#272 - Marlon Craft

It sucked. No, but I feel like you like leveled up crazy during like that time period, if you will, not to sound insensitive, you know, but like, yeah, I mean the pandemic wasn't bad for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No. I was like I was able to find a lot of I went back independent, and I was able to kind of really find hone in on my strategy and kind of figure out who I wanted to be and just kind of set up like a three year type of plan that I'm kind of in like year three

of Yeah. Explain that though, because like before you were you not independent at a certain point in time, or did what was what was your prior situation. I was at a thing called same Play. It was like a JV at sony okay for that Funhouse Mirror album. Yep, yep, okay. So you get out of that deal, and then what walk me through your three year plan? And obviously it's been it's worked, so we should Yeah, what was the plan? Yeah?

I mean I just realized I learned a lot from being in that situation, and I realized what I had to do, and I was just like, you know, I need to move at a pace where I could be consistent, and especially during the pandemic when we were stuck at home,

like all I could do was make music. So I just had this stock pile of music and all these different projects going, and I was like, I'm going to figure out how to just be really kind of relentlessly consistent, but combine that with keeping everything quality and keeping it conceptual and keeping it me and and I'm just gonna build it and have faith in you know, doing it

like that. And That's what I've kind of been doing. Yeah, So for you, it was like, because a lot of artists there's something kind of just viral semi viral recently, I don't know if you saw like Russ was telling everybody, if you're on the come up in music, drop consistently, don't sit on your music. Somebody had like made a response and pretty much said it's terrible advice. And so for you, it was like, Yo, why am I sitting on all this music? You obviously you're recording at home

at the time, Yeah, recording yourself. So it's like like a lot of people they do sit on their music, or they overthink releasing their music, or they I think everybody is like very not everybody, but a lot of artists get wrapped up in like perfection and like a lot of things having to be checked off before they think they can release something. That's not always the case. Yeah, I mean, so there's a couple of things with that, like and your quality is high. It's not like you're

doing like quantity of a quality. You're doing both. It's hard to do. Yeah, that I think is the key, and I appreciate that. I think, like I grew up admiring like the Coles and the Kendricks and these different people that have kind of this pantheon of their catalog right where you could look at like these four albums that are like incredible, right, And so I think a lot of us grow up wanting to be like that.

But then when you really get back into the industry, I think that you realized that it's not that these artists didn't want to release more music. And in the mixtape era, it's not even like they weren't they were they were free zip files. Yeah, it's warm up and all that exactly. And I think it's just that, like once you get into a system and a situation, like those buildings move so slow a lot of times, it's not even their choice of how little music they're releasing

because they're it's on a cycle. So I had to get myself out of that mindset and realize. I remember, like watching something where they were talking about how like the week after Get Richard, die try and drop fifty cent drop the mixtape in the streets yep, And we don't remember necessarily that mixtape in the streets, but it didn't dilute Get Richard I trying, you know what I mean. So I was like, Okay, first of all, people have always done this, like people have always had this kind

of abundance. But then second of all, like you know, I just realized that I had a lot to say and I had a lot of material, and I felt like I could do it all without compromising the quality. Yeah, and so that was kind of you know, my mood in terms of like the rust thing, and I saw that dialogue going on. I think everybody's different, and you know, you know, there's certain projects that you want to take

more time with. And that's why for me, like the language of album, Like I've only dropped, you know, three albums right like that. I consider albums so as an artist, like I kind of decipher the things that I really spend years and years working on whatever, so the fans know what's what. I think that's important. But I think I think it gets confused because now instead of it being like a mixtape you buy from the corner store or something on that pif everything's on DSPs as it

should be. I feel like you're crazy if like I just somebody recently put something out and it was like only on SoundCloud and like that PIF and I was just I mean, shout out to that, you know, but like it just didn't make sense. It's like why wouldn't you anyway? But yeah, I just think like you said, it's important like communicating the language of like what this is to your fans, Like, Yo, this is a mixtape or it's just some collection of records or an EP

or whatever. So for you, how do you kind of differentiate because you say you're working on your big album, how do you differentiate between like what makes the album isn't because the album has a certain concept or there's a certain feel or quality to it. Like how do you know if that's like, oh, this is an album song. Yeah, we just can't throw this out there. Yeah, when it feels like that, when it feels like, man, this is

something that I have to cultivate. This feels like the expression of my sound that combines a lot of my different influences. But that like, this is where I'm at musically at this point in time and creatively, and this is what I want to say, and you know, when it fits into the narrative of the big album that I'm working on at the time. You know, the other joints like the obviously the Space two which is you know, February tenth, and then like the Home Court projects that

