Check out this iconic interview with The Breakfast Club and hip-hop icon NAS! We’ve included the transcription below so you can read along.
Ladies and gentlemen, nice thank you honored to be here: peace, king, peace, king. First of all, i got to give you a round of applause on putting out an amazing body of work in king’s. Disease album is dope man very, very, very refreshing.
I call it a dope contemporary hip-hop. You know when you, when, when you over 40, you need something to be under the pergola sipping, your cognac too. So i appreciate it appreciate that man, what is king’s disease? What is that? What is is what is the king’s, disease, it’s.
The thing that comes that comes when you’re on top of your game. You know you can uh, you can over indulge in things that could be a demise you can. It comes with not being on point um, I mean it comes from uh, uh, gout and – and you know these these terms that were these on um from eating too much rich foods drinking too much wine, but i flipped it into a lot more like being a King watch out for hate watch out for uh diseasing yourself with being drunk on power and ego.
You know it’s, a multi-layered man. I see you hooked up with hit boy on this one. How did you hit boy get up me and hit? We um we met years ago. We was um. I was trying to work with him a long time ago.
I just i just admired his work, so um. I just came by to see him to get a beat. I just felt like working. I came by and got a beat and i ain’t leave we just we, we got into a zone and then um, they say you know.
We’re working on an album and you got a firm reunion on the album so who’s? That was that you that said yo we got ta do this. Did somebody come to you and say let’s? Put to put out a song uh hit boy, it was hit, he said, yo um.
We need to get a z on the track and i was just like wow like i knew he was really invested in. I knew he really was serious about what we was working on when he mentioned a, and i knew az was working on his new stuff too.
So it’s, perfect timing and then g-code was like why don’t, you call called mega at foxy brown and i just it just light bulbs was going off and it was just like. Let’s. Let’s, get at it, so they was with it and um happy.
So so who is in the firm? Is it because? Because i was like well, where’s, nature? Where’s, nature? Why didn’t? You make the record it’s. Mega fox, is it nature? Is it like who, who’s, the verb, az yeah? It started with me az cormega and foxy brown, and that’s, the that’s.
The one um we did uh affirmative action on my album and yeah. After that, it was like a split had happened and um me and megan fell out crazy and it never it never panned out the way it was supposed to with that four, and you know we went on and did the album nature’s on The album and nori’s on the album, and you know we we um, you know, wanted to get back to uh me and megan.
Once we talked it was just like. Let’s pregnant, let’s. Bring that formula back for this record. It’s. A great time i was check. I was just checking on him, see how he was see. I was doing this because we didn’t know what tomorrow was gonna bring, and you know what i’m, saying it’s just like this is a great time just to catch up anyway.
So we just caught up and put and continue from affirmative action. You know full circle right and dr j, even pops up on it too yeah that’s, the secret, the secret sauce in the song right there, dr dre, he came at the end and really made it full circle.
Yeah shout out to dre really doesn’t ride on elevators huh. Was that always a thing even back then like he won’t get in the elevator? What how you know that his elevators he takes elevated, but i mean where are you going not packing elevators? No, it’s, listen cause.
I had a birthday party. I was at the bowling alley and he came, but he wouldn’t. Come upstairs because he doesn’t ride, elevators and think he said he got uh in the elevator. As a kid i don’t know i didn’t know i didn & # 39.
T know that i didn’t know he still don’t write elevators. He’s. Still elevated, though he’s still elevating yeah. I need you to partner, with az and and and and put an a-z out of mouth cause az sound like fresh, like wow, fresh water.
They all do it like water, like water. We’ve, been talking about that off and on for a long time, and you did some collaborations with artists. You’ve, never worked with before. So i thought that was pretty fresh with this too.
It’s. A nice balance like we get the nostalgia with the firm, but then we see you with anderson pack. You know we see you with other artists that you haven’t worked with previously. So how do you decide what collaborations you want to do? Well, we’re working with hit, it was like i like.
He really was in the front seat, a driver’s seat. We both were driving, but he’s like you know he has his ideas. He has his ideas and directions and stuff so um. You know with big sean too um. It was like he he knew it was like.
