Rap Radar: Ransom

couldn't really. Don't you hate like when you're on the plane the person next to you, you just stay still, just stay still your window see gun, I'm our person. But I had a window because I peel a lot. Man. I need to runway clear man. But I had window this time, which I hate because then you got to negotiate with like can you get my golden bathroom and

come back? And you know, and then you're white, you know the wife then yeah, she passed me a little sandwiches and stuff, so I get then you get jealous of my sandwich. I pull out my joint. You know what I'm saying. Pause your old supplies. Man, Oh my god, I don't eat in the sky lounge. You know they're supposed to, you know're not suppos bring outside food and the sky club breaking the lords out here many man, we gotta do it man. Also fresh off our birthdays? Man, yeah, man,

happy birthday? Right, even though we said to each other already and socially, yes, that's the thing we have proven, really friends, we have to wish each other birthday because if I don't post it on Twitter, it's like you guys aren't really friends. So yes, happy belated birthday. Yes, how did you celebrate your birthday? It was just really low key? You know, I realized that older you get, you just kind of just keep it regularly. You say

it parties. Maybe maybe my forty. If you gonna be forty two years, two years, we turn it out for your forty. I might have to do something to be got at forty. Isn't that crazy? That's insane to me? See thirty eight, Yeah, thirty eight, thirty eight special special? There you go? Is he gonna be on the listen special? I just played in low key too? Man. It was really Californy had a lot of rain. Everybody's going crazy

because it doesn't really rain. So me and Dan Yeo, we just went to like this local We got like this ill like restaurant. Literally it's like five minutes from my house, but it's like a five star spots inside of Italian. You know, pasta dinner and get all the cars. Don't worry about it because you know they get dessert. Tear it up. You know. I feel I feel who had the line? I feel more comfortable at work. That

was a big show we've been working. Man Atlanta episode Man, you know went down there with the JIJI was our last episode. Appreciate the support and that that was a great conversation, conversation and you know, to keep you guys posted because you know, we put up the photos and like the t Z episodes, those episodes are coming. Man, DJ Dramas coming episode Drama. He played as a new album. I don't want to say it's crazy, but it's sounding.

It's sounding really good. It's one collaboration and we can't speak on but beat I already pulled out the phone said this MC's verse might make the list end of the year, Like it's one of those Yeah, shout out the DJ Drama shout out the Currency and Jermaine Duprix Currency and j D. We heard some of their music, so that episode, we're trying to time that right with them. So that's the thing. Like a lot of times, you know, it's January, so a lot of these arts, I'm fully

ready to put out the project. Yester. We try to jump the gun a little bit yet with them, get the peak on the new music and then uh, you know, we'll get you the episode since we can. So we said, we gotta go get somebody now. Man, So he said, let's take it to New York City. Even though this guy's from Jersey, Yeah, I was born in Brooklyn, so I guess he's still he still counts. It still counts right, we're claiming him. I call him an uncompromised lyrical king.

I think I think saying to get an uncompromised lyrical king, I think that's a fair assessment. That's a good title for this guys. Man. This is Ransom Duff. He's been he's been putting in a work for a long time, and I think it would be we'll be remiss if we didn't acknowledge. And I'm glad we have him on the on the pod because he's you know, super prolific.

He's an uncompromising and lyrical king, as you said, and um, he's just been putting in a lot of work and his new project I really took a liking to, especially a song Lone Wolf that's like my jam. Yeah, man, yeah, And I mean put him on the list, but went crazy this year, right, I had a number nine, you know, because again the list isn't just based off of lyrics. I mean, that's important to me, but it's also a lot of nuances that go into it as well. So I had to recognize what he was doing. And I

had him at number nine. I felt like that was a good spot. Fan that's crazy people that don't know man. You know, he's a veteran in this game. Man, he's taking me back like I'm in XXL and the A Team. You know, him and Hitchcock, they're like all over those Clue mixtapes. Like so, how will you that the error be that you like a young boy the rocket to

these Clue tapes? Yeah, of course, so you're talking like two thousand and four, two thousand, I would say like oh three, like oh five, right, maybe even though two, But definitely within that early two thousands. Yeah, it was copping the tapes on Jamaica Avenue. You know, it was like I was like sixteen seventeen. Yeah, so that was my that was my error, man, just going copping the new Smack DVD or the New Cocaine City and see who was on there, like know, Ransom was all over those. Yeah.

So yeah, Man was saying that he didn't think that people knew him as much. But because of those type of things, you know, those tapes and especially the Smack dvs, they would get to all these other markets in cities. So these New York mcs didn't even know how big they were in these other markets because it just was to circulate on underground. It's always bugs me out when I talk to people like from l A or maybe

Texas and they know about the Smack DVD. Ever under clue tips like you got those, like like people didn't travel like for some reason being a closed mine of New York. I just thought that that was just a New York there. We just claimed then when New York ran the rapt the good old days, the good old days. Yeah, fab Bunds was stack bundlesset was doing this thing is what gun of course fifty banks THEO. Yeah, man, get rid of that trying you're talking about me. That's Turty twenty.

That's crazy to be When does the time go? That's it's crazy. But I love the Ransom and twenties. Like he's been super prolific, Like I can't even come any albums he's put out at this the Pandemic and this guy's like built the whole catalog of rough material stuff like that. And you know, I think it's good too because a lot of times they say we may not

show enough love to the underground. People get that criticism, but I just feel like we're Ransom now that the time I was right to have him sit on the rap rate our podcast. Couch Man definitely agree. Man like and his fan base is rabbit. You know, it might not necessarily be as large as like a J. Cole or Drake's, but they're active and they're mobile and they

definitely support them. So before we get the rand speaking of Drake Man, how we getting into these apology I flew out here to go to these Apolty to Drake shows Saturday and Sunday. We're taking this on a Friday me and beat I have been communicating with the camp. We don't have any tickets. Tickets, you would think we

have no problem. I tell people all the time, Man, just because we did an interview with this house in Canada, don't be that we have the past is our These cars get enough to get to the Apolitician, they just stink us in. How do that work? We're gonna find out, man. I get there early, like a five us up right, sneaking like the cleaning crew, like I gotta stick around copy. I just have a mop and thing. I'm like, I

think I'm just like the Puerto Ricans. You gotta hover around like a herb like you kind of get it in and show. I don't know, man, we gotta to figure this out. Man. And then as the policies are like, yo, you can only probably go to one show, like you can't go to both shows. That's being greedy, you know. I like being greedy, Like I remember Jay had all these shows the Barley. I wanted to go to all the shows in the Barkleys, like you did that that sucker ship the Eli that was man, what I do be?