have kind of like become these little serialized things. They just happened organically creatively, I was making really emotional joints about this period of my life with the space stuff that I was making, like this mixtapey feeling like barred out stuff for the home court stuff, and I was just like, you know, people always feel this pressure on albums when you don't drop a lot of stuff, just show them everything I got in one go, and it

sometimes makes for projects that aren't cohesive one hundred percent. So I'm always that pressure, you know what I mean. By giving them the other stuff in a cohesive form, that was kind of them, you know what I mean? For you, I feel like a lot of people who come from New York, like I mean, if we think of New York like nationally at the moment, obviously there's like the big, the great stuff, the Cardi B's and the I mean shit, the Joey badasses and these guys

who are like well established. But it feels like right now in New York everyone is very much much not everybody, but nationally a lot of people are checking for the drill scene. You kind of coming out of the city doing something way different. Do you feel like it's like an advantage for you because you kind of because a

lot of drill shit coming out of New York. And I feel like, for you, it's kind of probably a good thing that you're bringing a different, you know, piece of music, your style to the landscape of New York hip hop. How do you feel? Yeah, I think so. To be totally honest with you, you you know, like I just I am New York because of New York raised me, like for real, for real, and at this point, like I don't really think too directly about how it all

relates to New York. I've been like doing a lot of just finding myself and who I am and what like Marlon Kraft represents, and that's always going to be inherently New York. But I don't even think about, like where does this fit into the landscape. And I've just been watching it kind of grow and observing which place is support what I'm doing more, And you know, New York's always home base and it's everything to me. But I don't even really like consider it. Could you ever

leave New York? It's real sunny out here, bro, I'm gonna tell you something, Man, I go to New York and I love it, but I'm just like God bless y'all man, because y'all really lived there. I couldn't do it.

I understand though, Like there's one thing like, like to me, like if you like when they say if you could survive in New York, you could survive anywhere, it's fucking a fact, yeah, because just like going to the store or going to work, just there's so many variables every day that you have to deal with that you wouldn't deal with anywhere else that it's it's almost like your numb to the stress that those variables create. Yeah, it's

kind of wild. Ye. It's like I saw a video of a guy sleeping on the subway and just a rat was like running on him, and shit, he just like flicked it off. Like it was just like I saw that. That was wild if there was a rat on me bro going on. But like we don't see rats on the West Coast like that, But in New York, if like you're eating pizza on the corner with your boys after the club, there's like rats running around and it's just like, yeah, it's just fucking yeah, it's just

you guys deal with a lot, dude, a lot of stress. Yeah, a lot of fucking people, a lot of rubbing shoulders. Yeah, the pandemic had to be extra stressful. That was really hard because it's so little space and so that everybody's on the top of each other. It's winter, bro. Like I mean I say this. The older I get and the more in tune I get with like what's really important to me and what's better for my mental health, the more I'm like, wow, this is not that conducive

to that. You know, Like when I come to place, even out here to take breaks, you know, it's like the weather's warm, the sunshine and there's more space, it's calmer like some of these things. Whereas when I was younger, I would have been like, man, shit boring, like I got phone, Well, I gotta get back home. Now I'm like really embracing those things a lot more. But it's hard for me to envision leaving New York for like year round, because it's just no matter. There's nothing like

going when you're from New York. There's nothing like going back to New York, you know what I mean. It's one of one place. Yeah, it's a great place. Man. What is your favorite Like, Okay, you're for a house kitchen, which is a huge food area. Yeah, what's like your top three restaurants in Hell's Kitchen? Oh, yelp, man, you know what's crazy? This ship is so different now the whole Manhattan is cooked, like like gentrified is not even

the word. Like it's just like beyond. Oh. I go on Zillow once a month just for ships and giggles, to just scare myself from ever taking a job in New York. Yeah, bro, it's bro, it's yeah, it's cooked. So like I to tell you the truth, Like every time I'm in Hell's kit it's like new stores, new restaurants, everything popping up like every other day. I don't even know what do we Like? Claudio shout out to Claudio's. Claudio's is the only like real Hell's Kitchen spot that's

still there. Pizza Real, that's the pizza real. Yeah, Claudio's. I shot a video in there back and the day that's like, you know, that's that's like the spot and it's still there. It's like he renovated it and whatever, but it's still like that's the spot. How are we feeling about Jalen Brunson, Julius Randall and these knicks that are actually you know, playing like playing for the hardest fucking coach to play for in the whole league. Man,

was a fucking motherfuck. How much time do we have? Man? How do you feel? You know, well, you know, I feel good. It's nice that we're that we're more competitive. Brunson I think was the best offseason signing for sure. And I love his game. And he's not that expensive, yeah compared to like other players who are doing what he's doing. Yeah, he's a beast. I'm really happy about that.