We felt what needed to happen, who we needed to work with, and we just wanted to work with the perfect people for each song. What do you, what do you think before we get back to king’s disney, because king disease is so phenomenal? What do you think went wrong with the kanye west, album um, i don’t know what went wrong.
I would say i did want to. I did want to work more with him. I did we. We spent some time there, but i mean i was working on ideas. He would give me um like a few loops and i would write to them, but it wasn’t finished and he was working on a lot.
He had cuddy tiana taylor. He had his album and i was the only one coming in starting fresh, so i got the less time with him. You know we really did that album like that week. That was supposed to come out.
It seemed a little rushed like even with cop shot. The kid cop like that idea is insane slick, rick sample, but it just seemed like the way the loops was on top of each other was hard to hear it just seemed like it was rushed and i’m, like ah yeah.
I kind of felt that too um yeah, i just it just it just went crazy. It just went crazy once we announced we was doing the album. It just went crazy. After that you know. I definitely wanted to work with him a lot more than we did.
Do you regret that album? No, no! I like cops. I like cop, shot the kid i like um, adam and eve. I like um. I like the music and simple things of life. I like um, you know it’s. Just short, it’s, a short album um it just we just didn’t get enough time to really.
I wish we worked on it more, but certain things happen for reasons you know when you first came in and i was gonna say in the league. But when you first came on the scene and you signed your first deal back, then everybody was raping artists.
Getting artists you signing artists, not getting your necessary publishing. How was your first deal as a young artist as a team? I thought it was amazing because back then we thought only r b artists were getting like real deals like like big budgets, because they could go far.
They could their records could go a lot further than hip-hop records at the time. So to get i got like a 250 000 budget um overall, you know like for my pocket, i think was uh uh 30. 000 – something like that, but you know um back then that was everything i was good.
I was good, it was. It was decent. It was decent, you know, but um. It was a learning process and i knew it was going to be signing the contract. You know what leverage do you have they betting on you.
You know i’m, saying they putting up everything and um. I was just wanting the opportunity. I was just happy enough. All i needed was opportunity and i’ll. Take it from there when when you were coming up, you know the songs were like four to seven minutes now.
I i noticed on king’s, disease. A lot of the songs are shorter to fit. You know more the the format of three minutes or less nowadays. How do you think that impacted the creative process of the music that wasn’t? The focus i was hoping that the songs wasn’t long, and i was i i really thought the songs were longer than it was.
While i was recording them and then at the end it’s like nah. We good we right here and i’m like wow. The songs are not they’re right as long as i don’t need that much that much time to get my thing off.
No more! Thank god! You know. I know how to say what i need to say now and um um just the right way, so i don’t need that much time. No more! You feel, like you, celebrate life, a lot more now than you did when you were younger.
I feel, like you, weren’t that big on wanting to do interviews or talk about your personal life, but now it feels like you’re in a good space like it’s been, like you, said: 27 summers since illmatic even came out, and now you’ve got your adventure. Capitalism going on. You have restaurants, we celebrated he was partying back in the day. You could catch knives in any club in new york city. It felt a little different now it felt like a more i don’t, know, grow mature type of celebration because it feels real stable for you just with everything going on so i woke up, and i said i made it.
Oh, i got ta be proud of this. You know i got ta you wake up, you you run for so long that you don’t have time to stop and look around, and you know you know you’re just running and you know, then you get to a point In your life, where you’re like okay, i can.
I can settle down and kind of chill and like all right, let’s. Talk about it! Let’s. Talk about this! You know yeah. I think i’m happy, i think um, considering all the times that we’re in you know. I think i’m um.
I’m at a strong place. I mean you can tell even on the definition you talking about gout and getting your uric acid levels up high and drinking lemongrass and cherries alkaline water. Are you giving people the blueprint how to live? I mean at this point got to you know, got to you know it’s, all about balance, moderation, um, taking into the right things into your body, um that’s, important! That’s.
Important to me, uh! I’m, not speaking to that song uh shout out to brucey b, yes, so happy to have him on on the record and a record. I talk about a lot of things, including somebody who i say is cool with me: gail, king and um.
I think she’s uh a bright light, but you know there was things that had that had that had happened that made me a little upset and um. It made me um just open up and say things that you know that i think we could bring that could push us all into a better place.