I tell the world what I did. Man. He was like like a gossip girl. You saw Rihanna and Chris Brown because they was having their issues and you took a picture of them and that wasn't nice. He posted it and they bareed you the Clipson Bamy, John and nearly Bammy. I said they had the eight shows eight shows at Barclay's right, it was eight shows. I meant from jump. This is when Jay was working with his Concickily jib mannilely will go to John mannillly. So I hear John. I was like, I want to go to

all the shows on shows. Elliott, you're crazy. Okay, we got you. You're crazy. So I go to what five five secutive shows in and then yeah, I'm in a VP, like beat I said. And it's the first like post drama. Chris Brown, Rihanna's uh sighting and the journalist kicks in the movie. Didn't have to take my phone out and take the photo. It was a different time, to be fair though, put it up. You know, I think like

the celebrity kind of culture didn't take off. I made TMZR when TMC wasn't yet fully the thing, but we was still still it was like you could stay whatever you wanted on Twitter you know, it wasn't even a great shot like I'm throwing on the I'm not a photographer like Nicky up here shot Nicki's here today, but I'm like taking up blurry shots like that back of their heads. But you just hadn't never seen them since

the whole drama that got back together. Um. Yeah. Then I wake up the next morning the ships on TMZ macnially is blowing my phone up like you're bad, You're bad, like the George steinburd I got fired. And then I'm like, funk man, I blew it bubble and I had people like lined up like one. You know, one day I took mon sus I think I was taking Benjamin medals Ingram. That night, I was like, yo, my man, I can't. I was like, can my man still go? Like I don't want to be a shitty friend, like can still

rock with his tickets? So all my guests got my tickets with that plus want to bring somebody else so I didn't lose the tickets. Negotiate that and then you know the nice little cherry on top is they did bring me back on the last show. I got to come back for the ape show that brought me back and the first thing I come in to think, Jay starts laughing at me. He's like, yo, you got bad clowning me. But it was all love. It was all love it but yeah no, so yeah, so I want

to go to both Drake shows. Man, I won't do nothing stupid night one, I know. But well, if if you're hearing this, it's too late, because I know what the first song is gonna be. Yeah. He told me this a while ago, and I can reveal it because by airs he told me it's gonn come out to open My Dead Body, which is a great B side from Tuscan Leather. Though Leather I ain't dead body too. I think they're a one and a two, you know. So either way, I'm confident by the time people here

this we would have had. Do you think we're gonna get what's the eyes out here? What's the figure out and though? Yeah, we'll see. Well here's what we can guarantee, Yes and uncompromised the lyrical king. Yes, sir, it's on the Rap Rate Up podcast The Duffel Bag ran. Yeah to check it out, man, incredible conversation. I got ransom on the Rap Rate Our podcast. Yeah, yeah, rap rate up podcast. What feeling good? Yea good friend of us right here? Man up clapping up, defel bag rain man,

veteran Yes, grizzled grizzled veteran fan. What's taking so long for gr answer to be able to raperate our podcast? Yeah? You know, before we even started, I would. I just want to say this, You guys probably get a lot of flaking, unwarranted. Maybe I just want to say, y'all guys been around for a long time. I don't think people understand like the levity of that. Like y'all guys been around for a long time, and y'all was outside when before like social media, and y'all had to deal

with guys like me. And you know what I'm saying, Like y'all got you know, and like you know, I just finished saying, this is somebody like yo, those guys was and y'all was there, and y'all had to answer us and and stood up to us. And and right now it's easy for mother's because they you know, they're behind the phone and stuff. You know, they're doing interviews, behind it, find the screens and ships. So I just wanna give all your credit, not your flowers. Because you know,

flowers go back. So I just want to get out your credit. We're deserving. Yeah, what do you think it is like for guys that's like this to surviving this game? Like what's your take on that? Like it's it's something that you don't see because I don't know too many, you know. So that's why I wanted to give you all your credit, cause a lot a lot of guys like y'all, and y'all always been professional, always kept nice and clean, and I just wanted to say say that

to y'all face to face. Appreciate that I was trying to flip in like why are you a better rapper right now? Because you've ever been? Because I'm grown. You know, I've seen I've seen a lot of things, and I know how to articulated more, you know, and you know, it's hard to it's hard to reach my level at It's probably impossible. You know. I had to go through what I had to go through to kind of see the things that I've seen and talk about the things that I talked about in the way that I talked

about them. I had to go through what I had to go through, so, you know, and I don't regret any of it. You know, it had to happen. That's how I look at it. He said, the last thing in prison, and that made you stronger to hold the whole emergency have now comes from that, right, That's absolutely yeah. Without that, without all the tribulations and you know, and the turbulence, you wouldn't even hear this version of ransom. So I welcome it, and I welcome oh. That's why

that's Chaos is my ladder. Truly is what truly is. We got to give you credit, man. You know, I actually put out three albums, No Rest for the Wicket. It's the life made me in. Chaos is my ladder, and recent one being cast is my ladder. Talk about crafting that project. It's not a lot of stuff for me. It's not a lot that goes behind it. I just I just go. So that that that project was probably done in probably a week, you know, I just I

just go, man. I got albums like, I got three albums already done already because I like to chill like so I knocked him out and then go go about my business. So that album with Vitan shout out the Vita, it was done quickly. I go with a theme. You know, Cass,

it's my lad. I just I was watching Game of Thrones one day and I'm like, and I think Little Fingers said that ship and I'm like, Damn said, hell yeah, chaos is not a pit, you know, Cass that I said, oh, ship, it is, yeah, Because you know, everything, everything that's hard, everything that's been hard in my life, I used it for my advantage. So and I think I think that's what's missing from not only artists, people like, Oh, you're gonna go through hardships, you gotta know how to handle them.

That's what makes you who you are. And that's what made me who I am. So you know, I use chaos every day. You know, I'm the type of dude that I go, like, if I'm feeling too good, I go look at comments to see if I see a bad comments or what you're saying, like we're doing right. Yeah, I'm like, Okay, now it's time I get up going. I got my good negativity. You know, so people do coffee.

Some people do coffee. I do negativity. Alright, cool, I'm ready let's do something to that that you said something whenever I saw you saying that, like you know, somebody has asked you kind of like how do you stay in spire? Like how's the content coming? You said? You may even see something on social media. You may see it's gonna be looking at Instagram captions. You may see something spark your mind there and you build a whole

verse around that. Absolutely, I'm observant, like I observe everything. People, you know, they asked me like how you do how you doing it? So long you don't run out of ship to talk about if you live in life, how could you run out of ship to talk about like you're living because I appreciate every step of the way and I observe it, like and I appreciate it. I'm like taking pictures and ship of it. I'm I'm you know,

I'm feeling it and I'm looking at it. So every even if I'm on social media and kill me somebody and say some fucking profound ship and use that as a caption, I'm like, no, I'm about to make some money off of the like how do you think? Like how do you think like that? And just put it as a caption like, na, this is this is profound? Like you know, so I observed things, negative, positive, everything around me. I just just looked like it's crazy. I was. I was talking to KD. I don't mean to make

name drop, but we was just having this conversation. He was like, man, look, he was like, man, he was like, I read all the comments. I said, I read every last comment, especially the bag. He was like me too, He's like, I read every last one. I say, hit me too. You know what I mean? And that's to be great. You gotta be kind of little little off you know. You gotta you have that thick skin of course, and you gotta be able to take that and turn

it into something. That's what I've been doing my It seems like with this particular album, like the response is different this time around. Do you feel like that, Yeah, yeah, I do. This album wouldn't have been this album without the other album, so it was like kind of like a stepping stone into into this album. Even like the production, like credit to v Dan the producer on it. UM Like one of the records that stood out to me

was Lone Wolf, Like that one really resonated with me. Yeah, he breaked down the wolves and the sheep and all the stuff. I don't know what I'm like, yo, I mean, like the ship come to me. I'm like, damn, you know, I mean with the wolf be I just just come up with these like these riddles in my head and I'm like, we did. They got to earn all the blessings you have to They don't come to you, you think, got to earn them. And so that's how I look at things and what the whole wolf thing is like,

