QLS Classic: Prodigy

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of Course, Love Supreme is a production of I Heart Radio.
This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to QLs Classic Episode seven, Mob
Deep Founder Prodigy, made two thousand seventeen. We were fortunate
to have an amazing conversation with Albert Johnson, a k A.

(00:21):
Queen's Bridge Finest Prodigy from the infamous Mob Deep while
he was still with us on this Earth League plane.
He passed away a month after this episode first debuted.
He's promoting his commissary Kids in Prison cookbook at the time,
but we also got to chop it up about his
life growing up as a duop kid, the Duop parents,
his grandmother's dance school, choreographer Michael Peters, Queen's Bridge in

(00:44):
the eighties, fights, beat and beats, a life of diamond
and guns, wake up calls, and Yeah that's summing. James
Green a special Encore presentation of QLs Classic with rapper
Prodigy and his co author Cathy Iandle Thank You. Suprema Son,

(01:10):
Suprema Role Call, Subrima Son, Suprema Road called Suprema Suprema
Road called Subprima Son, Suprema rog Call this is quest love. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, Suprema,

(01:33):
I haven't had suma road called Subrema Suprema rog called
Fonte's in the building. Yeah, check out my rhymes. Yeah,
q l S Family. Yeah, your beef is mindro sua
Suprema road called Suprema Subrema rod call. My name is Sugar, Yeah,

(01:57):
Sugar Steve Dawn, I'm eat a sugar free Yeah. Commissary rogue,
su Prima Prima rogue. My name's Boss Bill. Yeah, winter despising, yeah,
but it spring again now, temperatures rising, roll call, some

(02:22):
Frema roll call, Prima Primo roll call. I'm unpaid Bill, Yeah,
rap RAPPERTI wraps. Yeah, I hope you can hear me
through these white taps. Rog Premo roll call, some Prima
some Premo roll. So it's like, yeah, I'm a little shut. Yeah,

(02:47):
my first one be better. Yeah. If I read more
Bucks roll roll primam rogue, my name is Kathy. Yeah,
I'll write those books. Yeah I can read them. Yeah,
I've got no more hub roll. It's gonna me pe Yeah,

(03:17):
h I c Yeah we on this show. Yeah, that's
mother go mother roll roll So Frema roll That was

(03:41):
not bad. That wasn't bad. That wasn't bad. Came through.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to another edition of Quest Love Supreme.
Is this our our first double uh convert first double
guest Pete rock and smoke this okay we didn't talked
much about. Yeah it is. And that was also the

(04:06):
episode where D'Angelo came in and was like, yeah, it's
more well, ladies and gentlemen, Uh, it's a special episode. Well,
I feel like every episode of Quest of Supremes a
special episode, So I don't want to make like the
Meratith back to Bernie episode whatever special Meredith back to

(04:26):
Bernie episode of Supreme. Um, we have though, like one
of my freaking heroes, like one of my rhyming heroes,
a cultural icon in the world of music, not above
hip hop, above I mean music, just uh for me,

(04:50):
like one of the illness writers poets mcs as an
MC to me, he has the best opening lines. Yes, wrap, yeah,
we'll talk more, but we will Yeah, Like I tell him,
he's all the time, you have like four bars to
get my attention. But he kind of made it even
worse because it's like comes in the door, Yeah you
only got one bar. So right, you know what I mean,

(05:13):
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Prodigy. Yo yo yo yo
hu we have his co conspirator. Uh. Now what makes
it great is that our special guest, Cathy's kind of
family to uh some of us course love supremers that
have started on the okay player boards. She's my favorite

(05:36):
Lauren Hill stand of all time. Well, I mean that's
how you came to my attention. I was like, who
I mean before the day of social media. I mean,
okay player was like the original Twitter. That was the original.
That ship was glad Aga school Man, it was glad
to school. We I feel like we pioneered the social
media game before social media was the thing real. And uh,

(05:58):
I just knew that this person was standing taking Lauren
Hill stands to the next level. That's how you got
my attention. But I mean you blossomed to your own
as a writer. I mean you've written for a lot
of periodicals and from BT dot com to I mean
all the way to Billboards, Pitchfork, the p word pitchwork. Wow.

(06:23):
That's but you've also collaborated with Prodigy on on his books.
The proper title is commentary Kitchen, My Infamous prison Cookbook.
Is this the first book you worked on? No, but
legally I can say this is the first book I've
worked on. I see, well, welcome, yep. I gotta say

(06:47):
Prodigy that I'm I'm really not big on hip hop autobiographies.
Actually haven't read War myself. I mean, there's a lot
of books that have been written by hip hop luminaries,
but I gotta say none. You said you're not a
fan of hip hop, but autobiography said you wrote one. No,
I know that, but I'm just saying that it's usually

(07:08):
for me, like most people that are in the genre
really don't open up as much. It's almost like a
moment of their childhood and then they came to music
and men and here right, it really doesn't really doesn't
let you like inside of like the mechanics of what
makes them work as a person, like you know them
as a personality. Like there's really not much you learned

(07:29):
from the DMX book or this Snoop book like those things.
So but I'm just saying that or even the ghost Facebook.
You know what I'm saying, which exactly like this is
more of a comedy book to you than like a
life story book. But Um, I guess that's read it
like three years ago, like it's it's a gripping as story. Man.

(07:50):
They listened to the audiobook on tour, like we ran
we had to do like a long tool run and
we had the audio book and that got us through
the whole tool Like that ship was crazy us up. Man. Yeah,
so Prodigy. Um, I'm not gonna saying I'm in this,
but actually this, this is this is a rarity. My

(08:12):
My favorite part of a Prodigy stories actually his beginnings.
I know we all like to, you know, not to
the good part, but I mean you you come from
a lineage that I didn't know. We have something in common.
We're both products of doo wop. I don't I won't
say a dynasty, but I mean, you know you grew

(08:33):
up actually with two do wop parents. Well man, my
fun Yeah, Yeah, who was your father? Bud Johnson? You
you know my grandfather's named Bud Johnson also, but my
father was Bud Johnson. He was in a group called
the Chances. Now your grandfather was a jazz musician, Yeah,
that Budd Johnson senior. He uh, he was you know,

(08:54):
big into jazz and like big band like him and
Quincy started a big being together with Dizzy Gillespie and
a bunch of different people. Man, Like, my grandfather used
to have all these jazz old g s coming to
the crib when I was a little kid. So I
used to be in the crib and Dizzy used to
make for me and all that. Like I was crazy

(09:17):
growing up around all that because I didn't realize what
was happening until I got older and think back about it, like,
oh wow, that's I was at. My grandfather had me
around on jazz greats, like you know what I mean,
But I I didn't really get to appreciate his style
of music until I got older, you know what I mean.
It wasn't I just didn't get it when I was
a kid, Like at what point in your life did

(09:38):
it click? Like no one ever gets it when like
your parents music when your kid. Only when you're older
the high school is it? Like I'm not even understanding
probably like probably like yeah, in high school when uh,
when I first started making beats, um, then I understood
like the power of my grandfather's music because we would

(10:01):
sample a lot of jazz records, you know what I mean.
And he left me like his collection, his jazz record collection,
and we made a lot of uh the first album
Infamous and Juvenile Hell that we did yeah from my
grandfather was records like um shook ons was made actually record, Yeah,

(10:22):
that's crazy. So it was like once we got to
that point, we was like actually researching the records and
like using certain samples, and we was like, oh this,
I understood the power of the jazz music and and
I started listening to it like more in depth and
paying attention to it. Then I started to, you know,
appreciate what did he take and his shows when you

(10:45):
were younger and hell yeah, man, I remember being that
so many shows, but once one in particular that stand
out a lot is that the Blue Note. My grandfather
used to perform there, and I used to sit at
the ball with my pops and I used to think,
I'm just drinking, you know what I mean, my possibly
ordering a real drink, and he would order me like
a seven up with it, you know what I'm saying.

(11:08):
I've been sitting at the ball drinking like a little kid,
like you know what I mean at the ball. So
I got memories like that and my grandfather performing while
me and my pop sitting at the ball watching him
and yeah, you know, just different different shows and whatnot,
and uh yeah, man, I was I would definitely feel blessed.
Got I got a chance to see him before, you

(11:28):
know what I mean, I remember that. That even makes
it more special because I know earlier you told me
that you're about to do a residency at Blue Up. Yeah,
it's crazy, it's crazy. It's crazy being in there. We
did the first show last month, and it's crazy being
in there because I just in places like it feels
small because you know, when you're a little kid, everything
seemed bigger and you know what I mean. So now

(11:50):
I'm and I'm like, damn, this is smaller than my memories.
But it's like it's so surreal being in there and
performing in it because I just remember my grandfather doing it.
So it was crazy, how you know, things turning, you know,
come full circle. Was he a horn player? Yeah, clarinet
and tenor saxophone and even before that, Uh, I think
you're great grandfather started Morehouse. Yeah, my my great I

(12:15):
think he was like three times great great great great grandfather. Like, uh,
you know, you know how lucky you are to even
know firsthand? Man like I just found out who my
grades were like two weeks ago. Serious, but like the
fact that you know the history of your great great
great my mother she did the genial genealogy and you know,

(12:36):
she researched and if you have some other family members
that did the same thing in research, and we we
found our whole family, like you know what I mean.
Plus we got a lot my my grandmother and my
mother's side. She keeps a lot of family photos and
just history and stuff, so we were able to like
put pieces together to connect dots, like you know what
I mean. So it's pretty It's pretty interesting. Man. I

(12:57):
learned a lot about my family while I was locked up.
My moms used to write me and tell me, used
this in your book. Put this in your book. This
is important, you know what I mean. Mh so um,
And your mother was a member of the Crystals up. Um.
My mom's was like walking down the street somewhere I

(13:19):
don't know, I don't know his queens or whatever whoever
she was at, and somebody stopped and was like, hey,
can you sing? And she was like no, And they
was like you sure, we needed an extra member for
this group because one of the members had dropped out,
so they convinced her to do it. She was only eighteen.
They convinced her to do it, and she became part
of the group and went right on tour, you know

