#289 - DJ Drama

putting it off for some time. But I have reason to be here. I got a fucking new album, new album. I wanted to you know what I mean. I wanted to be I wanted to be timely and I knew a conversation with you is you know significant. You know what I'm saying for sure? Why I do say. DJ Drama is the greatest hip hop DJ of all time. It's big, the greatest of all time. I'm not saying it's scratching and fucking transforming and shit, but you're the greatest. Go so hold on. Let me thank you first of all.

So if they're making a for fifty years of hip and they make a DJ list, like of the greatest DJs in fifty years, you're putting me, I don't even think it's a discussion. Wow, I mean it would be hard for me to agree, humbly. I would like to be in the top five. But if we're talking fifty years, were talking Jazzy Jeff, we talking no, no no, no, no, Listen.

I'm talking about listen because Jazzy Jeff probably like, like, there's guys who are really good at DJing, Yeah, party rockers, fucking I mean, we can go on and there's like some but I just think when I think of like your cultural impact on the last twenty years of rap music, it is literally not even a discussion. Nobody has ever impacted hip hop culture as a DJ the way you have. And I don't even think and like, listen, you can go back to cool Herk. We'll cool Herk a DJ

or rapper. He was a DJ Okay, so we kind of started it. Yeah, but I'm talking about bro. I'm fucking thirty six. So when I was coming up, it was funk flex. I had like the sixty minutes of funk shit. I was getting DJ clue tapes and then when I started bootlegging shit and selling shit at the swat Me. It was like all gangster grill shit. But we're talking about your fingerprints are all over it all Jeezy Wayne for Rell, Gucci. You just want to fucking

Grammy with Tyler the Creator. Broh, you put a you want to Grammy with a gangster grills? What are we talking about? A gangster grills want to Grammy? I've done some shit, man. I'm really like that. I really think that, like people can say what they want, Like I mean people, There's been even artists. There's been a guy like listen. DJ Khaled for sure has put out bigger songs than you as an artist, right right, But like I forget the name of the Little Wayne DJ Khalid tape, but

it wasn't that big of a deal. It had had a gem on there though, But you remember which tape I'm talking about. Yeah, it was called the Fuck the Reap or the six the Suffix six six, yeah, the suffix. But we're talking about the Dedication shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're talking about dedication. We're talking you just like I mean, even like she like Little Brothers, Gangsta Grill, just so many like your fingerprints are everywhere, Like you just told

me a story about your first tape with Gucci? Were you removed Nicki Minaja's verse because she wasn't popping yet? Oh God, why are we talking about this? Nikki? I apologize? So what happened? Me and Gucci's first actual gangster girls? We actually did one with Yogatti first. It was called Definition of a g That was the first tape me and Gucci had did together. It was collaboration Gotti, Gucci and me. The first official Gucci man Gangster Grills was

called the Movie. And when he brought it to me, the first song that was for the tape, the first voice you heard on the on the tape was Nicki Minaj. Obviously this is an early Nicki Minaj and disrespectfully, you know, I felt like we can't have a gangst of girls with me and Gucci and the first voice you hear not be Gucci, So I removed her her verse from that song. I feel terrible to this day. Did she

did she know it was your decision? I don't know she she may know now, But in defense, I will say that I made sure out of everyone that Nicki Minaj was on Dedication three because Nicki Minaj was about to get left off of Dedication three. She was calling me directly, say Drum please, don't won't let the tape come out without me on there, And I said, I got you. So Nicki Minaj is on Dedication three directly because I made sure she was on there, so you

got it. It came back. I'm trying to make it up. I'm trying to, you know, did anyone ever hear the Nikki verse that you remember? Did you ever use it anywhere else? Did that? I don't. I really don't know. I don't know whatever came from that. We'd have to probably ask Gucci, do you still have like your og email access? I wish I had a gangster grills dot Com Gmail that it was probably just some shit in there,

probably so crazy. I used to get these fucking beats from this like random email from like it was like

a boy idea or something like. I was like, who is this boy idea sending me all these beats like in like oh five oh six used to flood my email because you know how to pronounce the names weird name and now looking wanted to I've told him that I've definitely we've talked about that like shit was crazy, Yeah, because I just think about like even the last two or three years, the research, Like if you think about it, we went through this weird cycle where the blogs would

drop the no DJ version of mixtapes as well as the DJ versions of mixtapes, and I remember you having an issue with that and I felt used, yeah, because they would use the Gangster Grills brand, yeah to like launch it and then like a week later and it would drop like a no DJ version without your shit on it, Like what the fuck? But now we like kind of like came back around. Now everybody is getting the Gangster Grills and they're dropping them on DSPs, Like

I mean, shout out to Geeperico. You guys just dropped that one. There was a day recently where I feel like you had three tapes come out on one day, and one day I dropped GZ Snowfall Snoop an NBA Young Boy. That was crazy, Like I was like on that. That was like right after I won DJ of the Year or two at the Hip Hop Awards. I was like, Oh, yeah,

I'm coming. I'm coming for the next Year's a word, how like how much do you feel like because if people don't know you're also you Lake and Don have cultivated a label called Generation Now that has two of the biggest superstars in hip hop period at the moment, Jack Harlan little uzzy. Yes, so you've obviously been busy. Yeah, you've been putting. You've also put out records. You've been

you've been listening. It's like you never went anywhere. But do you feel like the Tyler album sparked the Gangster Grills resurgence? Thousand thousand percent. Gotta gotta tip your head off to you know, I saw something and say, like, of all people, who would have thought Tyler creator, who if people have called a weirdo for thus long, would

bring gangster Grills back to life? Like yeah, I mean one, just the ingenious idea of him, of the concept of him making his album a Gangster Girls and utilizing me the way it did. And two obviously us winning a Grammy, Like come on, you can't you can't deny like Tyler had a lot to do with it. And I still think that that, Like, you know, just even recently I saw like Benny and Westside Gun make some references like yo,

we got drama out of his executive bag. Like, you know, even before Tyler, I had I had you, I had tod be a ship. I did some Ship on Guns projects, so you know, there were some other projects you know, out there. So I think like there, you know, clearly,

like as a brand, Gangster Girls was still strong. But I think, you know, the the response and just what Tyler's album did, like really, that's we have a lot to thank for that for sure, like or even a jeezy Snowfall like that was in the works, by the way, the best g Z album. And I don't know what we're taking ten years sometime, it's been it's been a while. Yeah, we were in New York riding around listening in that ship. When it came out, I was like, god, damn Jesu

back on his ship. Yeah, nah, I had that feel. And then you guys are doing the shows together. Yeah, that was fun. That was that was dope. That was a good time. So when Tyler hits you up, because obviously you're you're you're extremely culturally aware, I don't like I feel like some people might think, oh, DJ Drama just knows what was popping in the strip club whatever, but like, you know, what's up, So like Tyler reaches out to you. I'm sure you know how big this

can be because Igor was huge. Oh yeah, I mean without question. I mean I remember, you know, because we started it in twenty twenty during the pandemic. So I was doing like zoom interviews and calls, and I knew it was it was coming, and like you know, obviously I couldn't talk about it, but I was like, you know, I got some big shit coming. No. I think during our interview you were like alluded to something coming, Yeah, but you can talk. I couldn't talk about it. But

Lake even the session that he came to Lake. Lake came to the second session we did. We did like three or four. His first was the second session, and when he heard the music like off top, he was like, Yo, your niggas going want to grammy for this, Like he said it just playing in simple, clear as day, like your niggas going want to grammy? And like he called it, are the songs already done? And then you get brought in to like collaborate with him on like the shit

you're gonna say, like what's that process? Like album's done? And then you come in after or are you like in there when he's recording any verses Like, yeah, for

the most part, it was done. I mean, Tyler's so genius and creative, like he had already even when he first came up with the idea, he had taken random DJ drama vocals from like another project and they put him on there, placed it on like where he thought I should talk or what it would sound like, just so he could hear it, and then like you know, we we vibed a lot, like we sat in the studio and talked and just talked music and you know,

vision and things like that. He told me, you know what his what the concept and where he wanted to go and just about life the last couple of years. And you know that's literally how I like to work too, like a lot of you know what I what I like to say on projects or you know, the direction I go. I like to work off of you know, I mean, I feel like it's an art in its own sense, so you know, I work off of inspiration.