I don't think. I don't think would a sheep be a sheep without the wolf? You know what I'm saying. So I think that you need both. And that's that's kind of what I was kind of getting to it with with that hook, like, yeah, you got wolves and you got sheep, and they can't co exist without each other. To me, and then if all the if all the wolves are gone, what what do the sheep do? You know it? And that's how I was looking. I'm just crazy like that. I just get in the zone. I

love you getting that zone. You just be boring fools up and put your put yourself in kind of the context of how you want to be viewed. Like I was an opening verse off Blissful Agne. So I was feeling that someone I just ripped and just put it up on social because I was like, I just start using you know, a certain pocket, like what when you're

in that zone? Is just trying to just make sure you can understand that the goal is for you to be recognized with that type of class of Absolutely, that's how I wrote it, Like I'm careful with my words more now so than I was before. I choose my words wisely as much as I could. And with that, I'm like, yo, like I am this generation's That's how I look at it. Anyway, I'm got to look at me. Whoever is a fan of me, gotta look at me like, Yo, that's my big, that's that's my pock, that's my j

that's my knowledge that guy. You know, every generation has that some people's knowledges, did Wayne and you know and so forth. So I think for that generation, you know y'all was around that, I'm that generations. Jay, I'm there, Jay, I'm not big, I'm not I'm there, Pop I am. That's how I look at it. And even if they don't look at it like that, I'm I'm taking that that man like that's what That's what I want to be seen as. Yeah, Yeah, that's that's just that he's

said that music is missing nostalgia. It is it is that feeling, you know, and like I'm not one of them? Does that dash any type of you know, genre, how you make music, it's all creativity, but it is missing that nostars And I feel like this tape and what I've been doing in the you know, the recent tapes kind of bringing it. You're not a feeling like the feeling like yo, big pop J. Like there's not a lot of those guys walking around, and I feel like

I'm that generation. This is me, I'm your J, I'm I'm yourn what elements of that nostalgia ain't am missing though? That? And I want, you know, I want to choose my words wisely as like, um, it's it comes from the artists. To me, like it comes from the artists, Like who are you dealing with? Like when I look at a J and a NAS and a big these guys was like different types of personalities. It wasn't so accessible like every everybody is accessible right now, And I think that

kind of takes away from the nostalgia. Who is that guy? What's what's his next move? What's this? And And I kind of like purposely distance myself because I got a lot to say and and and the way I put it, I just got a lot to say, and I don't want people to be easily I don't want to be easily accessible. And I think that kind of diluse the nostalgia part of it. Yeah. Yeah, you had a lyric that said your ability to read the room as the

reason why you never leave the house. You're like naturally introverted. Naturally, I don't I don't like people like people people confuse. But you know, let me kind of backtrack. I don't like I like good people. You know what I'm saying, Good energy and stuff like that, But a lot of people don't have that. And then as soon as I walk in the room, I know, and I'm able to locate who's who, who's doing what, who's possibly could do something, who possibly can, who's good, who's not. I just feel

the energy. And that's why that's why I stay in the house. Because I'm able to read the room so quick. I shouldn't be here. It's very very little that it happen. Happens when I walk in the room and it's all good. Why would I subject myself to keep going in rooms. Whereas was that the thing even the beginning when you got in the game, like you realize that you want to be part of this field. Music industry kind of I found out, I don't want to say quickly, but

it's a different industry. Like I feel like the people outside of this industry they know, they they think they understand that they don't understand. There's very few people. It's nothing I don't say, I don't't say anything, but very few things in this industry is like sustainable money, popularity. A lot of people don't leave with those things, you know what I'm saying. A lot of people leave with nothing.

Come in this game and it's good at you know, right a little bit, but it's very very few people leave a crap table with all their money. So it's like this, that's what this industry is. And I kind of picked up on that quickly, like ah, yeah, this is not really that's what he said, like you making peaceful it because like you can make these projects like you said, you stay in Spy and it's not you're gonna be running around promoting and marketing it. It's just

there's the art I love. I love where this ship is that I love as an independent artist, How has that effective business? Yeah? Of course I could be making more money, you know, I could you know, doing certain more you know, doing certain things. And but at the age, my my advanced age, like, I don't want to do that certain those you know, certain things to and I mad I make good money. So it's like I'm cool, Like I'm cool, Like I've been doing this a long time.

I know, just recently I've been getting like I don't want to just say just recently, because when I first started, it was like yeah, yeah, it was like a big bang, and then it fizzled out yea yeah, and you know clue tapes and it was like, oh ship, you know what I mean? Like I was, I was. I didn't even realize how big I was. It wasn't on internet like that, you know, it was Internet, but it wasn't like social media. I didn't. I didn't realize how big I was until I would, and I didn't. I didn't

go outside a lot. I didn't leave my city. So when I did leave my city back then, people recognize me, what you know, they woke up to me. I'd be like, yo, whoa, yeah, I go to New York and other Florida people to come up to me. I didn't realize I couldn't because you know, I wasn't on the internet. I wasn't there was no social media, so I was big back then.

But now it's different, Like I could, I could kind of see what's going on, Like, all right, I know that I'm big here, I'm big and it's kind of growing. But to your question, is um to answer a question. It does. It does affect the business, But you know, I don't care. I'm good. I'm good like I'm good. Whatever comes, whatever it's gonna come to me comes like That's where I'm at right now. Is that this peace of mind, like being, keeping the family structure. That's what matters.

That's what matters. I don't care about anything else. I truly don't like. I don't care. That's all that matters. My wife, my kids, how they perceive me, how they look at me, how they depend on me. That's that's all that matters. I don't care about nothing. Let's go back a little bit talk about those origins. Man. He

started with the A Team. He was in the group with Joe Budden, Pitchcock, Um and yourself, Like were were you comfortable with during that time being in the group or were you just always wanted to be like a solo artist? How do my word this is? I'm not I was never like a team player, like I'm how's the guy on the team, like give me the damn ball, like I got this, like just get away from me, and you know, and so I did what I had to do to kind of kind of get where I

had to go. So and I think we every separate part of that, like all right, Hitchcock shout out to Hitchcock, Joe shout out to Joe. I think we were all like that, especially Joe. I Like I fought with job, but I'm about to go. I'm about to go score the winning bucket. Yeah. So it's hard to be a team when everybody's going out for the gust like we're all going for the gusto. So I'm a competitor, man, competitor to the end. So it was difficult. It was difficult.

And you guys came under the whole desert storm Dje bro Right. Yeah, yeah, he kind of he galvanized it, you know, he kind of after kind of was curated because me shot, I gotta give a shot at the ORLEANSO Warden. Yeah. We we came up with this fucking crazy idea. I was just do a group and ship and even the name like oh his name a team and Joe was like, yeah, I liked that. So we approached Joe with that and he was like yeah, I

like that. Yeah, let's do that. And that's how that that kind of thing came to governance and it took off fast. It took off fast. I didn't expect it to kind of like the first free style we did. It was just was after that, which was that it just don't started something. Was the first one, first free style, and after that it was like yeah, gang Busters. I'm like, oh ship, like you know what I mean. I wasn't used to that. So yeah, I started off with a spark and then you know, they pump it up. It

was different. It was different after that. Boy. But now you know, looking back, I understanding now, like mann that like I'm not you know, I to hit single, you know what, I've been remembering the double X and I have vinyl and it was it was fifty cents off for sale, Like how the hell that was? Like the fifty media Like I was like that's why, that's why

we need a good journalist. Nobody asked these questions. Nobody even knows about this type of ship, like I was there now, yeah, we we we had we had acquired a fifty cent empty fifty cent verse. How we got it. We're not even gonna discuss that. Yeah, we thought we was. We thought we remember that flexile drop of balls or that we said we had a party after that, we said, ship, we're about to be rich, and then you know, fifty cos put it ended that quick. Okay, I can't remember

this now, yeah, oh yeah, fat fast. We thought it was rich one day the next day, That's how. That's pretty much how to my it was like bang bumping down boom bam bam, like up and down, up and now like fast dead faster. So that was just another example of oh ship, we we out of here, like flex playing it is out of here the net. The very next day, fifty he because he was overseas. I believe he came back. He like, what the fund is this? Guns?