If we, you know just talk about it, but it’s. All love. That was a very barbershop moment, though, what the fuck is up with gayle king. That was a bad, but you asked some good. It was natural. I didn’t plan that i didn’t plan that i didn’t know what was gonna happen.
It just came out, but you know i know she means well. I know she means well, but me being, i know what that’s like to be accused bullshit, so you know that’s it, but you know um on another note um on the health side of it.
Of that same song. I had a friend who had king’s, disease too. I knew about two to three people that that had this thing and it’s about your diet. You know what i’m, saying taking care of yourself. So on the definition i wanted to end it with that, like take care of self, you had a good line on that song too.
Even after the king thing, when you talk about journalism or internalism like what’s, the difference to you, i mean it’s, sort of like what you guys do. It is what you guys. Do you guys do great journalism? I’m, not just saying that, because we hear everybody knows that about you guys, you guys are the ones.
So it’s like there’s, a side of it where it isn’t there’s, an integrity part, but there’s, also a side of it where you have to do great journalism And it’s like which part of it is, you guys, got a hard job.
It’s like we’re part of it. Do you throw everything out the window and and or what part of it do you carry yourself in there with some integrity and and and do it like the greats did it? You know what i mean you know.
I always wanted to ask one thing that always impressed me about you was your investments and investments you did. I. I think it was like 2008. 2009. 2010, when you were beefing with everybody.
The the one thing that was like, oh nas is broke: knives ain’t, got no money, naws, always the irs. He’s having financial problems and then all of a sudden like clockwork. You just started seeing all these investments start popping out.
The word words like nah’s invested in this, and i was invested in this now. He’s invested in that. So how did you get the the mind frame to start becoming an investor, the way that you did because it wasn’t something small like when you came out the gate.
You came out with some big investments um well. First, i don’t, really get. I don’t really trip off what people are saying, whether they’re, saying i’m up, i’m down. I really wish nobody would talk about either.
One like i really got into uh what i got into because it was just how much i was maturing into. I always wanted to be a businessman. I think i as a kid i had you know i would say i put my room. I had folders.
I had uh, i had a typewriter i had like. I was working on different operations as a little kid i had uh um. I was doing a comic business man. I was doing uh board game business. I was writing screenplays.
I i was a kid with this. You know what i’m saying, so i did always see myself as a empire running an empire when i was like eight nine years old like and i think there’s – a lot of kids out there like that.
So i knew at one point i would get back into uh uh get into that, but at the time man i was having a good time: blowing money burning money to the ground, enjoying life sharing and love. I was having a good time.
I just matured man. What was your first investment? Do you remember your first big investment genius, dropbox uh i don’t want to talk about that. I know about all of those. We know about genius. We know about dropbox, we know about lyft.
We know about coinbase like the home base. You know, coinbase was a big one. You know that was one of the ones i was really proud of. So i was going to ask you: why do you think you’re left out of those conversations you know, despite your business moves and major investments, but it’s.
Clearly, because you don’t choose to be in them that part. What are you scared who you scared of? I arrested. What are you scared of you? Don’t fear nothing. The bottom line is like it. Doesn’t that that’s, never been my thing.
That’s too much attention. I’m already on the stage it’s. Just i’m, not good at all that i don’t want, i’m, not in it. For that i mean not no, not to nobody. I love everybody doing what they do, but why do i? Why does my business got to be out there? I’d, rather just do what i do.
You know that’s, just me that’s. It knives don’t like attention that’s. What i’m, saying he just be wanting to be low-key, do his music, but that’s. Somebody you don’t call bs on that. I know people call bs on it.
It is what it is. You know you had a firm code with a qb chain on a roof with diddy how you didn’t like attention. Man come on that’s, hip hop now. Envy has told us – and i’m – glad that we have you here to clear this up.
Oh boy had an issue with him, telling a story about an interaction that he had where you allegedly had to approach him. He didn’t, pull right. There allegedly pulled out a gun on me because i got damn a legend.
It was me i was like 19.. I was in the back of jamaica avenue. I’m, getting one up to now’s on my book bag. I said i got something for you in my bag. He said what you got for me when i went in the bag and pulled out a mixtape.
