Is Don mac Oh my god, check me out on a Bootleg CAV podcast.
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to join the Bootleg CAV Show network. All right, now, I don't ever really talk about the radio show on the podcast, keep them separate. But if you want to listen to the radio show, you can click the link in the bio for a list of all the cities you can listen to at Yeah that makes sense. Oh, let's get to the interview, all right, Bootleg CAV Podcast. Man,
special guests in here, John Mack in the building. The most buff rapper we've had in here for a very I mean it's been a while since we've had someone is yolks. John knack in here. Welcome. Appreciate you, bro, Yes, sir, appreciate you. What's your workout regimen, Sir? I do it. I do it three on one split, So explain what that means. That sounds like gymnastics. Sounds like a stripper moved one split on stage. Motherfuckers make a raine. What does that mean?
Niggas said, I have magic Mike. So look, it's like, uh, it's so three day. So let's say my my split start Monday, right, So Monday, push pool, Tuesday legs, Wednesday, push puol, Thursday off, then Fridays start over, push pool, Saturday legs, Sunday push pull, Monday off.
You get it. So push puol is you do back and chest on the same day, So yeah, I do buy.
I do biceps in chests on the same day, and then I do back, shoulders and triceeps on the Thursday, okay, and then legs on the second day and then fourth day rest. But like so legs get their own day all the time. Yeah for sure, that every time, bro. So basically I really be in a gym like six seven days a week. Yeah, forel me like six days a week because it's three on one so which you go.
You're are you here in La? Are you in the bay? No, I'm in the bay. Okay, okay, Yeah, you surprised they have the hav't bited the gym yet taking all the fucking equipment. Little niggas crazy. Yeah, what's going on? Man? Look you're from Oakland. Uh. The only in and out to ever close in the history of in and out is in Oakland. Yeah. Uh, what's happening out there? Man? Bro?
And they was spinning close, they got they got the canes out there. I think in Berkeley, Berkeley.
Is not that's different, right, Yeah, but it's they you know, it's it's close enough for me. And they was goinna close that down too. I don't know them. Little niggas just ignorant, Bro. They're hungry. Niggas don't want a job, niggas don't want to feel me, so they rather just steal. Yeah. It feels like uh. In like l A, we have fetanahl and homeless people. And in the Bay you you have fetanah homeless people and exactly show have you been bipped? Nah?
By a grace of God, thank God, you're not stupid enough to leave anything in your car no, he'll no.
Yeah, I'll be moving around a lot though, So sometimes I had something in there like feel me.
But yeah, I got you know, you know John Coston. Everyone knows John Coston, the oldest youngest guy in the Bay. He's got like this really bad hairline. I might maybe if I seen him. Yeah, if you if you've seen him, you would know him. He lives in the Valinci here fox Sake, but he leaves like his like his trunk open. Oh, so he can let him know, like, bro, there's nothing
in here. Yeah, like leave me alone. I don't have to worry about the putting the claim in for the broken window and there's nothing in exactly.
That's what you do. You lead the what is it the arm rest? You lead that open, and then you lead a glove department open. And then would he do lead a trunk open? They gonna know like, ain't sent in here, but I ain't gonna waste my time.
Yeah. You seem to have gotten a lot of motion out of the Bay, which is you know, I feel like I feel like I was hearing about you, like independent of Bay area people, which is different because most of the people from the Bay you hear about them because some people from the Baby telling you about him, right, Yeah, so you've caught you caught a couple of records that been going crazy, but uh while being independent, Yeah, absolutely, absolutely,
like fully independent. Yeah. Like there's like people who are from the Bay that are like independent ish, Yeah, but you're like independent independent like distrc kid independent yep, yep, I upload my own shit. Yeah. So what do you think is kind of like the secret to like your success, Like things that you've been able to kind of do that you know, you feel like have worked for you outside of making good music, Uh, to be honest, consistency.
Yeah, I just I just keep dropping, I keep dropping, keep dropping dropping, and then like, bro, I'm a student of the game before anything, So like I study like the popular music right now. I study certain ship and how certain shit go viral or what song go viral, what they talking about in the song and what they're doing in the song, and what they're doing the viral tiktoks to the song, and then I just cater to that in a way, you know what I mean.
So you're you're like, for example, like this new record you got, Natalie just jumped on the remix, was that a record you like intentionally made, Like, Yo, this shit's gonna go absolutely thousand. This is the formula I know. I know how to make this work on these platforms.