Still I don't know these motherfucker's like and it it just yeah, I saw a clip up circling online with you and Paul Kane you said that fabulous was like the blueprint for you. Um come up. He was instrumental, okay, you know, and what we was doing because he was. He was a great example because he was famous, not famous, but he was doing it. He was on. He was on like he was on team. You know, we was.

We was a little intimate group, like you know, we're being each other's houses and we'll go out together and well speak. So just watching him do it, I've never seen anybod I do it up close. So I was up close and just watching him do it, I was like, oh, yeah,

this is this is real. I could I could achieve this, you know, So here he was real instrumental in that aspect, watching him and how you moved and how you kind of you know, just kind of how you moved and you know, so I added a lot of a lot of stuff that that he did in studios and how we approached recording. I like to say every time I every time I record with somebody, I steal a little

something from him. Yea. Throughout the years, like just watching people do their thing, I take a little this and that's what kind of grew what I do now. So yeah, not you maintained independence throughout your career, right, And I'm sure deals were presented to you at the time, Like, but why did you maintain you know, this independence at first? Like I said, up and down. So you know, like I said, after the Guns for Sales ship, it was

up and down. Then it was back up again. We had a Little John single and then so it was up, back up again. Four around that time we had the Little John single and then and then we're pressing up the vinyls and we're going to do the Deaf Jam deal. And and then the next day, like next week, we hear the same single and Little Scrapp he's on. I'd be like, oh, we're pressing it. We had the vinyl

pressed up already. Oh what I said, what happened? You know, I wasn't privy to the back dealings of what was going on and what you know, what was going on as far as like Clue and Skin and what they were doing. And so, yeah, the Deaf Jam deal, and we performed for l A. Reid and all that stuff, and it was like, yeah, we're about to sign y'all again.

Another party, another party, and we goes by be like okay, it's kind of quiet, like like I still with a party, like the contracts, let's get this thing going, and then that that thing just fizzled out. Damn against. I'm like after that, it was like I was forced into independence. It was forced into because when you first come in, you want to deal, you know, and now looking back at it, that's how they kind of like warp your in your mind you need to deal. You really don't

need to deal. But at that time, it was like, I want to deal. That was the prize, a record deal with the prize, and that should just escaped me early in my career and to the point where I was like I want fuck him. Yeah, I was like fuck him. Was Orlando still trying to put you for that? For you? Yeah? We was. You know, that's been my partner. You know, I'm still my partner. That's been my partner for years. And you know, the game wars down, man, It's just just wars down, man. And then you know,

it just it gives, it gives. It shows what type of people we are though that that we rose and we got to these levels of where we are now because he went on to put fetdie wappings on all these Yeah, but it just goes to show you like a lot of people in the industry don't know what the funk they're doing, because if they did, we would

have been in position a long time ago. Like I could we could tell stories about us trying to get bringing people like when NICKI first came on, like what I'm seeing him like me and oh and he just gives credit to what where his mind at and where our minds was at when she first came on and we was like and we went to depth gym, like yo, you know, I know we gotta deal like where I'm like, oh,

I should probably sign her too. She probably don't know that, you know what I'm saying, But I'm just telling you, like real ship, I ain't gonna tell you the even person we talked to very you you know, he was like, no, that should have never worked. I should have never worked. I was like, okay, I see him to this down and be like yeah, look at him, Like all right, I should never work. Okay, but yeah it's just me. No one, what's out of jay one? What's not whole?

Like look at the stories it just happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah, who said like we would say some ship like that, like you know. I mean he did get his you know, but that something sounds nothing like that. But yeah, no, this this industry that really don't there's a lot of people in this industry that has no idea what the fun they're doing. You know, if you stick around long enough, you and you know what you're doing, and you stick around long enough, you'll you'll make a name for yourself.

And that's what we're doing now. He said, you've been a star, but they're labeling you a journeyman. I'm like the old the old basketball player with the busted up knee. I said it last day. I said, Man, listen, man, just just set a pick for me. Man, I'm a nice hard scream man. I'm gonna come up that. I'm like Vinnie Johnson. Yeah, like man, I can give you. Yeah, I'm like, I don't come on, I'll give you a strong eight team man, quick though, quickly elevations right and look, no,

I'm not jumping too high. I gonna get you good fifteen eighteen points where in three minutes. Then I'm back on the bench, icing up right for the next game. It's just so here. I'm a I'm a grizzle, I'm a grizzle veteran man, if I like that on the rest for the wicket, like you had lines like that. We said to you know, overnight, it took you years to be an overnight success. Absolutely so do you feel like you still have connect that chip on your shoulder? Absolutely? Yeah.

Like I'm I'm I'm a fiery motherfucker man. Like I want to win at everything at old times, and I think that's the only reason I do it. Like, I don't want to be famous. I don't want to be I don't want to be in a limelight. I don't want people approaching me. I don't want to be outside. I don't want to be in people's I don't I don't want none of that ship. I don't want to praise. I just want to be known as the best. But doesn't that come with the territory? Though? Man? It does does.

And that's the conundrum with me. I'm like, man, I'm in I picked the wrong perfection the game. Man. So yeah, I mean, I just I always say I'm not a rapper, man, I'm just really good at it. I'm just really fucking good at it. I really believe that I could have picked anything and been my level of focus. I could have did anything and been great at it. I just was like, I want to rap. I want to be great at it. If I'm gonna do it, I gotta be the best. That's how I approached this. You know,

you see the persistence, like what what kicked off? You know, we're go do this pandemic the hard time for everybody. But it seems like it just allowed focus and just like I used it, that was my ladder. I said, Oh yeah, y'all, y'all fucked up. I've been going through this. My whole life has been this. You know what I'm saying. My whole life has been this. I don't go outside anyway. Your motherfucker's shivering it. Oh we can't go outside. I

don't go outside anyway. Trying to work now like i've been. I've been. I've been struggling my whole my whole life. So I'm like, oh, this is nothing. You know, when everybody else is panicking, I'm working. But let's say, prior to the pandemic, you kind of like fake retired though, right, yeah, yeah, I want to say, to see how you do that ship, Let's take it. Some times it was real. It was a real, real retirement retirement. He's still here. No, I know,

but certain things happened for me to come back. Yeah, Like it wasn't a fake, it was real. I was gone West Bird and White, this crazy out of thirty eight spech sh He would he would always he had hit me like what are you doing? Like, don't he's sucking up. I'd be like, what do you mean, Like I'm done? He's like no. He was like, you know, it's an He's like, it's it's a different way you could do it now. It's knew it, Like it's cool to be what you used to do. It's cool now

make money. He was like, Yo, remember how I used to wrap the fifty bars and no hooking. People used to laugh at you, and but now it's good. I said that over the word it's good now. So you mean I could just wrap and not do no extra crazy show. I don't have to be a catchy hook guy or this. He's like, no, you could, you know, and he could make money off this ship. So I gotta credit thirty eight Special for kinda putting a bug in my and it's stuck with me. And I was

kind of doing like behind the scenes stuff. We're on land, oh, you know, working with artists and ship not being a studio, miserable damn betterness, right, and then kind of curating ship. I'm like, he's sucked, you know. You know it's like this, ain't that? You know what I'm saying that like motherfucker's rapping off beat and then they need a studio. I'm telling that. But put that ship on beat and scooted over and put it on beat, and then mother come

back like yeoh, what happened to my ship? I said, And I put it you know, I put it on beat. No, I don't want it on beat. I want it off beat. That's what I said. It's time ago. I'm coming back. I said, I'm coming back. Motherfucker's want they shoot off beat? I said, I'm coming back, making a comeback to the Starge and I'm gonna bringing it back. Yeah, So that that that's kind of like the little backstory what I was kind of doring. We don't know when I retired,