(13:40):
what I mean. So it was it was kind of
crazy hot. She she was a yeah, it was just
like random, like somebody just she just so happened to
be walking down the street and they stopped her, like
because I guess you know my mother. She was very pretty,
like with light eyes, so they had the look, so
they stopped. Yeo, can you sing, we want we need

(14:01):
you in this group? Come on and y'all like a
generational New York family like that. People, My whole family
is from South Side Jamaica, Queens and before that they
come from like Texas and Virginia, you know what I mean. Yeah, yeah,
the crystals are for like our listeners. Um. I would
always say that, like I grew up in an oldies

(14:23):
duop family, but similar to like parents today, Like I
would say, like Kamal from the roots, my keyboard player
tricked his kids into thinking like Michael Jackson was brand new.
You know, as a parents, you'd be trying to trick
your kids into like you know, like or even like
my production manager. Uh, like his sons think that like

(14:46):
Eric being rock him is new. Uh. Even Kirk, my
guitar player, Will plays slick Rick so much for his
son that his son actually like the first time he
ever had to reprimand his son about a school project,
and I heard these words. He's like, son, you can't
bite someone else's rhymes. Like I guess in kindergarten, someone

(15:13):
was supposed to do it right in the sound. I
thought I was gonna go somewhere, So no, no, he
said that he took like plagiarized like some of the
children's story and made like it was his own own joan.
But like just I'm just fascinating how parents will trick

(15:34):
you into thinking that that's your contemporary music. So I
grew up just with you know, an oldies duop dad
that would always play like the Crystals, Harving the Moon
Glows like all these groups. So like you know, I
grew up thinking like he's a rebel. It was like
some new ship when I came like at home, So yeah,

(15:57):
I was. I was surprised to find that out. So
like in the beginning, did you did you have any
designs of being an entertainer. Were you just like observing
it and just like that's their ship and then um nah,
in the beginning, I really didn't know what I wanted
to do until our turn. Like man, maybe like twelve
thirteen and I first heard I think it was when

(16:18):
I first heard you know, L L Cool J and
Run DMC, the Sucking m Season, Rock the Bells. When
I heard those songs, that just changed everything in my life,
you know what I mean. That made me I was like,
all right, this is what I want to do, this
is this is what I like. I used to play
the songs for my mobile, like your mom, check this out,
you know, I mean. I used to play uh, you know,

(16:39):
to paid it full. A matter of fact, I used
to say Rock King's rhymes to my mom's act like
I wrote it. And she was like, because you always
have this deep dead pen voice as a kid, because
like you are rocks like vocal. I don't know, that's
just that's just my voice. Yeah hell yeah, so um
I used to say. I used to say rock and

(16:59):
Ron im my mom. She's like, oh my god, you're
really good. And I used to be like, I ain't
say nothing to us, be like Yeah. Yeah, I'm wrap
mom rap. But I was first got turned on the
hip ABLEM when I was like twelve thirteen. Before that. Um,
you know, like like you said, it was a lot
of there was a lot of dwop in crib like
you know, um soul music. You know what I'm saying,

(17:22):
a lot of church church music. You know what I mean?
You were born was it? Were you born in Long
Island or I was born in Hempstead. Yeah. I know
that Chuck D and Flavor Offers talking about Hempstead and
they chucked in from town right next to me. And
I mean that's right next to Hampstead, so we all
like to e P M D. I know that someone

(17:44):
times about pm D was Brentwood. It was from Brentwood Hempstead.
Remember Son of Berserk? Yes, Son of Berserk was from Hempstead. Yes, wait,
I love that you just brought up Like for me
Son of Berserk. I feel like I'm the only person
that got that record and worshiped the ship out of it.

(18:05):
Like I used to see. I used to go outside
to the store and Son of bbserve be outside. He's
like yo, shouting up old man voice. You know what
I'm saying we was like the little dudes using the studio.
It's a famous studio in Hampstead that Public Enemy started in.
They would do their pre production out there. It's called
five ten. Yeah. Yeah, so that's where we all started.

(18:26):
Would be out there sometimes. Yeah, so that's where we
all started. So everybody used to be over there, like,
and we used to see everybody over there. Um but yeah, man,
like Hampstead. Uh, I think method Man from Hampstead from
terrorists terrorist at you know what I mean. Um, trying
to think of who else from out there, Rock Massy
from Hampstead, you know. Um, those are the few that

(18:49):
I can remember, top man. So like what eventually brought
you to the city to Queens? Um, when I turned
like eleven twelve, my mom's moved to Left Rack. She
moved to Left Franck City. Um, My pops had split
up because my pop said, did some crazy ship. My

(19:09):
pops was wow man, he uh yeah, kidnapped me, took
me to Detroit. We was living in Detroit for a minute,
bawling out of control. He was working in the stock
market doing some crazy ship. And when did you live
in Detroit? Man? This is like early eighties when scarfid
what year this scarface came out? Because my pops took
me to the way remember with you three. My pops

(19:34):
took me to the movies in Detroit when at the
Premier when scoll Face first came out. So that's when
I was out there when you were nine. I was nine. Yeah.
So the lyrics pop talk he was seven. That was real.
That really my pop. Man, he was off dog man
that that that boys something else. He was something else? Man.

(19:55):
Was he a musicians as well? Or like, yeah he was.
He was a singer, you know what I mean. Like
I said, he had group the Chances Do our group
that had a couple of dope songs, you know what
I mean. Um, But my father's things with computers, like
in the early eighties. He I remember being like probably
five six years old. My father was working on Macintosh
writing programs. You know what I'm saying. Um, he was

(20:17):
really really dope with it. Um. I think it's a
school called t c I. I think it's called t
c I. Um. My father went there and he actually
got so good he became like a professor that he
started teaching. He was in the commercials and all that.
Like after a while, he got really nice with it.
And you know that's what he was into. Computers, heroin, alcohol, karate.

(20:42):
My father had a dojo on Jamaica Avenue, you know
what I mean. So he used to teach karate. You
just said that convo that it's very crazy, man. My
pop life was wow. It was wow. Um. That was

(21:06):
his thing. He loved computers and he loved fighting and
just doing wild ship. He was crazy, man. And I
know that you have a closeness with your grandmother as well,
and she was in the artist. Yeah, my grand My
grandmother was ill. She was She was one of the
first Cotton Club dances when they first opened the Cotton
Club way back and uh, you know, she was friends

(21:28):
with Lena Horn. You know. Horn used to dance there
early before she became famous, you know. Um. And that's
how my grand mother met my grandfather because my grandfather
used to play in the band at the Cotton Club,
so that's how they met. And you know, after my
grandmother started a dance school business in the basement health
crib on the Guy Brewer and she started with like

(21:51):
five students, you know what I mean, And it just
grew and grew over the years until to a point
where she started renting the building and then it grew
to a point where she actually bought her own commercial
bills in the Queen. She was like the first black
woman to own a commercial space and queens. So you know,
it was a dance school business, you know what I mean.
She was that was her thing, dancing. So a lot

(22:13):
of her students, man, she has some famous students that
she uh that she raised, like benveren Is when she
raised like you know what I mean, and uh, he
used to you know, being this house all the time,
like you know what I mean, And anytime he had
something going on, we used to watch it in the crib.
I haven't seen Roots thousands of times, you know what

(22:34):
I mean. That's like everybody get together watched Ben bend
Is on. Um, you know Michael Peters, he was a
famous cabriograph Michael Michael Peters was. That's my grandmothers. That
was when my grandma's students. Damn he did it. So
like that was like event, same thing like with Benverine

(22:56):
Peters is the and the knife knife att on. He's
the one and when they got their hands tied up
when I was sinking my dad introduced me to them,
and I was like, but you can't dance better than
Michael Jackson. And he walked away with me with so
much apt like like I remember when I was a
little kid, like we used to fly to Cali because

(23:17):
a lot of her students live in Cali and whenot um,
so we used to fly to Cali and visit them.
And she used to take kids in business and Michael
Peters to take me in the Universal Studios all the time.
That was my favorite place when I was a little kid.
I used to like, let's go again, Let's go again.
I've been there like a honey times when I was
a kid. That was my favorite ship, Like you know
what I mean. But um, yeah, so this is my

(23:38):
grand this is like my grandmother was like she she uh,
you know, this is her thing in the dance world,
and she got a lot of choreographed choreographers and she
she helped out a lot of people as far as
that in that world. So I grew up a lot
around her concerts. She would do these concerts every year
at Lincoln Center, at the Apolo at uh Carnegie Hall,

(24:01):
you know, um, every year she would do like a
big concert you know so you were a backstage kid. Yeah, man,
and my cousins will be backstage will and looking at
the girls getting dressed in saying that my backstage, I
just watched old old ass dudes, you know, Smoke Reaper
and the Yo. He had a better backstage experience. Yeah,

(24:25):
especially if my grandmother's dance school, she's like hundred hundreds
of girls from Queens like that was like that was man.
I used to let that place when I was a
little kid. Man, we had so much fun running around
to make an avenue and you know, having fun, man
without all the girls. And then it was crazy crazy
growing up. Like you know what, man, So when when

(24:46):
did you offishally? You? You moved to Queens And so
I moved to Queen's after Detroit or yeah, it had
to be like eighty four, eighty four, eighty five and
moved the left track with my mom's. She got divorced
from my pops after he chiding at me, and she
was tight. She was like, man, I ain't doing this
ship no more. Man, how did she find you? She

(25:07):
my pops that actually took me on the robbery. Well,
he went and robbed the jury store when I was
in the car and that ship pissed my mom's off,
because you know what I mean, we got into the
hot speed. National County Police is chasing us, and he

(25:29):
finally pulls over because he realized, you know, I'm in
the car. He jumps in the car and throws a
big gas bag of jury in my hand. I'm like,
this whole those jury and he's flying through Himpstead like
it was out on Long Island, and you know, finally
he pulls over. You know, I remember the cop put
me in the back and my pop's hands was locked
up on his back. I remember holding my pop's hand out.

