest fin experience or fan interaction a memory that you have with one of the audience members That I.
Think stuff is when people like come up and get me to like sign my name on them so they can get it tatted. Wow, or they showed me like tattoos in my face on them. I think those are the craziest interactions because I have tattoos, I'm covered in them, so I know how important that is and to be you know, just me as an artist and doing what I'm doing, and to want to have people to want to like tattoo me on them.
It's pretty Uh, it's pretty tight.
Have people ever done a lyric as well? Yeah?
Yeah, they do lyrics, they do song titles, they do pictures, they do autographs, they do all types of stuff.
Well, what's your most meaningful tattoo or one that really speaks to you?
Probably I got a couple.
I got, you know, my mom's name, I got my brother's name, my siblings who passed away. I got my little sister. Yeah, probably like my family tattoos mean the most to me. The rest of them are just like stuff about life that I've learned throughout the way, or things that I've called myself throughout life.
Yeah, when was your sibling who passed away?
She passed away. I think maybe seven years ago. I remember exactly how many years it could be, like, could be.
More or less.
Yeah, and how old was she then?
She would have been forty now, so she was probably thirty three when.
You had some life together?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, we grew up together. Yeah, same mom, same dad.
Yeah, how was that experience for you? Losing someone so close to you that you love.
I wouldn't say like rough, because you know, you get through that type of stuff you learn how to deal with it. But it's definitely a situation that I never would have expected. Like like we weren't sick growing up or anything like that. We were always the same. So it's like when you get to a certain age, you don't plan on losing a sibling. And it was just something that we had to deal with. And you know, I asked her health decline. It was something that we
knew was going to happen. So it was like, all right, cool, let's get ready for it, you know what I mean. And I am grateful that I was able to have like the last moments that I had and to be able to prepare for it. And you know, my son has memories of my sibling and things like that, and her birthday was actually on Halloween, so we.
Celebrate every year annually. We throw a party.
So yeah, it was definitely an experience, but you know, it's something that I'm still dealing with.
Like, you know, like a lot of the times I'm.
Doing like really really well, and then sometimes it might, you know, it might hit me to a point where it's like, all right, you know, let me just slow down and kind of deal with this or just think about it or talk about it, or just whatever it is that gets me through it. But yeah, it's just like a continuous thing, for sure.
How did you prepare for it the time you said you kind of knew it was, you know, her health was diminishing over time. How did you prepare at the time, Like whether the specific rituals or things you did, or memories you made together that stayed with you.
No, I wasn't really too many rituals or memories or anything like that. I was traveling a lot at the time, so I did make sure that I went home and spent some time with her before she passed away.
And then my mom was really the one who.
Was like right by her side the whole time, So she was giving me kind of like blow by blow of everything and just how the situation was going to go. And I just did my best to try to make her as comfortable as possible, you know, for those last couple of moments.
And yeah, yeah, that I mean, it sounds like you said, you're still dealing with it, even though it sounds like you made the most of that time. Yeah, and now you're saying you reach out to people and talk about it. Who would you reach out to when you want to talk about something like that.
I would talk to like my aunt Rachel.
We had like you know, we all just laughed and joked and just had a real good time together. Talked to my mom, talk to my dad, talk to my baby sister about it. I most recently talked to like just one of my other aunties about it, just randomly, because I feel like we all feel the same and we all have losses and you know, can relate in certain ways, even though it's not the best thing to be relatable about, but you know, we feel similar about it.
So it's cool to have those conversations and you know, feel good about it afterwards.
Yeah. I love that you still celebrate her bethab Yeah, Yeah, for sure. That's that's a beautiful way to think about it.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah. It's such a hard balance I find in terms of morning or grieving someone's death and then celebrating the life you had with them. Yeah, And it's such a fine line and often you're pulled in either direction. But I think it's so important that we do celebrate life, the memories we had with someone and celebrate their life as well.
Absolutely, I just look I look at it as like, if she still here, we'd be partying, So let's not start the party.
Yeah, that's beautiful. I was diving into your career with and I feel like when someone like you becomes as successful as you've become, and you know it is dropping successful hits here and there, you almost forget the journey that they've been on and the graph that they've been on. And I was really fascinated by that because it hasn't
just been like a smooth, easy, linear journey. I think people think of success as like you tried something out, it worked, and now you're this, you know, this big phenomenon, and yours had lots of twists and turns. When like, what was your life like before Black and Yellow compared to what it is now? What was it like before that?
I would say it was pretty normal, Like it was pretty regular. I was just, you know, like any other twenty something year old. I think just the way that we were working and traveling and like going on the road, and kind of the money that we were dealing with, a lot of it was getting reinvested back into the business. So I was making money, but I was spending money on myself, and like not even in a big way, but it would just be you know, hotels, travel things
like that. So I was putting myself through like courses in business and how to like you know, make money, spend money, reinvest, blah blah blah. It was doing all this stuff naturally, but it wasn't on that level yet because we hadn't met, you know, anybody who was in the game. We hadn't had business managers or anything like that.
So it was just you know, me and my friends. We were kind of just really really.
Hustling and making the best out out of what we knew how to do.
Yeah, I mean, did you feel like a big break was coming or did it feel like, God, we don't know how this is gonna go.
Well, being that I already had a record deal and then essentially lost that record deal, I didn't feel like a big break was coming.
I didn't know what that big break looked or felt like.
But I knew that what I was doing was working, and I knew that the people who were into me and the movement that I had created, I knew that that was more popular than you know, the mainstream and like what was really really popular at the time. So I was really confident in that. Yeah, but I didn't know like a big moment was coming.
What's it like to get a record deal and then lose a record deal?
It sucked for me, like just because in those days, like if you had a record deal, like that was it.
And then if you didn't have a record deal, like you were done.
So to have one and then lose it, it's like, oh, there's no bouncing back from that. Like I never knew anybody but who bounced back from that? But in my mind, it was never over. I never counted myself out. I just never knew what the next situation was going to look like, or how long or what that timeframe was going to be.
Like where did that confidence come from? I love how self assured you were that like what you were doing in the community, you were building was resonating with what you were doing. Yeah, where does that come from? Because I think, like you said, so many people today who might be listening and they maybe they just you know, got kicked out of a job, maybe they got rejected from their record deal. I remember when I when I was first coming up with the idea for this podcast
six years ago. I had a production company and a partner that was going to launch the show with me. I went away for the holidays, Christmas, holidays, came back, and then I was told that it wasn't on anymore. So I remember that feeling and having to launch the show on my own. If someone's going through that right now, how did you maintain that composure and that confidence, like, no, we're doing something here. Yeah, we may not know when that break's coming, but we're going to keep moving.
Yeah.
I think it was just by like standing on the things that I believed in and the stuff that made me most comfortable, And if I wanted to show it, I was going to show it. If I wanted to talk about I was going to talk about it. It might not have been where everybody else would would have considered what's going to take somebody to the top, But it made me feel free and I enjoyed myself by doing it, and I think just in turn, a lot of people have fun enjoying watching me do it.