What I will say is, if you really watch the games, it's brutal, man, It's still brutal, because even when we win, we fucking like find a way to blow it at the end and make it like like a shitty win, where like it was like we were up by ten the whole game and then we collapse because and it's Tom Thibodau plays, yeah, and then and and it's very weird, bro, Like we have a winning record, but we have a losing home record. We're like one of the only teams

in the league. And I don't know if it's because New York's popping, and so the road is like we just we just chill and don't go out and they go out, we go out in New York. I don't know, but it's very it's very Uh, it's still been like a frustrating up and down on year. But I'm in it forever. Man with these Knicks, would you trade RJ?

Barrett Man, I never know how honest to be with this ship, because you know, i'd like to uh to do things with the Knicks and you know, yeah, and I will be my Twitter if the Sun's ever checked my Twitter feed, Yeah, he probably wouldn't do stuff with the Sun. All right, I'll keep it the buck with you. The thing with r J is dude's told him he was a star then gave him the bag that he

was a star. But he's not a star because he's the third best player on our team and we're not even good and he can't and and he stopped playing defense. He used to play d well, but he got so into what's going on with him and his scoring. Then now he stops playing defense. But he shoots low percentage from the field. So to be honest, like, what are

we really talking about? As the ceiling? And I like the things he does and I think he's a young good player, but is he gonna accept what his role might have to be to be out of a contender, because how much more evidence do we need to know if he's going to be a star player on winning team. What is it like, year three or four? I think it's four or five. I think it's four. I think it's four. Yeah, because him and Zion came in the same year. Yeah. Yeah, and Zion's obviously a star who

just gets injured a lot. Cam Reddish is Cam Reddish on the Knicks. Is he's been relegated to the bench. Wow, it's like Duke. Some people are some people are real tight about that that Cam Reddish is on the bench. Yeah. I don't know. I have League Pass, but I don't watch enough when the Knicks are on. I'm not running to the game. Yeah, respect, I feel you. There's some teams that I don't give a fuck about, But if they're playing, I'm like, oh, let me see what the

Kings are doing. Yeah, if the Warriors playing, I'm watching. Yeah. But you yeah, yeah, sorry, that's a that's a sore spot. I mean, not so much. The Sun's Yeah, yeah, you guys are having I have no sympathy because I've been Knicks fan all up. But you're haven't you at least got championships, not when you were alive, but at least my dad, my dad's youth. Yeah, we don't got that ship. I mean you. Yeah, you guys got the at least the cultural importance. The Suns. Don't gives a fuck about

the Suns. Yeah. Everyone hates us though, but it's kind of it's kind of fun. I'm loving watching the Nets crash and burn. That's it is actually pretty dope because they really thought that like they were gonna go like when like like y'all really had Hart and Kyrie and Katie and it just didn't matter. And all five of

their fans talk so much shit five of them. Yeah, no one's I've noticed some people from New York switching sides or double dipping, like our guy Rob Markman is one of one of those guys hardcore Knicks guy hardcore, but you know what, he got it so hardcore when he did it, I couldn't even be mad at him. It's like when Porzingis left, it was the same thing. It was like, Yo, you gotta understand this is an abusive household. Yeah, when people want to get out, you

can't hold him back. I don't think so until he dies, no, and they'll probably pass it on to some other jerk off. Yeah, I said not you exactly. So for you, man uh, I think that you got three million monthly listeners on Spotify. That's a serious accomplishment, thank you. Outside of dropping music at a high quantity at a high level, what would you say would be the key to you connecting with people, connecting with the fans because you've conceptually you've put out

some of the doper videos in recent memory. Thank you, But like for you, that's a that's crazy, especially because there's guys that have quote unquote bigger buzzies than you, or you know, are perceived to be bigger artists than you, that aren't even sniffing that. So for you, what has been the one key or a couple of keys that has worked for you to connect on that level? Man?

So you know, I think just staying true, Like obviously there's tactical things like on a strategic breakdown and whatever, but I think like really honing in on what is resonating with people like not I'll give you an example, like my biggest song on Spotify, a song called Something's Wrong in heaven. And I made that song in twenty nineteen when I was still in that in that deal, and when I made it, I was in a little bit in the world. I was like in the industry thing,

and I was still staying true. But I was doing this thing that an artists do where it's like, man, if something is not like something new for me, it feels like, oh it's not enough. Like it was like, this is just a dope beat, is a crazy loop sample, profound word think of it? Yeah, but everyone knows I can do that. I don't. Yeah, a different beader, yeah, and so but even when people around me are like

this song is really special whatever. So I put that song out three years later and it's now my biggest song, and I got out of that headspace and into the headspace of just what is it that I do for people?