Now i had a gun and i was like it’s, just a mixtape. He’s like don’t, do that. You know how the streets are and he got his gs and he took off. That was real. There was no allegedly, he did it that was before bodyguard that was before before i was used to people recognizing me uh.
That happened a couple of times and that definitely happened with dj envy. I didn’t know you at the time it’s, jamaica queens! You know how volatile jamaica queens is. You know so love man. Now i want you to know that’s.
The first dj envy war story that has ever been confirmed on the breakfast club. All these other street war stories, don’t, be adding up. He’s. The only person there you’re, the first person to confirm one.
Damn envy, why’d? You have to say anything. Listen. I feel like on king’s. Disease black women were a real muse for this album. Am i right? Yes, sir, that’s, a they had a backbone. They are. They are everything and uh.
I noticed like when i put out lost tapes the other time i was thinking about it. I’m. Like i’m really, i’m, a rapid rap kind of guy i like to rap, and in that case, that’s like there’s, no songs about the women in my life, so i had to Change that to open that up, i needed that conversation i needed to be more transparent with women and dating and life, and you know yeah.
It was so on. Point like when i heard tell the war is one i’m. Like yo. Did he write this yesterday because, literally all friday, it was protect black women protect black women, protect black women? So i’m like wow how how have black women showing up for you in your life? Excuse me, i said how have black women showing up for you in your life when you say that uh, you know the black on black women is the backbone it starts with my mom’s.
You know she was a great example, and i didn’t, listen to her. She would try to warn me about. You know, like the song says, take your time. Young man and i ain’t listening. I was just running around.
You know, but you know in hindsight retrospect her words. Are they with me now you know so um. It started with her. She’s, the example and then um even more now than it used to be, and you know it’s. All love it’s, all love.
What does winning the war look like to you when you say you say it’s not over to the war as well. What does one in the world look like? That means all people of all ethnicities wise enough getting over yourselves, get out of ignorance, educated on all of our differences, so we could co-exist in this world in this country, um the war good versus evil that we’re in right.
Now, what’s, the old knives, like i see on the um on the album, you say looking at them, what what & #? 39 s, the? What is the old noise like people, though you want to own us, listen to an old clue like what what are people saying they want the old knives like what is the older? It it leaned a little bit more to what the younger guys would talk about.
Even to today you know, um um street stuff is always going to be number one. I’m, always going that’s going to be me, but the like going over the top. You know the stuff. We like the stuff the hardest stuff the hardest hardest hardest stuff.
You may you might not hear that from me. The way it was because i’m different, but you always got those clue. Tapes and all of that you wouldn’t snuff jesus at the age you had now now. Look you have songs like replace me and we don’t ever hear you too much in interviews talking about relationships.
So i got to ask you: have you ever had your heart broken yeah, um, 16 years old um, this girl named tears. T i’m. Sorry put your name out there wherever you are um, but i also also mentioned her on car 85 um.
But then, after that it was um all of them man, all of them man, my baby mamas, all of them. You know, i mean it’s, it’s life. You go to it. How many young girls jumped in your dm when they heard you say you’re, a sugar daddy? I mean you said you put it out there.
Now you say you’re, a sugar daddy. You know what i could speak like that, because i’m, really not but declare let’s clear that up because it’s, past tense is is pat. You know i i’ve, been there, i’m a lot slow.
I slowed down a lot i slowed down. You know i was dating the same girls, the young rapper dudes, who was messed up. Oh yeah yeah that’s, just ramen that’s just bars. I just threw their name out there, always rhyming somebody’s name, and it gets you into trouble because then people be like who is he talking about? Like you know, you say: does your cat’s name, but that was just because you said it rhymes with the talked to a girl, songs time.
She told me about this. Dude um and i didn’t know who he was, but he’s. Some new rapper that you know was really crazy about her, but she seemed so much so mature and she’s, dealing with this young rapper and it’s like this is, i was just like i run into the same women that the young dudes, you know what i’m saying this is great anymore, not anymore. I meant to ask that roxy and shantae really threaten you at the at the end of the movie.
You know she comes up to you and you were the rapper. Does she really threaten you? So you get yourself together? I’ma punch in your face. Was that rude? Was that true? No, she said next time. I see you.
