Yeah, check it out, Manashi put a coon, don't forget check me out on the Bootleg cav podcast See you soon.
Yo, Bootleg cav show Man, we got a special guest in here, a living legend Akon in the building's going on? What's good? Brother?
Amazing?
First of all, he got this new song Going Crazy. I gotta say congrats. I can't believe it's been twenty years since the debut album dropped.
Yeah, that's crazy. I can't even believe it.
It's time, I flew. It makes me feel like old because I just remember. I just remember that, you know, just a few of them records just being on mixtapes, and there was like I think Green Lantern had the remix of Ghetto Going Crazy, and I'm like, damn, that was twenty years ago.
That's crazy.
How does it feel, man?
Now? It feels amazing, Yeah, because I don't feel like twenty is to me right. It really don't. Like it feels like like just a few years made it right. Because even now, when I look at my career in the business and I'm still relevant in it, I can't believe that twenty years went past.
Right super fast. Yeah, and you've had so much like like arms to your business. Like obviously as an artist that's one thing, prolific run and it's still going. And then as an executive as an newer.
Yeah, I think all that played a role. And I used to always say that in the beginning as one of my advice is just trying to put on his people, put on as many people as possible, right, because they become the longevity of your career because as long as they're out in the marketplace, they always bring your energy around. When they see them, they see you. So it's kind of like a way of extending your career to the max.
Yo. How dope is it to have like your brother also have his own like success, right, Like Boots had so many killing it and he's done so much. Right. I feel like I just found out somebody who was behind or somewhere he was right, was like, dam he's there now, Like I forget he's doing everything.
Yeah, boo, working man. He was meant to be an exec Yeah, Like a lot of people don't know. It was Bood that foundy Pain and brought him to me. Crazy, you know what I'm saying. So he was he came in already from an executive mind space.
Yeah, for sure. You and Pain Got Us are a show coming up at Red Rocks. Yeah, Red Rock Halloween Eve thirtieth Grace who headlines at it's actually Pain Show. So it's t Pain Show. You're okay.
He's bringing me out as a special gift.
That's gonna be crazy.
Yeah.
Yeah, How many songs are you gonna do?
We'll see, We'll see.
That's gonna be crazy. Yo.
I see.
So the last time you were on the show, you had just had your hair thing done and from Turkey we talked about it defensively. You've shaved it all off. Yeah yeah, I got a new look.
Now, I got a new look.
So what made you shave off? Because you had you went and got the procedure done just to shave it.
What the thing is, I can always allow it to grow back. Okay, that's the beauty of it.
So for this run, you're like, I'm shaving the head.
Yeah, because you know, it's like it's a lot of maintenance, keeping the waves going and all that.
Yeah, and you also look like, you know, you look like Trouble Acon right now. Yeah.
I like I look a little bit younger with it. They say, I look a lot younger with it. But it feels better too, especially around the summertime when it was super hot. I think when it gets cold, I might you know, less, some more hair grow or whatever the case may be.
But talk to me about like obviously this new record beautiful Days dope, but I know like you got to you got a new album on the.
Way, Yeah, a new album not Guilty, not Guilty. Yeah. I like that. Yeah, it's a statement for the culture. I just think the culture is under attack right now.
What do you mean by that?
Just in general? I think, you know the way it's just such a negative vibration in the music business, you know what I mean? And I think a lot of it came from just miseducation. But for the most part, like when I look, that's that's one of the reasons why I even created a Beautiful Day, because I just feel like sometimes we take the most. We take a lot of things for granted. Bro, Like, no matter how
bad your life is, somebody out there got it worse. Yeah, And we're always focusing on what we want or what we should have versus what we already have that we should be grateful for.
Do you feel like with any because there's been so many negative things happening in the music industry, so many people are worried about people getting exposed with the Ditty situation. Do you feel like that because obviously, like we kind of all grew up like looking at Ditty and like look for Diddy's rights or wrongs, Like he's a mogul, you know, He's somebody who we could look at and
be like, yeah, I want to aspire to be for boss. Like, So when something like this happens and it feels like there's going to be a lot of you know, aftershock that might affect other people in the music industry, do you feel like like you like there's like a weight of that situation in particular, weighing on just the industry in general.
I think it's weighing on the whole industry because I don't think a situation like that can happen without the industry's participation, you know what I mean. But for the most part, the industry always like bread these kind of situations, these kind of behaviors, And I think it's at a time now where the world itself is just cleansing itself.
I think I see this more of as a spiritual movement than it is something physical or someone being you know, directly targeted, if that makes sense, Because this is something that needs to be exposed for everyone spiritually to cleanse themselves, emotions, their thoughts, all the lives need to come out. Like we just need to get back to being human versus playing the role of where other people want us to play.
And I think we're at that point now where you're forced to now have have to confront all your doings. I just think like nature does that spiritually, it does it physically, Like like even think about all these hurricanes and all this stuff in areas that we never expected it to happen. Yeah, all, I mean, the world is just cleansing itself, period, and I don't think we're going to be exempt to it.
Yeah. You think there's like a spiritual cleansing for sure.
That's how I feel for sure.
Yeah. I think that is one thing you said, like when it comes to like certain levels of some of this stuff that just became like normal behavior, like you said, like everybody is Yeah, I mean people were ignoring this stuff, I mean participating and enabling you know. I mean you can go all the way back to like some of the allegations against like Russell Simmons, you know what I mean. So it's like this kind of behavior isn't new and
it was kind of the worst kept secret. So that's where I wonder once all of the like trials and start happening, like does security have to play a part in getting in trouble? Of course, the assistant, I mean who the emails, the person that runs and picks up the drugs. You know, there's gonna be so many people, Like, there's so many people name.