If you could give your younger self any advice before Black and Yellow came out, what would it be?
I was good. Keep doing what you're doing. You got you gotta figure it out.
Is there anything you would have liked to have known for how to deal with it afterwards?
Nah? Nah.
Everything that I that I learned and that I figured out along my way, I think happened in its time and how it was supposed to and it's position in me for even greater points in my life as well.
Yeah, where where does that come from? Because that's such a peaceful thing. And like I said, from the moment you walked in this, there's such a piece and ease about you in an industry where people can get jaded. Yeah, people can get ruffled, they get flustered. Yeah, how have you kept that piece and composure for yourself?
Like?
Where where's that coming from?
Really?
Like just my goals and this shit. I have my own personal goals and I've reached a lot of my old goals that I was trying to do, and I reached them by being myself and doing exactly what I
wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. So, you know, knowing that that's possible and seeing that it doesn't make me want to rush to the next point or the next situation I'm comfortable waiting for what's mine and you know, just seeing how everything plays out as opposed to, you know, trying to make it be somebody else's story. Like I feel like my whole story and everything as far as my life, if I see it, I wanted it, It's just a matter of time until
I get it. So you know, I'll just wait that on a time and you know, just keep just stay down and just you know, just be very very like have a lot of gratitude for where I'm at and what I've done so far. And even when I was coming up, I was really really happy with what I had. So the more and more that I started to get, it wasn't because I wasn't happy where I was at and I had to get more. It was just because I was so happy. It just, you know, just kept
turning into more and more. So I just keep it like that.
Yeah, there's a beautiful quote that says when you're grateful for what you have, you'll receive more to be grateful for. And I think it's true that gratitude expands. But it's beautiful hearing you said that. Did you learn that from anyone? Did anyone teach you mental you guide you or is this an internal thing that's kind of evolved over time.
This is definitely some internal that's evolved over time, and it's like gotten me really really far dealing with people in business, or dealing with the law, or dealing with just different personalities in general, as far as like just getting what I want creatively and not you know, freaking losing my mind, and you know, just being able to talk to people and have clear conversations with an understanding of you know, what works, what's real and what's not and what we can make real.
Hey, I'm Jay Chetty and I wanted to invite you to a brand new, interactive no charge workshop renew You that I'm eager to share with you. Over the years, I've worked with thousands of people across the globe, and I've noticed a common theme. Many of us are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected. We're going through the motions of life, but not really living. Does that sound familiar. You're feeling burnt out, uninspired,
or like life is just passing by without meaning. Maybe you're struggling to make the impact you know you're capable of, or perhaps you're craving deeper connections with others. If any of this resonates that, I want you to know that change is possible, and it starts with the choices you make today. In this workshop, I'm going to share five simple, yet powerful steps that can help you reignite your passion, purpose,
and joy. These are the same principles that have helped me and countless others reshape our lives from the inside out, and I know they can do the same for you. You'll walk away with actionable strategies to revamp your daily routine, find your true purpose, and create meaningful connections. And the best part, this workshop is completely free. These changes don't require massive overhauls. It's about making small, intentional shifts that can lead to big results. This workshop is more than
just learning, it's about doing. I'll be guiding you through reflections and exercises that will help you start creating the life you've always dreamed of right here, right now. Go to www dot renew you workshop dot com to access this at no charge and start building a life that's not just lived, but truly loved. See you there. What's been the hardest conversation you've ever had to have with someone?
The hardest conversation I've ever had to have with someone. I think the toughest conversations that I have to have are when I.
Have to explain my ideas.
Because because I'm so hyped up about it, like before it starts before I verbalize it, and then as soon as I start to say it, I just feel like the level of intensity of it just comes down. I'd rather just do shit sometimes and like just show you and like what I learned, you know, by working with so many other people, how valuable it is to like have a team. So I learned how to be able to express, you know, what I'm thinking and have that go through a whole process and then we make it real.
That's so true, man. I feel like that sometimes that you can see it in your head. Yeah, but then you're like, you can't press play on the projector and then it comes out, and so when you explain it, everyone's looking at you.
Yeah, you're crazy, Yeah, exactly.
And you are right. Sometimes I do feel we live in a time in an industry where people have heard so many ideas that until you see something, you don't even understand it, right. And I feel like when you look at music or you look at movies or film, more TV or whatever it is when you watch something like, oh that was amazing, but like someone when they talked
about it, no one wanted to buy it. Right, did you find that record labels and people that you've worked to the music always understood you immediately or no, you kind of had to go prove and shows.
Oh man, they didn't know what to do with me. There was no clue what to do with me early on. That's why I lost my first record deal because when I came in, the song was really good and it was a sample from a popular song that people, you know, was really recognizable. But after that it was like, well, what do you do? Do you make like five more of these songs or like what are we going to do?
And they really didn't understand like me being from Pittsburgh, me smoking, me being lyrical, me, you know, being a cross between like you know, really really hard hip hop culture but then like really cool, trippy hippie skating you know what I'm saying, earth them up too, Like there was no cross between that at the time, Like you really have to be like big white tea like chain, you know what I'm saying, So like a lot of
labels didn't understand what to do with me. And it wasn't until you know, I built my fan base of people who believe the same thing that I believe in, and I was able to you know, travel and do shows and then they would come and see the show and they'd be like, these mothers are going.
Crazy over this dude.
Like it doesn't matter what we say or what we think is dope, it's obviously you know there. And I feel like that whole format, you know, has been done a lot, like especially in rock and roll and pop music, where the act will be bigger in real life than they are, you know what I mean to other people, Like they're bigger in real life than they are like to hype, like as far as the hype goes. Once they started to see that, that was my situation and that's when people started to pick up on me.
Was that the way you built this audience that understood you? Was it performing live? Do you feel like that was the significant part for you in creating this amazing connection you have with your audience.
Yeah, absolutely, performing live, going to a lot of different colleges and festivals before they were as big as they are now, Like stuff like south By Southwest and the really like grassroots underground stuff is like what built you know, us? And we packed into a van and just went on our own tours, just up and down and just drove ourselves. And then on top of that, YouTube had just came around, so you know, I was recording myself and putting my vlogs on YouTube. I call it a day to day
and I still do these to this day. They're like a compilation vlog of like a week in my life. I just started doing it because I was like, my life is so crazy, nobody sees it, and it's so much fun, and there's so much like stuff that goes on. I was like, so I might as well turn it into like you know what I mean, a little ten minutes short.
And it worked. It worked a lot.
It helped sell a lot of merch, it helped sell a lot of tickets, and helped build a really consistent fan base of people who are still here to this day.
Yeah.
Do you remember any of those trips some places you went to where something crazy happened that you call on camera.
Man, it's all on camera, so you can see that stands out to you.