If you don’t, have your shit together. Can i curse yeah? She said if you don’t, have your shit together. I’m fucking you up, so i was hiding from her. I was hiding from her because she know she was she.
She was tough. You know she was tough and she was. She was serious and that showed me how serious the game is that showed me how serious you got to be about this and she was a girl and back in those days she was speaking to uftfo in a way that in a society in a society we Lived in we wasn’t used to women.
Talking to somebody like that, like i would hear the older guys, um saying you know, upset about some of her lyrics in the song, because i i’m learning from this world. I mean i’m, like oh, they’re, not used to women.
You know bucking back roxanne’s, revenge. I’m like so in her own right, roxanne chante is like a a freedom fighter through hip-hop. You know what i’m saying, so i i acknowledged that and um. I always looked up to him.
You know on replace me too. You say only thing worse than being alone is wishing you were. Can you unpack that a little bit yeah? If you’re with the wrong person, and you realize your life should be going in a different direction, you know you wondering what it would be like if you was free and to do what you you know that’s like a Prison that’s prison, so you’d rather be alone.
You know saying if you’re alone and you’re happy because you know, then you’re good. But if you’re with somebody, you wish. You was alone that’s. Worse yeah! I always say that there’s, nothing worse than when you got to lay next to somebody and feel lonelier than you would feel you didn’t have anybody there? Sometimes people just be in relationships just for the sake of not being alone, and there’s, nothing worse than that feeling don’t do it.
I will not that now. You also had said you had another secret project that’s supposed to be happening. Is that still happening? Yes? Is it music? What is it it’s, music uh did what i was talking about was music.
Okay. How have you felt knowledge about the criticism that you know your production has always been lackluster, that’s? What people always say about knives? He don’t, have the beats um i don’t know i i think um that people may.
I know i choose to rap on things that i, like you know. I’m. A rapid i’m, like the rap type of guy, so i just like to rap on beats that allow me to open up um uh, but i don’t. I think if you know things just snowball and it’s, just one of the things people talk about, but i don’t.
I don’t get it. I work with some of the greatest producers. I work with some of the new producers. I always did i don’t. I don’t. I don’t, i mean i don’t, make no sense to me that easy with hillmatic and then you know it was written.
I am i never i didn’t. I never understood where the lack of the like knives wrap over whack beats like what what halftime’s whack like new york state of mind as a white person. Yes, sir, i appreciate that certain people will see me and they don’t like that.
I’m, doing good. They don’t like that. I’m able to have by the grace of the most high to sustain and do what i do. It makes me they. They think that it should be harder for me, like it ain’t hard enough.
They think that i have a good a lot of people. Think so many ways about me. I hear things all the time and it bothers them. If, if you bother by me, man like that’s on you, but i wish you the best. You know rayquan, we had rayquan up here uh, i think a couple of weeks ago and he was talking about your relationship and how y’all got so tight.
What did you see in rayquan? I was like yo i wan na. I really wan na fuck, with with some myself i saw me. I said i think likewise with him. I thought i think we saw each other and um we just bonded from the first time.
First day i met him was a summer jam, they walked, they kicked in the door. You know we were in that big area. It comes in and just popped, the champagne bottles. I’m, like that’s right, like that’s. How i’m supposed to meet rayquan right, walking on hit on that and popping bottles as soon as it was a celebration just to be in that arena.
Coming from where we coming from – and we had this radio station’s first summer gym or whatever, so it was just like a beautiful thing because he was the way i imagined them to be right. Do you remember your purple tape session? I kind of do i kind of do because it was a few sessions.
I i was at and um. It was late night staten island, studio, vibes. It was in somebody’s crib. If i’m, not mistaken, it felt like it felt like you know the real thing, because that’s, one of the greatest, that is to me one of the greatest hip-hop verses that was spit.
Like i cuz i think about. I love the intros to records right like who sets the song off and when you come on through the lights, cameras and actions, glamour, glitters and gold, i unfold. The scroll plants need to stampede the globe like those those are different bars right there.
Thank you, man yeah, to wrap with rayquan and ghostface. You know he wasn’t coming for it. You know you know you need to belong man, so shout out to rayquan and go some of the greatest lyricists that ever that ever got involved with this thing.