And then yeah, I would go into booth and I would I would say some ship and play around and then he would like kind of like be like yo, like say like I'm on the boat and I'd be like a boat, like, oh my god's frock crazy and like you know, talk about like having my toes out and shit like that. So you know, he was that. That was one that you know, a lot of times when I do tapes, I normally like to do them in my own zone. But obviously it was like collaborative,

very collaborative. And but you know, I mean he's a he's a one man army, so you know, production like everything, he does it all. So a lot of a lot of it he had had done, but then during the session some of the music changed. But even while I was in there, he was still kind of like working on production and you know, going in and things like that. It's crazy too, because one of your more underappreciated projects

was the one with Pharreal. It's like kind of a cult classic, but that kind of ended up being like the there's no call me if you get lost, if there's no far Real tape. Yeah, but it's but you know, to me or in my travels, like the way Dedication and Trapp or Die is to certain people, the forar Real tape is to certain people, like I've had a

lot of it's like a cult classic. It is and I've had a lot of a lot of people from a certain like you know, like hipster kids or just like you know, not not the what you would think the normal gangster girls listener like come up and like yo, that forar real tape changed my life, Like the Arrow gangst the Grills was like it was this for me, like so an artist too, Like that was definitely one of those ones. And obviously that was a big inspiration

for somebody like Tyler growing up. So yeah, that was that was that was a big That was a big tape for me. I mean because you know, at the time, Farou was already like a god, you know what I'm saying. Of course, so when he was on a skateboard p vibes, Like when when I got that phone call, Like yeah, I think you know that. I think that's the only mixtape he's ever done in his career, you know what

I'm saying. So for us for me to be a part of that, and when I got that call and then just like you know, just that's that's one of those tapes that definitely is one of the greatest ever, Like you know, the way it's put together, the zone I was in, like this shit was incredible for you.

How because I'm assuming nowadays if a major label artist wants against the grills, one you have to fuck with the music, but two they have to have the back they're not getting against the grills, I'm assuming is that fair to say? Or you have to be cutting on the project in some aspect? Yeah, the way that I mean, because like things have changed, Uh in the music business. It's not the same way it used to be. No,

it's not the same way. So there's you know, the way that we approached the business has changed and elevated. The cost of a gangster grills is not what it was in the mid two thousand. But you get a cut, I get, I get more. You should get something, yeah, published there's more than just a check involved, right right, for sure, some residual income there absolutely in the In your peak, though, what was the biggest bag you ever got to do a gangst the grills because you had

some random ass gangster grills floating around? Yeah, I did, and it was obviously like I know what this one was. I think it probably was, to be honest, it probably came from an athlete. It probably was like a good like in in the earlier days. It was it was maybe like a forty piece or something like forty against the Girls? Was it for like the athletes rapper? Yeah? Was this what's your athlete? Carmelo Anthony? I did do one. I did it. I actually did do one for Carmelo

sounds about. It wasn't that one. But I've done some. I've done some very notable remember thing going, yeah, we never did again by that point, I don't. Katie never came to me for Against the Grills, but shot the KD doing Jackson. But yeah, I've done you know, Jason Terry, Deshaun Jackson, Jason Terry, Sante Samuels, uh Meta shot the Metal World Peace Round. Our test has a Gangster Girls where he's actually rapping on the course, of course he

does Steven Stephen Jackson, Yeah, he was. Yeah, we got some. There's some more out there too. You were running it, you know, actually fun, a fun time. Indeed, my boy Vi the Ruler, I know, had one early from you, like from Phoenix, and I know he paid for it. But VI's like my dog, so I remember, like I hosted his next tape and he's like, yeah, I got a whole project with DJ Drama. I'm like, DJ Drama knows you though, but that was probably what was that

like twenty thirteen twelve? Okay, but yeah, man, so this new album, you got the new single with Hey Boogie Wholse one single, little Baby, Little Baby, and a what's the name of the album. I'm really like that. I'm really like that. Yeah for you? Are you taking like? Cause there is one thing about DJ projects that can get hairy, and usually they don't sound very cohesive. Usually it just sounds like songs. It's like a bunch of songs crammed in with the hottest of hot. It's not

very cohesive. You gets hit sing off of them. But if I'm pressing play from start to finish. That's why I got to give it up to Metro Booming. And I know he's not a DJ as a producer, yeah, but the way he curated his album in credible, it's fucking insane. What approach did you take for this? Something similar?

Where I wanted to make a cohesive body of work from beginning to end, where it was an album not of just songs, but you know, something that people would put on at the top and you know, let a ride and like you know, interesting collaborations, not just necessarily like Chase names, like you know, just artists that I think are dope, that I would love and wanted to hear together and like you know, great voices and great production and like you know, really make a good body

of work. I feel like this is my best body of work since Quality Street Music. My Quality Stream Music won, which came out about ten years ago. So that was was not the one that had the Jeremi record, the jem My rack. No, that was yeah, yep, yeah my moment, Yeah, my moment, that was right, and that was ten years ago. Yeah fuck man, I'm old as fuck. Yeah, that was my moment was on there. We had a lot of

we had some gems on there. Yeah. For you though, like it's crazy because with all your success, right you have like you see a guy like DJ Khaled who's put out like these gigantic anthems. Meanwhile you have like you have gems, you got like dope records, like you got plaques as a DJ. But you also as to where like maybe we the best didn't necessarily work out too crazy on the artists, ie, you got generation now,

which is like man, fuck, kudos to you. Guys, why do you think like you never really reached the heights as a solo DJ because there was a point in time where you were on Atlantic and then you ended up at coch right mm, and you had some really want but you had some really big records that maybe just weren't like I feel like we're slept on or didn't like pop in the way that maybe I thought they should have. Like why do you think that is?

I don't know, that's a good question. I mean, are you saying in comparison to call it or just in my own just in your like, like I feel like you had records that could have been fucking number one records. Yeah, I mean, I you know, I definitely had some records that Charter that did amazing for me. My Moment was one of them. Wishing was another one that was a big record. Yeah, you know what I mean at that

space or point in my career. You know, I'm kind of like in comparison, like I'm more of a reserve type of person like obviously Kali. It is a very personality, very big personality, you know what I'm saying that and that that took him to like amazing heights and you know, I tip my hat off to him, kudos to like all his success. But you know, like for me, like there was just my my route and you know how I attacked the game was a little it was it

was over here, you know. But but I think that was dope about it is that you know, there's a there's like obviously there's room and there's space for both of us to be these these dominant figures and like go to people that can inspire other DJs, you know, want to be the next Calid or you guys are

like the bar for sure, you know. And like for me, it was like, you know, even outside of just my records, it was like all right, I'm still putting out tapes out of classics through those years, like whether it was fab or whether it was was so good there Korean Chasers, you know, Childish Gambino tape, like Jeremiah tape, like you know, I was even during that time, you know, I did Little Baby's tape, like you know, I got some ships, So there was about the Childish Gamping. There was a

lot of ship that I was I was doing. I was you know, building mean street studios which became like a hub for you know, everything that was going on in the culture in Atlanta when we were doing with Generation Now, like cultivating Uzzie's career and Jack's career. Like you know, I just I wore a lot of hats, so you know, for me, it was like this is

my lane. You know, I'm not trying to beat anybody else, you know what I'm saying, Like, this is DJ drama, and this is how I approached and attack the game. And you know what I mean, it was like, Hey, I'm I'm gonna go for what mine, you know, and I'm gonna make a name for myself and and be you know, the greatest and you know, go down in history. Is arguably one of, if not the greatest DJ of

all time. Yeah, for sure. For you obviously, a guy like Uzzi is you know, if he's on the show, he's headlined in the fucking roll, he's he is having a moment. Yeah again, for sure. Over and over he has these moments where it's like, no, Uzzi's fucking superstar, rock star for real, for real. You guys had kind of gotten into like a weird patch in your relationship, which I'm sure happens a lot when artists sign and

like I sympathize with kind of the label side. It's like, you know, you put all these resources behind the guy. You kind of put it, put all the chips onto somebody, and once they pop, you know, they start to be like, well, you know what the fuck? You guys seem to have gotten over whatever weird hump you had, because I see pictures you guys together. What's your guys' relationship? Now? It's great till we got over the hump. You know, we're back in in a great working space and a great

personal space. Him and Cannon of working you know, very very hard on the pink tape looking forward to that and you know, like it like it's family's bicker, you know what I'm saying, And like you said, like you know, sometimes it plays out in the public, sometimes it doesn't. And you know, like for us, you know, obviously again like you said, we've put so much time and invested so much and like you know, his success is our success.