(25:53):
They had me in the back seat with him. I
ain't know what was going on. I'm like I was
too young to even compute with the what was happening.
Um get to the precinct. Police gave me a soda.
I remember sitting there drinking a soda. My mom's can't
even get me, and I remember her arguing my pops
flipping on them, like and my pop's kidnapped me right
to that, you know what I mean, Because she was like,

(26:14):
I can't be with you no more. So he took
me to Detroit and my mom found out where I
was at she threatened, you know, call the cops on them,
and so he sent me back or whatever my mom's
Then we moved to the left Frack and then uh,
I went to school and left Frack, went and went
to junior high school and left. I said. He went
to Halsey right across the street from Long you know
for Vercrosse Street from the l I E. You gotta

(26:36):
cross the ll Ie to get over to the high school.
I'll say that the picture that I always think of
when I think of Queens, there's more or less the
picture that you guys paying it on the infamous. But
was it always like that, like when you first got
to the Queens? Was it that because you're paying a

(26:59):
dark What was Queens like? I mean at that This
is when crack first came out. When I'm on the
left frack, crack just hit the street. It was brand new.
You know what I'm saying. I'm in junior high school.
I'm twelve years old. All the little kids my age
was selling crack in the neighborhood. You know what I'm saying.

(27:20):
I used to go to school and she's a little
nigs with rope chains and levis and Max, I'm like,
what the fund is these niggers doing, Like you know
what I'm saying, Like these little kids like you know
what I'm saying with big jewelry on looking like Eric
being rocking on the cover of the album, like you
know what I'm saying. And then you know, I started

(27:40):
getting cool with people out there and they started telling
me what they're doing, you know what I mean, and
left Crackers big time for like selling crack. Like it's
well known that left Frack City was like big, big,
big time crack neighborhood, like you know what I mean,
And left Rackers his proper name, left Frack, Yeah, because
I was I think when city, Yeah, like I thought

(28:01):
that was I mean, they used to they call left
Rack Iraq. That's what that's a saying. Left Rack is
Iraq Queen's bridges. Kuwait, you know what I'm saying. Okay,
but uh yeah, so left Rack That's how I was
out there. Um, this is when crack first hit. So
you know, all my friends don't going to junior high school.
They selling crack. And you know, once I got cool

(28:23):
with them and they told me what they was doing,
I was like, man, you know, let me try my
hand at that. I don't want someone want to change
to you know what I'm saying, want a little fly
like y'all needs. So I hooked up with one of
my homies from school. He gave me a few vials.
He was like, I start with this. You know what
I'm saying. If you could do this so good, come back.
I gave you some more, like you know what I mean.

(28:43):
So I went out. I'm twelve years old, I'm looking
like I'm eight when I was twelve, a little like
I was eight. Yeah, so yeah, you you definitely found
the founder of youth man. So I went inties and forties. Now,
like I go outside with with with the little cracks
on me and when not, and I'm super annoyed. I
never saw a crack in my life, you know what
I'm saying. So I'm like, I'm looking around, I'm nervous.

(29:05):
Motherfucker's walking up to me, like you know you guys
something like I don't know. It's like that scene from
Pay the Full. It was like scared when he first
saw just like that, I was fucking paranoid, Joe. So anyway,
I think I saw one vale and the police ran
up for me. You know what. I first time police
ran up for me, grab me, Yo, fu you doing

(29:27):
out here? Uh found the cracks. They was like, how
the funk? How old are you? I'm like twelve. They're like,
what the funk? You look like a little kid. Like dude,
like a real little kid, like go home, man, you're
doing out here? And he just took the crack and
set me on. So now I gotta explain to this
is what happened with the crap? Crap, you know what
I'm saying. He's like, Yo, what happened. I'm like, yo,

(29:48):
police just took it and they let me go. He's like, yeah,
you gotta give me that breadge son. So we have
a scrap, you know what I'm saying. At school, he
want to scrap. I lost. You know what I'm saying.
I was taking I'm taking my jack it off. He
snuffed me. I'm like, oh, ship, So these girls breaking up,
some girls I knew from the hood broke it up.
Like leave him alone anyway, I ain't funk with the

(30:11):
crack no more. Four minutes for a minute, and you
know I just I just was just cool with everybody
after that. And I'm saying I wasn't trying to you know,
really sell the drugs and get caught. That was too
much for me, like you know what I'm saying. And then, um,
once I went to high school and uh, I'm at
half so um they half brought me out to queens

(30:34):
Bridge when I first you know, I went to high
school when I first met him, and he introduced me
to that whole world's just different now, mind you. When
I was when I was a kid, my mother, you know,
my mother whole life, she worked for the House on Authority.
So she worked in all the projects in New York
Brooklyn hallm and you know what I mean, Queens and
Queen's Bridges is want of the projects that she worked in.

(30:56):
Her job was she would get people to approved for
their apartments, you know what I mean. So they come
to her to apply. She worked in the office on
the hill in Queensbridge, and you know, people got to
come to her that she decided with signed them. You
know what I'm saying, if they make enough money to
live in the projects or you know, subsidize rant or
whatever how that works. Everybody wanted to be her friend. Yeah,
So she worked in Queensbridge when I was a little kid,

(31:19):
you know what I'm saying. And I used to go
with her to work in the summertime. This is before
I meant having all that. And uh, I went to
reach day camp. Like when my moms at work, she
would drop me at day camp on the hill called Reice.
So I was already out there for a few years
when I was a little kid. I met a bunch
of people and it just so happened to years later,
you know when once I moved to left Ring, went

(31:40):
to high school and the city. Man half. Now I'm
back in Queensbridge. I'm older now and I'm saying people,
I remember when I was a kid from days, from
day camp and all that. But um, it was just
being back out there and just seeing you know how
queens was like just a whole nother world, like the fashion,
the slang, like you know, just everything is just different. Okay,

(32:03):
can you explain something to our listeners and buy our
listeners listeners. I mean, what is the Dune language and
what is the genesis other dumb language? What was that
like dune duney like Dune the Dunn language. That's like
saying we start no cats in Sweden that talked like

(32:24):
after myb deep came up you know what I've done?
And I was like, what are you talking about? When
our homies from Queensbridge, his name is Bumpy. Uh, he
got like a speech impetitive me. He speaks with like
a list a little bit, you know what I'm saying.
So you know, we call each other son. Everybody like Yo,
what up Sun? What up Sun? And when Bumpy say it,

(32:45):
he's like, whatout thunk? Whatout thunk? So you know what
I'm saying. So's t a yeah, yeah, it's tear as
you And but I had showed when I write my rooms,
I try to write shorthand I tried to write short

(33:06):
as possible, so I used to write d U N
just to write real quick and get it out the way.
You know what I'm saying. So it's like two different
spellings when I do it. But whatever, um, that's where
it started with Bumpy, you know what I'm saying, And
we just started calling. He created the dun language, that's
what we Yeah, it's out the bump man. But yeah,
once I got out there and I just seen how

(33:27):
that world wasn't Queensbridge and I remember being out there
as a kid when I was out there. It was
like super early eighties, like probably the Juice Crew was popping.
Like back I was too young back in the days,
you know what I'm saying, when I was in day camp.
But I remember how they used to dress. They used
to have the shelt out, they used to have to

(33:48):
pullmas with the you know, the tall one suits can't go.
I remember seeing people dressed like that when I was
a kid, So I know that was like probably the
Juice Crew. Ever. And then when I came back out
there later on, you know, it was it was new
things happening, you know what I'm saying. It was like
that era was starting to change. You know what I'm saying,
Things were starting to change. And you know, I was

(34:11):
like right smack dab in the middle of it, man,
And you know, it was just interesting to see being
from Hempstead and going to school in Manhattan, you know
where I man have that. We went to high school
with everybody from New York, different boroughs, Brooklyn, the Bronx,
you know, Manhattan Queens. They was from everywhere in high

(34:32):
school art and design, you know what I mean. So
we had friends with people from all over eighties Borrow,
so we used to hang out. You know, we used
to party in the bronx of our Yankee Stadium and Sheridan.
We used to you know, hang out in Brooklyn and
Best Style Marcy Tompkins Sumna. You know what I mean.
We used to We was out there, you know what
I'm saying. And so was there ever any hesitation whatsoever?

(34:54):
Because I know, if you go to a different part
of town that you're not necessary really from, it could
be a caution thing, like you know, yeah, I mean
you gotta be careful, man. I mean, look, growing up,
you know what I'm saying. This, this is this is
where things changed for me a little bit. All right.
My first year in high school, Um, there was this

(35:16):
gang called Deceptic Cars, you know what I'm saying. And
I used to come to school in the morning, and uh,
I used to see people come to school, my friends
coming to school, big gass cuts going across their face,
their arms, hands like buck fifties, faces spliced open. Like
you know what I'm saying. I'm like, what the funk
happened to you? Something? Like, you know, the Decepti Cars

(35:39):
just caught us in the train station, you know they
I'm like, well, I'm like, Yo, the niggas ain't cutting
me like that. Dog, I'm buying a gun right now
because I then they try to cut me like that
like the twisted you know what I'm saying. So that
kind of it kind of forced me into position where
I was like, I'm protect myself, like you know what

(35:59):
I'm saying. But that's when I bought my first gun
because of that, you know what I'm saying, Because I
was gonna let a white cut me in the face
like that, you know what I'm saying. And they was
running around doing this on a daily like this is
what they was doing. Like they was from Brooklyn, like
you know what I mean. It was just a gang.
It was called Deceptive Corns. They had a female version
called Deceptive Nets. They had another game called the Low Lives,

(36:19):
another game called uh, I can't think of it right now,
but yeah, this was this was like this gang culture
from Brooklyn, you know what I'm saying. And uh, we
had to deal with that, you know, because after school
they would come up to different schools and terrorize motherfucker's,
robber motherfucker's like you know what I'm saying. So it
forced me and my little tight friends to be on

(36:43):
some bullshit. It forced us to be on some bullshit,
you know what I'm saying. And that's that's where the
bullshit started a little bit, like you know what I'm
saying that, you know what I'm saying. And then uh,
you know, also just growing up in Hampstead, you know
that's like it's a hood. That's a hood out there,
like you know what I'm saying. It's a residential everyady

(37:04):
got houses. It looked nice, but that's the hood out
of Hempstead. Wasn't be the cozy part of Long Island
that because when I think a Long Island, I think
of like, oh, that's a vacation spot or yeah, no, no,
you where'd you grow You grew up in Hampstead, Bill.
Now I grew up a few miles north of Hempstead,
but it's a little different. Yeah, there's a different part

(37:26):
where you cross the track. As soon as you cross
the track called the track side, right soon as you
cross the track is over, you're in the hood. That
on this episode that you know, I had a lot
of friends out there. We did a lot of things
and you know, it put me on some ship mentally,
you know what I'm saying, just my my pops already
had me on some ship mentally, but then going to school,

(37:47):
man had you know, that really kind of changed me
because I started hanging out all the different burrows. I
had friends from different burrows and we used to deal
with this type of ship to art in design and man, yeah,
that's what that's that's that's uh, Guardia. So there's another
My mother went to to that school she graduated from.