There's too many elements, and it's nothing that he could have personally been able to do by himself. It had to be supported by people around him that support the whole concept. And I think this is the point where everybody's you know, going to be worried. And this's the reason why the whole industry is quiet. No one's speaking out because as many people that this man has helped uplifted and set up to live them lives, their lives, will set up their lives of family, you would expect
someone to come in this defense, but no one's. The only person who did was Stevie j I think, yeah, he's probably the only one.
I'm assuming you haven't been any.
Freak offs, unfortunately, because I was never a party person, and.
Any time I see you at any like event, it's like you're there on business and.
You never really see me hanging around with celebrities or not that anew because that was never really my life. I just saw it as work for perspective, but I always thought the mindset of how people or celebrities per se think they always felt like they were above everyone else, and I didn't like that attitude.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel like, even like you know, any time I've ever had encounters with you, you're very like you're just a normal dude. Yeah.
I was just blessed to be in a position, but you're also eight con I get it. I'm popular, but I don't think it changed the man though.
You know, YO, talk to me about something, because obviously you have a lot of entrepreneurial stuff. I just opened a pizza restaurant here in Burbank, and I.
Helped me too. Yeah.
I heard you open one in Jacksonville.
Yeah, got yep. I got a three in Atlanta and one in Jacksonville that we just opened up, and we're gonna spread out to the West Coast as well too.
Pizza. You should do a collabor we should, man, Yeah, right here on the corner. It's right here, and that.
Would be hard. Yeah, that would be done.
How has the Pizza game been for you? Like?
Man, amazing? Like bro like it takes I mean literally, it only costs eight cents to make.
Yeah, pizza is the highest it's the highest margin.
Yeah, it's like, it's the highest margin for any food in the world. It's like, but then it's so good and it's a snack. It's also could be a meal.
It'll never go astordable, it'll never go.
Out of style. It's like the best business to go into if you're talking about food.
So you guys, you got three of them? Yeah, four now four shots to Jacksonville. Man, that's j Yeah.
The goal is to get twenty by the end of the twenty twenty aycon in the Pizza Game.
Do you have any other franchises or anything you're a part of that?
You have, no, no, But the next one's gonna be a jelif Rice fast food restaurant. Oh fire, Yeah, so it's gonna be called it's gonna be fast food like McDonald's or Wendy's or whatever. But that's more like African cuisine but quick almost like what's that one? Uh Chipotle?
Chipotle? Yeah, no, that is interesting because there hasn't been any I feel like we don't have a lot of exposure on a commercial level the African food.
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
That's true. Like we get Jamaican, feel like you can get jerk chicken it like.
You can get Jamaican, you can get Chinese, you can get.
Time for sure. Yo? What for you? Man? Like talk to me just about like your your how how do you feel about where we are musically right now? Because I feel like we've had like a interesting year because you know, I feel like the Kendrick Drake thing kind of took over this year in terms of hip hop, at least and at least for me as like a fan. I appreciated the fact people were like cared about bars again.
Right, So that was the positivity, and that was the positive hip hop back to its essence.
It did. It also created like the civil War of hip hop.
Right, But I honestly believe it or not. As much as I loved the idea that that happened, I wish it would have ended on a shaking hands by gods be by gods let them continue, because that's the one thing about the hip hop industry, Like when you look at the LL and Cool Mo d Beef all the way back in the day, those boys, after all of that, they came back and set an example like listen, this friendly competition. You know, they both went at it. You know who won, This is what it is, and they
kept moving on with their careers. And I think sometime with this generation, we take things so emotionally personal to the point where it goes beyond the competition on wax that it can easily like kind yes, easily spill over into some real live, you know, beef. And I just think that we got to be it. We have to change that, that that tone of it.
Yeah, I think too, like with with this like new landscape of fans in the internet right like now fans are embolded, they're trying to expose artists.
Yeah, it's a lot, Oh my goodness, that man. Listen. The vibration of what music is is just it's so negative right now, you know what I mean? And I think a lot of it. Honestly, I would kind of give my generation, I will say we were partly responsible for that too. You know what I mean, because I think it was a different stet like the hip hop generation that we came up to on you know, like the African Bombardas and all them, Like they always on
positive messages. It was always party. If it was something that that kind of like scrubbed the edge of content, it was always about something political that was going on in our neighborhoods. Whe we got about like that, you know what I mean. And then later, you know, when our generation came, then, you know, gangster rap kind of opened the door up for a different era of music where street crimes and street you know, you could say,
politics became something to brag about. It became something that you needed to be attached to to make it in hip hop, to be relevant or even to be heard,
or even to be looked at as somebody official. So then what happened was this new generation took that and really felt like they can glorify being gangster, glorified getting shot versus shooting, to the point where you can't be a rapper unless you got or like you've been locked up or you've been shot, or you've been shot at, you know what I mean, Almost like that becomes your calling card or your your your backstage pass to become a part of the entertainment.
Yeah, And I always say this too, like it kind of fans become desensitized to when people die.
To the point where it's like it's a part of it.