So even at a space and time where we may differ or you know, I don't agree or have another opinion on it, it's like it's it's a rock in our place because it's like, you know, the bigger is absolutely, so you know it's kind of like you just gotta you know, roll with the punches and and you know,

keep putting that work in. You know. Obviously for us a great thing that happened too when we were getting a lot of the brunt of the you know, bad publicity or bad press, like with the rock Nation situation and all that shit, it was like Jack Carlow came and it was like, Okay, these guys really know what they're doing. Like shout out to Sati Hendrix too, you know what I'm saying. So, you know, and we've we've

been quite successful and you know what I mean. And and honestly, like I've been in the game so long and it's like I've whether it's so many storms. So even with the Verse Ship, it's like, you know, I'm you you hope and you you know, foresee, like, yo, we'll get past this. What was like the catalyst to

you guys kind of repairing the relationship time? Yeah, yeah, time, it was you know, just coming you know, coming back, and you know, I guess just like after a couple of years of things kind of like letting it play out, it's just you know, we got back in a good space. And again you know we were we were moving and grooving like generation now, Like you see this guy right here,

Jack Harlow. We got some things going. I never understood the rock Nation thing because I always thought to myself, like, it's not like you Lake and Don Cannon aren't of the culture. Are who the fuck you are? Say it again? So I was like, Yo, say it again, why are Why is it rock Nation that try to pull people out of deals from like actual culture vultures? Say it DJ Drama like like you're trying to fucking pull my guy out of like like he's like he found this kid.

You know what I'm saying? Like DJ Drama did not pay Bootleg keV to make such an accurate statement. Nah. As soon as that happened, I was like, there's people who you should advocate to get out of deals. Say it again, but we're talking about Don Cannon, Drama and Lake.

Come on, bro, like three young black successful men who met in college at the age of eighteen and nineteen HBCUs by the way and made a name for themselves within the hip hop culture for two decades, paving the way and putting on and providing for the culture, Like, huh, anybody that should have been embraced or it should have the way it played out that I see them advocating to like get a Meek Mill released off at Atlantic after he complained about how he didn't like his deal. Right,

this shit doesn't a shout out to Uzy. He's a fucking legend. Absolutely. How's the pink tape sounding? It's dope. Yeah, it's a lot of songs. I know they're trying to, you know, get them down to a like a good solid I don't want to say a number, but they got a lot of music. They got a lot of music. So you making this proclamation that just want to rock is the new Philly anthem. I think only would have actually worked out if you guys won the super Bowl. It fucked me up when we lost. It fucked me

up because I booked you that night. I was like, we got drama. We better have the Eagle celebration party. Let's go fucking man, fucking Patrick Mahomes and his boy that. I put my foot in my mouth on that one. But everybody keeps leaving out. I said this year, like I said this year. But yeah, that was a viral moment. Yeah, that was fun. What did you see in Like, first

of all, how did you actually find Jack Harlowe? Because all these like old videos of him being twelve and rapping like went viral like like a year or two ago, and it was so funny. Oh, this little moucker was rapping with Yeah, how did you like actually like discover a kid? A little white dude by all means kind

of a little nerdy dude in Louisville. So I had a homeboy come to the studio one day and just say his name to me, and I went on Instagram and just like immediately followed him, and Jack saw me follow him, and he like followed me back, and he wound up later telling me like he told his homeboy like, yo, DJ Drama just followed me Like, damn, I'm gonna sign a Drama. And there's a very legendary engineer that we've worked with throughout my career who's mixed a bunch of

my records as well. There's a lot of classics including Dreams and Nightmares, worked with Waka, worked with Two Chains. His name is k y Ky Engineering, So yeah, he has you know ky Engineering day tag. Yeah, So his name is Ka why because he's from Kentucky. And around the same time that I had found out about Jack, he was also working with Jack and he told Lake like, Yo, I got something I want to bring to you. You know, I just want to get it to a certain space.

So he was, you know, he was putting a bug in Lake's ear about Jack. So it kind of like literally happened around the same time. And then Jack just one one day found his way to main streets and then you know, I heard he was in the building and we like we met and we sat down and we chopped it up. We talked music and life and movies and shit like that, and you know, I was

I was just impressed. And then you know, we came to the table, like you know, we had a meeting and all parties, you know, came to the agreement that we wanted to them. It's crazy too, because I do feel like you guys have kind of gone the old school route of like actually developing artists. Yeah, that's how we like to do it. We like to get involved like in the early stage of their career and like, you know, be part of artist development. We don't nobody's

doing that, Like I don't. Like I remember, like Jack was just on like these little indie tours Dark Knight when we signed them. So it's kind of crazy like in an era where everybody's signing bullshit because it's viral. You guys have kind of taken the opposite approach and read the benefits. I mean, it's paid off. Like we have you know, we have generational artists, like we have

fucking superstars, you know what I'm saying. So, you know, like we were talking, it's quality over quantity, you know. And and then there are times when to be honest within us ourselves as a label, like we we discuss and like analyze like about signing more you know, more more quantity than we we might do at the level

we are now. So but you know when we when we signed something like we really believe in it and you know we we we put that time in and our artists are like you know, artists that are gonna be here, you know what I'm saying. Did you guys ever try to sign EStG We did? And so that so you guys are a part of that whole. Was it like a bidding war or no? To be honest, Lake and one of our an r's Royce Monroe. Royce

was was pretty much uh engineering E s TG. He did a lot of his early stuff at Mean Streets and he was he was in the building like the entire time. And Lake also wanted to sign E. S T to the label. The way we were trying to go around to structure the deal wasn't exactly what EStG was looking for at the time. And the way not Nigel shot the Nigel you know, Nage was who was an R at Atlantic at a time, you know, used

to be a Mean Streets all the time. He came to Mean Streets, met G and went and took him to Gatti. So that's how it happened. Yeah, and then there's like the legendary video yogat. Yeah. I feel like anytime you signed a CMG, you just get a pile of cash. Yeah, like a big ass chain and cash and all that. So you know, I mean, everything happens for a reason. You know, I can't front like G is definitely somebody that like for me, I'm like, damn,

I wish you wouldn't get that. Yeah, yeah, yeah for sure, because anybody else who was like kind of like at the finish line but just didn't for whatever reason ended up working out. They made a choice to go somewhere else or Yeah, there's people, there's there's there's various people like you know, early on we were we were interested in signing Tory Lanes. Who else was there? You know, we were? I was, I was there early on in Amigo's career, OT Genesis O T Yeah, Yeah, we wanted

to sign OT Yeah. T Fly, Yeah, we wanted to sign T Fly. You know what, you guys, we wanted to sign problem that you guys. You guys had scheme. We had scheme still generation now shout out to my guy. Scheme to Duke Man. Scheme was scheme our first Yeah,

the first person we ever signed scheme scheme. Are you guys actively always trying to sign artists because you have you do have a roster of artists that you are to I mean, there's a guy like Sadi Hendricks who has just been kind of just putting in that grind and just continuously staying consistent, leveling up slowly, you know what I'm saying, putting out quality music. Sunny Digital, Sunny Digital. I didn't know Sonny Digital was, Yeah, Sunny Digital Generation.

Now he has a project coming out. We have a female artist, Carvenah that we've been developing. She's super fire. And then we have some we have some new artists. You guys gotta grab someone from l A. Yeah, from Detroit and Detroit. I feel like Detroit's you gotta get somebody from Detroit. Bro. Yeah, I'm open. Listen, hit my line. Don't let y'all sign baby Tron away from Gazi. Hit my line. And we have we have where we're in the process of uh rebooting the management company on Generation

Now too. So we got some some dope, uh some some dope people on the roster too that we're gonna out soon. Let will tell it from Taylor Gang. Uzzi was almost Taylor Gang. If you let Will tell it, how does he tell it? He just said we almost had Uzzi. I think it was like it would have been like a Generation Now Taylor Gang thing. I don't know, was that ever like close to actually happening, because you guys, you're on every fucking Whiskyly fotour that ever happens. So

it's a family thing. Shout out to shout out to Will and they the guys and all those guys. Was that ever like a thing that was close to it. It was a family situation. I mean basically, you know, first time I ever heard Uzzi, by the way, was in Title Sign's dressing or hotel room in Boston, like fucking I don't know how many years ago. He was just playing a shit on sound. Oh what the fuck is this? I was, Yeah, yeah, so Vert. You know, I took Vert on tour with me during every summer

I go on tour Withiz. He came out because I actually met him during our first tour together we did in twenty fourteen one that I did with Wiz, and then the next year we went out with Wiz and fall Out Boy, and I brought Vert on the road with me, so he would come out on my set and perform what you want, and you know, him and Wiz just you know, established a relationship and a bond, and you know, Wiz put him on a record very early on, and you know, like so in that sense,

like you know, he was family. He was. He was like he was like Taylor Gang, you know, but it wasn't like a it wasn't like a paperwork situation tailor gang change he did. So what happened was I think at the first very Uzi Christmas we did in Philly, Wiz gave him a Tailor Gang chain on the stage. Now, mind you, this is this is still very early on when people one didn't even know Uzi was signed to DJ Drama Don Cannon, let alone know what Generation Now was.