Man, the purple tape, is a super monumental thing, happy 25th anniversary to the rayquan cuban links album. I’m honored to be on that man with so many artists that you know you always had the artist loved you and then they disliked you for a little bit and then they loved you again.
Was it because it’s? One of those things where you not the type of person that’s, going to go all out to people’s parties, because we can go from whether it was prodigy whether it was nori mega. I think even anger for a little bit hope like there’s, so many artists that you came up with that y & # 39.
All were super tight and then y’all stopped fucking with each other for a while. Why? Why was that? I’m, a nice guy. I don’t get it. I think i’m, a nice guy and maybe because they’re, not so accessible like they want you to do things, and that was the biggest part, and you know we’re young.
We was young and um um. We didn’t know, you know we just we didn’t know because it’s, love for all of them. You know um, they got love for me today. We’re great. Today, everybody we’re great um. We just all had to grow up.
You know, and i think they understand me man, you know nora’s like yo. Do you know what’s going on outside? Do you even know? Do you like nori, i know i know like yo. Do you know man, you sure man cause dudes, be thinking that you just on some other planet somewhere? I’m like bro, i’m right here.
You know so he knows that you know we talk all the time but um yeah. For years and years i think people were trying to i’ve, never changed, i’ve, always been the same way. You know, and i think people realize it’s, not an act.
You know what i’m saying wait. What is your writing process like? Because you know some artists will be like? Oh i went in, i wrote a song in five minutes. I didn’t even have to write the lyrics down, but what’s? Your writing process, because obviously yours are a lot more complex than that, and i would also assume that you, some you just you just don’t, go in the studio and knock songs out like that.
Like some artists do with hit boy, he hit change that um. He was more uh. You know say that you know. I say what do you think about this? Oh, that’s. Fire say that we have a conversation and we talk about something.
He go oh nah and i go. It sounds like a bar. Yeah say that mike is right. There say that no, i like that and it kind of like pushed me in the confidence side, and it was like there is no mistakes. You say what you want to say: there is no mistakes and that freedom, i was able to just everything i said to him, was like that’s good, and i’m over critical and i didn’t have to Do that so i didn’t have to write it it just it wrote itself, it just came out some of the things i had like notes that i had in my phone, and i was able to oh.
This goes with this. This goes with that, but it was a lot of it was hit. Pushing me like no, i like that say that, do you know envy brought up the fact that you’ve had issues with other artists. Do you think jay-z releases projects on your album release, dates on purpose that’s? What everybody says every time i saw 50 say that the wool kid i see a little meme going around.
No, no, i think i think maybe there’s, an energy that we both have where we maybe we feel like we work around the same time and then they said still mad. It came out december 18th. They said aj released unplugged.
Then it says street disciple november 30th, then collision course nasa’s greatest hits american gangster nazia. Everything is love. The lost tapes, beyonce jay-z lion king, that’s where it got stupid.
With the lion lion, king soundtrack is when it gets caught and the reason he was an entrepreneur. Well, i, what’s collision course that’s, the album the lincoln park joint yeah, oh a world yo bro that’s, a hell of a coin that’s, some coincidence, um! You know i mean i don’t know about that.
I think things just happen. It’s, just synergy man, you know um, you know jay would know. Jay would know better than me now. This album wasn’t on death jam right. This album was on your own masterpiece.
Are you off deaf gym? Are you only on mass appeal now yeah? I’m only on mass appeal man. It’s about um. It’s, a couple of years old and um. It’s. Still i’m still dusting off uh. You know still getting it right and um, but i’m, so happy to be at a thriving company and that we built from the ground up uh the record company.
We built that from the ground up man and uh. We got dave east man. We got a. We got some uh some some dope, some dope artists, that we partnered with davey shout out to davies karma three’s in stores; well, ain’t no stores, but that’s like that’s; a crazy Album pick that up um yeah, so mass appeal we just we’ve grown every day and this is uh.
This is a beautiful thing to have this record after being on sony uh def jam uh, i you know, worked with in the scope, dr dre, for the firm album working with all these different labels and now to have my own that’s, where We’re supposed to be now, though, you still credit steve stout a lot too.