Well, they look at I feel like they're they're looking at a lot of these kids as like characters in the TV show that they watch on YouTube. Yeah, and so if someone dies, they're like, well, I'm gonna leave a comment. I know who did it? You know, like
it's it's it's crazy. But you were kind of like the the first R and B artist who came into the game talking that talk like you before you, I can't think of another artist who was singing that was I mean, think about locked up, Like yeah, talking about your first single was talking about being incarcerated, which is a crazy thought to be like, Yo, this is I had a singing ass song with style talking about being locked up. And that's changed music.
For Yeah, No, it really did. And I think because at the time when I came, R and B was really more about begging and love making.
And being a simp. Yeah, very very s and you also kind of came in when the R and B group was very popping.
Yeah, it was like edge. Yeah, you had a lot of boy bands out there, one Twelves and all that, and then on the other side you have the Insyncts and the Backstreet Boys and all that stuff. So yeah, we kind of was the balance because everything was really a lot of happy, go lucky R and B type of stuff, whereas that was a whole struggle that was being talked about on my album that was just in an arm beformed, but lyrically just didn't match.
Yeah, I want to know something that I'm curious because obviously you you know, you being from where you're from, and some of the narrative that's out there about like immigrants coming to the United States, right obviously, uh Trump famously during the debate talked about that they're eating the cats, They're.
Eating my gosh.
I just I just wonder, like for you being on both sides of like coming into this country as an immigrant and then also turning into a very successful entrepreneur, artists, you know all of that, Like, like, what are your thoughts on that kind of whole discussion about like immigration kind of like you know, the border being a wild place right now? I heard I do I do here for you know, it is like a free for all low key.
Yeah, I mean up, all borders at a certain line is free for all because you can't board the whole. You know, there's not enough people to literally lock down every border, every entrance, every exit. Right, So I just me personally, I just think borders is one of the main reasons why people don't get along. I think borders is one of our biggest mistakes ever. We should never like this is God created this land for us to
roam through it freely. That should never be a line saying Okay, this man can't cross here or this woman can't cross here. I don't think we should ever have borders at all. Like I think we should be able to roam through every parts of the earth as we please or see fit. There will be a lot more peace,
for sure. I think people that's in a situation where life is not that good or struggle is created in that area going naturally want to get away from struggle and be in a more comfortable environment.
Yeah.
I don't think it's a person's place to say that. You don't know, you're not allowed to come to a place where you can thrive. And I think that idea of it is what creates the problems because even when you look at Mexico, there's this double line standard as to which Mexicans you can let in and which ones you don't. There's a lot of illegal Mexicans that's working in America.
Oh tons, yeah, I mean I don't know if the country would the country would not function out without without the labor.
That it's impossible, right, So you can't try to set a line now saying Okay, well they're illegal, but yeah, you're hiring illegals, like what's the point and then you don't even give them a Social Security number to be able to get a legitimate check. And then you're down waging them and giving them lower rages and they're supposed to naturally get or paying them cast or there's no tax involved. So now you implicating yourself. So it's it's
it's a wrong on both sides. We can just all be human and just work together, because believe me, I love going to Mexico. I love having a great time in Cancun or wherever the place may be, or going even into the further parts of Mexico. But at the end of the day. I think that the idea of that that that border exists creates opportunity for more craziness to happen.
Yeah, how did your family come over?
My mom and dad, they came in as they came in legally, but they made sure that we were all born in the US, so we would have no problems with immigration in the fast. So my dad was he thought, in the few we have kids in the US, right, and then you can take them back, because that's that what happens. After all us was born, he shipped us all back to Africa. Who was raised you know, came in speaking Spanish, French. We didn't speak English until we got through America.
Damn you So you speak how many languages for four? That is crazy?
What is your like the dialect and senegalgue? Okay, yeah, well off is the native tongue?
That's dope. Many are you leaning in either direction? In terms of the presidential election? At this point, I've seen a lot of people come to the Trump side that maybe not would have been on its side four years ago, and versa.
And vice versa. I think politics is just a big game of who can convince who that they belong to be that they need to be. Me personally, I believe that we do need a woman leader. Even if it was I think it's kind of overdue, right, I think it's overdue because one thing about women, they their motivation is family. And I think the rules, the laws, the bills that family is going to pass will be more
catered to family versus what Trump would pass. Trump from a male's perspective, our motivation is power, So the bills that we pass are always going to be something that's going to always have a conversation between two parties where a war can either break out or somebody's going to have to be set an example of to show that we have that we have strength. Right. So I think now for America specifically and most a lot of parts of the world, we need more women leaders.
Yeah.
And because women just they just naturally manage households better than men.
Yeah. And I think there's a certain level of compassion that is we're.
Sing in politics specifically because what's happening in Gaza to.
Me, zero compassion, none, and that's crazy to me, it is heartbreaking, It's unbelievable, it is heartbreaking. I saw a video today that really fucked me up.
Man, you know what I mean, Like, yeah, it's crazy.
I feel like every day I open Twitter and I just it ruins my mood for an hour.
I promise you.
Happen.
It's not even necessary.
Yeah, it's wild, you know. And the other thing too, is like, uh, you know, Gaza is such a a very sad situation and I'm glad that it's also I've been noticing on Twitter more people are talking about what's going on in the Congo too, right, with these with these the mines for the battery materials and all that, and because that's a whole other.
That's a whole other man. Every single all of the stuff that we go in there all come from elements coming from Africa.
And if you see the video of these mines, I mean, you wouldn't think you would think it was cgi right, It's eighty thousand people stacked on top of each other, babies, you know, women and mothers carrying babies on their back while they're mining for them. Right, It's so crazy.
It's unbelievable. Man.