Yeah, I mean I think like there's really classic episodes. There's like an Australian tour with me and Asap Rocky. You see like me and j Cole in his early days. You see me in Currency in our early days. You see a lot of artists. You see me and Kendrick in his early days. You see me with Nipsey Hustle. Yeah, you see like the whole community of people who we really came up with, who were like OG's in the game now. But this really classic footage of us when we all just started out.
Mac Miller, a lot of people.
Everybody, man, everybody who you listen to now was was in those day to days.
Like originally, how did you guys will meet each other back then? Like how did you connect? Yeah, guess there was no Instagram m maybe there was, maybe there was.
No We would connect through Twitter. Yeah, Twitter was the vibe back then. There was no IG. We weren't like DM and each other on there, but we would connect through Twitter and clothing if anybody needed clothes or weed, Like we would all hit up the same people's for clothes, weed and you know, just vibes and stuff like that, and we just all clicked and as we started to
like take off on different levels. We would just bring each other with us based off of who we you know, not really like the most, but were who we were closest knit with at the time or who had made the most sense with.
Like watching Kendrick then and Kendrick now.
It's really dope watching Kendrick then and then now because we all came up together, so we were all doing the same things, we were all speaking to the same crowd, and we were at different levels in our career. And I just remember performance wise, Kendrick will kind of like scream on stage, like he didn't sound like he did on the record, But now he's like one of the best performers and he's like one of the you know what I'm saying, the guys really carrying it for our generation.
So to see him like just jump up levels and levels and levels through like.
Hard work and branding and you know.
Just being around the right people at the right times, bringing people along with him like Baby.
King and all of them.
Like you know what I'm saying, He's just really doing every move to the t of how you're supposed to do it.
And how's j Cole evolved as well.
Cole is the same thing.
It's like, you know, we all started out just the homies, like trying to get a verse on each other's tapes, and now dudes are like elite rappers up there, you know what I'm saying. And it's like, it's cool to see him have his own festival. It's cool to see like he doesn't have to do as much work throughout the year, but when he does drop, people pay attention
how they're supposed to. He does great tours and like as a as a performance artist and as a substance artist, I feel like he has a type of career like that's all you can ask for.
Yeah, that's powerful. What does it feel like you were saying there? Like in some ways things have changed, Like what's changed for up and coming artists today? And what are they doing right? What they're doing wrong? How would you advise someone if you were starting out from scratch? Yeah today again, how would you approach your career differently or in the same way.
I think that there's levels to it.
I think that a lot of people aim for, like the surface level where it's like you get one or two things and you're good, and that's what takes you to the top, but usually that works against you because you'll have that spike, but then you'll go back down
and you'll have to go back up again. It's really difficult to have that spike and to have that feeling of validation and like oh yeah, everybody's doing me and blah blah blah and then boom y'or not with you, and then you got to try to do something to get them back on your team. So, you know, a lot of people are gonna want to go that route, but it has a lot of negatives that come with
it on the back end. And it's a really good time for artists to, you know, cultivate a real fan base, whether it be in front of people's eyes or whether it be behind the scenes. It's a really great time to cultivate a fan base of people that understand you, understand your slanging and how you dress and what your lifestyle is about, and really push that to the forefront.
Let that slowly build and eventually, whether it's a year, two years, three years, or five years, you know, you're always making a little bit of progress here here or there, and wherever you land at, you're gonna permanently be there.
Yeah, Yeah, there's a lot of people today who get told you've only got twelve months. You had your hit, You've got twelve months to make as much money off of you as possible. Like a lot of people hear that, like, hey, look, your career is not going to be that long. Let's make the most we can. What would you say to someone who feels that fear themselves or gets told that, like, hey, look, you had one hit. Let's just you know, crush this peak.
If somebody tells you that.
You better get some drugs and start selling them, use that money, flip it, nah, get some real estate, because I mean, like somebody who only has a year planning in you and they're like, yo, you're only gonna be here for this amount of time.
They're gonna move on.
They're gonna to find other artists or you know, different people to represent, and you're going to be asked out. Like so, any artist or any personality who somebody is already talking about like the limit of the lifespan of their career, they should definitely be worried and not try to race to you know, do the most in that amount of time, but to try to figure out how
to extend that lifespan. So let's take what that person just told you and let's try to figure out, you know, what the next five years looks like instead of the you know, next twelve months.
Yeah, that's good advice.
Yeah, definitely.
How far into the future do you look when you're planning music, work, life.
I always try to look at least five or ten years in event.
Yeah, how different is where you are today from where you looked at where you'd be five to ten years ago.
I'm doing way better business wise than I've ever done, not just making money but managing money, and I feel like I'm getting better and better at that, and you know, that's what's gonna take me, you know, into the future as well. It's not only just you know, the making of the money, but the money management.
What have been your best moves in money management or business that you think people could learn from.
My best moves in business is just being accountable for everything. I think in rap music we get so caught up on the lifestyle and we're like I have to have this, or if it's a new truck, I'm buying that, or but me, I'm more like.
I'm only going to spend this much on clothes this month.
You know, if I want a new car, I'm gonna wait a year and a half until I get it, you know what I mean. Or I'm going to move money from this account to spend on this, so this is here and that there, and you know, we could still pay for tour, and you know, how much are we spinning on tour, how much are we making off of tour? How much comes in off of merch on
top of the other businesses and things like that. But really the money management, like the everyday type of spending where it's like, you know, you could get carried away buying too many clothes or you know, getting too many
nice rooms or you know what I mean. And I have a lot of luxuries that come in my life, but I could also do without a lot of that stuff too, So the unnecessary stuff and knowing what the stuff that is not really needed, paying attention to that, not letting just those things just slim through the cracks because they all add up and shit. So I think just being way more conscious of that type of stuff.
Yeah, did you learn that the hard way because you were overspending or did you learn that because you saw other people before you were overspending.
Luckily, I didn't get to a point where I overspun or overspent. I just receive large ass amounts of money and with that comes advice, and you know, so it's like yearly or quarterly. You know, we need to have these conversations where it's like, this is what the money looks like. We had to spend for this because of that, or you know, you had a little bit of fun spending this, so let's just bring it back on this, this,
that and the other thing. And just throughout time of having those conversations, you start to figure out where the unnecessary spending and the problems come from. Or even if you start to create little different issues, you'd be like, Okay, this isn't really working in our favor, so we need to wiggle out of this. And you know, even if it's spending this big chunk over here, that's going to take away from the continuous spending, that's kind of like
bleeding and taking away. So just to learn that and have that visual in my head, you know, while I'm making decisions.
A lot of people don't.
They feel like they're being controlled if somebody's telling them that. But for me, it's a choice it's like, do you want to be broke twenty years from now or do you want to be having more money.
Twenty years from now? All right, well this is how you do it.
So yeah, good advice, man, it makes sense, and it's hard to do in the moment because you just you want to get that thing or you want to buy that thing, and it applies across the board. What's the dumbest thing you ever bought? Now you look back, I thought that.
Was dumb, man. I don't think it was ever like one dumb thing.