Yep, absolutely absolutely, And it's crazy, right because shout out shout out Natalie none too. But like when I made the record, I was in it. I was in the lab with my engineered combat.
And uh and uh.
I made it all right there, and I'm like, all right, bro, I'm like, I'm gonna let it. I'm gonna let the second.
Floor the hook breathe, bro, and add add.
The camera sounds because the camera sound's gonna make them pose when I say posed for me, right, So I'm like, bro, it's TikTok right here. And then I did it, and then I dropped it. It start going viral. I wrapped it on Instagram first. It did like six hundred thousand of me just wrapping in the car, right, and I'm like, yeah, I'm about to drop it.
So I dropped it.
When I drop it, it's start going viral, right, And then Natalie tapped in with me. And so when Natalie tapped in with me, she's like, I fuck with this, like you did a video to it, I'm like, nah, I didn't she like let me jump on it. I'm like, all right, bet, she like write me a verse, feel me?
So you wrote verse yep.
So I went to the lab and then I'm in a stool when I when I make her verse, and I'm trying to think of like like TikTok shit. That's why I'm saying this because I'm piggybacking off the TikTok shit. But I'm in a stool and I'm thinking of like TikTok shit that I make the girls like go crazy, right, And I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I got to explain something on a girl body part to make them like feel themselves as fat, slim diick no, tell me you feel me, and that's something that that they eat up.
So I'm like, yeah, that's hard. And then come on with a chant feel me. And that's when that's when that baddies, you know what I'm saying. And so then when I made it, bro, I kid you not. I told my brothers and my engineer. I'm like, bro, I guarantee you this go viral. I promise, bro, I promise. They're like all right, Bro, it's good let's see feel me right, we drive that motherfucker did numbers. Shout out Natalie too, she'd go, she got, she got a following man?
Yeah? For show, Yeah, I feel like people be underrating, like people fuck with Natalie, they do she got. I don't even know what show she'd be on because I don't watch that of that ship, but I just know she fuck you book her out a club. People come
go crazy for it too. For sure. For show. Yo, that's crazy because I feel like there's like a uh, there's like a thin line between like doing something like on purpose, like I guess you would say like you would always hear like certain artists say, when you chase a hit, it never it comes across integrator inorganic as opposed to when you just do it organically and then
it happens to be it. Right, So you're kind of doing like you're you're kind of walking the thin line because would slow it down like for you because that's all I mean, that's two years old, right, So it's like for a record like that, was that something that you made with that same approach or did it just was it a record that just kind of took off? It was a record that just took off. Yeah.
So like at that time, I was just recording like hell of different shit, and that one I just recorded, I wasn't even gonna drop it, and I didn't like it.
Really, Yeah, at first I did not like it.
I recorded it and it was supposed to be a second verse on it, but I told my engineer, I'm like, bro, just just just render this, just bounce this shit out and then just send it to me very it's good, Like I'm cool, I'm not even feeling it. And then we bounced it out. I ended up keeping it. All My people around me was like, bro, that's a banger. Bro dropped this.
I'm like real, They're like, yeah, wrote the fuck send this to me.
So then I ended up dropping it on a time where I needed something to drop, and I just dropped the MP three with a lyric video, and that motherfucker went fire.
Roy a year later, a year later, a year later, what the fuck that shit it was? You already move off of it because it was already out, Like you were like, man, it's.
Yeah, but it just came back yeah, like like but it was like one of it was one of those things to where you know, you check your U yo. Uh, what is it Apple for artists is Spotify artists? So it was always at the top in one of my top stream songs, right, So I see I added in little videos when I do certain ship, certain highlights with my cousins or something, I put the song behind it and ship and then that motherfucker just ended up picking up catching steam And I'm like.
What the fuck? That's crazy? Wow, Yeah, that's crazy how that works, man, especially with like the internet, Like you have a two year old song that just goes fucking crazy. How many remix did you did you end up doing with that record? Like a hundred?
I know it was pretty no babies on one Mazi Mike Sherm uh heen busy damn, And I think I think that's it.