Yeah, yo, talk to me. I saw what is going on with with the city, with your city, because I saw that that synagogue city you had like a deadline and give me the update on what's going, because a lot of people calling you, like saying it was a scam, Like what is happening?
Okay, First of all, it's a city.
Let's clear it up.
No city is built in twenty four hours, right. A house takes twelve months, sometimes.
For th teams, sometimes longer.
We're building literally a city, right, it's gonna take time. I think the mistake that I made was promoting it while the concept was being put together. So what happened was people already assumed that it existed and that's what it was. So while we're trying to put together the licenses, getting all the suits, the feasibility studies going on, the environmental studies and all of that's happening, the world is looking at Acon City as if the construction had.
Already because you had already started talking about it, right.
And I think, but these are all mistakes that you make as you go. Right now, the process is still in motion. Things are already moving and as time go. That's why I've been keeping a light, quiet conversation when it comes to the city until we get further into the project to where I can start having real conversations about it.
Have you like, are you and Senegogu like good in terms of just like oh yeah, we want to they're up to up.
To date on everybody's up to date. Everything is, everything is on the up.
And have you seen this just unrelated, but have you seen this thing that they're building And I think it's in Dubay, that long.
Yet limb that's in Saudi Arabia.
It's crazy.
Yeah, that is crazy. And interestingly enough, the guy that put together that whole master plan is to that I just brought on board to help me arrange some ideas over the city.
Yeah, for people who don't know they're building this like long steel city.
It's like crazy.
It is something that you would see like in like a sci fi movie as a kid, right, and they're actually doing it. It's like I saw a staff that like they're using like twenty or thirty percent of the world's steel manufacturing is going to that city right now, because they're building this city in the middle of the desert.
In the middle of the desert, and it's.
Like it's this long, it looks it looks it looks like a line. Yeah, it's fucking nuh. And that whole line.
Everything will be inside it, by the way.
Like everything you need, grocery stores, gyms, entertainment, subways, transportation. Crazy.
Once you're in there, you're in there.
So you brought that guy on to help.
Yeah, one of the guys that did the master plan is working with men.
That's fucking awesome.
Man. No, No, that's cool.
You got to get a little condo over there, and then.
You're definitely gonna have a spot in Limp for sure.
How for you, man? Like what is I feel like we're also in like a cool era where a lot of you know, I just we forgot juveniles weed sitting here. But Juvie's on tour with Manny Fresh doing his his twenty fifth anniversary of four hundred degrees. I mean, Tea
Pains have such a crazy touring renaissance. I feel like we're to the point now where we're kind of like appreciating guys like yourself and like the era of music because like you said, the vibrations and music have been so low and whatever we said earlier about like yeah that like like obviously drug dealing and shoot shoot them uphit was glorified during your era, which I which was my era too, But also there was a lot of music that was just fun right right, Like you know
what I mean, Like if I think you're like your biggest records, like they're just fun right. You know what I'm saying, Like do you feel like that's what's missing right now? Is like artists are like kind of getting away from just like yo, Like people need music to live to. People know they do.
I think today they're too cool to have fun. Yeah, it's like you've been to almost like being fun is being soft.
And you go to a nightclub, everyone's standing around, mean mugging in five bottles. Right, everybody is too tense. Man, it's crazy.
It's way too much man. Like With us, it was different because when you did get that energy, it stayed on the record because regardless of what it is, when you came out, everybody was still cool. But on the record, it was on the record. It's been as usual. But when they meet up in person, they lined up and get you on that next record. They to watch, you know what I'm saying. It was different because we understood
that it was still entertainment. Today they think entertainment is supposed to be life, and life has to be reflected in that entertainment, and that's where it gets dangerous.
I'm curious now that, like, you know, we've had this, like fifty cent has been prolific with the television shows. BMF's a big show. Now Big Meach is out. So I'm really curious it's gonna happen with Meach because he could like have the number one podcast in hip hop if he like, if he like did a podcast tomorrow or did like I mean that that there's a very successful stars show about his life and now he's free.
Now he's free. But Meach is one of probably the smartest dudes I've ever met, man and all that, but he's already got a plan on what he's gonna do when you get out, I promise.
And he's in a halfway house, right, he's out right out in Florida. So you've met Meach before?
Oh yeah, yeah, you know the cool guy in my family, really cool. Yeah.
Did you go into these crazy parties where they had like tigers and ship and while yeah.
Yeah, we used to go to all those guys crazy.
What's the craziest thing he's he in at a beach party? In terms of like just animal.
Animals, because it's like it's a hood like niot the hell you know, tigers and ship.
Like you know what I'm saying, like like what babysitting Like.
Yeah. He was a visionary though, and I think that place to his advantage because he thinks beyond the average person, because he knows that whatever it is in your mind that you think you can actually make it happen, you's got to work towards and get the find the money to get it done.
Yeah. You know recently you you were a part of uh Vitalities been doing these things on child predators. Yeah, and I would say the most viral run he did was when the arrested child predator and You're standing there singing locked up to this guy. It was hilarious. Tell me about that situation because obviously I'm sure did Vitality did he bag you out to do that? Because I mean, he was getting everyone in their mom on that show.
He was he was he was already getting everybody on it. I just felt like everybody approached it in such a a in a negative way, really, right. But at the time, I was promoting my twentieth anniversary of Trouble, and I feel like this would be a perfect opportunity to do that while at the same time utilizing those kind of platforms and find different ways to market and promote and lo and behold, Whack whack one hundred. Big shotsta wa Wack called me. Was like, yokahn, hey man, I got
batality Man. He wants to do this thing with you with the predators. I said, what you mean predators like off the top. I was like, nah, you know what, wag, I don't know about that. But then he was like, no, no, no, you check out man game just did it. You know, all these dudes did and everything, And so I checked and looked and I was like, oh, this is actually not bad.