(38:10):
So what did your having both go to the school for?
Because so have was a great ahead of me. He
was there for architecture. He was dope. He used to
build like scale models or like you know, apartment complexies
or whatever building like you know what I mean, he
could do that nice. I went to school there because
this is all most of my friends was from left Rack.
You know, we should sit around the summertime we're going

(38:31):
to high school, son, well we're going to Edison on
going to this one and most of my friends like,
we're going on design. So I was like, fun, I'm
going there too. Then I'm going whatever y'all niggas is
going right. So that's the only reason I wanted to
go there. You know what, I'm saying I didn't really
have I didn't think that I had any art skills,
Like you know what I'm saying. I had to take
a test to get into school. You had to bring

(38:53):
a portfolio up. So I was like, all right, how
what am I gonna do? How much am I getting
to school? I got working my way into school something,
so I thought, And I was like, oh right, I'm up.
This is This is a group called the Shirt Kings.
They like clothing designers and yeah and brushing and the
College and Queen's So you know, I grew up with them,
like I grew up a little kid on Jamaica Avenue,

(39:15):
like you know what I'm saying. So they know me
all my life, like you know what I mean. So
I was like, light bulb, I'm gonna just copy. I'm
gonna bite the shirt Kings. I'm sure he's I'm sure
these motherfucker's art designed. They never seen no ship like
that before, you know what I'm saying. So I just
got me some shirts, I got me some markers and uh,
some paint whatever, and I just drew some graffiti on
the ship. And I made a portfolio brought up to school,

(39:37):
and they was like oh they liked it and I
got it. I got into school with that ship. I
was shocked. I was like, oh ship, that should work.
You know what I'm saying. This is crazy here, this
this is That was trek story because Taik was was
the art was art design stude. So he used to
make like crazy medallions and there was yo baby yo
Mickey Mouse. Oh yeah, man like creative man creative. But

(40:02):
you know, I guess uh, you know, I gotta love
for being creative about being at that school. Like you
know what I'm saying, I gotta love for photography because
we had photography class. There a love for you know,
just designing ship and seeing what have used to do
with the architecture. It's just you know, open my mind
something new, you know. Um, So how did y'all how

(40:25):
did you guys meet? You met in high school? Yeah?
We met my first year of high school and my
photography class was kid named Black from the Bronx and
we got real cool kicking in every day in class.
And one day he was like, yo, man, he was like,
I used to wear mad Childrey, Like I used to
have cray. I thought I would slick ricked dog. You
know what I'm saying, that's the hands full of rings,

(40:46):
mad chains and ship stop. I was talger when I
was in school, Like you know what I'm saying. That's
another reason why I bought a gun too, because I'm like,
I'm a target with all this ship on, Like you
didn't feel like I was. I was bugged out as
a kid, yo, you know what I'm saying. I didn't
really care too much. So you know, um, when I'm
at half it was because of my man Black from

(41:09):
the Bronx photography class. He was like, yo, man, you
know you should meet my one of my friends. The
name have it. They're both wrapped, you're both about the
same height. You know, Um, I'm gonna introduce you to
him at the school. So little did I know that
these names are setting me up to rob me? Wait
what have it? Wait? This is arranged marriage. That was

(41:41):
like the greatest life. They were setting me up that
day there. It was like a whole set up. They
was gonna rob me, you know what I'm saying, and whatever.
I didn't find this out till later, you know what
I'm saying, Like, lady, when you're on the proposer, but like,
oh yo, you remember when your first back maybe like
a yeah. Later they came, they was like, yo, remember

(42:03):
that time. He was like, yo, we was gonna rob
you that day, son, but you know you was cool.
So we was like, nah, I don't rob him. You
know that's our story. That's what I'm saying. You're listening
to the Quest Love Supreme. Our guests this week are
Prodigy of Mob Deep and Catheandoi, journalists and co author

(42:24):
Product's latest book, Commissary Kitchen, my infamous prison cookbook. And
we got some messages from our sponsors. Alright, So when
you you're telling me that initially you're meeting was a setup.

(42:45):
You came in the name of oh, we should be
in a group together. I was like, I'm cool. Black,
we cool. He seemed like a cool dude. He said
he want to introduce me to somebody that wrapped. Two
were about the same height. He was like, Yo, you
should make a group. Let me introduce you to him.
After school. I'm like, all, I bet so after school
and go outside and there's a fight right in front

(43:05):
of the school. So I'm like, we're looking at the fight,
and my man Black is like, that's that's havoc right there. Fighting.
He fighting that kids. So have I seen that he
was fighting some kids? Kid actually tried to stab had
missed missed him. He was like leather jacket and like,
motherfucker's dropping his like got the knife out of his hand.
Had beat him up, and everybody lifted half up in

(43:27):
the air like he just like just like you just
had the winning game touchdown. It was dumping with him
in the air like this. I sweater go all the
way to the train station after the fight. Damn. It's
calling him Kiwi because I was like his name, Like
his name is Keiwan. So he's like nickname in schools
like Kiwi. The used to call ki and they used
calling me peewee. You know what I'm saying. Because I

(43:48):
was mad small, like you know what, that would have
been a better group named. So you know, we're following
them to the train station. I'm like this is crazy.
Like so after they put him down, we get on
the train, we meet each other. So I'm like, yo,
where were going and we're going to Ravens Wood. I'm

(44:08):
like Ravens would I'm like my grandmother from Ravenswood, my
mother's mother, you know, I mean she had moved from
South Jamaica projects to Ravenswood like some time ago. He
was like a word, he's like my grandmother from ravens Wood.
So both our grandmothers lived in Ravenswood. So right there,
that was like we had a connection, Like you know
what I'm saying. So we went to his you know,

(44:29):
his craving Ravenswood and we chilled, and we went to
Queen's Bridge walking around chilling, and that was it. We
just got cool that day. You know what I'm saying that.
We started making songs immediately, and we just clicked. Immediately,
we just clicked, you know what I mean. We became
really close friends and getting in mad trouble together and
just doing all this dope music and everything was just

(44:51):
like so he was beats immediately or no, now, I
actually taught Half how to how to make beats, how
to sample? Wait, you were the initial person. What were
you using? EPs sixteen plus task cam set, four track,
ship recorded ship Like you know what I'm saying that

(45:12):
a little mixed board. Um. Yeah, So after I met Half,
you know what I mean, and we started getting real
cool and we started being like all right, this is
this is we got something you know what I'm saying.
We kind of looked good together. We're the same height,
we got the same style, like you know what I mean,
and it's like, uh, we're making these dope. We made

(45:34):
like fifty songs immediately. We made like fifty songs when
we first met in a week or in a month,
about a couple of weeks, you know what I'm saying. Um,
and uh, you know right after that, um, you know,
we just realized like you're damn we got something here,
you know what I'm saying. And uh, we just started
pushing forward with it, like man, you know what funk school,

(45:55):
let's do this for you did the Two Young Record?
Now this this is after I did that. So I
did the Two Young Records when I was in junior
high school. Wow wa, this is this is why I
wrote The boat Man so much, Like it's so much

(46:17):
ship from different angles, like but the E P A
won't listen to what I say. This is two the
biggest biggest R and B heads of all times. To
the fact that when I was living in Left Rack,
I had made a uh I would had a solo career.

(46:39):
I was like trying to be, you know, a solo artist.
My name was the Golden Child. My name was Lord
T the Golden Child. You know what I'm saying because
my family they called me Chocca. You know what I'm
saying with a T, but the T is silent, you
know what I mean. The T come from Choccola. You
know what I'm saying. Lord T the Golden Child. I
thought I was the Golden Child. That was my like
my favorite movie and I lived so anyway, I had

(46:59):
lot T the Golden Child, one of my holmies from
Left Frack. You know, we used to make some music
together whatever whatever. But he used to send me some
beats and I used to go record him and uh
I al used to shop around. My My mom's was like, yo,
shop your demo around. She was like, write your lyrics
out main and to yourself. That's the cheap man copy man,

(47:20):
poor man copyright. Like I was doing my mom's and
teaching me what to do. She was like, do this,
do that, taking ship around, you know what I mean?
So we got my music too jive. Um somehow I
don't even remember how, but job gave me a demo deal.
And the demo deal is they do you remember? I
don't even remember that time. No, this is like eight nine,

(47:46):
you know what I'm saying. So I'm in job working
in battery studio. You know, they got their own studio,
so they gave me a studio. They was like, all right,
let's see what you could do by yourself. That's where
the demo deal is. They put you in the studio.
All right, let's see what you If you could come
up with something dope within the next couple of months,
we'll sign you, do you know what I'm saying. So

(48:09):
that's the kind of deal I had. So you by yourself,
mean by myself with the German scene and you writing
your rhymes, doing your own music. I wasn't making beats
at that point. I was getting beats from people and
you know what I mean, just trying whatever I could do.
So while I'm dead, I used to I used to
flirt with the girls at the front desk, like you

(48:29):
know what I mean. A couple of girls have worked
at the front desk. You know, they was cool with me.
So one day I'll go to job to go to
the studio and the girl at the front desk, her
name was Kim. I remember her name because she hooked
it up for me. She was like, Yo, I want
to bring you to the back you need to meet somebody.
They're working on the soundtrack. I'm gonna get you on
the soundtrack. Come on. So she brought me in the

(48:49):
back office. She was like, Yo, this is this is
a little t whatever that out of that he raped?
You should get him on his song. So they was like,
all right ahead, you know, right righte some balls, Let
see what you could come up with. And I wrote
that too young, you know what I mean? And they
put me on the song. So crazy, y'all. I was
just thinking about that. Do you think about that song
last week? All this stuff about about Trump, you know,

(49:11):
defunding the EPA and all that them, that lyric kept
coming in my head. I never knew that then. Uh
you know, my first year in high school, um mad
Half still working that battery at this time. So I
used to bring Half with me. I was like, yea,
I got a studio we could work at, so I
should bring had with me the battery. We should get beat.