So that literally was kind of like the way that the name Generational even got some traction because it came out like, Uzi vert signs to Taylor Gang and you know, of course those are our brothers, us family. But we were like, oh, this is not exactly not the whole story. Yeah, he signed a Generation Now. So then it turned into like, wait, what's Generation Now? So it kind of like, in a sense, kind of worked out in our favor because it was a way for us to start to brand Generation Now. Listen,

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Back in the day, I don't even know how many CD burners you guys had to have had, but I know he bootleg Now. I only had one of the ten to ten ones. Yeah, so you put the one at the top and then you do ten at a time. And then I had a little shitty printer I was putting the fucking mixtape covers out on. I would go to the fucking Staples and by the jewel case, I'd steal ink from the fucking demo printers what at a time. But you know how much money you think I made you? Oh,

you made me a lot of money. You help to feed my baby, I would say, you you DJ Small's the game and Gunit Radios Fire. That was that was I mean, cause Southern Smoke was like a big brand to it, that very very big brand, very big. That was my main competitor. Yeah. It was like gangster grills

and Southern Smoke yep. Yeah, But but like do you know, like what the like, was there like a certain thing that happened that turned the fed's attention to what was happening with mixtape culture because technically, technically it was against the law. I guess, yeah, it was. It was against long Like what was the catalyst? I guess that turned.

I mean there's a lot of different conspiracy theories. I mean, if if we go back and in time, like if we look at where music was at that time, Like the music business was in the decline for sure, so a lot of like the bottom line wasn't what they the heads or you know, the top of the food chains were used to seeing, and mixtapes were. It was like the wild wad West in a lot of ways. So such it was. It was like the crypto market.

So outside of like the sanctioned gangster grills that I was doing and the other like guna radios, there were like all these just random mixtapes out of people getting songs and leaking them and taking them from gmails and you know, literally being bootlegs. So I think in a way it was affecting potentially it could have been affecting some of the business, or maybe they were just looking at mixtapes as a scapegoat, you know, and then you know, at the same time, mixtapes started to show up and

like best Buy and Target, with which I never understood. Yeah, it was like, nigga, those are fucking bootlegs, like literally, like they had barcodes on them, and that that wasn't coming from me, you know what I mean. Like, so they didn't run up in Best Buy with them sixteen's

and arrest them for bootlegging and racketeering. But I think when when that started to happen, and like, you know, me being the go to guy, like the top of the food chain, it was like, you know, maybe they were out to send a message, and obviously it got across because shit changed after that for sure. So at the time in your peak, you guys have your headquarters, are you guys burning the CDs, distributing the mixtapes to like the bodegas, the mixed units of the world, these

websites where you can go get mixtapes. Were you guys the source of just your gangsterrill shit or were you guys also producing other people's Nah, we were just doing

all in house stuff. So it was all affiliates, all affiliates. Yeah, so everything that we were doing was strictly like under our under our brand, So there were gangster girls, but like that was one of the problems too, Like so when when when they went to Gangster Grills dot com, one of the red flags that they saw wasn't necessarily the Gangster Grills, it was the other CDs that had like Michael Jackson on the cover, Beyonce on the cover, and it was like a blend of Michael Jackson, so

mashup shite. There was like the radio mixes. Yeah, they seeing shit like that and like, oh, these are like you know, and it's Michael Jackson. And what were you guys selling mixtapes per piece four back then? Like let's say if someone bought it directly from you, maybe like two three dollars. Oh wow, I used to do I think five bucks a pop or five or twenty for wholesale. No, no, just like got the swap meat in my space. Oh

I'm talking about wholesale wholesale. I was doing like two fifty Yeah, like two fifty three dollars a piece, probably like seven eight dollars or something like that. I don't I don't remember. Everything I was doing at that time was in bulk so we were. It was all wholesale. Yeah, it was at a lesser price. People were buying like quantities of from two hundred to one thousand at a time, like NonStop, in a hypothetical world in which you were doing that. But you're not who you are right now.

What would have been the best year that you made mixtape money was in a hypothetical world where it actually didn't happen in a far universe far away? Are you? So, let me get this question straight. I'm not. I'm asking you if you were someone who looks just like you in a different universe, how much illegal makestpe money would somebody like you have made at a peak without it

actually being you. You know what's crazy to answer that, Like, in that hypothetical world, somebody who may have looked like me, like in like another universe doppelganger, like one hundred thousand a month? Wow? Yeah? And that is that taxable in this hypothetical world where this person do some of it? Yeah, I was. It was a hypothetical person would have been paying taxes on it because it was going through the

banking system. It was cash involved as well. Yeah. But what's crazy is even after the raid like during the like that piff era and live mixtape era, Yo, I probably made more money than because they were they were cutting me checks to make whatever gangster girls I put out exclusive to their site. So when an artist would come to me to do a tape, I'd be like, that's fine, but asked to go on that piff And then that piff was What was the da pif check

for like dedication for dedication, What was the check? Probably like fifty they would give me. They gave me fifty and gave Wayne a buck fifty like and Yo, when you guys would drop those fucking tapes like Dap Pip would get shut the fuck with crash like, I made more money after the raid off mixtapes than I made during the earlier days. I bought the first time I

ever interviewed you or met you. I was like a nobody intern of power in Phoenix and I had the I bought the white tea with I'll Never Forget It Jay Drama ship off a mixed unit and I was like, man, I'm about to be drama about the bust out the team that was And we did that interview like during my first album run right after the raid. So that was like seven Yeah, it was around. It was it was early, bro, I was like a nobody. Yeah, but I never forgot, like I remember you from that time.

I was like the first time we met in Phoenix when we did that and fucking triple xl DJ Drama. See yeah, shout out to Mixed Unit. Man. I used to buy a hell of shirts off of there. Yeah, they had everything. Yeah, fucking a man. I just saw, well, I guess that PIFF isn't actually closing. They put up a tweet that said that there was. I saw that. I was so sad. That's crazy. I mean it's crazy because fab dm it to me too, like I had.

I think I saw it on I saw a post about it, and then right after I saw a post about it, fab dm'd it to me. And I think he dm'd it to me because I we just recently sat down for something I got coming out and we were talking about that era. But like, just to think about that, like imagine if that PIF does or did

had gone under, like that's like a generation. Yeah, it's like it's like a part of our culture that could potentially go like lost, you know what I mean, Like so much of that stuff is not available on the DSPs, and like you know where people don't know where to find it. And like if we lose if we lose that, you know, that time or and that music from that that era, it's like it'll just be like word, it'll be like damn, do you remember? You know, It'll it'll

just be spoken about. So it's really it's like really important that we get a hold of that, you know, just just to keep it a lot to keep it, got to keep the history of Like where else am I going to go? I don't want to go listen to some shitty YouTube fucking ship to go listen to like the Forarel tape or some little other show. And one of my goals is something I've been working on too, is definitely bringing some of the classics to the DSPs,

like so they can be available so people. You know, there's so many projects and it's a lot of work, but it can be done. Like it can be done. So one that we're definitely in the process of working on is getting dedication to up on DSPs. It's really just what clearing the beats? Yeah, you got clearing the clearing the beats, Like you know, I'm sure Wane's down of course. Yeah. Yeah, can't do it without without the game, can't do it without them. Who el do you have

on this new album? I got a lot of great people. Tyler the creator, who's okay, who's the Who's on the Tyler song? Tyler and I just just wait something here. You may wait long enough for this interviews with the Tyler drama. It's Tyler. And you can't put Tyler on a song with anybody. So it's just Tyler. Yeah. So he's got track number two or the intro or what is it? It's I mean feels like, what a way to start track two? What a way to you know, what a way to come off for Grammy? What track

number is it? What a way to start? So it's the intro? I love it. Jack Harlow's on the album I Sure would hope, So, Little Woozy vert Uh, Little Wayne's on the album Jesus forty two Dougs on the album. L Russell's on the album Love l Russell Hives on the album Carvings on the album money Bag, Yeos on the album, Gucci's on the album Jeezy's on the album Nipsey Hustles on the album. Nipsey Blast is on the album. Did you put Nipsey and Blast on a song together?