but it wasn't a fake. I was definitely gone, definitely gone. Yeah. The three special Actors, Yeah, I definitely and and shout out to like resulting what they kind of was like I always made it kind of cool and kind of like from my eyes to it, Yeah, like you guys like you like. And I definitely wanted to get get into this. Like when I when I was rapping, I was underground. You know, back then, anybody who didn't have

a deal was underground. Despite your sound, it had no sonically like, there was no kind of sound to it. It's just like you ain't gotta deal. You underground. Whether you're making club regularly, it don't matter. You're on the ground. So you know, when kind of Rock gave it a sonic a sound like, he gave it like sonically now, I was like, Oh, that's that's underground. That's what it sounds like. Before it wasn't sound because I've been I've been rapping over sold loops and I've been doing that

my whole career. But I also was doing like trying to do track records and club records because you know, we're trying to try to get on the ril, trying to get deal record deals. But I think that's when he when Rock gave it like a and I want to you know, to me, to my knowledge, I give him the credit sonically. So he put it he put it sound to it, and then you know, and then rasel to kind of put it put a style to it.

You know what, it's cool it sound like this, Okay, you know what I mean, like, look what we're doing. Cool it sound like this when I've seen that that kind of and then and then special kind of putting the battery in my back. All of that kind of galvanized me to be like, oh yeah, let me, let me go do this. So I made my return from my real retirement. Yeah, it's tricky now because I feel like we when we talked to Alchemists always we say the undergund stuff and ours is like, no, it's just

the best ship. It's just the best ship. Like he just you know, it's hard to how do you view it? Right? Like when you make the list, Like, it's hard because then, guys, what your your skill setting, what you do is different than a lot of mainstream artists, So how do you judge realist? Like so you know, I'm I'm a master rap and I'm gonna master judging rap two and rap has so many different categories and and pockets. So I'm like, yo, I might be the knife best rapper, but I'm probably

number one lyricists, you know. So it's just difference is lyricly you could be a dope lyricist and a horrible rapper. People, you could be a dope. You could be a horrible lyricist and a dope artist. True. So it's like I understand certain lists and certain and how you do certain things. So I'm like, yo, when it comes to to be a top lyricist, you need lyrics, lyrics, you know what I mean. It's about what you say, not a vibe.

Lyricist is not a vibe. It's not about your vibe, you know, say that for the best rapper, the hottest rapper, or whatever the case may be. So I'm a realist when it comes to that, like I understand where I'm at and where I need, you know, I'm like, I don't want to be do you think, like we know

what's helping? Fifty years in hip hop? However, it's almost like you guys are still representing like the foundation the purists are for him in that sense of like how important is that for you and in your new generation after you guys to come off and so to carry that forward, it's very important. You don't want to nose or a jadea fizzle out, And I don't mean them personally, like they're that style. You don't want that to fizzle out.

So somebody has to kind of carry it torch and or even to evolve it, because I think that's what we've done too, Like we've we've evolved it. You know about Braun and Kobe took Jordan's game and kind of evolved it and made it their own. So that's kind of what we did with nas Jake, uh Coogi Rap Gooes facing these all these people. So we took it and we made it off, and someone else has to do it, take us, take all what we're doing to

take it to another level and keep it going. And and and that's what with any little sub genre in hip hop, like whether you're doing vibe shit or whatever, like you're supposed to take it and and evolve it, you know. So yeah, it's very important. And um, but I'm gonna be here for a little bit. I'm being here for a little bit. I'm gonna be the best until I'm here until I'm don't be the best. But you would inspire young mc T. What do you think that is important to that type of hip hop maintains.

It's like focus, I mean and say that that type of hip hop to me is that's what hip hop really is. That's where that's what it starts. Like now, I know I'm trying to be political. I'm learning but not, but to be in all fair and it's like, that's where it fucking started, you know what I'm saying with people, you know, rapping, rapping, you know what I'm saying, Like

goes back to the beginning of rap. It didn't start with like motherfucker's uh doing fancy dances or ship like that started like with DJ right, That's what That's how it started, so it should should then like that too, Like, but it's always gonna branch out and have different versions of different sub genres and this and that, this dude singing, this dude's rapping, I like all that ship you know what I'm saying. But if you're gonna do it, just be creative in that space and try to be the

best in that space, not just mimic. Like there's a lot of mimicking going on in hip hop, and I think that kind of that hurts the brand of hip hop, like mimicking, Like if you're gonna do. You could do it. You could whatever whatever you're doing, be creative and try to evolve it and try to you know, make it your own. What do you think that is? Like, this is like a career for you, This is your life.

Like it's a lot of artists want to get that run, get the paper and kind of move on to something else. And they don't understand. They don't understand business of this ship is a business. Took me for twenty years to understand, like, all right, this is ship. This ship is a business, and I need to treat it as such. So that's how I moved. That's why I moved away. I moved.

And now do I want to educate you know dudes coming up like this ship is a business no matter what kind of rap you do, this ship is a business, and you and you could make a living, a great living, you know, doing what you know what we do. Yeah, yeah, definitely yea. That lyricy said you came for the DVD era. Like DVDs, we can make money like doctors. I mean we looked at you, think about it. We looked at the neighborhood DVD guy. D D guy was he was

making money like a doctor. He was really making money like a doctor. Motherfucker's driving a nice car and you know, the nice clothes and ship. So I use a certain imagery to like that to kind of show you where where, kind of where I came from. Basically, you even posted that question on social media, said what entertainment looked like and sound without independence? What would it sound like? You know, I mean we're kind of free to do what we

want to do. We got nobody kind of no A and ours and no you know, high executives or corporation. Remember when you you know, when you signed to a corporation, you kinda kind of kind of healed to what you know, their brain and what they're trying to represent. YEA, independence kind of give you that freedom to kind of, you know, speak how you want to speak, make the music you want to make, how you want to make it, how you want it to sound. So, yeah, what would music

be without? You're making a lot of music with thirty eight Special. You know you mentioned him earlier. You guys are collaborating all the time, Like what makes him so special? And working with him? And how's your relationship blossomed over the years? What's what makes it special is he gave me that that old feeling back when we was doing Clue tapes wrapping with Fab Paul Kane and Joe and

he's like competitive, I got can't sleep. I can't you know if he's gonna get me if you know what I mean, if I slack a you know, if I do another thing, I could, you know, I like to liken my ship to like sports, so you know, I could take a playoff for a couple of the months. But with specials like I gotta I can't let and let you know, I gotta keep my guard up, come full force every time. And so yeah, he brings that feeling back as far as like right in and creating

and stuff like that. You know, it's a brotherhood because there's not too many people like him, like nobody, like nobody would have nobody reached out to me. It was like you need to you know, special man, you gotta like who nobody. I don't know too many people in this industry that would have did that and and didn't want anything in return. Really it's like no, I just you know, let's I think you dope man, Like now you need to come back out. So we just got it.