(49:34):
We should like use recording polls when it take that
taps and make our own beats. And that's we made
a lot of beasts like that, and well y'all going
by the political profits at this time. Yeah, we still
didn't figure out to name yet at this time. You
know what I'm saying. But uh, you know, Job gave
me that studio. They now, I'm not supposed to be
having other people in it. So this is story sound familiar,

(49:57):
just the black version of it. Here this out third
Base started, So take this out. So now you know.
Job was like, all right, we want to sign you
after the boys and the hood Ship and all that.
And I was like, look, I got a partner now.
I was like, if you want to sign me, you
gotta signed him. And he was like, nine, we we
just want to you know what I mean, We don't

(50:17):
want your partner. And I was like, all right, well
I see you later. You walked away from that. Yeah
that's oil. I was like, man, listen, because what we
were doing, it was just it was just vibe. You
could just feel it, you know what I mean. You
could feel the power of wood. And we just like

(50:37):
met and just started and through our conversations and just
hanging out and the music we was doing, you could
just feel like, this is what it's supposed to be.
You know, I'm not supposed to being sol artist. You
know what I'm saying. The having know that you walked away. Yeah, yeah,
you know that because I was trying to get both
of us on the job, you know what I'm saying.
But they was like nah, so the like I mean,

(50:58):
by this time, there were other groups that were of
your age or I mean, y'all look mad young at
least on the juvenile health record, look young and ship.
So I thought y'all were in the kids group realm right?
So were they trying to mold y'all into that ABC

(51:20):
criss cross kind of bandwagon, like when they trying to
make your kids group. The ill part about it is
we never had anybody telling us to do anything nor ever,
Like I said, they put me in that room like
a right, let's see what you can do. That's crazy.
So nobody ever development no nobody ever told us was

(51:42):
to teach yourself. We just did it. Like you know
what I'm saying. We just did it. And you know,
um after job was like nah, I was all right,
we out of here, and uh we just continue to
make songs and shot out demo around and you know,
try to get on you know I'm saying, And uh,
that's when we met Q took after a while. You

(52:03):
know what I'm saying, All right, I'm sure you told
this story a good jillion times, but can you please
tell that story so for listeners if not heard, this
is the illest story ever. Yeah, and then let me
say something real quick to Okay, just something clear, real quick.

(52:24):
A lot of motherfucker's they read my book or they
hear these stories snake dry snitching. Now, let me tell
you something, right, there's nobody being convicted, arrested or anything.
From what I'm saying. I'm saying ship with a I'm
saying it with a what do you call it? The
stacial limitations is done already. So it's like this is

(52:47):
our life, like this is ship that happened our life,
and we it's it's a blessing that we're able to
talk about it right now. And then we made it
out of certain ship. And you know what I mean.
So when when when you hear people saying all this,
they don't know what the funk they're talking about, dog
like that, that's that's it really pisses me off. But anyway,
I'm gonna tell you the story. Um, thank you. So

(53:11):
after the job shipped me and has started making mad songs.
And we took our new demo around and what we
useduld do is look on the back of albums to
our favorite labels. So our favorite label, of course was
death Jam at that time. So we should be like,
all right, where's death Jam? All right, here's the address. Alright,
come on, cut out of school, let's take the train
and go down to death Jam. So we used to
go down to Definth with the headphones, walk man, and

(53:33):
we should just stand outside the door like this and
wait for the rappers to come out. You know, I
meant or whoever to come out, and uh, we've seen no.
A bunch of different rappers come out. And she's be like, yo,
listen to her demo take. And he was like a
wo man, I got time for the ship in front
of your Who's the mirror? Who's the mirror of the story?
I spurned on three cats last week. Now I feel bad.

(53:54):
I'm like, yeah, they're gonna be biggest it like we
was outside of thirty Rock right before you. I'm gonna
tell you it was. I'm gonna I remember clearly who was.
I don't got no personal ship against him. I don't
care about that ship. This is like, but it definitely
was the Afros. Remember the hurricane Hurricane you could have

(54:16):
Hurricane was like, what come on, watch our shorty. You
ain't got time for this ship. So I'm like, whorld,
I whatever. So we wait outside, We wait outside, we
see people coming out. Nobody will give us a listen.
That Q tip came out the building and you know
they was on fire at that time. That would you know,
trying call question ship. We're like, oh, ship tip right here, Yo,

(54:36):
could you listen? Todd Demo son like check us out
somewhere from Queens that like work, check your ship out.
Put on listen, playing him a couple of songs. He
took it off. He was like, come on, come inside
the office with me. Wrought us in the office, introduces
to Chris Likedy, introducers to man. It was called Rush
associated label at that time, you know what I mean.

(54:58):
It was like a management management thing and plus the
associated label thing, and uh you know it introduced us
to people in the office, and it was like, Yo,
these dudes are dope. Helped them, you know what I'm saying.
He was like, helped them, get them, do something with them. Yeah,
He's like, yo, setting. He's telling Chris, he's telling everybody
office Joe set up a meeting with Russell, set up

(55:20):
a meeting with Leo. Get them, you know, I mean,
get these kids music hurt, they dope. So after that,
you know, we uh we had a meeting with They
set up a meeting for us with Russell Simmons. So
we go to the office to have a meeting with
Russell and uh it's supposed to be at Russell Crib,
which was around the corner on Broadway, Rob McDonald's somewhere

(55:42):
down that area. So, um, okay, we get to Russell Crib.
A matter of fact, I had the gun on me,
you know what I mean, A little one shot Darrens
I had bought at school, you know what I mean.
So I wasn't trying to get cut. Um. I had
left it in the deaf jam office because I didn't
want to bring a gun in Russell house, you know
what I mean. I was like trying to beat respectful out,

(56:03):
like I don't bring the weapon in his crib. Let me.
I was told, my man officer and hold us in
the drawer for me until we get back from the
me And so he's all right, put in a drawer.
I walked around the corner, went to Russell Crab. Russell
was a no show. They're like, Russell got caught up.
You're gonna meet with Leo instead in the office. Everyone
has a story. So we're like, all right, bet So

(56:23):
we go back to Death Jam. We meet with Leo.
We play Leo music here listening. Then he stops the music.
He's like, I can't do nothing with y'all. We're like why.
He's like, how old they are? So we were fifteen
sixteen this time. He's like, y'all, first of all, y'all
look like y'all nine years old or something. Y'all cursing

(56:45):
like sellers, you're talking about criminal crazy ship. He said,
I'm gonna get suited. They're gonna sue Death Jam for
putting this on the radio and doing on this in
the third like, there's no way I can get this
played on the radio. There's no way I could get this.
They're gonna ban y'all. So he basically told us like
he's like, I can't do nothing with y'all. I'm sorry,
and we're like that, like what we was like, what

(57:08):
the fund is wrong? We just dude, like he didn't
understand the music. He didn't I don't know, he didn't
get it. He didn't like it. Yeah, that's his choice
or whatever. So he was like, all right, fuck it.
We wasn't mad at anything. We was a little upset,
like fuck the snake a hell on know, but we
we didn't give a fuck. We was like, all right,
on to the next label. We're gonna go to it, Wenna,
We're gonna finally find someplace. So we go downstairs and

(57:32):
before we leave, you know, they had all these posters
hanging up in the office and they had like the
Great Eventures to slick Rick frame. They had like Big
Daddy can't ship anybody ship framed in it, and daylight
just dropped. Uh, they lost sold his dad. So I
wanted one of those posters they had the ill they
lost sold his Dad post I wanted to hanging up

(57:52):
in my room. You know, that was that back in
the day ship hanging it up in your room and whatnot.
So I told my man that helped the gun for
me and draw. I was like, Yo, get us some
posters before we bounce, you know what I'm saying. He's like,
I don't hook y'all up. So he went, got some posters,
so me and have is at his desk. So I'm like, oh, ship,
the gun is in the drawer, so so have get
the gun off the drow. He points it at me.

(58:15):
I'm like, yo, chill, so that she got you know,
she got posts like I'm just playing with you, my nigga,
ain't I'm just playing Calm down. I'm like, yell, don't
point guns at people with my nigga. Chill. So did
my man come back with all the posters. He's like, yo,
here he put the posters down the half point the
gun at him, like, yo, give me them posters, nigga,

(58:39):
my mistake. They got to go. They got to go,
you think, my nigga. Everything went in slow motion after that,
literally literally everything turned misty and went to the slow motion.