What is it that people resonate with in my music, and allowing the fans to decide which songs are their favorites, and not trying to pull east what people resonate with about me, but rather just learn from it and just keep hammering down on what that is and then being consistent and just knowing who I am and trying to be honest and be forthright. You know, hey, we got to stop the interview to tell you about our folks

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like this is crazy? Like this person knows who I am. This person listens to my music, You've had to have had a few of those. I'm trying to think. Man, there's people, for sure, but none really come to mind. Yeah, Jaden Smith hit me one time on Instagram and just sent me like a thumbs up emoji. That's pretty sick. It was so random and I was like and I was like, yo, word and that was it. I never heard anything. It was just so that was a weird one.

You know, it's hip hop people obviously, but I mean, like for me, you know, I like getting the respect when I walk into a party and like you know, Primos there and like you know, or I met just Blaze and he and I was like, yo, you're my favorite producer ever. And he's like yeah, yeah, like that that's those type of things are crazy to me. Like that was a crazy moment I met him. He's like, yeah, I'm a fan of Like that was that was crazy.

I've had certain people like reach out and send dms, but I mean, just Blaze and Primo is pretty fucking crazy. But Jadon Smith's random and awesome too. It's like that was just a random one. I can't think. I couldn't think of it, but it was so weird. I was just like, Okay, that's that's dope. What's your favorite just Blaze beat? Probably either public service announcement or you don't know, I love Breathe That breathe beat is so hard no b yeah, oh that ship is so cold to me.

He's the illiest man. I mean, I would love to to do something. You haven't worked with him? Nah? Nah, I you know, I don't want to. I think when the time is right, hopefully it doesn't seem like he's like like I feel like just is not as active as he like, not as I wouldn't they should be, but like as you would think. Like I don't feel like I see just Blaze beats often and when I do, I get super excited. But I feel like like he just doesn't work with anybody. Yeah, you know, you know

who's probably the answer to that question. The original question is doing the song with Havoc, Like doing the Hans Zimmer songa Havoc like that was crazy to me, Like the fact that he showed me love because what they

meant to me growing up in New York. And then how I popped up on the scene, like going viral on the survival of the fittest beats like in my childhood bedroom and shit to then having my own song that he produced and he's not here popping up either, like you don't just see him on the upcoming artist shit Like so that was real special to me, Like that was like, wow, was that like a song that did you know he was? Like it was his beat? Did you know he was getting on the record. Nah,

he wasn't on it. He wasn't on it. He just did the beat he did ye, Yeah, he just did the beat. But what's crazy is that like that song too, I made in twenty twenty and dropped in twenty twenty two. I had it for bad long. That's so crazy. But that's dope because like like back, like let that be a lesson the artists who like they get demo ititis, yeah, where they have a song for so long and they're like, man, that shit is whack or it just gets played out

to you, but like the people haven't heard it. It's like bro, yeah, like don't overthink this shit, Like yeah, here's here's here's the key thing to our conversation even before with like the consistency, like the implication of people that are critiquing it is you think I'm Russian. You're wrong because I'm dropping songs there are two or three years old. I'm just really two years ahead of myself. Like I came into you. I told you today, like, yo, I gotta play this album. Shit, I'm working on bro

for like twenty four you know what I mean. These are songs, some of these songs that are on that they're going to be on that album I made in twenty twenty. Yeah. No, that's and you're you got you got the next couple of things already planned out. You gotta work that way if you want to be like strategic and not lose quantity, because I agree if you if you rush things out for the sake of rushing

them mount then it's gonna lose quality. Uh. Are you now that gambling is legal in New York and you, being the sports fan that you are, you dabbling in any any sports gambling. I haven't dabbled yet, and I'm afraid to because I'm very like very afraid. Yeah, I'm very compulsive with certain things. I'm like, man, I'm not plus yo, It's like, I mean, I think it's it's fine, but it's it's just wild. How like every commercial now fan duels and it's greatbody shamelessly and there's like real

people really ruin their lives with this. Shit's mad addictive and people get destroyed. It's like it's almost like a commercial general like yo, like you got Charles Bark up there, like all right at halftime, like all right, we're gonna pick who's gonna score the next bucket. It's almost like they're like all right, like we're gonna try out who got the best crack, Like you know what. It's like a kind of a wild concept. It is pretty crazy,

you know, is very addictive. Yeah, especially if you're like a hardcore sports fan, because then like you makes you just care so much about every game. Yeah, like you'll be betting on like a fucking a goddamn like Portland trail Blazers first Orlando Magic game and you'll just be like locked in. Nobody else in the country gives a fuck. Yeah. I'm kind of like that because I play fantasy, so that does that. Yeah. Yeah, it like gives me investment

in games. I don't give a great Do you do it where you set your lineup every day or set it once a week every day, But I just do it at the beginning of the week. I just it's not like you don't have to think about it. You just whoever's playing? Do you do football? Nah? Not a big football guy, nah, man, because I was. I'm Jets fan, and like I can only tolerate so much like dysfunction and disappointment with the Knicks and Gary Vee Jets guys.