We just gotta He's just like a real person and ship. So I love work with working with him and we got some we got some ships, some ship coming this year. This year. That definitely that feature that you had on his project of the Last gas Man. Yeah no, that's man. Look, motherfucker's be my ship on your lip. I wanted to make that was a goal. I'm like Nick, I said, man, listen, I'm gonna make that fucking listen. That was one of my things. I'm like, loost, I'm gonna make this. Not

I'm a I'm a I'm a show. Like I'm gonna show people don't make this list. So that was a goal, not not not with last guys. It was just like, it's just a feeling. Man Like when when I heard the beat, I'm like, this ship is specially I just I like to evoke feelings. That's like evoking feelings like my evoke a vibe or but you know what I mean, it's whatever you you know, want to bring out now. I like to bring out that feeling like man, like

hear what he's saying, Like that's real to me. I want to relate to people and in a in a in that type of manner, like, Yo, I'm really funk with this you hip hop origins start with like Kogi Rapto, right,

Like that's who you modeled your style after. Yeah, I would say that definitely me and and Me and Special Like a lot of us, a lot of us look to g Rap as like the father or founding father of our flow and how we go about things, and as far as like in the booth and then Pun you know, you knowst first as g rap you know what I mean, and then Pun and those guys came after that, big Allen people like that. So yeah, Cooji rapp is definitely like a forefather. Yeah, that's like the

ontongres and skill stuff. Now that's that's not not that's not not that, that's the multi syllables. Yeah, charges out, that's my ship's Ain't nobody doing it like that. They don't speak like me, man, And it's crazy. I use every when when when Roy said check the boxes and I think that made a big deal. People made a big deal. What do you mean check the boxes? I checked the boxes when I write, you know, it's multi syllables.

It's on tires. The storylines that make sense, you know what I'm saying, like, everything gotta it's everything gotta kind of be uniformed for me. I don't know everybody, anybody else go about the business, but my ship gotta be. That's on your phone, right on my phone, that pen and pad. Like I regret putting that away. I should have stayed on my back. But yeah, you you brought it out on the I'm not that cool. That's for cool folks. Man be in his studio like, oh, I

got it. I'm sitting here, and I was sitting and thinking about what the funk I'm talking about this. It's up back in the day when you were budded, you know, getting so close to the year. Is he to keep me the one first kind of push you push you to try to make metaphors? Yeah? Yeah, because I was talking about real ship. I'm like, my mama died on you like that. I'm trying to I was always like that, like, man, my grandmother sick. I got going these streets. Not That's

what I was talking about. And he like, he's like, do nobody want to hear that ship? Nobody know you? You know you gotta He was like, you gotta, you gotta come out with a bang, and I was like, well, how do I do that? It's like metaphors, and so you gotta kind of you know, I'm sorry, what the fund is a metaphor? And he kind of m and I was like, I could do that. I like sports, and ship like sports metaphors, and so that that's why a lot of my ship was sports at the beginning

and be in boxing. You know, I used that ship at the beginning. That was That's that's what I drew from because he would say, you know, you gotta do metaphors. I'm like, all right, yeah, I could do that. That's freaking easy. But but then you do that and he said he was doing pay music, gonna say he did,

move right, use use this tricky motherfucker. Joe is a smart He's a smart crazy how like you know, obviously the draw we have to get too much into that because it's like how you guys are so synonymous like history books, like yeah, it goes hand and like kind of and we always we talked about that like it's just it's just just gonna be handed, like he was synonymous me and you are names gonna just be exhton

stone like that. And we accepted I accepted, Like in the last few fun facts with that I actually learned from the matha joint is that this somewhat berth flat TV and my kins of squass of beef between Yeah, you know that's my that's my cousin. Man's she cousin. Really wow, if people don't know my us is a huge record executive from the Death Jam days in Atlantic rackets for a long time. Yeah. So I just talked to him with family and he was like yeo man, yea.

We was hanging out. It was just me and him, he was hanging out and then Joe walked in. What were you guys at is that uhle scantily class? It was a long time ago, long time ago. Yeah. We was at one of them spots, just me and was crazy night. Were just violand and then um Joe walked in. That's how you knew it was because he walked in, So you know exactly what Joe went on and he put us together like y'all niggas you know, just and

we talked. That was the first time we talked since so he had caused you know, I credit credit him and you guys are family man, that's crazy. Yeah, But growing up. Man. You you're from born in Brooklyn and you were raised in Jersey City. Seems like, you know, during the research for this interview, had like a tumultuous upbringing though right inauguration. Um the song that you said, like you were five, your mom put you in the

group home and how long were you there for? I was there until let's say this, the first time I actually met my mom. It was probably like before like grammar school, like not intent well, I actually like remember meeting her. You know, I was like, okay, so yeah, I was in group homes and stuff like before then.

It wasn't a fault. But at that time, you know, when you're young, you know, I'm just thinking like that she left me, you know what I'm saying, Like, um so now you know, as I got old and became a father, and you know, we talked, you know, I understand her position and the ships. So do your research. I like that I'm probably said you forgave it for being absent. It was that hard having that kind of conversation. No, not really, because I was growing at at this point.

You know, I look at life totally different now, like na, you know, I have to forget my mother. Without that, I wouldn't have been me. So, like I said, that goes all goes back to the chaos. I'm like, I'm I said, I definitely I forgive, Like, don't even worry about that ship. You did what you had to do and you got me to this point. So I gotta credit her. She was strong enough to get me to this point. Where was she from? Were from? What she's from? Trinida? Trinida?

Because you said your friends made fun of acts from trinidadad and nobody, none of my friends understood it. She was saying, he made fun of me, but the most dreadful symphony you said he looked outside when you stole the block like my brother absolutely, my brother born rest in peace. Yeah. Now he taught me a lot. He was a rapper. I didn't wrap. Yeah, he was a rapper.

And the first time he made me for a level rap, I ain't know nothing, but he kind of bullied me into rap because I was probably was like a little punk and he was like, what are you doing? Like I think I was listening to Kid and Play or something like turn that shot. Just you know, off Man

put this fucking big daddy cane on him. Like Big Daddy Cane and then you know it kind of so I'm like, oh no, I like this ship, like and I turned the kids and play off, and I don't know, disrespect the kid that played I loved some he was like, no, turn that shirt off. Balance, Yeah, definitely, And so yeah he's responsible for kind of like bursting and putting the thought in my head. And that's only to you as probably goes why why I was Why was we even

selling drugs? What did you mean? Why were we? Like it didn't even move the needle. That's like, that's what I'm chaling for. It's brilliant. It's gonna record that it's fu brilliant, But you know it didn't why what? What? What? Like having a job was so much easier now I look back in that like but if you look back and they're like, oh, why would why did I subject myself? Well that's it for those couple of dollars. It wasn't

even a lot of money. Like I could have worked hard at a job, I could have went to school, I could have did a lot of things. So like that's what I really meant, like why would we be selling? And I see you'd be critical like that. Some people come to the game might do the drug dealer rap. It's kind of like a cheat code right to get into the game. And like I said, the mimicking man like like that ship is like these guys of characters man like and that's I think that's what separates me

from them. I'm not I don't have to my rappers starter kid man, I don't look like, I don't talk like when, I don't move like one. I don't want to be one. Yeah. So these yeah, I hate it. Oh I cocaine and spending the block and it's like, all right, man, like put some you know what I mean, Like, give me some give me, give me some different aspects of how you like you know, I mean, you add

some depth to it, you know what I'm saying. And I think, like I said, I'm very aware of what I write and and I'm at the point where I don't want to say the wrong things as far as violence and stuff like that, so I always try to use it creatively. I'm saying something like violence, I use it as entertainment, Like all right, so let me put it in the metaphor instead of say I'm gonna shoot your face off. You know what I mean, like, let

me let me creatively. You know what I'm saying. I make your lady pay for these screams how much of Holocaust? So it's like, oh, yeah, that's creative instead of just saying it's l like blatant violence. So that's that's how right now? Like yo, you know he's are both the violence and the you know, disrespecting women and stuff like that. I know it's a creative thing. I thought the record of toxic level was cre on this project too. I'm