(59:00):
I remember literally like I don't know why that happens,
but I guessing the heat of moments like that ship
just so have drops the gun like he were both
like oh ship with the funk, like we had shot
you know what I mean? Have boats out? The boats
out the door, running downstairs like oh ship out. So

(59:22):
I'm like, you're not leaving me tasting behind him like wait,
my thumb, man one, did you at least take the
poster because that they are so I wasn't even thinking
about no more. You're not hard to sit on eBay
right now. I was like nothing. I was trying to
get low. We shry to get the funk out of

(59:42):
there at that point. So have ran out the door,
knocked DMC down. The MC and running was coming in
the building. Knock one of them nigs fell on the floor.
I don't remember because he busted. He like ran out
and busted through the door. So one of them felt down.
We ran and we're running up the block and I
had some crazy way to meet. By the way, I

(01:00:05):
heard somebody screaming behind me. Stop them kids, You'll stop
them kids. So I'm like, look and it's fucking at
least he is chasing. Oh god, so he's chasing us.
Oh he keeps chasing. I'm like, yo, this it's chasing us.

(01:00:30):
So we get down the Houston right, we get down
the house and have stop have his willing like, yo, son,
it was a mistake. I didn't mean to do that.
It was a mistake. I'm like you calm down, Calm down,
my nigga. This chill relaxed. He's wounding though. He's like
hysteric because he didn't mean to do that. Ship like
you know what I'm saying. So he's wounding. I'm trying
to get him to calm down. And I see a D.
I see a detective call pull up on my call.

(01:00:51):
You know, we know what the deeds look like. So
I've seen the D. I said, oh, I said, you
have chilled. Chill to the DS is there because haveing
screaming like I ain't mean to shoot him, ain't mistake
ships on the d's about here, chill my nigga. So
they see him bugging, so they stopped the car. They
get out. They're like, yo, what's what's going on. He's like, Yo,
I didn't mean to do it. I ain't mean to
do it. I'm like, oh my god, hey, come Alicea Yo.

(01:01:16):
Get the They put the handcuffs on half because have
it sitting there basically confessing. He's like, I didn't mean
to do it. It was a mistake. They're like, oh no,
it's gonna be I put your hand money back. I'm like,
oh my god, man. So they let me and my
man Prince a D that was our DJ at the time.
They let us go, took half. I go home, go

(01:01:38):
to sleep right, wake up the next morning to go
to school. My mom's always got w b LS playing
on the clock radio in the morning. So I heard
on the radio they like, uh, yesterday there was a
shooting in this jam office over contracts the artists, some artists.
Uh they wouldn't sign the artists or the artist shots

(01:01:59):
of my in the office. That's what they said on
the radio. So I'm sitting there listening to it. I
didn't even tell my mom, ha two together. You don't
even know what's going on. So when I heard that,
I was like, I was like, oh my god. So
now like reality is hitting me because I'm just waking
up and I'm like it's a new day. Now, I'm like,
reality is hitting me. What just happened yesterday? So now

(01:02:20):
my brain kicks in the how we're gonna get out
of this mode? You know what I'm saying. And I'm like,
all right, right away, I just came up with a story.
All right. We thought it was a lighter, you know,
you know in the village downtown they got the little
lighters at the smoke shops. A little gun lightest. So
I'm like, yo, and my mom I'm like, all right,

(01:02:41):
we gotta think of something quick. So right away, I'm like, yo,
we thought we found it outside. We thought it was
a lighter. He was playing with it and she went off.
You know what I'm saying. So you know I had
to go to the hospital kick it with the homie.
They got hit and um, you know, let him know,
like you listen, man, you know that was an accident. Man,
you know what I'm saying. You got sick to this story.
You know what I'm saying, Like it's gonna be bad

(01:03:03):
for half. Like he was like I you know what
I'm saying. He looked out. You know what I'm saying,
because you know it was. It was a terrible mistake,
but with a bullet girl man the stomach after So yeah,
that that that craziness happened, and y'all did not get
signed the tough n presumed nine then uh talk or

(01:03:24):
I'll leave about this like later like now. But Nicky
d remember everything because she was there. Yeah, and after that,
she would always remind me, you shoot, always your mommy
about that. Every time that she'd be like, yo, y'all,

(01:03:45):
little nime is bugged the funk out, y'all. What's wrong
with y'all? The cat shot? He survived like he did.
He was good man, you know. Fortunately, you know, everything
worked out and that's a crazy story he'll tell for
the rest of his life. It's definitely a crazy story though. Man.
After that, Deaf Jam had security. You couldn't even walk
into building anymore. But I was gonna say, because when
I went to death, it was like freaking not. So

(01:04:10):
how long is it till Fourth and Broadway comes to NBA?
Uh picture fourth on Broadways? A company on the record
company on island Deaf Jam, you know. So right after that,
we uh you know, after everything with the Deaf Jam ship,
we uh you know, we continue to make demos and

(01:04:31):
just Q tip had brought us like into the industry,
so we started meeting different people and finding out. We
started finding out about industry parties, you know what I'm saying,
because they would tell us it was a party over
here tonight, party of it tonight. So we started being
in the loop of all the industry parties at that point. Uh.

(01:04:52):
Talent shows, Kid Capri would do these challenge shows or
whoever got the best versus song you get a hundred dollars.
We won one of those one night. Um. We were
just going around different functions New York City talent shows,
different party industry parties and I hold me from uh
high school, Derek that put us together. My kid that

(01:05:13):
was in my photography class. His moms used to work
for w b LS and she was like cool with Puff.
So he arranged a meeting with us and Puff. So
we got real cool Puff right away. Um and Puff
withld invite us to all his parties he was that's
when he was a club promotor at that time. Have
you doing a cup promotion? And we used to go

(01:05:34):
to all of the Puff parties you know what I mean,
at the building the Red Zone. So we started really
being at all the functions and hanging out and people
started knowing us, you know what I mean. And uh
Maddie c got ahold of our demo from the source. Yeah,
he got ahold of our demo and he put us

(01:05:56):
in the unside hype column that he did. And because
of the unsigned hype column and uh Maddie See's other
homeboy Bones Malone, Yeah, they it was like they found
interest in us from that and they was like Yo,
we want to have a meeting with y'all. Bones brought
us up there and Maddie and we met Cookie Gonzalez
and uh we met uh Chris Black, will you know

(01:06:20):
what I mean? So they brought us in to meet Chris.
We sat down with Chris. Chris was an interesting dude. Yeah,
what was that like? Because Chris is like that was
very interesting. He was sitting there rolling up some hash
and I ain't I've never seen hash before. He had
a big roll of black hash and I'm like, what
is that? It's hash smoking. So I'm like, he want

(01:06:44):
to try it? I'm like, hell yeah. So we're smoking
hash with us back within the office. He's like, YEO,
I really like y'all, man, I want to sign y'all.
You know what I mean, do it deal with y'all?
Did he ever interject I've never met Chris Black without
lee him interjecting Bob Marley's story. I'm sure he did. Yeah,
I'm sure he did, especially when we were smoking, you
know what I mean. He probably said something like that. Um,

(01:07:07):
But at this time, you know, they had rock him
or being rock Cam before, not at this time, but
they had in the past very being rock Cam and
the newer, more updated artists on for from Bro was
m O P. They had song cod Hill That's real
h and how about some hardcore? That was on fourth

(01:07:27):
from Bro. At this time, when Chris is signing us,
so he offered us a deal. He was like, hell, yeah,
we want that. We're taking it, you know what I mean.
So we did the deal with Island and basically it
was the same thing. He ain't trying to tell us
what to do. They basically just no n R now
I mean cookie and Bones was like, you know, but

(01:07:50):
bones that stupe No Bones, no us. Like he's started
hanging out with us and seeing how he also like
and just leave. Let them niggers do them. They know
what they're doing and they know what they want. Like,
you know what I mean, how old are you? Then
at this point we're like six teams like are you
going to school still? And ye, we're in high school.
But at this point it's like I'm about to drop
out because now one day I'm like sleeping in the crib.

(01:08:11):
My mom's lake me up like I a't gonna be
late for school. I woke up, I said, Mom, I'm
not going to school. And how did she take that.
She was like, oh, work, She's like, okay, what And
when she came back from work and she thought about it,
she said something, are you going to pay some rips?
She just she was just like okay, because she's I

(01:08:31):
guess she's seen what I was doing with my career,
you know what I mean. She was helping me, like
do it like you don't have any resistance in your
family now, not with like, you know, I come from
an entertainment family, so they like they was encouraging the
family trade. It's still hip hop, so you know, it's
a different was definitely different, so they my mom's were scared.
She was like apprehensive when Chris wanted to sign us,

(01:08:53):
and he he actually did some kind of thing where
we didn't need our parents consent. That pissed my mom's off.
She was like that he's a piece of ship. He
did say, went around our backs and signed y'all without
sent But we was like, ma, chill man, so the
new addition story ain't happened to ya. Used to managers too.

(01:09:16):
How at this time she was like managing us for
a minute and then we fight her because you because
she was like you we did the talent show right before,
right before we got signed a four row, we did
a talent show. Was like a New York City sometimes
show New York you should do all the time. And

(01:09:36):
we have we have to throw like auditions, rehearsals or
whatever it is. And we're going through our song and
our song got curses in it. The chorus of the
song go, h Ship, here we go, Yo, Ship, here
we go. That's the whole chorus, you know what I'm saying.
So we put it on, were like doing our ship
and they're like, oh stop the music stopping. There was like, yo,
you can't curse in this talent show. We're like what.