That's that's a lot. Yeah, that's like five. So between like all of the remixes, which one did the best? Uh, Mike Sharam the sher Man. Yeah. By the way, Mike Sherm is very underrated. Yeah. I feel like when we talk about the Bay, that dude's got a couple of platinum records. What's the that's the guy and he's like he's also independent as fuck. Yep. It's crazy. Yeah, they they try to figure out how he do it. Bro,
he still sell shit out. Yeah, for sure, he's been doing music just like he been popping, just like twenty seventeen or something. I don't know. Asshole is just one of the greatest club songs of all time if you are on the West Coast, especially if you're in the Bay. But absolutely, yeah, but they play his shit.
Bro.
He played shit everywhere. Yeah, I'm you know, I want a club and AZ that shit goes up there. See Yeah, that shit crazy bro. For sure. It's interesting too because there's these records that, like, you like, like uh, Little Blood. Third World is like a record that like you won't understand until you see it get played at like a concert YEP in the Bay and then be like what oh shit, or like New Oakland from like mister fab
Like YEP. There's like those records that you're like, you don't understand how big these songs are unless you're there when they get played, because you can even like those two songs you could play in LA in the Bay. Though, Shit's hit different, crazy crazy Little Blood performed that when I opened up for YG.
I think it was New Peerish or something like that. Blood Little Blood performed there. Yeah, Bro, they went insane. Yeah, insane. His podcast is dope.
Shout out to him. Yeah, shout out to bro for sure. He's uh he just didn't he interview He interviewed Gavin newsom mmmm he did real Yeah, crazy interviewed Gavin fucking new some Yeah that's crazy, It's fucking wild. Shout out to a Little Blood for you, man, Like, what is it about being independent that you enjoy? And I'm assuming you've turned down tons of deals at this point, so like where are you at with that in terms of just like are you keeping it pushing? Uh?
Well, right now, Bro, we just really focused on like just building, Bro. I'm trying to I'm trying to like dial in on my brand and just just build report.
Bro.
Like, I don't want to sign right now for a couple of pennies. I'm a stay indie. Put me and me, me and the team gonna put our own bread behind it and just push this ship because we got this far doing it, so like why would I just fuck it? I'm about to sign right now for a few hundred thousand that's crazy, No, you know what I'm saying. So we just building brom I'm gonna be Indie for the next like however long and then when the labels talking, would you ever.
Do a single deal just a one off? Uh? It depends, Yeah, it depends. Yeah. I mean I feel like that'd be the only thing you should consider. Yeah, that's it. Otherwise they're gonna fucking Like you said, you might get a couple of hundred thousand, but then you know you're chained to the machine, and exactly then you can't drop how you want to drop. And I got to ask permission and get clear and fuck all that. Exactly uh do
you have? Is there is there a body your work on the way I know I was looking at your Spotify you this is something that I saw you did that a lot of people I think should do. And that's if you're just sitting on songs that are never gonna come out, you drop something. It was called like empty in the Vault a couple of years ago, yep, which is like, yo, if you got, if you got, like like fans, don't leave that shit on the fucking hard drive though, like, just drop it.
Get rid of that shit. You might as well for me too. I don't be wanting people to think my old songs is my new songs because I got better since then and I changed since then, so I gotta label it something like empty in the vault.
They know it's old, so they understand it's not some current shit. Exactly, are you working on a project right now? I'm just working on music period, bro, Like I'm not. I'm not really planning on dropping a project just because I don't feel like I'm big enough to drop a project right in my own head, because like, attention spans is so short now. Yeah, always say if you don't like you just said, like, I mean, look, you, I
think you're big enough to drop a project. But if you have that thought process and you're like, Okay, if I put out a twelve song body of work, that's one impression to the algorithm, Yeah, as opposed to dropping twelve songs exactly, having twelve shots exactly, Yeah, exactly exactly.
That's how I think of it too, just dialing on each song. Now, if you drop a body of work or some ship you drop in the next fucking five months, you drop five songs, and then that sixth month you give them them five songs.
With like two extra right, that's different for sure, something like that. But if I don't do that, then it's just straight singles. Yeah. Have you been able to connect with the rustle at all out there? No? I haven't. Yeah, he's fucking going crazy. Yeah, he been going crazy for show doing his He's just doing his own thing, bro, Like yeah, it's pretty crazy. Honestly, it's interesting. I went to his house a couple of years ago, the pergola
where he's performing it. Yeah, yeah, crazy, that's what That's what it's called, the pergola. Yeah yeah, yeah, so he's calling the purgola is what he built. It's like a stay. I don't know what. It's like a stage, but it's fucking wild. Yea. His dad was barbecuing, they had the merchant, the garage. It was pretty sick culture. Yeah, Bro, he's smart, oh, super smart for sure. There's something about the babe where y'all just like got this fucking grind that nobody else got.