I just used to be dumb how I bought stuff Like I would see anything and just like it and buy it. It didn't matter how much it cause if it was a car I wanted it, I would buy.
It like right then and there.
Sometimes it be a watch or something like that. And like a lot of these watches I don't even have no more.
So it's like gave them away or sold.
Them, sold, gave away lost.
Yeah, and what was the best investment you've ever made?
It'd probably be like some stocks or it's like some you know, like a percentage of a business that I've invested in. Yeah, I've had multiple, but there's some really good ones that you know, I put some money into that, it's going to come back and in some really good ways.
Yeah, I hope people get inspired by hearing you talk about how sometimes you got to put off those big purchases, wait a year for that car, because I think when when we're young, especially and you come into even a little bit of money, which feels like a lot of money, it's so easy to spend and just get carried away. And especially now, I feel like with all of us just ordering things off of Amazon and everything else all day, it's like you have no idea how much money you spent.
Oh for sure, it's so easy.
It's just super easy to look up and you know, however much just be gone. And when it's gone, is gone. And to me, like I feel like you have to go through that. You have to really feel that and understand it. And whatever you know you believe in, I believe in God. So it's like that's God telling me like, Okay, you spent this much, it's gone. You're gonna get more, but you need to deal with the feeling of you having it and it being gone, and then now we'll
see what getting more feels like. But some people when they have it and it's over with, they don't even know what that bounce back feels like or it looks like. So you know, unfortunately the best way to learn is to go through it. Yeah, but yeah, yeah, but afterwards, like you know, it's on you after that, like you're gonna keep doing the same thing over and over or you're gonna learn from you know what happened?
Is what does your relationship with God look like?
My relationship with God is the shit I pray all the time. I thank God all the time. Yeah, a lot of people, there's certain people who don't feel like God is like a higher power or anything like that. But I like to just imagine that my God is just like chilling up in the sky, like with a big, deep voice. The sun could be going down and I could be driving and the Hotel California could be on I'd be like, thank you God, like you know what I mean, because like the situation just feels right.
Yeah. Yeah, And what does God say to you in God's deep voice.
You're welcome, You're supposed to have this?
Has that always been there since you were young? Or that it's come with time as well?
Yeah, definitely since I was a teenager, definitely, since I was like I can remember, you know, being in like ninth.
Tenth, no, probably even like eighth grade.
Just praying every night, thanking God for a wonderful day, asking him to bless everybody that I care for. Yeah, just like really cool stuff, like just normal, normal ass shit that I want the world to feel.
What would you pray for? What else apart from other people.
To be safe? I was.
I was in a crazy ass place when I lived in Pittsburgh. So I definitely asked for like that that safety. The older I get, you know, I asked for like patience and understanding and things like that.
You know what I'm saying.
So just really shit, that's not regular, that's that's pretty Yeah. Yeah, how unsafe was it where you were in Pittsburgh?
It's super unsafe in Pittsburgh, man, Like the streets is crazy out there. Friends of mine started getting murdered when I was in like seventh grade, Like I remember like one of my first friends getting shot and killed in seventh grade.
Wow, And then when did you leave Pittsburgh.
I came to Pittsburgh permanently when I was in middle school, and I stayed throughout high school. I probably didn't dip until I was like twenty three years old.
Right, because you moved around a lot growing up, right, at least as far as I swab.
Yeah, every two years, as I would bounce around, and my mom was always in Pittsburgh. So I would go live with my dad for two years, and then I will come back to Pittsburgh. Then I will go live with my dad, and then I will come back to Pittsburgh. So I was in Pittsburgh in third grade, and I was also there for middle school, and then I came back from high school. And then other than that, I live like in Oklahoma, South Carolina, Japan. Yeah, those were
a couple of what was your favorite place? I think Japan was my favorite place.
How old were you when you're in Japan?
I was in like fifth and sixth grade, Okay, yeah.
What was that like? I mean Japan at that time, but now I feel like everyone's like, Japan's the place to go.
Yeah, it's cool when you're like exploring Japanese culture.
But I just realized, like as an adult that that shit was kind of fucked up because it was like I'm living on an American base in Japan, right, And like just the concept of like Americans occupying Japan. It was like, you never find a Japanese base in America, but like we have the audacity to like go over there and just be like here here our base. We're going to operate as Americans. We're gonna send our kids
to school here, don't teach them your language. Nothing is just going to act like America in Japan.
So that's that's you.
Never learned Japanese.
I learned a little bit of Japanese, but it was like basic. It wasn't like really any like diving into the culture or anything like that. Like it's just you live on post and you travel from one base to another base, and that's pretty much what it was.
How do you think that experience impacted you now? Like how is that childhood experience of moving around, darting around every two years to find who you are today?
It was cool because I was able to just be a regular kid, and I was able to like meet friends and different groups of friends and run around and play and knock on doors and ride bikes and climb hills and stuff like that.
So it was super chill. Man.
It was fun just being normal and not really worrying about too much. I think the older that I got and the more settled that I got in Pittsburgh, that's when I started to like figure out, you know, who I wanted to be later in life. But in those early years, it was just all about like being a kid and just playing with my friends.
When you saw all of that around you, how did you have? What gave you that feeling to dream and to want something more? When you're seeing like the violence around you, you're saying, it's a rough neighborhood. What's given you the ability to go there's more to life than this.
I think it was just like knowing that I had talent with music. I always did music since I was younger. My uncles and my cousins were older than me. They were like, you know, fifteen, sixteen all the way up to almost like twenty years old, and I was like the baby.
I'm thirteen years old.
So I'm really kind of trying to do what they're doing, but I'm picking the parts that make the most sense for me. So it's like the gang banging and the drug selling and the guns and all that.
Shit, like that's not really for me.
But the looking cool they having girls, the getting money, the making music.
I'm like, I like that part of it.
So that's what I always really stuck to, like just even as a kid, like I was just like I'm gonna just do what I know is cool for me, which is just making music.
And you know that's kind of like what led me on my path.
Yeah, how could you? How did you stay away from all of the other things, because sometimes those can look cool when you're young, they can they can be attractive when you're.
Yeah, I didn't really stay away from it.
I definitely like, you know, the older that I got and the you know, the more fun I started to have, I kind of was in and out of that stuff.
But it wasn't for me.
You know, like just there's it's a lifestyle for some people and for a lot of those people, like they're still doing it now, and for me, it was just kind of like you know, being a kid or like a right right a passage type thing, or it's like product of my environment type stuff, you know, like the little stuff that I would get into. It's like I'm here, so you know, I'm getting down, Like I'm not gonna be the only one who's not down, you know, you grow out of that stuff too, and you learn from
that stuff as well. So I learned from the things that I did do and I learned from the things I didn't do as well.
Yeah, I mean now you're a father yourself. Yeah, how do you feel looking now from the perspective of being a dad. You've been a father to Sebastian for a while now, right, and then you just had a do a cadence I believed. Congratulations, thank you, and like what's it been like to be a father to Sebastian And then how is your views of fatherhood changing now that you've had a door.