(01:10:00):
They're like, you can't courage You got to change the
curses or do a new song. We're like, black, we're
not changing nothing, man, We're not doing this. Man funk
your show. And we walked over. My mom was like,
what's wrong with y'all? So she sat us down, like
right after that. She was like, you can't do that.
You can't. You can't disrespect people like that. You just
change take the curses out. He was like, you listen,

(01:10:21):
we're gonna stick to what we do. You know what
I mean. We don't want nobody trying to change us.
We was hard headed, Like you know what I mean,
having I having projects. I gotta say three times I've
heard you easily walk away from some ship that could
sort of maybe sort of change your life. What I've

(01:10:41):
never heard neilism to this level where it's just like
I'm out, I can walk away. What is it in you? Like,
what's in your head that just be like all right,
I walk away? I think we just we believed in
what we were doing so much. Like like I said,
it was like the vibe that we had, we could
just feel it. It was gonna work and nothing was

(01:11:02):
gonna stop it. It was just a feeling, you know
what I'm saying. Like we was like, oh we got
some ship. He don't know what, she don't know. None
of these people don't know what they're talking about, you
know what I'm saying. Because usually people by this point,
people will either have a side and meeting. Okay, maybe
we can meet him at the fifth yard line. Let's
compromise a little bit, you know, and then you know,

(01:11:23):
now we were really we were really hardheaded. You're just like, really, um,
we were really just stuck on what we were doing.
Tunnel vision. We wasn't trying to hear nobody. We we
had something that didn't really exist, Like you know what
I'm saying. It was like the vibe that we had,
you know, just the the energy and the words and

(01:11:44):
the style, the slang, everything was just it wasn't nothing
like that, you know what I'm saying. And it was
just like a changing of the guard at that time
almost because you know, it was like you had the
rock cams and big Daddy knes and you know, the
sent knees like when the symphony came out, like that
was what was popping. We was learning how to do

(01:12:04):
rap and then once we started getting in the studio,
we started catching on how this ship works. And we
was like, oh, we got this ship, Like we know
how to do this ship right. We thought we did,
you know what I'm saying, But it just it just
made our minds like, oh, this is we do on
some new ship. We're a new generation. These mothercker's don't
know what they're talking about. We got some ship. We're
not trying to hear nobody else. So that was it

(01:12:26):
was a fund up attitude to have. But you know
what I'm saying, Um, so my mom was like, yo,
you can't do that. So we was like, listen, if
you if you're not gonna follow what we're saying and
believing us to the maximum and funk everybody else, then
we can't work with you no more. And she was like,

(01:12:51):
she was like all right. She was like all right, cool,
I see. She was like, that's a very bad attitude
to have. You know what I mean, that's a very
bad attitude to have. You're not gonna get far in
life with the attitude. She gave me the whole spill
or that whole thing, but we wasn't trying to hear it.
So it's like when you find your mom's what happens
when you get home? Like is it just normal? Like

(01:13:15):
I mean at that time, I wasn't. I was kind
of I wasn't going home anymore. I was kind of
at the out the house already, you know what I'm saying.
I would stay at half crib, or I would stay
at my grandmother crib. I would pop up my mom's
crib sometimes, like we were just bouncing everywhere. I was
staying in the Bronx with my homie from school, staying
Brooklyn with my Homi, illogy from school. Um, you know

(01:13:38):
what I mean. We were just everywhere. Man, We was young, active,
trying to get on Like you know what I mean,
I wasn't thinking about I don't want to be in
the house with my mom's Like you know what I'm saying,
I'm out of here. We're going to Coney Allen, We're popping,
we stay in the weekend. We was just having fun
and doing what we're doing and creating ourselves. So even

(01:14:01):
even though juven Hole did, Juvenile Hell didn't necessarily do
the numbers. I mean, it did get you guys so
notice amongst industry people, so check this out. Arrogant ass,
whole attitude, right, That's why that album came out like
and underperformed, and it was like not really, we didn't

(01:14:23):
put our heart and soul. We didn't put out We
didn't understand that this ship is not a joke. Like
you can't just do whatever and people supposed to kick
your ass and like it. You gotta make timeless, you
gotta make some ship that standing tests of time. And
we didn't understand that. We was very arrogant. It was
very you know, cocky on some bullshit. And that's why

(01:14:45):
that product came out, and then a couple of months later,
Nas dropped Amatic. That brought us down to reality. Have
you met Nyes before? Like you want this same, like
on the block together. We're all trying to get on
at the same time, you know what I mean, We're

(01:15:06):
all trying to get on. Nas had Live at the barbecue.
He had the song on the Zebra soundtrack, the halftime,
So dude, this is all at the same time. While
we're doing juven O Hell, Nas had the Zebra halftime
Ship and you know what I mean. And then we
go off on a little promo run and we and
we're doing an instore one day in d C. We're
doing an instore for juven or Hell and we walk

(01:15:28):
into the instore and Illmatic is playing. We never heard
it before, so we listen. We're sitting there like this.
We have a look at each other like you hit
this ship. We're like, oh ship, yoh packed this ship up.
He was like, you packed this ship up? Man, We
went about this all wrong, you know what I'm saying.

(01:15:50):
And that brought us down to reality. Basically, that gave
us that was because that was a reality. He was
right at the point. You know what I mean, but
you know, right right there, we've seen it. We've seen
it before before we even got dropped. We already knew
old all right, we fucked up, you know what I'm saying,

(01:16:13):
because we could hear the difference. We could hear it.
There's a big difference between the you know, the thought
that was put into making the music, you know what
I'm saying, The thought that was put into making writing
the lyrics, making the beats. He put some serious thought
into that, and we didn't. We were just sucking around
being a little dumba ass kids like you know what
I'm saying, like filling ourselves. Yeah, we gotta rap deal,

(01:16:34):
Yeah I got gold tooth. Yeah, like you know what
I'm saying. Like, so how far Like when did the
suddenly we come like okay, this serious business. So we
got a lot of people still feel as though that's
your first record when we got dropped. That's when when
we heard it, Mattago, and then we got dropped, maybe
a couple of weeks later or whatever. Whatever. We were

(01:16:56):
just like in the sunken place. It was like, we
gotta get the funk out of here. We gotta we
was like, no, no, this can't happen, you know. So
you was like your hearts was broken, you know what
I'm saying, because we was like, yo, this is what
we want to do with our life. We're not playing

(01:17:18):
with this ship. We just went about it the wrong way.
We had the wrong attitude, you know what I'm saying.
So we was like holo, holo. No. It was like
we was like no, you know what I'm saying, Like,
we gotta we gotta show people who we are. We
gotta tell our story the right way. We gotta put
like I said, put thought and put me in, put
your soul, put your heart into the music, like you

(01:17:40):
know what I mean, tell your story, man, Like you
know what I'm saying. So you were just we went
in and we had that attitude like yo, listen, this
is what we want to do for rest of our life.
We just got dropped. We feel like the biggest losers ever.
We're going to the hood. Everybody laughing on us on
the lower and not just dropped matic just it's just

(01:18:02):
na nas looking at us like like you know what
I'm saying, Like they're laughing at us on the low.
So we like went in regroup and we had the
attitude like, you know, we're not We're not gonna this
ain't gonna happen again. You know what I'm saying. One
percent for sure, this is never gonna happen again, you
know what I'm saying. And so did you have the

(01:18:24):
the well, I know that at that point, uh, Matt
started working at loud correct Uh yeah, right, And right
around that time Matt got a job at loud Loud.
They were just like a cubicle inside the r c
A office. They had PMD I think his first solo album.
They had the Alcoholics and they had just signed you

(01:18:47):
know what I'm saying. So, yeah, we we regrouped after
that with that mentality, we was like, oh hell no,
that's when we really started going in making our own beats.
That's when I was like I was teaching Have you know.
I mean, during that time with juven to Hell and
transitioning over to making this new demo, I was teaching
Have how to do the beasts and ship and he

(01:19:07):
was getting nice with it. So at first it was
like I would make a baseline or some of some
drums or something and then have him come and ask
some ship to it, you know what I mean. And
I'd be like, yo, yo, let me add, let me
ask something, let me change something. They'd be like, oh yeah,
let me ask. So that that's how it wasn't for
after a while, I started listening and looking and have
started looking possessed, Like you could just see it. He

(01:19:32):
was fucking possessed what I'm saying, and you can hear it.
So I'm like, after a while, I was like, I
don't even want to bother him, you know what I'm saying, Like,
I didn't want to be like, yo, let me add,
because he was in his groove, like you know what
I'm saying, so let me just let him work, you
know what I'm saying. And I'm just seeing him right
there around you know what I'm saying. So it got

(01:19:52):
like that. And plus he was hogging it a little
something too. He was definitely holding you know what I'm saying.
He was like, hold hold up, hold on, hold up, yo,
come on, let me After while, I'm like, all right,
you got man, you know what I'm say. I'm gonna
I'm gonna store get the forty. I'll be right back,
come back to beat is done. And then I just
right around to it. But then I also seen that have.

(01:20:13):
I've seen Havoc become having. I've seen it, you know
what I mean. I've seen it in his face. I
heard it in the music. I just seen a look
in his face while he was sitting there making the bees.
I was like, Wow, he's really he's really tapped in
right now, like you know what I'm saying. So that's
how that happened. And you know, Maddie Broughts over to Steve.
You heard our demos. He was like, Yo, motherfucker's I

(01:20:37):
got some ship. Now, I got a new job over here.
I'm gonna Brna bring you up to the office, meet
Steve Rifkin Boom Steve. He played music for Steve. Steve
was like, y'all, I love it. He's like, I want
to sign y'all, you know what I'm saying. But at
the same time, we're hanging out with Puff every day.
So Puff is telling us about this new company that
he wants to start called bad Boy, and he's like, yo,

(01:20:58):
I want to I want you to be the first artists.
I want to sign y'all a bad Boy of WHOA.
So we like, we're hanging with Puff every night, you
know what I'm saying. At the club. She like, you
want to sign us, Steve want to sign us. So
we're now now we're telling them, let's get some paperwork
videos and okay in the video. So basically the deal

(01:21:25):
that Steve offered us, basically it was more money and
that's the only reason why we took the Steve. But
what was the trade off, like, because usually with those
things more money but less control power and something. Nah,
it was it was, It wasn't. It wasn't actually any
trade off. I guess trade off was. Um, the trade
off was they probably got the key, didn't they got

(01:21:49):
We didn't. We didn't. Maybe the trade off was also
we didn't have to do all the gloss seat o
ship like you know what I'm saying. That was one
good trade off, Like you know what I mean. But
Puff had a very he had a vision for this company,
and he wanted us to be the first artist on
bad Boy. But Steve just so happened over us, maybe
like ten thousand dollars more than what he Puff was offering.