I heard you shout them out on the album when you shout it out, like davies and your other partners, what’s, your relationship with stop um? It’s, it’s incredible. You know i’ve known him for decades, and you know he’s.
He’s a great he’s, a great dude. He keeps me on my toes. I say that he’s. He’s. He’s, one of the few people that’s. You know keeps me on my toes and, and it pushes me, and even though we don’t work together, he’s, it’s.
Still like it’s still like we do it’s like beyond work. Did you ever feel awake? I’m. Sorry, how do you like the restaurant business with the sweet, chicks that you’ve, been opening? How much fun is that for you? Is that something you always envisioned yourself doing? Um? Yes, yes, i love food and um.
I mean the world’s in tough times right now, but overall uh there’s. Now little sweet shit too. So um i love it. It’s about seven of them. In the world there’s, one in mets stadium. There’s, one in uh london.
There’s supposed to be another one before covert hit. There’s, one in my neighborhood in queens, where i grew up there’s like two in brooklyn there’s, one in manhattan, um it’s expanding you know um.
This is a beautiful thing shout out to john seymour, who, who created the whole brand. He’s, a genius yeah. I was gonna. Ask you about you know when, when you and hope had y’all think back in the day.
How did that put a strain on your relationship with stout when style started working with hulk? It was it was. It was a odd time for everybody. You know it was. I didn’t mind that much because i wasn’t hanging out with stout that much at the time.
So when it happened, i backed up from stout just to you know saying what’s going on here, but we still had our talks. We still had our conversations and i still liked that he was getting out there and expanding his his whole vision, and you know working with jay.
You know they together did great things together and it made me proud of him that um he could work with all these different artists. He started doing the advertisement thing and i’m learning from that i’m like yo.
You know you guys are uh, crushing it out there and i’m gonna crush it. My way you know on the album you um, i don’t, remember the song. I listened to the album so many times where there’s, a line where you talk about michael jordan and lebron james and how they both give back and one does it quietly now, when i first heard it, i was like that’S kind of like you, you do a lot of stuff, necessarily very quiet, but not like a lot of people.
Don’t necessarily see you doing. It was that that line for yes, sir, that’s, the cure right. I might no that’s. Ten points yeah. Yes, sir, it’s, a lot of people do you know they think and they just don’t want it out there, like that.
So a big michael jordan fed big lebron james fan, uh respect those guys. So have you ever gotten to a point now when you thought your legacy was in jeopardy? I’m sure somewhere somewhere, i did um, but then i didn’t spend too much time on just thinking about rap.
You know you got, i had life had life to live, so i’m like so be it. Whichever way is gonna go, i did my best, so i can’t drive myself crazy. You know, let me get to these pampers and drive this kid to school and live life.
You know, oh so this was later on. This was like after stillmatic and all that yeah hell yeah, oh wow, okay. I thought it would have been before nah charlotte. The first time i thought about that was after my first album i’m like yo.
Now, where do i am, i gonna continue going and am i gonna um mess up the sophomore jinx. If your second album was gonna be garbage, they should say that back then, a lot of people don’t make it past their second albums back then.
So i was concerned more than in the beginning and then later on, it was like okay. I’m getting older. How am i gonna bow out gracefully? I’m gonna leave this thing alone. These kids are now doing these great things.
Let me, but then that thing in you that just that fan in you that just keeps burning, you know what i mean you’re like oh, i got to do a record. I got to do a record. You know what i mean. So listen. What about what about your acting job in belly? Did you ever look at that and be like? You know what man they gonna use this against me, because you bought in blue bins.
You got louie rankin on blue bins. You know what i’m, saying you included the scene from belly classic movie. By the way you say what classic movie life’s just moving. I said yo belly shout out to yo uh louis rinkins, rest in peace, louis rankin, um rest in peace, louie, rankin um.
He was, he was wow wow dude man that dude um. How do you feel about your acting job in belly? Is the question guys? But you didn’t, do much more acting after that, though, but you know what, if height williams, would get me between scenes? You’re, like yo dog.
You got to pick it up. Man yo dawg man. They they not feeling you dog, you got to pick it up, and i’m. Like i’m trying that’s the way i smile that’s. The way i’m trying he’s like yo man, i don’t, know man, you know like you.