Yeah, it's been really good having Sebastian and having a boy, especially at his age.
He's eleven now, and.
There's just certain instincts that are starting to kick in, you know, where it's like he was a young boy. Now he's like, you know, a young man, and he's growing into a more of a young man. And every day really and just that programming of you know, life and discipline and being polite and you know, on top of you know, just every day stuff of like handling his emotions with his friends and things like that. It's
a really like fun experience. Going through all of that with him because I'm able to remember what it was like for me as a kid. So instead of just like telling him the rules and what you should and shouldn't do, it's more like guiding him of you know, how to you know, navigate through these situations, which is really really fun.
And I had that with my dad as well.
He was always you know, there for me and talk to me about a lot and he was way more disciplinary than lenient. And I'm a super lenient parent with my son, but I'm also like really real with him, and he's able to be real with me and he's able to talk to me about, you know, real life things. And when I think about the stuff that I did when I was you know, coming up, no, by the time I was his age, I was doing a lot more stuff because, like I said, my uncles and my
cousins were older. And I'm just thankful that I was able to have those experiences and know what's appropriate and what's right and what's not so I'm able to monitor what goes on with him and what will affect his behavior later. And then just having a baby girl, I think it just adds to it now because I'm able to just give all types of love, Like I got the tough love with my boy, and then I got like just the sweetness of having a daughter, which you know helps helps out a lot.
Yeah, how do you think you're gonna shift your strategy as she grows up?
I think I'm gonna do it pretty much the same, just like cater to her needs, like whatever she needs. If she's like super girly girl, then we're doing you know, ballet, and we're doing dance, and we're doing drama and we're doing all the girly stuff. And if she's a tough girl, then we're doing boxing and we're doing whatever else to rough her up.
We do horseback riding, we do whatever we want to do.
Like you know what I'm saying, there's no the sky's the limit, but you know, keep her active, keep her entertained, and just cater to her needs.
What's Sebastian into right now? Like eleven year old, what's what's like his obsession?
He loves basketball? Okay, yeah, he loves to play basketball.
He's really just now learning like the fundamentals of it, but he's good at it. He's an athletic kid, and he's like it's good to see him like roughing around with the boys, like being one of the boys. They talk shit to each other, they get in each other's faces, and like they really get after it. So he's he's like gravitating towards basketball more than anything, just that and just being with the friend, being with his friends, like just being a kid.
Were you any good at basketballs?
Yeah? Hell yeah.
I never had like like official training like what he's going through.
But if I did, bro, I'd be so.
Much better than I actually am, and I'm really really good, so I would be like, I'll be deadly if I.
Knew how to do it. Well, he's learning right now, so.
You could give him some points along the way, just.
Like naturally you know what I'm saying. Hell yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that.
And you never did ballet or anything or anything?
Nah noa, I never did that. I did like acting classes and shit like that.
I was in like speech and drama and all of that shit, but never know dance though.
Did that help speech and drama classes? How did that?
I think that helped?
Yeah?
Yeah, I think it helped a lot because it was like, you know, you learn how to project your voice and all of that stuff and you learn how to like.
Hit qes on stage and you know, just kind.
Of like get outside of yourself in front of people where you're still yourself, but then you're like outside of yourself.
I definitely think that helped for my performance.
If Sebastian came up to him, was like, I want to be a rapper. Two Yeah, what would you say to him, Let's go studios downstairs? What advice would you have for him to find his voice.
Studios downstairs, just get it then get in there and start wrapping.
Yeah, yeah, would.
You want that or you're kind of open to whatever.
Yeah, I wouldn't mind, especially the way that I'm implemented in the game, Like I do what I want to do. I'm not like nobody controls me, nobody tells nobody is like working me harder than I need to be worked or anything. So I see the same vision for him, especially in the age that we're in. So it's like, if you're going to be an artist, you're gonna be in complete control of everything.
So it starts now. Yeah. Yeah.
The team was saying that you plan a lot of your life around him. Yeah, And they were saying that like sports games, and things like that, Like you've really taken that idea of an art should be in control of their own life. Yeah, like walk us through that mentality, that mindset.
A lot of people focus so much on their work and they think like that the work is going to come to an end at some point or they have to sacrifice things that are important for work, and I believe the opposite. I think I should sacrifice work for my family and it should just be the other way around because of how much that work and how fortunate I am to be in a situation where I put
in a lot of work. I've done a lot of things, so I don't have to, you know, feel this sense of urgency that things aren't going to go my way if I miss out on something, or if I you know, speak up and just try to make sure that everything works out hard.
I would rather at work.
And you know, I had the point in my life where I would be in a studio every day, or I would be you know, a different country every day, or I would be you know, a show fitting assigning TV appearance, blah blah blah. I would do all of these things back to back to back to back to back, so I've done that already, but now it's more important for me to just wake up, work out, spend time with my family, make sure that he is at his
best because he needs to go to practice. He needs to train every day for him to be successful later on in life. And if I'm not there to like motivate that, either he's going to get it from somebody else I don't know who, or it's just not going to happen at all. And that's my job right now is to make sure that he's successful. So, you know, if I miss this or if that doesn't, you know,
go the way that it's supposed to. I'm cool with that because in the end, he's going to get to be as successful as he needs to be.
Yeah, that's beautiful, man, because I feel like there's such a it's wonderful to hear, because I feel like we're living at a time where there's such a pressure to constantly be relevant, to constantly keep up with, you know, what everyone's doing. And now you've got a million platforms to stay relevant on and everyone's doing this and that, and so it sounds like you've created like a healthy detachment between who you are at your work and who
you are at home. Yeah, and that's that's quite a beautiful thing.
Yeah, I see that better working out long term.
Like I said, I look like five ten years into the future and me chilling and me and my family seems way more realistic than me like ripping and running around still, so I might as well get used to it.
Did you feel your dad was super involved in that way as well, you were saying earlier.
Yeah, Yeah, absolutely, my dad was super involved with me, especially like through my teenage years. A lot of my time that I spent like early in the studios with my dad because he built a studio and was running it. He didn't know about music and he didn't know about any of that stuff, but I told him I was into it, and he built a studio and was like, all right, learn how to use the equipment, start writing songs, put an album out, do this, do that, And I did it all and he was like damn, I know.
He was really going to do it. I'm like, yeah, this is what I want to do.
So like just through you know, seeing how important him being involved with what I was passionate about took me to the level that I'm at. It lets me know, like whatever my son and my daughter are passionate about. I have to experience those things with him. I can't just give them money and provide it for them. I have to actually do it with them. And that's gonna make a hell of a difference.
Yeah, how does your dad feel about seeing you out?
My dad loves it, man, He's like in awe like all the time, and I think out of everything. He understands like how hard I work too, and he's really proud of it. Sometimes he gets a little bit worried, like he's like, is this too much? Like you know what I mean, Like, I know you do a lot. I'm like, no, it's cool on Bill for this, Like this is what I do. So he sees how much I work, and he sees how much effort I put in, like constantly.