I got some ship on there. You're telling me you got Nipsey and Blast on the album together. I got some ship. Pretty excited for you to hear it. How do you get the Nipsey verse? You know, Nipsey did a lot of recording at uh mean Street. Yeah yeah, so so okay, lost to archives, so we got this old Nipsey verse. You reach out to black Sam make sure obviously you have to clear with the family of course. Yeah, and then and then a lot of that process, and then you send the verse to Blast and say I

need a hook. Yeah, you know how it goes. You know how to put songs together featuring another artist from La No No no, Wow. Yeah, I can't wait. It sounds like am on the album Simon the rustling a song together. No No, I love it. Shout out to the bay Mane Whiz is on their tips on there. So I feel like I have some of the you know, the the uh the people you would expect to see work with dram as well as a lot of like

new voices as well. So it's a good. You know combination. Yo, how do you kind of look back at the Grand Hustle era of your career because when you were on Grand Hustle, it was like the hottest ship moving. Yeah, like I think a lot of things probably you know, kind of went wrong or you know, I mean, obviously Bob is a star. I think trade the truth is on Grand Hustle, my trippern Tip had a hell of a roster. If we really want young bo I actually

really liked the guy that snitched Alpha Mega. Yeah, you liked Alfamega. He was hard at fuck, but but you know he was kind of like the first six ' nine. He was an early teller because he was fire. He was on that, he was on that record with Buster Rhymes. Yeah, we had to perform that without Tip at the Hip Hop Awards when Tip got it was that called Hurt Yeah Hurt. Oh yeah, his voice was crazy. Yeah, we performed that. I just somebody just recently sent me that

YouTube video. It was like y Cleft opened up and then we and then me fucking Alpha Mega and bust To performed Hurt without Tip because people were he had just got locked up, like literally that day. Do you think him getting locked up like kind of affected, like the trajectory of the label as a whole in a sense. I mean, you know, because he had Meek Mill was originally ground hustle, and yeah, Meek was over a ground hustle for a period of time, you know. I mean,

you know Travis Scott was. I remember Travis, Travis was grand hustle. Yeah, bo b Iggy Azelia oh man. You know Tip, Tip has had his hand in a in a nice you know. Uh, I don't think he gets the credit that he should deserve when it comes to like having an eye for talent. I agree, I has an amazing eye for talent. Yeah. Yeah. And then you know there's others that he like he talks about, you know, savage and thug coming to him wanting to sign and you know, him telling him, look like, I think you

should do it this way. I could give you this million dollars, but you know, just I could give you this game that'll go a lot farther. So yeah. But but as far as like that time in my career, I don't know if what I want to call it like a golden era, but it was a hell of a It was a hell of a time like you know, being t I's DJ. When t I was like the hottest ship a rapper, Like he was literally the hottest rapper out, like you know, we was. We was doing

tours across the state. I went around and we went around the world together. He was doing Chevy commercials. He was like I was in atl like you know, he had the number one album and number one movie out at the same time, Like you know, he was on fire. I mean literally I got to go on tour with jay Z because the Tip and then you know, my

brand and Gangster Grills was the hottest thing going. So like you know, to be DJ Drama and and what Ti I was and for us to you know be together at that time, it was like it was kind of what I had always like dreamed for in a way of like a DJ artist relationship like growing up looking at you know, run DMC and jam Massa J and Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff or being rock Kim or even like who kid in fifty or like, yeah,

you guys were like synonymous with each other for a minute. Yeah, like Green and m early on Like when when when I when I when TIP was like rising and like I was doing my thing, and I was like, oh, yeah, like this is this could be my guy, you know what I'm saying. So you know, I like I used to literally go to the studio, to the ground house of Studios, which later became my studios, but I would literally go there like every day just to be around, just to kind of like vibe for that DJ gig

because I knew what that's what that could be. Yeah, and then we had some hell of the times on a oh like I saw a lot of a lot of a lot of things. What was the jay Z Tour? So originally it was the best of both Worlds tour and the one that went the incident happened in New York And during the New York show, Jay was bringing out a bunch of people when and then that was when Tip had bring him out out. So he brought Tip out for that show. So after that show, it

became basically the jay Z and Friends Tour. So we wound up on the tour. So for the next like month, you know, I was on the road watching fucking jay Z DMX Mary J. Blige perform every night. You know, like it was crazy, it was insane, Like you know, this is like O four. It was Insane four, who was Ja's DJ at that time, was a Neil Armstrong. Jay didn't have a d J if I'm not mistaken. They were running on the board the the instantly play

from the from the side. Yeah, speaking of shout out of Green Lantern, the legend DJ NAS's DJ bro, Like who can say that? I tell him that all the time. One of my personal favorite mixtape creators of all time. Oh yeah, he's like those Green Lantern remixes. There's no Gangster Girls if there's no Green Lantern Greenland. Like we used to like salivate pause over Green's tapes, like we

would when Green would drop. We would sit there and just like the rap phenomenon Ship, we would be so overwhelmed and just so like yo, we gotta get on our ship. Like you know, Green was Green was our Green was our idol bro, like even before I knew him, like you know, and now like he's such a great personal friend of mine, but like coming up like Green Lantern was the epitome of what I wanted to be

as a mixtape DJ. Shot to Green. There's a list of artists who never did a gangst The Grills, uh, who's the one person who you never got to do a tape with? But it almost happened. It was like almost there, but it just for whatever reason, didn't end up working out. There's a couple uh Drake Black thought, which still better make that shit happen for you feeling, which still needs to happen. Travis Scott mm hmm. Nicki

Minaj I'm I forgetting? Like who's he forgetting? Like Travis Travis, Nikky, Drake thought, Black thought big, there's another big one, I think. I mean, that's a hell of an Any of those that you you started to work on it, but it just didn't get finished or it just never got out. Well, we started to work on the Drake and Gucci tape collaboration, there were like there are a couple of songs that

got started for that that we'll never probably hear. No, they came out, Yeah, they came out on like the Cold Wars and then the tape that's that is beam Me Up. Scotti was originally supposed to be a gangst the girls. So the Nicki Mina's tape that you know they just hold yeah holiday and I think Trapoholics or something. So yeah, but that was originally against the girls the Gangster Grills drop. M. I just saw somebody was getting sued for using someone's voice as a drop on all

these records. Did you ever have to like get any sort of legal paperwork to clear the drop? Bro? Little John is the like greatest human being on the planet,

like he has to this day. And like by me saying this, I'm not It's not even like there's a worry because if he had any intentions at like, he could have came so long ago, you know what I'm saying, Like I've literally been running with his voice for twenty two years, like since he was the first host of Gangster Grills, Like my brand has has been built off of his back, you know what I'm saying. And he's

done nothing but show love. Like you know, so was that the original drop was from the original Gangster Grills. So he came. The first time I ever had a host for Gangster Grills was John, and he came and hosted the tape and he was just doing drops and in the drop he said, gangst the Grizzils. Yeah. And then the next tape I did, I didn't have a host, So I was like, all right, well fuck it. I'm gonna just you run his voice back and just like keep playing it. And that was how it was born

and then it was over from there. Shit's legendary, crazy, so legendary, you know for you Now that Jack has kind of crossed over to superstar status, I know he's got a movie coming soon. Just did his first headlining arena tour. Yeah, just got nominated for Best Rap Album of the Year, even though I don't think you should

have gotten nominated personally, But I love the guy. Have you guys, because I do feel like when an artist hits that wave where they're just like fucking out of here, do you guys keep your relationships as solid as it always has been. I mean, Jack is a solid human being, So because he kind of got to witness I kind of feel like he was somehow like weirdly wedged in

between like the UZI generation now things. Yeah, it was it was kind of unfair for him, you know, but like he kind of got to see and what was dope is that he really you know, he's like I feel like him really standing by me during that meant

a lot, you know what I'm saying. And at the time when like he could have just kind of like I don't I don't want to say stay out of it in a sense of that he was in it, but when the press or the way it was being portrayed as as if we were bad guys, Jack really went out on a limb and put his arm around me and was like, Yo, this is my guy. You know what I'm saying. And I always tip my hat off to him for that, you know what I'm saying

for because he didn't have to do that. He could have he could have totally stayed out of the way. You know. I don't even know if you remember, Like there were some pictures and then like you know, like him, UZI had a little back and forth in between everything. They had never even met. You know what I'm saying. It was it was basically just because I was in

the middle. But so yeah, to your point, I mean he did get to see that, and you know, I obviously when when you have artists like you know, you have these conversations early on in their careers, like yo, you you know, you when you're a superstar, like you know, people change or things happen, and you know, Jack's just he's a solid guy, you know, obviously at twenty five, you know where he is with the type of success

and the stardom. He's not the same kid he was at nineteen, but you know, he's he's a very focused individual. Like you know, he made the decision years ago to stop drinking, like you know, to like getting a workout regiment. Like he was really really focused, and you know, I just I just think outside of rap music, like he's solid,

you know what I'm saying. So you know, they're they're they're all artists, you know, and and in our own ways, me included, Like there's always a certain level of narcissism. I feel like that comes along with being an artist. So you know there's times when you you watch people be in their in their mode, their mode, and you know it comes with the territory. You know, It's not something I'm like, I've been doing this too long, so