Oh yeah, I don't even know poor Zach Wilson. He's done. Bro. I'm out the loop. Bro. I got enough trauma and stress. I'm the Kicks. The Knicks is is all I could take. Yeah. Yeah, the next thing is rough. It's tough, man, It is tough. Okay, So is there anything First of all, Mom's whiskey. The idea of you actually putting out whiskey with your mom's fucking genius. I appreciate it. How is the whiskey business?

And was that like a super limited thing or is this something that's like you're trying to scale like and like really like get down in the alcohol industry. It's super limited. It's been super limited so far. We've just done batches of like very limited releases. But I would love to scale it. It's a it's a it's a tricky thing because there's so many laws that go back to like prohibition and ship. Yeah, it's like also like

a very tricky industry. It's like a lot of like it's it's it's like any industry, but it's got you know, you gotta kind of have somebody in that industry to help guide you. Yeah, I think I think if like I'm more popping, we could probably like scale it. But I think, like it's been really cool so far. And we just reached out to this distillery and they were down, you know, and that that song was my biggest song at the time, and yeah, people love it. It's real good.

I mean, if you if you're in New York, I gotta give you a bottle. I need some moms whiskey for yeah. Hell yeah. I just got into a uh not necessarily an argument, but I got into it. Well. I went viral because I went on a podcast and I said that I didn't think that Drake nor j Cole had consensus classic albums. Now I say that to say I think they. I think personally to me, Cole

has two classic albums to me. To me, and I think Drake Scott two, but I think like they don't have an album that people look at in the same way that they look at a Doggie Stele or get Richard Dot Trying or a good kid Bat City. What are your thoughts? Which are your two for Cole? I actually like Worn Center and Four Soils Drive. I think Four Soils Drive is that, and then like I really, I really do like the Ko d Shit is crazy too,

and off I like off Season. Off Season is like a year old, so I can't really say, but off Season was special to me. I think Friday Night Lights is not an album. Well that's that's where you get into the debate. But to me, that's like, I think that's only my favorite body of work from Cole. Me too, Friday night Lights is crazy, that that ship was ridiculous. Yes, so I think you got that. And I think his one is Drake's is like take Care And to me,

my favorite Drake is nothing was the same. Drake is hard because he does the thing you know where he tries to like hit all the bases, you know, and it's so it's like and it ends up resulting in cool albums and cool songs, but maybe not the most Yeah, but I actually really like nothing was the same to me. It's crazy. That's Tusk and Leather. I mean, Drake's Drake. Yeah, Drake's Drake, you know. But yeah, that's a that's a

tricky one. I don't think it's like, you know, when you look at Kendrick, it's like good Kid, Mad City, to Pimp a Butterfly, damn, and now the new joint, Like it's crazy certified, it's crazy classics. It's crazy. It's it's insane. I think we actually don't give him enough credit because he's happening right now to Pimp a butter Fly just on mediacritic, dot Com or one of those websites. Anthony Fantana will always be fucking talking about but on that.

It's now the number one. It just finally surpassed Okay Computer by Radiohead as the number one. I saw the most critically acclaimed album ever, which is kind of crazy. Shout out to Pimpa Butterfly, great album, my favorite album. It's it's it's for me. It's either that or Good Combat City for sure. But no, it's just crazy because, like you said, I just put up a post yesterday.

There's a picture that Jay and Kendrick took at the Grammys, and I was like, eventually we might look at this picture and this is like one A one B greatest rapper of all time. Eventually, I'm not saying now, but I'm like, when the dust really starts to settle on Kendrick's career. I mean, shit, man, I don't know he's I think he might. What's that, Oh the fucking cable guy shout out to the cable guy the studio Jim Carrey. No, but no, I think I think. I think Kendrick is

on his way to being the goat. I think he's the goat right now. But I think it's like because to me, like not even on No Bigger Than like so as a rapper, the older I get and the more I'm get better at my craft, the more I realize, like, oh damn, jay Z's the best rapper, like because the shit he does and the like the fucking dexterity and like the the versatility and the usage of less to do more and shit like that is just crazy. Shit, Yeah, it's crazy. But like with Kendrick, to me, not even

on No Bigger Than Rap shape, not at all. But Kendrick's like, to me, he's like Michael Jackson Prince, Like he's in the capantheon of like the best artists and performers ever. And when you look at like his live shows and his performances and the musicality of these albums and where they kind of sit and then, like I said, the kind of consistency I mean, and he's being consistent