But he's really proud of me.
And what's someone you learned from your mom?
The value of family? Yeah?
My mom taught me the value of family. She always kept me around my family members. She came me around my cousins, my aunts, my granddad. She even keeps me around my dad's side of the family. And they got divorced when I was two years old, but she still hangs out with my dad's sisters, my aunts, my cousins and all that on their side. So she keeps me in touch with them, she keeps my kids in touch with them. She does the whole genealogy of.
The whole family.
Like my mother is so family oriented, and that like rubbed off on me as well.
That's beautiful. Well, what's a misconception you think people have about you? If they have one or two?
I don't think at this point there is any misconceptions. I think there's just like learning more about me. I think that the more people learn about me, the more they see like how chill, how educated, how well spoken, and like thought out a lot of things that I do are and they start to really understand why the people who love me, you know, whether it's my music or I change your life in whatever way, they start to understand like where that comes from.
Yeah, what's something about you that people may not know that you'd like them to understand?
Along those lines, I think right now, I just want people to know, like how you said, like how detached I am from the whole success world. Like I'm cool with it, but like that's not the goal and it's not a lot of people say like, oh, well, you have money, so it's easy for you to say that. But I think you just reach certain points in your life where different things are important no matter how much money you have. And you know, some people, I'm thirty
seven years old. Some people reach my age and this is the time that they start their business and they're like, I'm gonna go hard and I'm gonna build my empire. Now, I was just lucky to have got a head started my twenties build my empire. And now I really understand, like, you know, how to sustain it and maintain it and keep it going for the next ten twenty years. And those are the things is that I'm really really working on, along with the music, you know, which is super duper important.
But it's really just about like making this thing last.
Yeah, And I think you're right. I don't think it's about how much money you do or during have. I think anything can become a drug and you can get addicted to me.
Yeah.
And I remember, you know, Kevin Hart was sitting in that chair and he was talking about how success became a drug for him. He was just addicted to more and more of it. And so it's easy for you to get addicted and obsessed just and you're actually saying, well, actually, I don't want to get addicted.
No, yeah, No, it's my work. It's my job.
It's what I'm really really good at, and I don't never want to give that up for you know, the normal life or anything like that. But I do value my normal life as much as I value you know, the I value the thirty thousand people on stage, But I also value being in my bed alone at night when the lights are off.
But I love it.
Yeah, I I appreciate that, And I think we need more of that healthy thinking because I think if you only like one or the other, yeah, or if you start to detest one or the other, that's when it starts to get scary. Like a lot of people love being in the audience, they don't like being alone. For a lot of people like, oh god, I hate being with the fans now and I love being alone. And I think both of those can lead to a lot of like pain into it.
Yeah, you have to work on both, and when you know what you're here for, you know which time is to do which one. I spend a lot of time working on the other side of it. To where I love my job and I love what I do, and I'm very grateful to be able to make the amounts of money doing what I do. But that's not everything to me. I work as hard on my personal life
as I do on that side of it. I'm in the you know, if I'm in the studio twelve hours, or if I'm on a plane, you know, sixteen hours, and I barely get any sleep, and I don't eat, and I do promo and I do a great show, and I do a meet and greet and I smile and I take everybody's picture.
That's all part of the game.
That's me going hard to make sure that that part of it lasts. When I'm by myself, I'm waking up, you know, at a good at a decent time. I'm going to sleep at a decent time. I'm working out, I'm spending these certain hours. I do yoga, you know, there's just certain things that go with the process. And then, like you said, planning things around my kids. So it's like I'm making sure that I'm spending this family time where it's not they're getting the short end of the
stick off of anything. So I'm working passionately and hard on my normal life the same way that I do and you know, my professional life, and sometimes it takes more energy in the normal life than it does in a professional life.
I agree with you. Yeah, sometimes it's easy to be disciplined at what right it's actually shot up for your family, and being disciplined at our right right wwise a whole other thing.
And a lot of people they run from that because it's easier to you know, just put all the put all the guilt and responsibility.
Oh, I gotta work, it's my job. It's this.
It's easy for you to do that. It takes some time, you know what I'm saying. You know, be a little bit nervous, be a little bit uncomfortable, be a little bit bored, but you're not going to be bored if you're around people you love, Like I'm never bored around my kids. But you know, take be passionate about your normal life as well.
Yeah, it sounds like you have so much older and discipline in your life. And when I'm hearing that, I'm like, sounds like everything's very structured and organized and intentional. Yeah, it's not like this random light.
Yeah, it's not random at all.
Every day is very regiment Yeah.
It's definitely regimented. You know.
I look at my schedule regularly. I'm updating the schedule regularly, and it just really built to make me happy. Like I'm cool with everything that I have to do as long as I'm happy, Like you know what I'm saying, And if we talk about it and we arrange it and we put it in all the times that it's supposed to be, I'll be really really happy and I would love to do it. But when things start coming out of left field and you have your idea of what an appropriate time is, he didn't run that by
each other. Like, that's not going to make me happy to do this. And I'm doing this because I love it.
Yeah, I saw your Men's health video with the MMA. Ye, it has become your fascination and I guess you workout routine for a couple of years now. I feel where did that start and how did that come about?
A lot of my my big homies were getting and when I say big homies, I mean security. They were getting into MMA and doing jiu jitsu and just martial arts and just meeting all types of people. And this was like almost ten years ago, and they were just telling me like, bro, this is the next wave, like everybody's about to be doing this, blah blah blah, this's that and the other thing.
You got to get into it. You got to get into it.
I'm like, yeah, it's cool, but you know, I'd rather, like, you know, smoke weed and be in the studio, like you know what I'm saying. But as soon as I started working out, I just developed like a passion for it, like out of nowhere. And it didn't make me slow down smoking any like I was able to like still get stoned. But I love training and I love working out,
and I love like learning new things. So it just just kept building on top of each other, just building and building, and then I just you know, started to develop some skills that you know, we're still sharpening to this day.
Do you go to watch as well or you just like training?
Oh? Yeah, I watched the shows as well.
Yeah.
I got a company called PFL that I'm involved with. I go to their shows all the I mean I go to their fights all the time. I go to boxing matches, just wrestling matches, there's jiu jitsu matches, there's
all types of stuff. Combat sports is like, as you've seen, it's grown so much and so many influencers want to do it, and it's just a really good lifelong thing too, Like it's gotten popular for how much money it makes people and things like that, but as a lifelong practice, like I would suggest that for any and everybody.
Yeah, if there are men who are watching who want to get into helping fitness, what would be your best advice to them to motivate them, inspire and let them know how important it's been for you and it could be for them.
I would just try to paint the scenario of you being about late thirties out with your kid. Somebody like is just in your face and your kid is standing right there, and you only got thirty seconds to prove to your child that you're their protector or somebody who's finna get what start working out now.