talking man, I'm talking. I'm talking man, And I just want to show people like I look like I said. I read the comments and I go through the count rank got one flow. I'm like, it's always some you can't please everybody. I'm like, oh, don't matter how fucking well you rapple, how well you dress, how well you do something, it doesn't matter. Somebody's gonna have something didn't say but me, I'm like, fuck it, I'm gonna proving wrong. So you know I'll show you. I go right, I

could write these flows. I could. And I'm not just rapping fast or flowing. I'm saying ship a lot of mother's just wrapping fast and ship putting words together. That's so easy. You don't understand how easy that is. I'm actually saying something within these words. Just all you gotta do is listen. So, you know, Toxic Love was kind of like when I heard the beat and beat on sent to Be, I was like, yeah, I could flow different on this song. I just don't flow different just

to be different. When I hear it right, it takes me there. So I'm like, I got I can't. I gotta wrap like this like this, which song is you most proud of on the album? I would probably say toxic When you say proud of, like, you know, that's kind of loaded questions for me. I don't know which way to take it, Like I'm proud of the whole project as a whole. If it's one song that I could be like, yeah, that's you know. Oh no, I don't even know the titles of this song. The song

before Toxic Love, I think it's you Gotta Pulled Up Elliott. Yeah, I don't know. I'll just listen to your old stuff after you're doing with it. Yeah, I just dismissed the ship, go on to the next. So because you gotta think about I've been listening to it the whole time I've been creating it, and it's just like noise at this point. So yeah, I don't I don't know the tired. I'll just come up with them. And so the song before Toxic Love, Um, that's what I said. I started, like

you just glance over scripts and never noticed. That's what I'm That's that's right there, most st symphony most Yeah, like, yeah, I was talking, I was talking so crazy on that it's ability to read, to read the room. Yeah, I was talking so crazy. Yeah, it's I might be like a person a century and we don't do ye. But yeah, I was talking crazy and so I did say that. But I do like a toxic level. You're saying, you're speaking your problem not even said don't care and the

Latin it's glad that you got him that. It's very hurtful, man, it's true saying it's not true. Man, Like I'm like I said, I could read a room and I know people so well, Like, why are you discussing your problems with this person? You don't give it was your brother. He might look at me like, man, I don't give a fuck, like in his in his head, like, bro, I got my own problems. I don't want to hear yours.

Like a matter of fact, I'm glad you got him, you know what I'm saying, Like, I'm glad you got Most people are just gonna be glad you got those problems. You had a problem back in like you got went to prison gun charged like he did two years. Uh during that time, do you feel like, you know, this rap thing could have been over for you? Yeah? Yeah, definitely no, And I was I was okay with it. Yeah,

I was okay. I was like, you know, whatever happens, Like I said that, you know those It wasn't my only time in prison, but it was probably like the time where I was like all right, because I was older, we knew who we were, two more people, right, So it had had more effect on me because it was like, all right, you're you're just sucking up at this point. So yeah, I've done been to prison and been to jail and all these other things, but that time is

the time that changed me. But I was like, all right, this is it, this is it. But yeah, I didn't know if I was gonna come home and be And even when I came home and it was. It was tough sledding as far as like creatively, like what am I? What are we doing? Like where are we at? And in music, like I said, if you're not signed, your underground, it wasn't no sound to us. I was just making throwing darts at the wall, what you know, shoot out

the wall, hoping it stick. And I didn't know what I was doing, you know, until you know, recently a lot of people know what you're doing. Man like Kevin Durant who you mentioned, Lebron James as I feel having guys like that, you know, tapped into what you're doing, it's a validation kind of, you know, and not that I needed it, but it is validation to be like, yo, what you're doing, You're on the right path, you know. And even the list, it's like, all right, think about it.

I'm the only truly independent artists that's ever been on it. Yeah, be your list. Yeah, Ever, like you've never put a truly independent artists on your listen, So if I'm the only one, so I gotta be doing something like don't have marketing dollars or this and that. I don't have anybody, no co sign or famous rappers, saying this is the guy. I don't got none of that big features. It's just

all based off skill. So I gotta be one of the most skillful people in the world doing this because I'm garnering attention and that and and and when people show me love like k D and Lebron and it's a validation like all right, you know I'm on the write path. It's on Cable News with Ari Melbourne MSNBC two. Yeah, definitely, Yeah, that's that's I met him. When I was there, I was like, what what the funk am I do? Like shout out are I'm like, what the In my head,

I'm like, yeah, I don't TV. I'm like I don't do the news, Like, like, what the funk about doing bro? But it was dope. I We're already heavy and ship we are showed massive love. Yeah, it's dope, man, it was dope like that. It's that interview been booked for a while and it got kept and it kind of everything happens the way it's supposed to happen. Yeah, and

then you know, and it makes it even cooler. Yeah, so this, you know, that has been and it just so happens that that interview was like a week before this one or I don't like the date. I don't know if y'all to do it, but it was like a week before this one, and it was just like perfect timing. Yeah, and this will be the year where Van pops out every once in a while. I don't know about you put much pressure on me, way too much pressure on me, man. And you're putting way too

much pressure on me. I'm not like I M might I'm how do I say this? Man, I'm a fancy nigger now, man, I like to do brunch and ship. Yeah, I'm look man, Yeah, I'm I'm You know, I'm not popping out unless we got a brunch. You could do brunch and early dinner and ship like that. Absolutely. If it ain't that, I don't know. You know, a little you know lounge, you know, champagne and stuff like that. Like I said, I've earned it, though I've earned. Some

people don't earn their boogeing. This learned my ship. What was the turning point? You think, like a year or so ago when you can accept it your boy, you don't booge is just the start. It's always deep down, you know what I'm saying even if I was on the street on the block, I would do the boogeists will come out and then they're looking at you. Chuck it back in, like why you gotta pinky up sip in the handy, so like I don't worry about that ship. You chuck it back in. Now I can just be

freeing and ship and I'm fancy, motherfucking fuck it. That's me, man, sweaters and shoes and ship like that. Thank you. I like sweaters and ship and shoes. He wasn't dressed like that back and now dangerous and I'm a change man. But I always had it in me, you know. I just tucked it away now like you know, I'm not going to be out like that. Yeah, hell yeah, man, I'm just cruising right now. More peace of mind. Hell yeah, I'm barely an American system. I'm about to like I'm

living different. I don't even tell you, you know, out the country and ship like I got places while you know, and I'm gonna be living yeah, like full time. And I just probably come to America just to like do little things and ship. I just want to I just want to live at this point. I just want to live at this point, like no more chaos, no more chaos, just more more living, you know. So that's why I'm want music. I get which projects to you, tse man.

How many hours we getting, man? How many? Now that's not that that's that's a great question. How many that actually come out? That's that remains to be seen. But I can tell you that we gotta got a special problem me and special Katie already has that. Yeah, he's curating it like aesthetic selective proposal too. That could that could happen, Like that could happen, Like no, we did that. We did the first one in two days. So yeah,

that's that's like rap is easy for me. Like I've made it to the point where it's easy for me. You know, I got everything is accessible to me. I record myself, I mixed myself. I'm asking myself. Yeah, I don't I don't outsource, not not just do everything because it's easier, Like I don't like to it with people, so I just do everything myself. So I've made everything easy for me. So wrap is easy, you know what

I mean? Rap is easy. So I could give you three, four or five albums if I wanted to a year. But now I just want to I want to kind of concentrate on the releases and how they get released and making sure they get the proper light on them and stuff like that, because I got I think I got some really important stuff on these next upcoming albums that I'm saying, you know what I'm saying, Like I always, I want to change the I don't want to talk

about the same ship on that. Yeahum, so I want to give you all different perspectives and how I look at certains. So yeah, that's that's what's coming this year. Yeah, like that. We also caught you on the two K Dreamer edition, uh with from Streets on rooftop sermons. Was that like curated by Jake Cole or was Ye tapped in as well? Yeah? Definitely. I mean, you know, it's cool to be tapped in. I'm trying to I'm trying to wrap, I'm trying to get him on the joint.