I get it. But but somebody like Jack, I will say, you know, I've watched I watched his growth, and you know, I'm proud that, like he still has maintained this level of humility. Has he started working on a new album yet? Yes, because I know, I mean, I feel like he had such a wild year. Yeah, Like I kind of feel like if I'm like Jack Harlowe, I'm unplugging for like yeah cool ninety days for sure, Well you're the movie

the album. I mean because he was he was. It was Jack Harlow season, Like he was everywhere, Like you couldn't look left or right without seeing Jack Harlow. So I would, I mean to your point, like I would say, he's like last couple of months has it's been a little more quiet outside of maybe like a super Bowl commercial or he wasn't even in Arizona for the super Bowl. He was not. He was He wasn't because I was like, I was like, oh, I already know he's about to

do all the white clubs. He didn't go to Arizona for the super Bowl. He wasn't an All Star, you know, and he wants to go to Utah. He was. He was quiet for the Grammys. Outside of going to the Grammys, right, you know, he's been in a real work mode for the most part. So you know he's he's back in Louisville, working in a space and an environment that he's comfortable in, and you know, he's he's got a lot of new music.

Give me the NBA Young Boy tape. Did you have to go to Salt Lake City to link with him or were you just sending over shit after Like how's that because he's kind of like a you know, truthfully, yeah, truthfully. I got a call on Tuesday or Wednesday, Yo, I'm dropping a mixtape. I want you to host it. You know, I got like two other tapes coming out, bro. But the week of the week of oh Wow, he was trying to get out of that deal. He called me

Tuesday or Wednesday. I think I did the tape if I if you called me Tuesday, we dropped the tape Thursday night. I probably finished it Thursday and we dropped it. But like, I'm not saying no to an NBA your shape, and it's just like, you know, it was like I had already the g zy and the snoop and and people knew knew about him. So I was like, oh my god, when I come with NBA Young Boy tape, fuck these niggas up. Like on one day, I'm like, Yo,

drums on some drops. It was like we were in New York called you that I called you you did, And I was like, am I fucking crazy? Or are you dropping three mixtapes today. I was like, what the fuck is going on? This is shit? Is crazy? You just got a Grammy bruh Hill, Let theseuckers breathe a little bit, no chill, not letting nobody and it would snoop j Zy an NBA young boy. Yeah, I was crazy. Jesus Christ listen, man. I mean, let's put it in a perspective, like I've been what I've been DJ in

thirty years. I've been in the business twenty years, two decades plus. Like I've had a moment or moments where I was on fire. So now in twenty twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, I'm back on fire. Like you can't turn it up. Yeah, you got to, like you can't take that shit for granted. And mind you even the years before that, Like it's not like I haven't

been working. It's not Jack hasn't been successful, UZI it wasn't doing this thing, or I didn't have my bag it's residency, or I was dropping things here and there. Like it's not like I have I haven't been busy, but to be in this space right now at forty five, with my skin glowing like this, Yeah, drinking a gallon of water looking twenty one, Like, come on, man, I'm not not playing. You have never stopped doing clubs never, and you're in a position where you don't need to

do nightclubs. I don't, so why do you still do the club shit? I don't like to leave any money on the table, and it keeps me, it keeps me fresh, Like I like, I like to know, like I like to as a DJ, I like to still feel like I know what's going on, you know what I mean, Like you still have your the fingers on the pulse of the shit, because you kind of have to have that in order to rock clubs absolutely, like you have

to or like forces you to be. Yeah, if you're not, if you're not in the clubs regularly or know what's going on, like yeah, you can't just go and not to the type of clubs that we do or that I'm in, Like I'm respectfully, I'm not djam for forty five year olds, like I'm djammed for the club age, which is what like twenty one to thirty something or whatever. So you know, to do that, you know, you gotta

you gotta stay in the mix. And it's crazy because I did get to a point like when I was like thirty thirty seven, thirty eight, Like I came to Lake and I was like, bro, like when I'm when I turned forty, Bro, I don't want to do clubs anymore, Like I don't want to be that guy, Like I don't want to be the old head in the club.

And so there was a there was a small period, a small window where like Lake wasn't booking me as much, you know what I mean, Like, and we had a bunch of other revenues of you know, revenue streams coming in, but I wasn't really doing a lot outside of maybe like my Vegas residency or big shit. Yeah, but I was because you'll do like you'll pull up and do I mean, we were talking about Flux right, Peter Flux in San Diego. But I mean, you know, I mean most of the shit I do is pretty you know,

it's it's it's of a certain caliber. Sure, but again, like you know, just to be in this position and to get these opportunities, like you know, it's a blessing. Like the moment you take it for granted, bro, the is the moment they take it away from you. You know, what I mean, and like, you gotta get it while you're getting it because you don't know how long it's gonna last. And that's what I'm saying. Like and I've I've had a blessed career that it's lasted this long,

you know what I mean? And like, you know, but I still feel forever twenty one, like the store is. You know, it's a bar, like we'll see why you didn't wrap druck with I set that bar on the tape forever twenty one like this, mister thanksgiving, God, damn it. What's up? Guys? Hey, shout out to our family at Blue Cheo. Man, listen, I know we always are getting feedback about our Blue Shoe interviews. They're not interviews, yeah,

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code Bootleg. Let's get back to the interview. All right, we talked about the greatest DJ of all time discussion. I always, you know, say that, in my opinion, you are the goat. Who are your favorite DJs? Let's go a couple categories. You're very vocal about that too. What's the like when you say that? Like, I just feel like the reception that you get when you say that, even from other DJs. I think I think a lot of I think, you know, like you like tweet that,

like Yo drums the greatest. I mean, what are we talking about? Just? I mean, who's the other guy to get a Grammy besides Jazzy? Jeff Right has a Grammy? Does he? What's song the Nipsey Record? That's right? So me Khaled Jeff that might be it When it comes to DJs, the Nipsey Record was Wow Ye shout out to Yeah salute. But who's your favorite club DJ? I have too favorite? I have to mister Rogers shots at each town and DJ Boof shots of Boof Boof? Just

did is he he's Nikki's DJ? Right? Yes, he's Nikki's DJ? And super Bowl he hopped on when Fab jumped on. Yeah. Booth and mister Rodgers are like my like, I hate playing after them niggas like they're cold, broh. I hate it. Like mister like mister Rogers, he does a better DJ drama set than I do. Wow, Like one one year

we were on tour. We were in Houston and I had an after party and this nigga just like was in the club giving me my flowers and like the dram the DJ dramas, Yo me and Lake would sitting we would like, how am I supposed to go on now Blown Away? Like Yo, this nigga just fucking And then Booth is another one, like you know, I will. I've seen Booth on tour. We just did the Legends of the Streets tour and that had to be a crazy tour by the way it was. It was a

dope experience. Boozy on that one or he was on show. He was on one show and then it didn't work out. But Booth something happened where I guess Fab had like maybe missed a flight or something, and Booth literally had to hold it down for like Fab's whole performance set and I think it was like Valentine's Day too, and he just like he's a problem, like Booth is a problem. So those two guys are my definitely two current favorites. Like of yeah, of course Jeff is you know, Jeff

is amazing. I remember seeing Jim as j live one time. It was incredible. Yeah, Jeff is special though I saw when I was living in Vegas. I remember like when he would DJ, I would always either go see him or Z trip just to be like just to go see some ill DJ. Yeah, yeah, z trip was dope. There was a time when Encore unpluged Jazzy Jeff and it caused like chaos in the Vegas nightclub clip see, and they like shut him off because he was he wouldn't stop playing hip hop. This was like the dark