while taking pretty crazy risks musically and content wise. Like if you really think about, like it's really hard for people. Kanye did a good job of that. But like to like take a think, do you remember the Common album Electric Circus that everyone panned and hated because they were like, man,

what the fuck is Common doing? Like it's not easy to like take on a concept or take on like you know, like to Pimp a Butterfly sonically was totally way more funky and way more complicated musically than Good Kid, Mad City, And it was a little over a lot of people's heads. Yeah, people hate on it, People hate on that. People are wild. But I think that's what

inspires me so much. Yeah, because the boldness of like being the guy after Good Kid, Mad City, he was the guy and it was like, Yo, you're the one like whatever, and instead of coming and trying to do some layup shit, which is what people usually do. They get caught up in the prey and the praise that they get. Yeah, like Drake, Hey, but that motherfucker's a thousand for thousand on layups. Yeah, he's just laying it up. Yeah. That's why when Drake did the E d M album

or with this last ship, I was refreshed by. I was so happy. Yeah, it's not my ship, but I was like as an artist, yeah, as an artist the House album, there's some ship on there, and I was like, wow, Ray took a fucking risk. This is what I like to see. Yeah, whether I like it or not, I respect the move. Bro agree, that's exactly what I said. But to Pimple Butterfly, Bro, how do you do that after after having the balls and then for it to

be that sublime? I mean, that dude is He's definitely he's my He's my goat, like I always tell people, because I have him in my like I got I met about four or five, but I always say, and I love Biggie, but I'm like if if because some people, especially old heads, will be like, nah, man, you can't put Kendrick. Listen, if you could put Biggie and is Your Greatest of All Time? Off two albums, you gotta put Kendrick in that conversation off of the four he's dropped. Yeah,

I mean that's excluding section eighty. That's excluding the Kendrick marip that's excluding I'm Overly Dedicated and Untitled and the Black Panther soundtrack. It's like, what are we talking about here? The only one who's done it is really Kanye with like those first four or five albums being sublime like that, Like, I mean, who else really cast Yeah? You know what's you know what's true? It is like I really got

a Yeah, I'm a New York kid. And it was one of those things where like when I was going back, I was going back to let me check out Tribe, let me check out Wu Tang. Yeah, and I'm admittedly like there equipment vinyl, Yeah, I gotta I gotta go. Like all my context with them was like I was a kid when like speaker Box Love Below, which is what won them the Grammy, which was like you were like, hey, yeah, this shit is cool, but it's about ship. That's the

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Fuck them, get odd socks. Let's get back to the interview. Yeah, I got it. I've gone a couple times, but when ever I've gone, I've not been in the right place to receive it. Yeah, No, that's fair. Yeah, shout out to Kendrick. He's one of them ones mane he is the one one on one man. I mean whatever, I'm not trying to just like, you know, kiss his ass, but I feel you got to give people like that because again, I think there's certain times, like when we

live with people. We have a lot of bullshit in our time, but sometimes we have so much reverence for old stuff that when something's really sublime and really special in our era, we feel weird about calling it that. Like Lebron, Yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, I feel like that's what happened, That's what happened. That's what's happening with Lebron. Yeah, I think so. I think so. I mean, I'm I'm a Jordan guy in terms of the goat debate, but like, but it's either wonder, it's he's two. Yeah.

My thing is, if I ask you who the goat is and you say anyone but those two names, then I really don't know what the fuck we're talking. Like, I love Kobe, he's right there him and Jordan's Yeah, but like living in LA a lot of people say Kobe's the goat. It's it's a preposterous thing to say it is. And I love Kobe, but that is a ridiculous basketball opinion to have. Yeah, no, it's not. I mean there was a lot of years where he wasn't the best player in the league at all, Like, yeah,

I'm not here, you're trying to stand her. When Kobe was on the Lakers alone after Shaq left, they were an eight seed two years in a row and they lost in the first round. Well, he was playing with Kwame and smush Kobe Bryant or Lebron James was playing with fucking big Z, Moe Williams, Donielle Marshall off the bench, Larry Hughes, fucking losing player if I've ever seen one, Like if Larry Hughes is your best player on your team, yeah, he's like a poor man's Monta Ellis, who's a poor

man's Allen Iverson. Uh. If these takes are getting better and better, but not a manta Ellis man. Monte Ellis was a beast, But like, I just feel like Lebron when he's when he I mean, he's been on super teams, but I do feel like Lebron when he's like when the Cabints, he's still gonna. I mean, you got these motherfuckers to the finals over the Detroit Pistons. Yeah, year after they won the finals. Yeah, although I do feel like there's too much made of the like eight years