You know what I'm saying. I mean, you're of it.
I said, you know what this is, this is this, this would be perfect. So then that's when we reached out and then we have batalitly conversated on what he was going doing, and he's like, yeah, this is gonna go crazy.
So my thing is, like you know, I always say, because a lot of people have been like critical of him for doing it the way he is doing it, but I'm like, who cares? Who cares? I think those people, even if they never get arrested. The fact that they're publicly out there is shame. Yes, that's enough, Like great, because I hope your life is ruined.
But you know, it was crazy, like even the one that we did, the episode we did, I'm looking at this dude, I'm like, he's not even all the way there. Mentally, he's not like you could tell he's not he's sane, but he's definitely.
Yeah, but now people know what he looks like, so now they eat the job or if he works around kids. It's like, how you know, I.
Felt bad for him at the time it was happening. Even though I was smiling and doing it. I knew that this was going to change his life because I know this is something he don't never want to go through again. But in my mind, I'm like, man, somebody should have been there. That video had his converse because he's like, I can tell that he wasn't all there.
He well, yeah, that sh it was I'm not gonna lie. It was hilarious.
It was he got a fee was.
Funny saying they like they did you talk to the cops?
Yeah, but see at the time the cops say't know he was gonna do that because they probably would have told us we couldn't do it, so we ain't say nothing about it.
I'm saying, like the cops are like, yeah, I'm a fan, like uh.
Yeah afterwards afterwards, one of the cops like, men, I wanted to bust out laughing so bad, but I couldn't.
Imagine you go to work that day, you don't know that you're about to arrest the child predator while AKN performs locked Up. That is hilarious.
That was too funny.
Bro, Yo, have you watched uh The New Joker too, with your girl lady guy guy in it? Yeah? What were your thoughts? It's getting panned critically.
Yeah, I mean, but you understand, like she's always been an amazing actress artist.
All that Star Is Born is one of the best movies ever.
I promise you, bro, she's a three sixty everything. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So, I mean, I mean the way I look at it, those critics are always critics, always gonna attack you, But to me, when they attack it, and I mean, that was that was that was a piece that was well worth doing.
Yeah, that's how did you like the movie?
I like the movie?
You liked it.
I like the movie.
Yeah, I just I think it just wasn't what a lot of people expect. It's almost like The Wire season two. I don't know if you've ever watched The Wire.
No, I haven't seen that.
Okay, The Wire season two was like it just took a crazy left turn and everybody didn't appreciate it until years later.
But yeah, but I think with me, it was a little different because I kind of already knew what it was going to be, and I've already seen the storyline already to know what that was going to be, versus okay, anticipating something and then getting something different.
Do you I wonder you know, with what a lot of artists have been doing with selling their catalog, your catalog's got to be pretty unprecedented in terms of just all the stuff you've been a part of, whether it's the Tea pain stuff, the Lady God Got stuff, your own solo stuff, all of that stuff. Have you been approached for the catalog thing and have you sold anything?
I think I think everybody's been approached for it, because that's the game. Yeah, when you look at the catalog stuff, I think for the most artists out there, if you do have an extensive catalog. Hold on to it, don't sell it.
So you haven't sold anything.
Hold on to it.
Yeah for you, it's like it's got to be just like it's residual income.
Everyone what people don't also have mis calculators that the industry is changing and technology is moving into the future. So in a minute, there's gonna be like licensing music going to be the driver for everything on the internet and everything on the metaverse. Metaverse is going to be the future of entertained. I mean in a period.
I say this too. It's like, if all of these private equity firms are buying up catalog, they might know something we don't know exactly. So it's like you might just want to hold out.
Unless you need the money to survive. Hold on to it.
Yeah, what did you get an official offer?
I'm just curious, like, oh no, I got I got I don't know, I don't know.
How can you share what's like the craziest offer you got?
No, Because then it's gonna it's gonna convince others to sell. I don't want them to sell.
I feel like it'd be close to a billion dollars.
I don't want them to sell like.
You're the amount of like, like the amount of records that you probably old cuts up. It's just kind of be fucking insane.
Oh yes, it's unbelievable.
Yeah, no, it's wild yo for you man. Uh, what is what is the direction of your new album?
That the direct? Oh, I can't wait for y'all to hear. I think it's gonna change the game from a perspective of just the energy of what music is now versus where it needs to go. I really do believe that it's gonna it's gonna it's gonna put more smiles on people's faces. It's gonna change the energy of records that make you feel good or music that felt good period in times where you needed to hear something to kind of put you through something.
Yeah, is there any homage to like the sound to your first album?
Yeah? I think if you like the first album, this second album, the first this You know what, if I had to put this album in category of any of my three albums, I would say it was it was a mix of all three albums for this album.
Yeah, that's dope.
Yeah, it would definitely be a mix of all three albums. Because I realized I built three different bases because the first album was more of a hip hop bas for audience. Then the second album was more rhythmic, cross album pop. Third album was popped. Yeah. So this, this album that I'm putting out, A Not Guilty, gives you a number of all of that.
I'm curious man, Like, from a radio perspective, when you would meet program directors, did they ever give you hell about how hard you made their job because there was just no artist separation? Yeah?