Absolutely yeah, absolutely, bro.
I'll be driving five six, seven, eight hours just I just I just got here, Bro, just like like twenty thirty minutes ago, straight.
Drove, push pushed through all man. I'll tell you that Beta La drive is interesting. Yeah, because it's like cool, there's like some outlet malls, but then there's just like that patch of farmland. Yeah, and you're like, damn, this is where all the Republicans in California.
Hey, I'm moving there though, I'm gonna give me some less farm.
That be a fucking Bakersfield before, you know, a dog show. Oh god for show? That shit crazy for you? Man? Is there anybody who is because I always feel like the beta LA relationships very important and it's been important over the years. Is there anybody in LA? I mean, obviously you work with three with No Baby, But anybody in LA that you you feel like you've you've got a good relationship with that you want to make some
more music with. To be honest, not really. I fuck with everybody though, but who I really fuck with?
Uh? He's super underrated. One take Jay, Yeah that's my boy.
He was just up here. Yeah, Yeah, that's my boy. I fuck with him heavy. Wait hold up, Tripp, hey be wrapping his ass off?
He do?
He do? Bro?
And like Kaylyn, I fuck with Kaylan shit heavy too because he kind of like in the same lane as that I am. As far as the females, you know what, I'm saying, so I fuck with Kaylan shit too heavy?
And would you say most of your fans are chicks? Yeah? Majority majority? Yeah? All right, so you got, uh, has there been someone who's done a TikTok to one of your records that tripped you the funk out where you're like, oh, ship, uh.
Yeah yeah yeah Kylie Jenner, Kylie did a TikTok? Yeah, Kylie ye, Kylie was one, and I was like, god damn.
And Haley Haley Bailey. I think Haley Bieber and Haley Bailey. Oh oh that's uh yeah, Chloe and Haley yeah a little mermaid.
Yeah yeah, I think she was doing no, no. The other one her sister, her older sister.
Right, I don't know which one's Chloe. Which one? I think that's Chloe, Uh, the older one. The older one's Chloe. The younger one's Hailey. Hailey is a little mermaid. That's crazy. Haley was is DD's baby momy Yeah so Chloe yeah shouts her. Hey, what is the is the Kylie Jenner effect real? Like what? I'm just curious, like because you always would hear like that. The Kardashians and the Jenners
have like the power to change the record's trajectory. So from like the day before she posted TikTok to like the day after, what is like in the estimation, what is the spike you get off of something like that? To be honest, I don't even know, bro, See, I'd be geeking on that shit. I'd be like yo, because I would like it's like a stimulus package. Yes, it's like you know Drake post you're something.
Oh no, absolutely, that's everybody was in my in my DM and sending it to me.
Everybody hear me like, bro, congrats as if I just got a fucking multi million dollar deal. For sure, I'm like, I like that. And you did all that without signing, which is amazing because you know, most people they feel like they have to sign and get those bigger opportunities because they think there's some like you know, secret deal between the label heads and the Kardashians or these It's like nah, dog, like sometimes it should just be happening.
I wonder for you, do you feel like because I feel like the one thing that like labels help with or district companies can help with is like sink opportunities and like maybe like putting songs in like NBA two K shit like that exactly. Is that something that you feel like you've noticed is like a little harder to
make happen. Yeah, being just you and your team Yah. Yeah, Yeah, that's that's definitely, uh on the difficult side obviously, because with that, with every path you take, right, there's like there's good and bad. Yeah, you know, so there's like easier things like obviously you know, you might get an upfront bag instead of you. I'm sure you have a nice monthly check that hits that account every every every month. But yeah, I always wonder because to me, that's like
the main thing that sticks out of my head. Well, like it's like, well, those video game companies they usually deal with like a certain amount of folks, you know what I'm saying, So, like you're like super stripped down independent. I just wonder if it makes it a little tougher to kind of get into some of those like situations. It does.
That's because it comes with resources for sure, So if you don't got to miss a little more difficult versus like being with them and they already having those resources.