Hilarious. It's funny because my next question is going to be about, like, you know, I feel like masculinity is such a big talking point right now, and you know a lot of men feeling like they've inherited the mistakes made by men in the past, and so men carrying around a lot of judgment men, feeling left behind in the conversation, the different things you've talked about today and the way you're organizing your life. Like, masculinity is a
very broad spectrum. It's not just one way, right, And so have you ever thought about that raising a sun for yourself the message you prout. I feel like rapping hip hop has a version of masculinity before that's right, What are your thoughts on that.
I think I've always like approached masculinity just off of my vision of it and the most masculine in people that I respect, and just the situations that I look at as what you know a man should model themselves as are usually the most like moderate and mild tempered and just chill and kind of you know, observant and just guiding the situation in any way that you can position yourself to be that type of person. I've always felt like that was the more, you know, respectable thing.
And we all have feelings and we all have emotions, and that's where like training in combat sports, it helps you like to put all of that stuff in the right place, because when you get a chance to get that stuff out, you realize where it has a place at where it doesn't, and a lot of people they don't have a place to get that stuff out, so they think that they're being masculine by like shouting or yelling or being rude to somebody, But really that should
be like the last case scenario, you know what I'm saying, Like, that's why I say protecting your child, because I would never use what I know to hurt anybody unless it was to protect my family or myself. It wouldn't be in any other situation because to me, like, that's not cool, that's not tough, that's not even what it's for. So I think the idea of masculinity, it just comes from whoever is putting it out at the moment, what they've
learned from it. And you know, the world judges the way that it does based off of their experiences because they think, you know, the most mean or the most scarier, or this, that and the other thing, but they haven't they show that. But there's not a lot of real situations that people are in that prove that that that that's the right thing. And from my experience, what's proven the most is the most mild, chilled, moderate people are the ones that you should probably be like the most
worried about. So the more that you can position yourself in life to have an understanding of your own emotions and be in control of your reactions to things, I think that just makes you more looked at as what people would consider masculine or a leader or a provider or something like that, rather than like an emotional, you know person.
Yeah, that's a really powerful one. Man. I feel like you kind of feel the world going through two extremes where it's like masculinity. He used to be this bravado, chauvinistic, arrogant, yeah, you know, alpha male type, and then it swung to like being vulnerable and soft and this, and now I can't feel like it's kind of swinging back the other way. Yeah, And it's almost like I like how you described it,
because it's not really hard or soft. It's kind of like the person who can like calm it down, move it along, knows what to do.
With everything exactly exactly.
Because I've seen both, you know, and I've been around, like growing up in Pittsburgh, you see a lot of dudes where it's like the street nigga type is like the hyper masculine, but a lot of those dudes end up like going to jail getting shot, or when they come home from their jail, they're not who they used to be, and all of that masculinity kind of goes away when you see like the perception of this person go away. You see who they really are. So it's like,
deep down, who really are you? Inside out this whole thing that you're like putting off on people.
And men have a lot.
Of pressure, especially like growing up because we're more we're like really competitive. So it's like I could see it with my son, like being in sports with him and his friends, you know what I mean, they just off rip, just go to this certain type of personality, and I'm like, bro, you know, you're like a better teammate if you tell dudes like yo, good shot, Like you know what I'm saying, good job, I see you, blah blah blah.
But they don't understand that.
Now as kids, they're so competitive and they're so at each other's throats and sometimes that carries on in life. But I think you just have to have an example of somebody to like let you know, like yo, it's cool to just be like chill and you know what I mean, Like the homie. It's cool to talk shit sometimes too, because that shit is fun. But like, at the root of it, y'all still gotta be friends and care about each other and take care of each other.
And that's the more you know what I mean, brotherly dope part about it, other than going at each other's next.
Yeah, and we need to see that modeled more. It's hard. You don't see it that much. Yeah, So it's hard to know as a man how to write how to do that. But you're right. If you look at the best athletes in the world, they're the ones who kept the calm when things were tough, right, they weren't the ones viewing anger. And it's interesting because MMA. I think people who haven't been trained in martial arts or don't know people who have often can think of it as
like combat sports are like angry. But have you learned any practices from MMA that you feel applied really well to what we're talking about right now.
I think just getting punched in the face.
You learn how to be calm and like not get emotional when somebody hits you in the face and you still got three rounds to do work, or you still got three minutes in around or five minutes in around and do work like you can't let your emotion.
You have to be calm, you have to think.
You have to remember your footwork, you have to remember your breathing, you have to remember defense so you don't get hit again. There's way more of the story then just I got punched in the face, and a lot of people will never really get that lesson or get that feeling of I got hit and I gotta keep it moving. You know, most people want something to happen
as soon as they get hit. But you know, I think just through martial arts, and it sounds extreme and it sounds crazy, but I think everybody should get punched in the face.
I know what you're saying that, I get what you're saying. It's only at that point do you know how tolerant and still you are, Because up until then you can be like, I'm super cheer. Yeah, I'm calm, but it's responding to that.
Yeah, And there's a lot of duce, just like if somebody punches me in the face, I'll kill them, But like, no, you won't.
You gotta fight back.
You got three minutes or you're gonna keep getting punched in the face. So it's like it's fun when you just remove everything and hit somebody in the face.
How often do you get punched in the face when you're.
We do sparring off and on, especially because I got to do like appearances and like that, because anything can happen, like my nose rings could come out, I get black eye, Like my forehead could get split.
You're gonna protect the face.
Yeah, for sure.
So when I know I'm not having to do too much, that's when we usually do do some sparring. Yeah, or we'll do light sparring where it's not like, you know, nobody's in too much danger.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that makes that makes sense. Yeah, it's trying to figure out how you Yeah, how you doing that? Yeah. No, I'm really glad we dove into the masculine anything because I just feel like it's it's such a need right now, and I want, you know, men and women to both feel like, you know, that we're kind of having these conversations that I think sometimes on the on the biggest screens, you don't see them.
Yeah, you know.
Yeah, And I think it's like the word masculinity has gotten so abused in to where people think it's a bad thing. And it's like, there are good examples of masculinity, Like I have a daughter, so she has to see what a masculine man is like. She has to see
what a provider is like. She has to see with somebody who is going to make her feel protected as well as cared for, and you know, all of the things that describe what real masculinity is beyond you know, what you can do physically to somebody or even financially, you know what I'm saying, emotionally being there for her. There's a lot of things that me having the right types of masculinity are gonna be you know, positive for her to see.
And with this new album, what was the energy that you put into it? Like it's a sequel, so there's was there something you're trying to revisit bring back?
Yeah, I think I'm just revisiting. Like when I did Cushion Orange Juice, the style of it was like, you know, stoner kid, everybody just smoke weed, be chill, and this is the soundtrack to the lifestyle. And I've done a lot with my music to where I've you know, had my take on what I think music's sound like at certain points I've had, you know, my take on what I think are like really big, huge records and what
those should sound like. And then I've also just experimented with, you know, what street culture is at the time and just what's popular to the kids. And I think with Cushion Orange Juice, it really resonated with people because of the lifestyle that it created and the things that I talked about in that lifestyle and the way that the
music sounded and grooved with that lifestyle. So just being aware of that and knowing what type of chaotic state that we're in right now, I just felt like it was the perfect time to just reintroduce people to more laid back, chill just smoke some weed and vibe out, you know, and create a whole crowd of people.