If you don’t pick it up, he was home, he was army and i was mad. I was like he ain’t bothering nobody else. You know i’m saying he’s just on me, and i was just like damn so i was thinking about that. While i was doing it, but i could i just had to be me – i just had to do it my way.
Um very nonchalant moments like when you walk back, i got shot, i got shot. I never thought this would happen. [ Laughter, ], like yo. Let’s. Just go to Africa. Let’s. Just go [ Laughter, ] dog, smooth man, like billy d man.
I was trying to get my billy d swag going man, you know what did you want to do more movies for real after that, though, or a little bit a little bit, i like how height put together these all the artists to be actors, so i knew Going into the movie game, you’re, going to be reacting factors and um.
I don’t. I don’t know if i was cut out for that. I tried i did some. I did some auditions. I did all of that back then. I had an agent that was pushing me to do all kinds of crazy auditions um for movies that i probably would that i probably would have turned down if i got the part and but i i wanted to have that experience to see what that’s like – and i i really didn’t – see that for me you are so laid back.
I got ta ask do you ever like. Do you have a bad temper when you are getting an argument when you’re in a relationship? Are you the type of person that says things that you regret later or do you just not say nothing and leave? He pulled the gun on me.
Man’s, move he wasn’t aggressive when he pulled the gun on me in a relationship relax his questions, [ Laughter, ], um relationships. I lose them. What’s? The argument like with knives i don’t argue and that’s.
How i lose a relationship you don’t fight for it. I don’t argue i don’t. I don’t. I don’t believe in it. I feel like we can have conversations agree to disagree, but it should be. We’re talking to get to a solution or just to agree to not agree and just move on, but i’m, not going to argue, and that cost me some real some real things i thought had potential.
What does that mean? You just like never call them back again and that’s. It they don’t call me back because they think i don’t care or that’s. What i heard before, or i must be with somebody else if i’m, not if i’m, not spending that much time with them, but then there’s.
People i met, who understand me. You know it’s all about meeting somebody that understands you likes you for who you are wants you to be who you are not be in competition with you not think that you know they got ta impress you all the time and stuff.
You know just keep it smooth. You know, you know, i do a lot of therapy, i go to therapy a lot and you got that line on um total wars. When you say we need each other with bad tempers. We defeat each other that that sounds like some some some i’ve, sat down with the therapist talk.
You know you ever sat down with the therapist one time um as soon shortest lady one time and she she she recognized me and was speaking and – and she handed me a card and she gave me a free call sensation.
What’s? It called cause now you did not need a free consultation. I just want to put that out there. No, but she said just to show me that to get into it and see if i like it or not, if she was nice enough to say the first one would be free just to see if i liked it and she thought i would and she was Writing i did like it, but i never went back um, but i would recommend it um for most well.
Some of the smartest people i know um have therapists. Has your daughter destiny brought any guys home to meet you yet like this? Is my boyfriend and yeah yeah she yeah she did. Did you put a gun on him like you did envy you, didn’t pull a gun on him, stop it.
That was a long time ago. Long long time ago, no no, the brother’s, a good brother, cool cool and everything. I must say that has to be intimidating for destiny like you got to meet my dad yeah, but i think she knows you know if they, if they’re good, that we’re going to be good, i mean amazing, you know The other day it was uh, it was you quavo, swiss, travis, scott and puff in malibu and malibu is that is that a video y’all working on something you got hanging y’all chilling.
When i see your brothers together, it seems like that’s. Some big money talk, oh no puff for like inviting me over man. Some come. You know pop come celebrate. The album mm-hmm come, have a you know, come down to malibu.
Did he have a mask on no there’s? No mass, though this was a great meeting of cool people. I was really happy to be around um travis crevo puffs swiss beats just great energy busta rhymes pulled up later.
It was just a great time it felt like it was a a tasting. It was a weed tasting. We had a smooth weed tasting, we had the menus, so it was a beautiful thing. Man, you know it makes me want to smoke again right now and i got nice before i talk to you guys, and you know that that really got my weekend going going to see those guys enjoying uh conversation right, didn’t.
You try to deny you back. In the day like like, like back right early early early early yeah puff um, he tried to um already had the deal, so he wanted to manage me and um.