in the row thing. It's like they they they were supposed to mop up everybody in the East. I'm not saying that it's not a crazy accomplishment, but I think his black iron his resume is that MAVs loss with the Heat twenty. Yeah. Yeah, that's the law. That's the finals loss where it's like you should have had five. Yeah. I can't even fault him for the Spurs ship because that Spurs team was wildly talented. Yeah, but the MAVs, I mean it was Jason Terry fucking Jason Kid. Yeah, bro,

and the Warriors one like with that was ship. I always felt like that ship was kind of bullshit because I felt like he threw his weight around to get that Draymond suspension, and it was like, I feel they beat they beat, but they won. They won the game seven with everybody playing. They beat the best regular season team ever in the finals. Yeah, they did, know they did. Seventy three and nine Warriors lost to Lebron James. They did. To me, that ring probably means more than any ring ever.

I don't know. I ever, I'd have to, I'd have to give that. I mean, what's the toughest, what's the tougher ring to win? Yeah? Yeah, in theory, I think though literally the greatest regular season team ever ever. Yeah, they were down three to one. I believe they were but that, but they came back from three to one against the seventy three and nine Warriors, but they were gonna win. And then he went in the press conference with the Draymond thing. He was like, the league won't

suspend him, but they should. You know, da da da. He threw his big weight around and then it was like and they suspended him. And then it was like, you know, the rest and those guys were exhausted, and then they fucking cheated and they got KD. That fucking shout out to KD. Great guy, good hip hop fan. I met him. I can't really say anything bad about Kdie because I've been to his house and he was really nice. He's really into hip hop. I saw him

and he's always running out with thirty eight especially. He's a super nice guy. Yeah, but he seems he definitely you know, some interesting decisions. It's a weird space now, man, I'm a very old soul bro. I'll be watching a lot of I'm Stuck out with the thunder Man. But but I feel like now in retrospect, we can kind of see why he left Russ. Yeah, because Russ is a fucking can't well nice guy, Russell Westbrook, We're gonna get you in troll. I wouldn't want him on the

fucking suns, is all I'm gonna say. Yeah, it's tough like the you know, it reminds me of, you know, to be honest with you since you're just being keeping it all the way funky. I feel like John Moran will be Russ in three years if you don't start to learn to play defense and get some moves, or he'll be in prison. Yeah, I heard about that ship because he wants to be king von Yeah, I heard about.

But I love John. I love John's game. But the thing is, it's like, if you notice, they're almost as good without him as with him, because Tyas Jones plays really good defense, They're very like his. I think his style of play is counterproductive to longevity in the league that as well. And like I think, yeah, it very

Russ d Rose type of guy. So when you think of Russ, like Russ like electrifying, like I love like I used to love watching him on the fucking Thunder just he was just like a and Jaw's the same way, except for Joh I think is a little bit more fun to watch than those those two guys. But like Derrick Rose is the same way. It was like, could you win a ring with those guys? I don't know, man, and they'll turn on you, like the way they're all kissing Jaws as now. Everybody loves him, but I know too,

they turned on Russ. That's why I'm saying it's not like a hater comment, this is like I want to see him be successful. And Jared Jackson Junior making the All Star Game is fucking the travesty, by the way, it's insane over who who was it? That that. Uh well, first of all, Devin Booker should have made it even though he's missed twenty one games. Jalen Bronson should have been in there for the East over Halliburton. I mean, I'll be all the way real with you, like over Julius.

If you watch the games, the numbers run deniable, so I understand, but if you really watch all the games, like in their totality, like and there was an all star from our team to go and this coming from the guy who made the Julius random song like it was Jalen has he heard the song? I don't know. I don't think so. They played at the Garden though, Yeah, that was pretty dope. He had kind of a weird year last year. He did. And that's why I said, I'm not making no more songs for people. I like,

I think you guys should fire Tibodeau. Get him out of there, man, That old fucking bastard man. He literally doesn't coach offense, bro Like he literally he just like yo figured it out. Yeah, literally, like like forty eight minutes a game. But he needs like the way Mike Brown was coaching the defense like defensive coordinator and yeah, state he needs one of those offense. Yeah do it do that? Yeah, not for sure, I thought me shout out to the Knicks, man, So you're got you got