E d M days of Vegas. Yeah, an Encore, there's you know Shaky Green, Yes, so Shky I think had booked him there and you know he's an old school hip hop guy. But like the GM of the club like shut Jazzy Jeff off because he was too hip hop. That's crazy, Like can you imagine cutting off DJ Jazzy Jeff. It was like let his he just went silent. Yeah, but bro Vegas used to be Fumi Go DJ, Crown nightclub or some ship. Did you ever do Crown? Yeah? I did Crown. I used to I did a bunch

of I used to do Chateau. You were a lot, Yeah, I was a Yeah. It was at Paris a chateau. Yeah. And then what was the club that Ray J used to be a part of Do you remember? This was like eight o nine and got there? Poetry poetry. I used to do poetry all the time. Did you ever do strip hop. Of course. It's the first time I ever saw a woman swallowing entire like animal balloon. She

blew the whole ship up. It was like the size of this table and it just went away and she kept dancing, and I was like, is her stomach acid gonna pop the balloon? And like is she gonna die? Or like is she gonna yeah? Strip pop was the time? That was? That was the ill time? And then yeah, boof boof and Rogers, what about let's it are yours? I don't know, dude, All time ams pretty fucking incredible too, I guess, like for me? Problem sorry, And and then I have to who am I? What? Oh fuck? Who

am I? Who am I not thinking of? From I can't believe I just went blank from Canada. He was a d m C champion. Oh A track, A track, A track, a beast, A track is a problem. I love a track. I love he's he's like he might be he might be third for me. Well, the reason I like like guys like a track is because I feel like a track. You could throw him in any situation, any situation, any situation, and he's gonna rock that ship any situation. Fucking ratchet party, party doesn't matter. He could

go to a d m C any tracks. Actually, probably my favorite DJ ever, He's and ship He's one of mine too. He's one of my favorite DJs ever, like all around, Like those are the kind of DJs that I like. I'm like, yo, if I could throw you, if I can see somebody rock whatever and they got whatever in their arsenal and you know to his credit to like he had a very successful label. Yeah fools goals.

You know, he fucking was Kanye's DJ, Like you know, A Trax's name needs to get he was a d MC champion, like as a child, as a fucking thirteen year old crazy, you know, A trak is probably my favorite personal favorite DJ. Great guys, scratch DJ. I really like. DJ Baboo from the b Junkies is dope. But yeah, some club shit, bro, I don't know, dude, Like, I guess it depends on what club I'm in, because I'm so like current that I'm like i just know if I see someone's name on a flyer, I'm like, oh,

I know the music is going to be straight. Like if Drey Sinatra's DJ, and I'm like, cool, I know it's gonna be good of course if DJ ba D's DJ. I mean, I'm in LA, so I'm naming LA guys. Yeah, I'm like, oh, I know it's gonna be a good time. Yeah, you know what I mean. Dre is like I heard Sean mack ones, Who's Oh yeah, Sean mack Shaw Mack's a great one too, Sean Mack Sean like going and shook igo. He's another one that I hated coming on after. I love on the mixtape side if we exclude Clue,

because that's gonna be the easy one to name. Yeah, but I didn't want to again about Dre. What's dope about Dre too, is like I feel like like he's like a a lou Will in a way, Like you know what I'm saying, Like Dre is, he's a fucking bro. He's clutch. He's clutched at all times, like you know,

he saved my as twice. During Super Bowl weekend, Meek Mill hoops on and Dre's just letting ship fly while he's performing, and he throws on one of the records that meets like on the second verse of and Meek looks at him like you got my verse ready? And Dre's like in the headphones and on the fly, like perfect timing, and I just looked at Dre like what record was? It? Was it? Fuck you? Yes, he dropped the record and Meek almost looked at him like what

the fuck are playing this for? And Dre's like and I was like, Doug, thank you. And then even because your shit wasn't working with the controller, we had a club yep. So Dre was like, I got it. It's all good. Yep. We worked out a Dre's computer and then you know, me and Dra, like when I first started working a lot in LA, there was this club called Colony on Monday nights. So All Star Weekend in like twenty ten was in LA, and I think I had a bunch of gigs, and then I got added

to do Colony that Monday of All Star. And this was like around the time when LA was kind of like changing, you know what I'm saying. And then so like the type of music that I was playing and like coming from Atlanta, like I did Colony and I fucking rocked, and then me and Dre like established this relationship so Dre would start That was really when the West Coast was kind of resurging with a sound rock

city like the early Muster records. So Dre was putting me on to all the California music and he was like, you'll play this, You'll play this, and then I would take it back home and like start putting it on Shade forty five early on because I was familiar with it. So like, you know, he's he. We literally have been like rocking for a decade plus and I've been watching them doing. Whatever happened. You had a short lived DJ crew that was supposed to kind of rival what the

heavy hitters are. You're talking about the Affiliates or like the Academy. So we we we around twenty twelve, twenty thirteen. We wanted to h Dre was a part of it, a man. We had a bunch of people a part of it, like fucking Diamond Cuts, mister Rogers. It was like fifteen. It was like short lived though, right Well, what happened to be honest, was around the time that we launched it, I was going into my in our

job and then we started. A generation now started and we went into the direction of you know, the label and so I think that a lot of my you know, are with yeah, our bandwidth and just like our focus wasn't necessarily on what we had set out to do with the DJ crew at the time, so it kind

of didn't it didn't become what it became. But you know, like you know it, we're still proud of, you know, the arsenal or the collective that we put together, and there are people that still represent or you know, like it's still family. But then you said something before that I wanted to bring up. Was it about you had said in the club you were about to name somebody else.

I was just saying that, like if I go to a club, if I see someone's name on a flyer, I'm like, there's just like a few names, and I'm like, oh, you know, like I love B A D B A D's dope and Dope. Yeah, I mean who else we talked about a track? Oh, you said, okay, so taking away clue, you said, mixtapes? Oh, mixtapes? Yeah, yeah, So if you take clue out there, who's Who's who's your personal favorite mixtape DJs after yourself? Obviously, because there's been

there was some. I mean, here's guys like Big Mic OKJ Smalls. Then there's who Kid there's I mean, so of course I'm gonna say Cannon first, and then I'm gonna go Greenlander and who Kid like Greenlanding and who

Kid are are why we are where we are? Like we we would we would religiously listen and cop Green's tapes and who Kids tapes and and really for two different reasons too, like because totally different styles of J two totally different styles of DJ, and like Green skill wise creativity wise, like actually making records, making records like you know, the drops, just you know, sound wise, nobody

could touch Green. And then who kid For like marketing, like like the way he was packaging his the mixtapes, like the fold out, the sponsorships, like it just was bigger than life. Like I think he's the first person I ever seen like what they fold out, like you know, it was not just a paper like you open it up and it'd be like all this ship on air and these you know, accolades and sponsorships and all this ship.

It was like next level ship, you know, And it was at a time when fifth was the biggest thing in rap music. So I love Who kid For for that and his and his personality as well, like you know, it's just a fucking he's a fool. Like sure, he's just a fucking fool. So yeah, that would those would be my go tos, Amy leaving anybody, don't m So we got Clue Green Iron Green, We got a kid? Yeah, I mean early on or so you know, I'd show some love to S and S and doop for early

on in my career, you know, for being inspirations. You mentioned like not having bandwidth to do a lot. You still you still do a shave forty five? Is it Sunday nights, Friday Friday nights? So you're still I mean you're still You're still doing a radio show. Are you still voice in radio stations? Imaging? I still do that. You got the label, you're putting music out, You're doing just a lot. At what sacrifice has what has been the biggest sacrifice you've had to make in the last

twenty years, because it could be time. I mean you have grown like a grown daughter, you know what I'm saying, Like is it time with the kids? Absolutely? Family life. That was probably the biggest sacrifice was was father time. Like there was a lot of times you know during my kids like earlier obviously not so much these days because they're older. But you know that I was gone a lot and I was on the road like summer tours or just like on the weekends, so you know

that time you can't get back. I mean, you know it also benefited for them because they live a very good life and you know, have a very good lifestyle. But yeah, I think that's probably the biggest sacrifice that

you make in this business. What is some pointers you can give in terms of time management and just like things you've learned over the years to where you're kind of like making sure you're because time is the most valuable currency, I think absolutely, Like, like, you know, you got so much shit that you're doing on a day to day basis, Like you know, like what are the things the practice as you do? Because I got so much you going on, I'm trying to figure outw to

fit in all kinds of shit. Bro, I'd be wearing myself then, you know what I'm saying. So, like, is there anything that you've kind of figured out over the years that like is helpful in terms of productivity and

being able to kind of do so much? I mean there's a lot, you know, there's I mean, first of all like self preservation, like you know, eating clean, drinking a lot of water, you know, getting sleep, like those things, working out, Like those things definitely are important in truthfully anyone's line of work or at this stage in life.