Who want to do the same thing. Yeah.
Yeah, and it's interesting, right like you it's like you're chilled out, but then you're super productive.
Yeah.
How how do you hope that your audience kind of feels both for those as well?
Because it's it's been good because I think just through experience, I've learned that the majority of people who listen to my music end up bossing up.
Yeah, I love that.
Yeah.
Like there's a lot of artists now, you know, who were in like middle school, high school when Kushion Norris Ju just came out, or they watched My Day to Days and they're like, man, this is what really you know, let me know, this is what I needed to do to be an artist. Or I studied you every day blah blah blah. Or I dropped out of college and I got my friends and you know, we started our label and now we're Big, Sean and Low.
You know what I'm saying.
So like, I've seen a lot of people who have taken my blueprint and turned it into you know, exactly what I've done with it. So I think the message gets across really really well, that you know, you'd be a pothead, but you be productive and you boss up and put all the homies on.
I think they get that message really well.
I love that.
Thank you.
Does How does it feel that see you again as the second most viewed video on YouTube via a video of all time? Yes, insane, Yeah, it's pretty cool.
It feels good.
I think it feels better that I'm able to like walk around because most people they would think that if your video is that popular or if you have that much success that you're just like not even real. But like, to me, I can still go to my son's games. I could still you know, go pick records out. I could still go to the gym without a fleet of security with me. So like, I didn't sacrifice my sanity to be the second most viewed person in the world.
So I'm happy about that.
And such a great song too, to be known for.
I feel it's a really good song.
And shout out to Charlie too, man, Like Charlie did his thing, and the whole process of like making that song was like a dream come true because it was for a soundtrack, so you never know how that's gonna go. There was like ten other people who were supposed to be on the song, so you know, me writing a verse, I was just like writing a verse. I wasn't like, this is this song's gonna change my life? I need
to sit down. I was just like, yoah, yeah, you go, like it's dope verse, Like I love the verse and shit. But they were like, you know, they it really connected with the people who were doing the movie at the time, and you know, shout out the weave and constance and Will and everybody, but we just kind of like just shaved it down and it just ended up making sense with it just being me and Charlie on there, and that song has taken us like super duper far.
Do amazing. What was your motivation to go sober from alcohol.
My motivation to be sober from alcohol was just I had dams for so long since I was able to drink, I've been drinking and I've never seen a reason to really stop because like, I just love partying, I love being around people.
I love, you know, just being a vibe.
After one, I think it was one show, I just got like completely wasted, which was normal.
I was like, man, I don't really have too many like memories.
Of places, Like I was like, I mean I love doing these shows, and shit was like I don't be remembering like you know what I mean anything. I was like, I want to kind of like experience this stuff, remember where I'm at, remember the people who I'm dealing with, actually enjoy it and not just be like turned up, you know. So, Yeah, it was just a time of like just gathering information and I'm real happy for that.
Yeah, was it hard to break away?
It wasn't difficult at all.
I think when I want to do something, I'm good at it, Like if it means something to me, I have my own reasons for doing it. Nobody's making me do it, or even I feel like even if somebody made me do it, if it was like a challenge or something like that, or if like I had to for legal reasons or something like that, I wouldn't have a problem doing a lot of things. But you know, for me, it's just my lifestyle is so free and it's so fun. So half of the time it's like,
why would I stop? But if I make up a reason for myself, I usually end up sticking to it.
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah, where's at the start of the interview as to you, what's the first thing you do when you wake up?
Yeah?
What's what's the last thing you do before you go to bed?
Last thing I do before I go to bed kiss my son and my daughter.
Yeah I love that. Yeah, beautiful whiz I end every episode. You've been amazing, so generous with your time, great just great energy. I've really enjoyed spending this time with you. Man. Yeah, I appreciate you. I feel like I've learned so much about you. Today that I didn't know for sure.
Thank you.
We end every episode with a final five. These have to be honested in one word to one sentence maximum, okay, and so these are your fast five Final five. The first question is what's the best advice you've ever heard or received?
Just beu. That's from Snoop Dogg.
Nice. Question number two, what's the worst advice you've ever heard or received?
Change your name from Wis Khalifa two. I don't know. They just told me that that name wasn't gonna work.
Why didn't they like the name because it's just too.
Different, you know what I'm saying. Like, it didn't sound like nothing, It didn't give off. You didn't get any visual from that back in the day when I told you that that was my name. So a lot of people close people to me was like, I like you can wrap, You're really cool, but you need to change your name.
And it ended up working.
Out for me because in the years that I was being discovered, it's a brand new name. So when you google that name, I'm the only thing that comes up. So it's like one of the most google names, like you know, for that year. So the thing that people told me, wasn't gonna work, ended up working.
I loved it. Where did it come from?
Wisdoms short for wisdom and Leifa as leader or successor?
Yeah, yeah, How did you come across the word khalifa?
Because that's my parents are, well, my grandparents, my granddad is a Muslim, right right?
Very cool man, Thank you man, it's cool. It's cool. I love this hot too.
Yeah.
Good look, I saw this on your March.
Merch walking billboard.
Baby.
Where is me?
Yeah? Question number three, what's something that you used to value that you no longer value.
I used to really enjoy going to night clubs. I don't enjoy it anymore because I feel like the music isn't the same. I feel like people don't really dance anymore, Like they're just in like sections, just kind of chilling, and it just kind of defeats the purpose of going out. Like I never went out just to look cool. I will go out to get girls. And I really don't
like chase women all like that no more. And I think it's just a polite thing to do like normally, Like like I said, anymore, because like normally, even being in a relationship, I would just be like yo, it's a part of my life. Like you know what I'm saying, I'm going to be around hell of chicks. Get used to it.
You know what I'm saying.
That's what I would do before, but now I don't really like I don't really care for that shit.
No more question before how would you define your current purpose?
I would define my current purpose as a leader and as a provider and as somebody who a lot of people look up to. So it doesn't matter what I get personally, It's more about what I do for others.
And fifth and final question, we asked this to every guest who's ever been on the show. If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
Smoke weed every day?
I love it Christian Orgies too. Thank you so much. This is so much fun.
I like a jeans too. Thank you.
If this is the year that you're trying to get creative, you're trying to build more, I need you to listen to this episode with Rick Rubin on how to break into your most creative self, how to use unconventional methods that lead to success, and the secret to genuinely loving what you do. If you're trying to find your passion and your lane. Rick Rubin's episode is the one for you.
Just because I like it, that doesn't give it any value, Like as an artist, if you like it, that's all of the value.
That's the success comes when you say I like this enough for other people to see it.