Right, Yeah, that's fair. I want to be in two KO bro, you will be Yeah, absolutely, two K always shows love to the bay. Yeah, I don't know, but yeah, yeah, Yo, your hair is interesting. I say that because I've never seen the fake Look there you go, and then the standalone the stand alone sideburns, the ice pigs. So it's the ice picks. Is that okay, I've never seen that. It's it's original. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the ice pigs.
I've been doing this, but they was roasting me on Instagram and ship for hell along about my ice pigs.
Really yeah, just like a thing that you're owning. Yep.
So I've been doing it since I was in like elementary, Me and my little brother, my mom been keeping our sideburns, but it was a little different. Obviously it wasn't like this. But when I start getting when I start getting this, I'm like, nigga, I'm not cutting my sideburns. I've been keeping these forever. So for me, this me So when you see a nigga.
With this and the ice pigs, they got the John Mack Yeah for shure, that's fair. For show there it is. Man, Well look congrats on everything. Yo. You're killing it independently and that's that's a lot. And and you know like I said, there's a lot of people from the Bay and they're independent ish for sure. It's you independent as fuck. Yeah yeah, uh that that shit's dope to see, man, So keep keep keep on keeping.
Uh.
I know you got a new record out, uh yeah, and then I'm assuming you just got more singles coming. Hell yeah, hell is hit. My question to you is give me some advice for other artists that might be watching this. Let's say you do have a record that's going crazy, is it? It's I feel like people think mentally that they can only push one thing at a time. Yeah, so they're like, well, if my song is going crazy, if I drop something new, then I got to move on.
That's not the case, and you could push old shit exactly. So like, what is that strategy for you? Because I feel like a lot I feel like artists overthink this content shit that overthink promoting their own music for some reason. It's just like it feels like for some people it's like the hardest thing to wrap your head around.
Yeah. I get like that sometimes too, But you just gotta do it, bro, just do it. Just you don't got none a louse, Like promoting your music is not losing anything. The worst come to worsh it don't go viral, but we're not. We're not trying to get a viral moment anyway. We're trying to get them to you know, surface,
towards the towards the old ship. I still promote old, old, old songs, like I shoot content for everything and still post my old songs from two three years ago, and shit, so smart is so like it's like, now I got a bigger buzz than I had two three years ago.
So you might be able to You might be able to catch it another hit.
From hell long ago, you feel me, because they ain't never heard it, so if they hear it, they might be like, the fuck it's new.
They gonna think it's new and then gonna listen to it and be like, oh this old.
I fuck with this. So it's like, just promote those shit, bro. Even when you drop a new single, you don't have to wait fucking three months to drop another one. Fuck that four weeks, drop another one, two three, you know it. Don't just keep promoting both. So now you got content for two different songs, so you're not posting the same song the whole time. You could post a different one real quick, switch it up and then go back to that one and then you know what I'm saying.
So I love it, man, Yo, artists take notes, all right. Did you ever see that clip of Tyler the Creator saying that, Like, there was this clip of him talking about how like how crazy it is that that artists are so passive with promoting their own ship. Damn, I don't see that. He was like, Yo, it's your ship and all you're gonna do is throw some shit up ont of your fucking story on good Like, what the fuck is that your music? What are we talking about? Yeah? Exactly, Yeah,
it's crazy. Exactly. You supposed to have like a hunting post of that song, to be honest. Where can people find you online?
On Instagram at John Underscore, mac j O h N Underscore, m.
A c KK and uh yeah, be safe out in the bay man, Yeah always you know, ship, keep them fucking windows down, dog, Robie under Bro.
I got five percent tent all around my own play like that I'll be and then I don't keep nothing in my whip.
So Stayt's Stockton too out there, Jesus Christ. I felt fucking Northern California's wild. They fucking did you see in Sacramento they pillaged the road Wave concert. They got up in the motherfucking King's venue and they fucked up all the concessions. That took all the birch out of that bubal hell. Yeah. Did the show get canceled? Yes, but that's why because everybody was waiting outside and his productions all fucked up, so they were going to cancel the show.
But people were waiting until like seven forty five outside and then they announced that it was canceled. Oh so they just turned the fuck up. Okay, that's just that's justified for sure, Ye justified. Fuck it, that's crazy though, Like to beat my ass anyway, I appreciate you for pulling up man, appreciate you for having me back there. It is you already know fire