Yeah, no, listen, interesting enough you brought that up. The reason why they created that artist separation law was because of what I was doing.
Yeah, because it was like, Yo, every a coon z on fucking everything, and then after you it was t Pain's on fucking everything. And then Lil Wayne had that Runner. He was on fucking everything. And now Drake is just like, you know, it's crazy.
It was crazy, but that's why he did it for sure.
Yeah. No, it's it's wild too because like for a while there, like you were like everybody needed an acon hook. Was there a feature that you almost did that didn't end up coming out, or maybe something you cut that didn't end up dropping, or something that almost happened that didn't because you because you worked with so many artists.
Yeah, so many. It was actually a record that I did with Nicki Minaj. It never dropped, it'd never dropped, but it was I think would have been probably one of my biggest pop records.
Wow, what year was this?
This happened in twenty seventeen.
Okay, yeah, this is recent recent, that.
Is, But back then I would probably say the one that didn't come out was me And who was that? Can I e remember which one it was? Ooh, well, the one that didn't come out but then eventually came out after was doing with Michael Jackson. Ah, because that was supposed.
To come out while he was while he was alive.
But then it was a lot of complication on the release between Universal and Sony on the negotiations of it, and then when Mike passed, the song went to his estate and then two years later they ended up putting it out.
Did you end up having any conversations with Mike when he was alive, Oh?
Yeah, no, he was. He was my road dof for like two years before he passed.
Oh, that's crazy.
He was doing a lot of work together and then he was also doing a lot of new music that was supposed to drop for his tour that he was doing in the UK.
What was something like just being around Michael Jackson. Obviously there's so many misconceptions about him, Yeah, too many. I feel like a lot of people also didn't really know.
Him, They didn't know him at all.
What would you say your experience of being with him was this? Man?
I think I wish the world would have gotten to see and know him the way I did, because you were And then I also realized why he was probably the biggest artist on the planet. His heart drove everything that he did. His focus was always on kids and how he can mentally put them in a position to conquer anything and also physically put them in the environments to be able to conquer whatever those dreams were. Because he was one of those kind of kids that didn't
have a childhood. Yeah, because he grew up as child star. So that's why his adult years he was so attached to things that kids do, because he was free enough and rich enough to do those things that he never got a chance to do, but he couldn't do it with other adults. So he made sure that other kids that didn't have the means to do it, were around or was able to get that experience, you know what I mean?
And you guys worked on a lot of music down Yeah, how many unreleased songs are well at least ideas?
Did you get to be a endless amount of ideas? Endless amount of ideas? I wish I could chop them things up and put them out today, but does.
The state have them?
Well? I got them, but I could never put them out because I don't think the state wouldever.
Everything sounds good though, that dude, you just got wrang Michael Jackson vocals just chilling. We'll never hear. That's what's crazy.
That's the worst, Yo, that's crazy.
Can you imagine? Yo? Did you have you and T Pain ever discussed doing a joint project?
Yeah? Actually it's something that we're discussing now and believe it or not, that's why we're starting to do more appearances together, you know what I'm saying, to kind of start getting that energy to see where the crowd is often like what their energy is before we starting to announce and starting things.
Oh no, I think that would be monumental if you and T Pain did like a like a ten song banger or something, like that.
We definitely it's overdue, way overdue, but it's better. It's better that we can do it now that we're both independent.
Yeah, I think like it's.
Because now we can do it the way we want to do it.
Without all the red tape and all that bullshit. Right, it's so it's crazy for people who don't know, like t Pain. Uh, he said that like he really took a gamble signing with you, because.
But I don't think it was a gamble. I would say he took a leap of faith.
It was a leap of faith because he had other opportunities on the table with big money.
Bob, major up opportunities, but he went with you.
And at the time, you have an unproven concept. Convict music was just you.
It was just just me.
So like like he really kind of like you know, just believed and he did and believed in me, and then you know, the world has changed in music forever.
Yeah, because all I thought all I could offer him at that time was a career. Yeah, I couldn't give him the upfront money that he's looking for, but I knew one thing rock on me. I'm gonna make sure that you can be able to feature family forever, Yo, And it worked out. It worked out, for sure, It did work out.
Yo. Was there anybody who you almost signed the Convict Music but it just didn't end up happening Young Thug? Really?
Yeah, we had his first record, Stoner that was on Convict.
That was on Stoner was on Convict.
We pushed that one, so it was it was a single deal. I was supposed to go into an actual full album artist deal. But when that record blew up, of.
Course everybody came in everywhere else.
And uh, that's how that went in up.
Wow, I did not know Stoner was on Convict Music because I do.
I wor you worked that record. That That's how I met Ojibu Dirty. Actually, Wow, I met Ojibu Dirty as we was uh doing all the promo.
Stuff for the and uh, did you guys at least obviously despite him not staying with you, did you guys keep a good relationship?
Yeah? No, it was I mean, I know, business, yeah, but you know, and the decisions he made actually worked out for him because he had an amazing career for sure.
Yeah, I mean his situation I think is uh. I was just talking with jelly Roll, my boy jelly Roll and he was saying, if he got his jelly roll, he's so dope, he's amazing. Yeah, we just he just got the number now in the country right now. I love Yeah, he's incredible. But we're talking. I was on the road with him a few days last week. Oh that's dope, and we were talking about the thug situation and he was like, man, if he gets out, he better sue the fuck out of because it's been the
longest trial they've it's been so much malpractice. It would seem with the prosecutor and Fanny Willis and all them, like, yeah, with thugs, he might have a civil suit on his hands. If he ends up getting exonerated.