Jordans your go. Jordan's my go. Jordan despite being a Knicks fan, Yeah yeah, come on, man, you know ho'm's the nineties baby, and we gotta keep it real. That's why the Knicks lost because because of Jordan's Jordan. I'm not sure you guys were good enough to get who whoever was in the West during those years. I'm not sure. I think I looked back at some I look back at some of those fucking Knicks teams and like, offensively

just not the greatest rosters, just scrappers. It was just like it was like a bunch of Tony Allen's and Patrick Ewing. It was like John Starks, Anthony Mason, and then there was like the funner version of that team with Larry Johnson, you know, Alan Houston there was, but but I'm talking about like the early nineties Knicks teams. It was just like Jesus, it was just Charles Oakley and elbows and kneecaps and fucking Patrick Ewing. Alan Houston

was a beast. I mean listen man them tell hims like I don't know those those were battles with I was young. I mean I was like a little kid. I remember as a kid live on TV watching that fucking heat Knicks brawl and Alonzo Gundy is on the Jeff Van Gundy is one of my top five favorite humans. He's great. Lenny does a great job at being an announcer. He's incredible. Like when I listened to him on the broadcast, when he'll just go in on some ship, I feel seen like as a curmudgeon that is an old soul

that just like shit pisses me off. Bro, He'll just go off on some shit unapologetically and go off on the League and go off on the State, and like it is like the greatest shit ever. I love that guy. Love him. Okay, So if Lebron is two for you, who's three? Probably Kareem. I think that's the yeah, And you could make a case like like if someone wants to come in and make a case for Kareem at two, Like there's a case to be made. He gets weird Era to era, but the past is fucking yeah he is.

But they changed rules for that guy, bro, Like in college. I mean he would, I mean, and and the thing is like he you kind of can't say, like, oh, he wouldn't do shit today like he was mad, was mad big, he would just shoot that hook on anybody, like you know, I don't know, but Kareem's probably three. And then after that you get into like I got Dunkin at five. That's all I know for four is probably magic. What about Bill Russell? See that's too old.

It gets starts to get with you. That's where the error shit gets weird because it was like he was never better than Will. Yeah, but he got all the fucking rings. But he got all the rings. So and then you got well as well, because every Will holds like every fucking record, damn near. So you got to put him somewhere in there. I think of like who would ball out no matter what era, And I don't know if Bill Russell could, Like I don't know what he would do against Dwight Howard in the paint Yeah

peak Dwight of course. Yeah. When I think of like a guy like Kareem, like you said, like I could see Kareem thriving in today's because he can still cook. Yeah, he can still cook I think like Larry Bird would be a fucking beast. Larry Bird is a beast, bro and a savage. When you hear like the trash Talk stories, that's my favorite ship. But I'll go on YouTube and just look up old like trash Talk stories. That dude

was a monster. Would you say Nicks fans hate Reggie Miller or Michael Jordan Moore Reggie Miller, that Reggie serious, disrespectful those old East, those nineties East joints respectful. Yeah, like fuck Reggie, but also like it's it doesn't feel like it feels very separate basketball from the person, like on some ship, on some basketball shit, I'm like, yo, fuck Reggie Bller. But like when I see him on TNT, I don't get mad. Like that's how I feel about

Patrick Barley. Oh man, that dude is. That dude's wild. He's the dirtiest player ever. That dude's wild. Your man, Chris Paul is kind of dirty too, though he's not my man. He's actual man, not no more A couple of years ago that I wasn't your man. I got all his jerseys. I gotta hope we get we move off of them. Listen, you got your new EP out. Yeah, but this comes out February tent so by what's today, By the time this is out, it'll be out. Yeah,

uh new album soon, album next year, next year. And then I got a little something coming for the summer too, something for the summer. What's coming with summer, it's gonna be It's gonna be mixtape time again, mixtape time. Yeah. Yeah. Are you like, uh I think? Do you feel like who besides yourself has the best basketball references in hip hop? Because you got some pretty like, you got some like

really random shit. We're like, unless you're like a real basketball nerds just flying over your fucking I got it. I did a good one recently. Bro, I had a he he know, Turkeuleu one in there. I love. I was so hype when I wrote that. I was like, he was on the Suns for like one season. He was good man when he was on the Magic. Think about that. They went to the finals and he was their second best player fun me and Nelson. He was killing Bro. I'll tell you the line when we're done.

But it was like it was literally like, uh, Action Bronson got really good ones he does and Action Bronson cuts super random deep cuts, like super deep cuts and then, uh, A man, who else is good? I don't know who else is. There's a dude named skillet Baby that's from Detroit. Young kid who's got some pretty crazy basketball. Oh you knows fire? Have you heard of baby tron? No, he's on the Freshman cover. His fucking eighteen nineteen year old kid.

He got heat. He's got the most random NBA references for his age. You'd be like, bro, how old are you? That's he's shouting out bench players. He's shouting out the most random ship. Yeah, like he's a kid. Bro, Like, he's like a fucking child. I love I love that shit. Yeah, I'm like dog that Detroit. Yeah, two guys from Detroit

shout out to them, and I shout out to you. Man, some new album next year, new mixtape during the summer, and then Space two out, now out now, go run it up and go watch your freestyles about that happened Boom