I'm trying to I'm trying to dominate too, Like I'm trying to I'm trying to spank him on to record. Let's just put that out there. Whoever, though, Like I'm trying to get the big dogs on records, and so they so you know my intentions. I'm coming and tell your fucking head off, like that's what that's any Yeah, but him to anybody though, But I definitely appreciate that.

You know, he's tapped in and he picked that joint one of my favorite joints also, and so you're not that's dope that he did that, and I respect that. It was cool to see you, um a couple of years ago on the Rush project Chomp Too, and you guys collaborated on that sank them. Have you heard that us? And he can focus. I said that back to him like look he said, and right back to him like, oh, I'm like, yeah, listen to it too. People are scared

to reach out to you. Yeah, because I'm coming to kill. Yeah. Yeah, I don't want to say no names. They know who they are. I too. Behind the scene, he's like a couple of them chaos right, Like a lot of them were supposed to have features on them. But like that, you'd be like, why this goal we got one verse? Because I just put it out like this, like I'm like, fucking she's scared of I'm coming. I'm comfortable blood, I'm coming for blood. Like then they like, oh, here this

dude like he's like he's coming for blood. But I leave. I put my verse on this, so I'm like, beat it. You knowint you beat this? If you can beat this, you are You're fucking phenomenal. So that's how I send these records out. I get crickets back. Damn Well, hopefully somebody step up to the somebody, somebody step up, someone of y'all. I need. I need the big dogs. I need the colds Kendricks, Naas. I want them type of

dude ross. I want the big dogs. You see what's gonna happen, and you ain't'll be able to walk into the supermarket anymore that I can't do that I need. I need to walk into the six super So I don't like, I don't, Yeah, I don't. I don't want that type of see you scared me. I don't want to features I don't want to. Honestly, I would love to see you on a on a bigger plane, you know what I mean, because I feel like it's just gonna create more attention and awareness to what you're doing.

I mean, yeah, it's happened, I guess. I mean, like I said, I appreciate I appreciate, you know, people like y'all and just shining shining light on what I'm doing. But you know, I'm I said this other day, I said, I told hate the name drop. But me and Katie was talking last night and I'm like, I'm on my last leg man, Like I said, my knee busted. I'm like, I got a good eighteen and three minute I could get that and then I'm out, like you know what I mean. So I'm like, uh, I'm forty four, man,

I know, I don't look it. I know I'm very dapping depen in sweaters sweaters and I'm gonna booe. I'm like, I know it's hard to believe, but I'm I'm I'll keep my ring on. But yeah, no, I'm definitely. I don't want to put a time limit on it. But it's it's Twilight, Twilight, It's coming. I want to get into other things too, So I just wanted to. I kinda want to just prove a point. That's why I came back like I'm gonna I'd improved my point yet I don't prove that, and I'm one of the best ever.

Is basically like really building your legacy to the point. Now when we grew up, were thinking wrap its fall off by the time to get to the age, like it's over for them, Like you're you're literally building a legacy. Only we do that. Only only rap does that every other genre like rock and roll, and you don't matter what age you are, you come back and have a

whole another career. And see what Tina Turner was like seventy when she came back up and kind of she wasn't seventy, right, yeah, she came back and explode it. So it's like only we do that. He did that, Dude, he forty. Man, he's done. He's done. Like now the music should dictate it if you're done or not. You know what I'm saying that my ships that I still could do it. You know, it's just just not a

physical sport. You know what I'm saying. I could. You know, as long as you keep if you keep at it, you're gonna get better. Like people, how you got better? Well I kept writing, you know what I'm saying, like practicing, like I kept at it, Like that's how I got better. If you like the older rabbers who don't kind of regress or digress, they probably not sharpening up with the regularity, right because they don't have to. It's like whatever, yeah,

I do this whatever. So me, I always I never had this shot, so I kept having to right at my best, at my peak every time, every time. So it's just sharpened me to the point where I'm at now, the best, the best, the best. Don't catch some shows this year too, Yeah, playing my you know, I played the tour like I want to. I want to do like a big tour, perform like to kind of usher me out, you know what I mean, Like, all right,

this guy's on his last leg. I'm limping out on the stage and you know about right now, I don't know, but yeah, I want to give him like a big some. I want to go out with a fucking bang, like a splash tour, fucking fifty city whatever or whatever the case. It's something huge overseas. Yeah, so definitely, I'm definitely that's

even works. Definitely. What are like three essential songs do you think in your catalog that you definitely want to perform live and you feel like your fans want I really for me, I know personally, I would personally, I would say one of my favorites is J d's things probably like man like that the lyrics on that ship and how it came across and one of our favorite

joints that I've done after that. You know, I don't know, but definitely a lot of stuff off the recent project that ship, because I think that that won't kind of hit home and ship. You know, people are prisoner of the moment. It was like, oh, yeah, that's your best ship until I come out with something else that's your best ship. So you know, if you know, show with a rib or tore with a ribb, I would kind of do what's best off the last project or what

the people last hurt? Get that lone wolf on stage. Man, Man, it might get us confused, like which one is. Definitely gonna put that work in and get on the list again this year. Beat out, go back to back, you know what. You know, I'm I'm gonna put this out there. Man, I already made the list now, I'm like I just said this. I Man, I made the Listen, I don't need to do it again. Listen. I'm gonna yeah the front and Ransom last ship. Man. You know, I think a lot of people look at me it's like, oh,

you're a mainstream guy. But I'm trying to, you know, diversify my listening. So I listened to the underground, the overground and everything in between. I felt like you had a really good tapped it off of chaos is my lad? So how to give you problems for that? I appreciate it. And it's crazy how that your list don't matter until I'm olding That's how I looked at it, Like I was risen not on this list? How was rising on it?

As soon as I'm on the list, that don't. Man, I'm like, bro, I don't matter, right, crazy man, y'are fought and almost you know, torch, al right, beat, I supposed to be on list that ship don't matter? Ran, What are you doing? What are you? Keven? Car? And I'm like, I care, motherfunker, I care about anybody's listen. I want to be on everybody's list, Like I don't give a funk who you are. So that's just me. Well, yeah, I appreciate, you know, just acknowledging, not for sure what

I've done. Yeah, that's as he said. You always hit the point home. You're the very artist that really is in this to be the best care. That's what that's for me. That's all it's about. I want to be considered as one of the best. I don't want to be the most popular. I don't want to be the most wealthiest, though I wouldn't mind that, but but you know, I understand I'm not in it for that. Like, I got everything I need, I really do. I got my family, I got my friends, I got my circle. I don't

want anything else. I just want to be the best. And I think that's what kind of I want to say. Scared people like as far as like doing joints for me, I don't care about And I don't want to say nothing because I want to just tear through ship Like that's my goal. That's my goal. So when you hear me, you're going here, that's what you hear. That's what That's

what I'm bringing forth. Absolutely definitely many Yeah. Rapp rator Is Interval presents original production from hyper House, produced by Laura Wasser, hosts and producers Elliot Wilson and Brian B. Dot Miller. Hermitivo presents executive producers Alan Coy and Jay Kleinberg, Executive producer Paul Rosenberg, editing his sound design by Dylan Alexander Freeman, recording engineer Mike Urban, visual actor Josh Perez, operations lead Sarah You, business development lead Chef e ellens Wegg,

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