It's gonna be interesting to see where that goes, for sure.
Yeah, it's gonna be h. It's definitely gonna be interesting. Man, for you bred Like, what's next for you outside of all like the Icon City, the new music or is there? Are you gonna do a book or you gonna do a podcast?
Or what are you doing? Man? We're doing all of it. We got Convict media coming where it's gonna be a list. I actually just acquired uh what used to be uh what's called lit Radio now but before then it was Dash Radio, yeah, which was yeah so.
Wait yeah Dash the Skis thingj.
Ski is a company out of all Australia that bought it, okay, and then we acquired into that company and now we named it lit Lit Radio. Yeah, Lit Radio, So it's not not only it's gonna be podcast, but it's gonna be streaming and everything else like that.
Yeah. And I think Dash, at least from what I remember, it was available in like Ford. Was it Ford Vehicles?
Yeah? Yeah it was.
So you're a part owner of that now yeah.
Wow, yeah, we took the whole platform.
Oh that's big man. Yeah. I always wondered, like DJ Ski, that dude right there, I'm super smart bro, and he's always finding people to give him money.
Listen, he's the perfect Yeah when I tell you, Ski, I don't know, he pulls it out of a hat every time, every time.
Because like Dash has been around. Always just was like thinking, like, you know, I'm a radio guy, right right, So I always was just like how do they make money?
Right?
Like it just keeps getting I'm like, how where are they getting all this money?
Ski Ski is like he's like a master uh uh, a networker. He knows how to find but he's a great picture too, Yeah, and he knows how to present it to where you see the division.
Yeah, I'm curious man. Like you've been on so many different sides of the music industry, it feels like there's some sort of energy where at least I feel like artists need to try to start figuring out a way to push out, push off of these DSPs a little and go go back to going direct a consumer, whether it's dropping vinyls, whether it's dropping you know, merch. I don't know if have you heard of Larussell, the kid Larrussell, who's he's out in the Bays doing like super independent.
He's doing these concerts in his backyard. Wow, and you have to pay, like you pay what you want to go to the show. So the's got some people paying ten thousand dollars to come see him live and some people paying ten dollars.
You know. That's so dope.
But I wonder where do you kind of forecast the industry going. I feel like we were at least ten years into the streaming era.
Now yeah, we end. I think there's going to be a model that allows artists to now again go back to selling something physical, even if it's a combination of music, more merch and something digital asset to get you know, to connect with it. But I do believe that the streaming aspect of it is not making no sense for us at all. Still. It's just to the point where there's gonna be a model that comes in that knocks that out unless the stream is coming start actually getting.
Paying fairly something fairly Yeah, because the Spotify page your thirty eight hundred bucks, you get a million streams, Like, it doesn't make sense. Crazy, a million people listening to this or a million times and I'm only getting four grand, Like, yeah, that's that's crazy.
Yeah.
I think it's just, you know, I think there has to be like something like do you feel like major labels are even like net Like, would you rather be independent at this point? Or like if you're let's say you're a con twenty years ago coming into the game, you got a buzz going, you gotta mixtape buzz going, do you feel like a label is necessary?
Still? No, Not for me for sure. I mean that's that's why I'm independent now.
But I'm talking about even if you're like a new artist, you're fucking a contract as self fund.
Right as a newer artist, I think depending on what it is they're doing. Right, if you're more of a novelty artist, you know, you underground, you're trying to build a swell to where you're not looking for this big major career, definitely go independent. But if you're doing things like top forty pop music, you kind of you're not going to survive in an independent era.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I always say if you're a pop artist and that's the goal, yeah, pop, you kind of need the machine.
Yeah, you need you should build unless you got unless you unless you got someone like DJ Ski is going to raise the money for you.
Yeah, Or you have like a dope like creative like partnership with the distribution company that still lets you keep your masters. They'll give you an advance and like there's some sort of like hybrid deal of the two like Empire or something.
You know. Yeah, Empire has actually actually been a good model for the revenue model for independent artists. I think they've done a really really good.
Jobeah, they got Shaboozie, The biggest song on Billboard this year is a technically it's a you know, Shaboozi owns all that, you know, like he owns the Masters.
They're done a really really good job, you know, because I think when you look at how Empire did it, they took up a major uh uh position and they actually start spending the money that's necessary, you know what I'm saying. So I think from a perspective of independent, it's really about the purse, just having the funding to do it. But then you got to be connected to people that know who is the shakers and bakers in the business.
Yeah, I feel like, you know, we see this so much. I always tell artists like, you could have all the money in the world, if you don't know where to spend it, then your fuck don't make sense because we how many people have we seen who have got the dope boy behind him driving stupid money? Athletes, Ah my.
Goodness, every act got a label, like they just throw money out the window and it's never worked. It's never worked. I don't know the only one that's ever worked with Shack.
You know, he was a major. He was rapping a major. I mean, he had Platinum. The reason he's the only one I'm talking about, Carmelo Anthony had a label. I'm already Stodamayer had a label. Uh of the.
Durand even the ones you don't know God.
Labels, and no one gives a right because they're just they're just thinking because they got money. It's like, bro, that's not you gotta know where to spend it. You got to you gotta be smart like money, like like money's one thing, but knowing what to do.
With it is.
Otherwise you're just a tax right off. Absolutely, yeah. How by the way, I'm curious, when you're like the level of wealthy that you are, do you have like any tax loophole, like a tidbitch you could share with the people, like anything I just think about taxes, bro, anything you could like write off the people don't think about.