I could not have done it without the people around me, Like you know, like I don't know if I would be here if it wasn't for Lake, you know what I'm saying, Like when you know, we've known each other for twenty five twenty six years, but like when he came into the picture in a business sense in my career, like I think we really really meshed and you know, we we were able to really like you know, create

and put together some amazing things. Like you know, I just give him a lot of credit when it comes to the creative side, when it comes to the business side, when it just comes to intellect, like he's he's literally probably you know, one of, if not the smartest people I know. And besides him, you know, just in general, having a good team of people around you, having good people around you in general, you know what I'm saying, is very important. Like obviously I don't do this by myself,

you know what I mean. You can't manage it all on your own, you know, So salute to the whole generational staff. You know, of course, you know, Canon has always been very pivotable, pivotal, pivotable Is that the right word? Pivotabal? Pivotal, pivotal, pivotal, can it has been very pivotal. Excuse me? You know, he's my he's my right hand, Like, you know, we've built the empire together, and then what else is there? You know, definitely some time to yourself, have you learned

to say no to more shit? You know, I'm I'm a real yes guy in a lot of ways. Like there because you're like, I don't want to leave no money on the table. Yeah, but I mean it definitely has to be the right money. Like I'm not scrounging for a dollar, you know what I'm saying. But you know, I think the key to a lot of my success

is a yes in a way. But and when I say that, I don't want to just say that I'm just like out here just doing whatever, but like a yes in a way of like people still find it surprising. Like I might just meet a person and they'll tell me they are artists, and I'm like, here, take my number, right, and I'll give them my number and like you know, I might not necessarily answer, but you know, at the same time they send me, they'll send me shit and I'll look at it. And the fact you're giving your

number out is crazy. Yeah, I mean, like, yo, this is Lake, Like I've definitely done you know that Lake definitely gets calls like Yo, who is fucking who was so and so? Who is Green Valley Monster spa day? Like what a rap name? I don't know? Hey, was there ever last question before you get out of here?

Was there ever a tape that you said no to because maybe the money wasn't right or they weren't quite there yet that you regretted later because the money wasn't right, Like maybe somebody tried to get against the girls from you, but at that time maybe they weren't maybe they weren't on your radar and or they couldn't make the business

make sense. But later on you were like dance honestly the only the only one of that like that for me and people find this is very shocking, Like Rick Ross does not have against the girls, and like there was a period of time when I think they're like deaf jam came to me about doing the tape, and there was a number on the table, and and and at the time I wasn't handling my business, but they didn't want to pay for the tape, and so it

didn't happen. But honestly, I would have done a Rick Ross tape just on the strength of, yeah, it's Ross, Like he's got classic mixtape one thousand, like, so I would have did that, Like it's it's shocking to me to think that Ross doesn't have like a Gangster Girls like he's not part and and mind you like that's my guy. We've I've done records for him, you know, he's done records for me, like we we've we've worked, we've worked a lot throughout the years, but we don't

have a Gangster Girls together. So that's kind of shocking. Is that something like now that you're back in this bag, are you trying to seek out tapes where you're like, hey, I know that, like I'm hot, Like the Gangster Girls brand is as hot as it's been in the last you know, in fifteen years. Maybe I now now like approach Ross, or maybe I now approach there are there are some people that I've like put kites out to like, yo, hey,

you know, now's the time. Now's the time. For sure. Absolutely, But the majority of the time, I'm getting a lot of phone calls and good phone calls, so it's like, you know, like I got another one coming. That's crazy, man. Yeah on the way. Yeah, it's done, it's done's done. What state are they from? What state? Oh? Yeah, and give it away? I can't oh in that case, Oh, I can't. I can't tell you. You would give it away. It's not Georgia. I can't tell you the state. It's

definitely not Georgia. It's definitely not Tennessee. It's definitely not Florida. It's definitely not California. Yeah, it's not it give it away. Huh. It would wouldn't be Louisiana. It would give it away. It would. It would give it away. Yeah, we get it would give it it would. It would put it in a box of like you would. Yeah, you would figure it out. It would give it away. Yeah, Okay, I'll find out off camera, because I will guess this correctly on camera. If you give me a couple of

it's not Michigan. That means that they kind of have to be like the face of where they're from, and there's not a lot of other ship going on from where this person's from. Even when I even if I were to tell you, it would still take you a second, but then you would figure it out. Or let's put it like this, if I was to say it, they would figure it out. Georgia, You're you're never gonna get it,

so you might you might as well just ask another question. Well, you're definitely not doing you're not doing one with tech nine. Are you from fucking Kansas City? I don't know. Hmm. Oh, oh, we're kind of getting into the region. I see. Uh, we're getting into the region. Are we any hands up? I don't think any here. M okay, Well, let me get a list of the fifty states, so then I'm gonna give you one guest outside of that one. Uh fave y oh push a T okay? Okay, Yeah, what's

up with the Pushy T ship? Yeah? I just got into a fucking serious argument with Jim Jones on video about them saying that pusha T doesn't deserve to be in the top fifty. Ever, it's sucking as Yes, push Mazzi's on my album. By the way, Free Mazzi, Free Mazzi. Okay, so what's up with the pusha T Gangster Gross? It's in it works? Is it like started? Uh? Yes, okay, yeah. Is it gonna come before after this album? He keeps talking about it's gonna come before his album, so it's

coming to yeah, almost finished. I can't say that. I can't answer that, did you guys? Kind of are you looking at states? I said, literally what I'm doing, I mean, Kentucky. It wouldn't be Jack Harlowe wouldn't be. I'm just trying to think of like a rapper that's hot right now from a random fucking place. I mean, it's not I know who it is. You don't who could use against the grills right now? Who could use one? I'll tell

you who could use against the grills. The baby could use against the grills right now, shout to the baby. It's not it. The baby could use it as grills. We've talked, we've talked. There's nobody from Utah, it's nobody from from my all right, listen, you're gonna have to just tell me off the fucking came, of course, yeah once once. The interviews are from Missouri. Who what other

cities are in Missouri. What's that Saint Louis Mmmm, continued, Yeah, you gotta think that's gonna fox some shuit up too, Like, oh shit, Dirk, Dirk, Dirk has like three Gangster Girls under his belt. See, I'm fucking I'm not a little Dirk fan. So I also like, don't like, it's not like I'm not not a fan, but I'm also like, I'm not like running too a gangster girls from Little Dirk from I'm sure what that was like twenty twelve, thirteen fourteen, Like, yeah, I'm just not interested at that time.

I'm not. Yeah, shouts shout uh to Dirk. Though, well, listen, man, I appreciate you pulling up the new albums coming in April. Nah, three thirty one, three thirty oh ship, Yeah it's coming real soon. Yeah, it's on the way. I can't wait to hear the Blast and Nipsey song. Can't wait for you there, can't wait for you to see this roll out too. I'm actually gonna show you after this interview and then another Gangs d is coming, then another one, then then a possible deluxe have you and Dj Khaled

ever screamed on the same song. Yes, okay, that's all last thing. Yep, we've screamed on the same song. Which one? Which song was that? We've both been on raw song together. We both were on a case Sleay song together. Rest in Peace man. Yep, I did the hook. I think cal it rapped. I'm glad he stopped doing that. What. Yeah, yeah, I mean it's kind of dope though, if you think about it, because then it gives you something to perform when you have true you know what I'm saying. What

you think I'm not full? Yeah? Yeah, I mean it was. You know, if I could rap, I would do it. You never rapped, there's not. Recently though, I've been making my ship rhyme a little more. No, I'm lying. I had I did Wait well, I did a I did a hook for scheme. There's a scheme record where I did the hook for and then what happened to scheme? He's just been working such a talented guy, amazing talent, amazing talent. We're gonna we're gonna put something together. Shout

out to scheme. Yeah, that's my brother. I appreciate you man. Three point thirty one. Yeah, I'm really like that. I'm really like that new single out right now with a little baby and a boogie hope for me, and uh yeah, let's end the interview so I can get the answer to this other fucking it and bother me DJ, how at me? I'm really like that