Like right, listen, the best and the smartest advice I can give you just follow all the rules to the tea. You can never listen. This is the part that I understand about people trying to evade taxes. It don't make sense, first of all, because what happens is you got money sitting in a bank or in a trust front, or it just sits there anyway. Right, It's like it literally just you can't spend all that money in a lifetime.
So what is the point, right, So my thing is spend as much of it as possible that you can write off so you can get a portion of that bat.
Yes, it's literally that simple. It's that easy. I always say, like, if you know you got a big tax bill coming up, just start spending. What are some things you can invest in? Boom, Like, okay, I need new cameras, Boomed, I need a vehicle that weighs over six thousand pounds.
There you go. You feel what I'm saying.
Once you learn the rules of what's needed. Just people a private jet, right, because that's a rite off. That's the write off if you've got a business a PJ.
And really what's so dope is that when you when you know, when you know how if you when you do follow the rules and you actually write it off, that money comes back to you. So it's almost like everything that you bought you getting for free.
Yes, or that's what I say, really say, when it's time to if you're a business owner and that and and you know taxes are coming, you know you're gonna have a bill, you can either buy some ship that's useful to your business or give it away. To the government.
Pick one, you got to pick one?
Any idea when the new album's coming out. I know you got a new single in December, right.
Yeah, that's going to open the door for the actual album that's going to drop in Februar.
Fully Independent, Fully Independent. I love I love it. What's going on with Kobe o'donna's random question?
Yeah, you know what, this is the fourth person that asked me about him. He's actually gonna be performing at the My My show in a couple of days, and would.
Drive him to believe his weird, weird ass dad alone. Like I met him at a high school mixed tour ones when I was an intern, and Kobe O'donna's dad creeped me the funk out. But Yo, he was dope. He was so talented.
Listen, can I tell you Kobe was justin Bieber before just he was super talented. He was the most unbelievable talent that I've had ever signed. But unfortunately, Yeah, his dad was in the middle of the lot of the business. Yeah, but now he's open, he's grown, he's free and unfortunate. Three years ago his dad actually passed away.
He is actually moving his dad. I do feel bad for saying that. But how's your relationship these days with Go Go? You guys ever talk?
Yeah, we talk, We talk as well.
Yeah, I feel like if you and t Paine do a joint album, you gotta have her on the fucking album.
Come on, now, it'd be crazy. Gotta happened. Well, my my, my oh is to get all of us together on something super super big. I don't care if it's gonna be a world tour whole album, but I just want to bring the whole family together as one celebration of all the stuff that we did and contributed to the business.
Now for sure, man, we'll listen. Your legend the new song is out. Everybody should go run that up. Anything else people can support you on right now. But you know, obviously you gotta do you still have the crypto Huh? Is the crypto coin still thing?
Oh? That's on pause. It was too political. I couldn't get it was start mixing up with my real business.
Yeah, I don't know much about it. Listen. I know I lost money on fucking ripple.
Yeah, we all lost money on that stuff. But for for that specific me, it was more political because my coin was never even in the us.
Right.
That was for Africa and Africa only, but because it was doing so much in Africa, it started to affect some of the agendas and it started getting a little deep there.
It is. Man, Well, look, I appreciate you pulling up a kon Yo. By the way, I might have to catch a flight to the Red Rocks show. That's crazy, Yo, you got to it's gonna be nuts, my guy, con I appreciate you pulling up boom fire. Let's do Uh, We're gonna do some ship just for the radio show that it's gonna run on the syndicated show. So we're gonna have obviously we're gonna introduce the record, but I'm
gonna have you do. We do something on the show called the Daily Hate, where people listeners calling and they hate on something. They can hate on their boss, their baby, mama, the traffic, fucking Trump, whatever. So I'm gonna ask you something that you're hating.
On got you. I don't even know if I'm hating on anything.
It could be. It could be like it could be when you get something delivered to you from Uber Eats and the food is cold and they don't they don't give you utensils.
Yeah, I'm trying to think of what I hated.
It could be. It could be it could be it could be eddie, it could be fucking airline ship, it could be travel ship, every day ship. They don't have to be like hate per se, but it's just like something that you could be like, Yeah, man, you know I would maybe if you had an experience at an airport or maybe.
You had an experience. I know exactly what I'm hating on.
All Right, here we go, ro Yo. It's the boutleg Camp show. Shout out to Acon Man taking over the show Man. He got a new record out. We're going to get into that in this secons called Beautiful Day new album all the way. It is the celebrity edition of the Daily Hate Though, Acon, what are you hating on?
Man? I ain't gonna lie to you. I was trying to think of anything that I can hate, because I don't hate much, but I had to say I am hating on the fact that every time I go through the UK, the sun is never out bro Oh in the UK it's one of my favorite places, but it's always cloudiesh It's gloomy, gloomy, rainy, like I'm not gonna lie.
I've never seen a video from someone in the UK where it looks sunny. It does always look great.
Beautiful place though, Yeah, like I would live there if the sun just came out.
Look, you got a new album coming out first quarter next year. I want you to get into this new single. Tell us about the song and let's get into it.
Absolutely. This is called Acon's Beautiful Day Man. This is one of those songs that reminds you that no matter what you're going through in life, there's somebody out there that's going through worse. Man, So appreciate what you have and don't worry too much about what you want, what you're trying to get.
Let's get into it. Brand new Acon on your radios, The Bootleg cav Show.
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