(01:22:11):
So we we just went with to Steve deal. Plus
Steve was talking like, yo, listen, I'll give y'all this deal.
You'll just do what you want it sounds like you
already got your game mastered. Just do what y'all do,
you know what I'm saying. So we took this uh
loud deal, and you know, we started working on the
Infamous album, you know what I'm saying, and uh, you know,

(01:22:33):
shout out to Maddie s you know, shout out to
Bones Malone, Cookie Gonzalez and you know, Chris black World
and everybody that helped us out in the beginning and
got us to that point, you know what I mean.
With Steve Riskman wanted to sign us. How did Q
Tip come back into the foe working working with y'all
on the Infamous Um. So, after we you know it

(01:22:53):
was like probably done, maybe sixty done maybe with the album,
he was like, Yo, let's cold Tip. We want some beats.
We want some beats from Tip. So we reached out
the Tip. Uh he came and picked us up and
he brought us his crible in Linden and uh, he
was basically just played us mad records. He was like,
tell me, when you hear something, you're like, you know

(01:23:13):
what I mean. So he was playing mad Patrese Russia
and he would play his old kind of ship that
we so I think it was the Patrese Russian one
with that LLL did the song Pink Cookies in the
Plastic Bag. So uh so uh, he plays us that
record and right away I recognized it from LLL song

(01:23:36):
when in my mind I was like, Yo, let's make
a new let's make a different version. Let's use that
beat and make a different you know what I'm saying.
So yeah, we picked a bunch of beats from him
and we did some songs and basically we finished the
album up. And when the album was done, we broke
cute to back in the studio to tweak up the

(01:23:58):
mixes like you know what I'm saying, Like because she
was nice with that, like you know what I'm saying,
fix the sounds here and then do little things here.
And they touched the knobs and ship you know what
I'm saying. That he basically like took what we did
and like made it sound good, like you know what
I'm saying, hooked us up with the good mixed engine
is you know what I'm saying. So that was that

(01:24:18):
was really good that we was able to work with
him at that point. You know what I'm saying, You're
listening to the Quest of Supreme, where here were Prodigy
of Mob Deep and Kathy Yonder Lee, journalists and co
author of Prodigy's latest book, Commissary Kitchen, My infamous prison cookbook.
Um okay, I have to say that, you know, the

(01:24:41):
glory of hip hop and being alive during the classic
doing the Renaissance and the classic period and and all
the periods of hip hop is you know when a
song stops you in your tracks, yo, I will say.
And the thing is, I don't think anyone is really
properly put in context. Why shook ones? It's so culturally important,

(01:25:06):
all right, sake take from someone's shelter, someone sheltered like
me that like, just listen to hip hop to really
find out what's going out there, you know what I'm saying,
Like I'm one of the I'm one of the dudes
that the marketing people of def jam would have loved,
because like when Onyx came out, I was like, Yo,
this is real hardcore. Or like when Niggas for Life

(01:25:28):
came out, that was like, Yo, you were in w
A saying this is so but I didn't realize that
it was so over the top. Hardcore was cartoonist. It
was cartoonish, and when I heard shook ones they did,
I feel like, if if Robert de Niro and al

(01:25:50):
Pacino we're making hip hop, that's what it would be.
Because the glory and Robert DeNiro on Albacino's work is
the fact that they're so dead Yeah, it's dead pan.
You're more scared of someone that's silent and just deadpan
as opposed to like someone's cartooning over the top. Then
I don't take him serious. I'm like, oh, your your
bark's worse than your but you're just being a cartoon

(01:26:12):
But the fact that they were saying that ship, they
were just saying and such so deadpan about it, and
too it was the visuals to like the visual like
that video. I don't see the video until later, so
I heard the song was just like, yo, you saw
the video first. I saw the video first, and so
for us it was it was seeing the video and

(01:26:34):
literally probably about a month after the video came out,
I remember kids in my school coming homies had the
Hennessey jerseys straight up. But yeah, it was something. It
was just something that came through in that video that
was like, I mean, being in the South, even though
y'all were New York guys. That was just something I
don't know, that was just that was But that was

(01:26:56):
more New York to me than any wootank product any
like to me, even even even on even on New
York New York, where like if you listen to the
very uh the first twenty seconds, but dog pounds New York,
New York. I mean, they're basically mocking what you know.

(01:27:20):
Like so for me, that's like lightning in a bottle
you can't even capture. Like I guess the theme of
Quest of Supreme is that whenever like these these monuments
hip hop moments happened, it's always an afterthought like, yeah,
we made that ship like five minutes, Like what was

(01:27:41):
the process behind shook ones or at that part too,
it was party because it was part one first one on. Yeah,
like why wasn't that push and um, I don't know
it just it just happened the way it happened. I
don't even know. Man. We made Paul one and uh,
I think we made we might have made both of
them around the same time, and then we put the

(01:28:02):
part one out for us, put the second one out
and uh, yeah, we sped that shocked that at at
it's the reception. And you know, every time we would
make songs, we this is how we would test our music.
We'd be outside on the block with everybody. You know
what I'm saying, Um, Queen's Bridges. Like I said, ninety

(01:28:24):
six billions is big. It's a big projects, a lot
of people outside. Like we got a lot of friends
like you know what I mean, Um, you know Brooklyn
hanging out in Brooklyn and Bronx, same thing. We would
hang out with all our friends and we would play
our music and we want to see how people react
to it, like you know what I'm saying. So you
know what I'm saying. We and we got you know,
our piss people like Nas spitting crazy, you know what

(01:28:47):
I mean, people like Omega was spitting crazy like it.
It was a lot of people that was dope. The
whole Juice Crew thing, the Symphony like that. That was
like ship that we that was around us. So it
was like, you know, we were trying to spit that
level of ship. These are people that we got to
deal with. These are people that are gonna laugh for
us if we make some bullshit, Like you know what

(01:29:09):
I mean, if we're talking some bullshit, if we talking
some ship that's not true, like you know what I'm saying,
if we like we had to deal with people like
you know what I'm saying. And so that's how we
would test a lot of music. We were played outside
of the block, see how people react to it, and
we would see how friends. Our friends were like, yo's fire,
you'll bring that ship back, You'll bring that ship back.
And we would walk around different blocks in the hood

(01:29:30):
and just like I said, take it to Brooklyn, take
your head and take it. Then see how everybody feeling it.
And that's how we would know we got something. You
know what I'm saying. The motherfucker's didn't react and we're
like that, we can't funk with that. But if they reacted,
we knew we had something. So we did the same
thing shook once. You know, most of the songs was
like that, you know what I mean. We would test
it out on the block and see how people will react,

(01:29:52):
and then we were like, all right, we got wanna
put that out, you know what I'm saying. I think
another part of the formula that really made that album
work is the fact that the musical backdrop, it was
like so it wasn't as hardcore like even for like
up North Trip, Like I remember, my uncle used to
always that that came from a Spinner's record, Spinners eight,

(01:30:13):
So you used to always play the Spinners I'm tired
of living on his eight track, right, So that's how
I always remembered it. But now it's like, I mean,
even though the subject matter that song was more like
a it's kind of like a fun my friends, like
I can only trust Me sort of thing, like I

(01:30:33):
always had happy memories of being and my uncle Junie's
card listen to that song. But then like y'all just
took it and just made it into like yeah, it
was like ast position of like smooth like soothing sounds
and then like the most murderous ship on top of it,
like lyrically even like a drink away the record, drink
Away the pain, Like that's like a happy hit on

(01:30:54):
a song. But then right then y'all slow it down
and like spit that sh it over it. It becomes
something was you know, we quote we caught our drift,
We caught a drift. We was on it, like you
know what I mean, And once we locked in that
was it. We wasn't. We was like, all right, we
got it, we got it, let's go. Like you know
what I'm saying, We we get in the reaction that
we want from people. Now, So what of life like

(01:31:15):
now that the album is taken off? I mean, y'all
got four and a half mics in the source. I'm
one of those people that actually believe that four and
a half mics is better than a five, because when
you when you, I mean, yeah, you you can have
a five, but then it becomes a burden. Like I
feel like for Nas that five is a burden on
him because it's like everybody's always gonna say, well, in

(01:31:36):
the beginning of this is when that you know, they
kind of I feel like four and a half is
like the highest atholete you can get where you don't
get that much jealousy or or scrutiny from your peers
or whatever. I see, I definitely see. Did you feel
some sort of way, do you feel like, oh man,
we should have got a five like yomatic or at

(01:31:56):
that time we didn't really we didn't really care. Like
the sauce was the source was definitely, don't get me wrong.
I was like the bible hip hop bible, like you
know what I'm saying, Like that's how we got our break,
was from the source like unsigned hype, but that you
know what we were making, you know, we knew the
power of what we were making, like we felt it,
we've seen it, we heard it, like we've seen how
people were reacting to it. So we didn't really once

(01:32:19):
we got in that zone, it was just just go time.
We didn't really care, you know what I mean, too
much about to give us four mix that whatever, because
we still had the attitude a little bit in us,
like you don't know what they talk about, Like you
know what I mean, But it was a little bit
more polished. The attitude was a little bit more polished,
but it was still there, you know what I'm saying.

(01:32:39):
It was still there. So we didn't really we didn't
really care too much about anything. Once we got our
ship off and running and shook once Avival the Fittest,
it was like we out of here, funk everybody. Now,
let's just do what we do, stick to what we do,
stay in the studio, stay working, just keep dropping each
fucking albums, keep dropping his music. And it was just
like that. That was is it. It was over so

(01:33:01):
now that it's more active for you, it's as far
as the reception and I'm sure the touring has ramped
up and just the overall activity. How are you able
to deal with your health issues and still maintain a
busy like itinerary promoting? And I was sucking up bad.

(01:33:22):
I didn't even realize what I was doing to myself
because I didn't learn about health and dying until like
my mid twenties, Like you know what I'm saying. My
look mid too early mid twenties, like you know what
I mean. So I was like I didn't even realize.
So there wouldn't be times where like right before show
you might have an attack or it's like it was
plenty of those times because I didn't I didn't realize

(01:33:44):
that I was making myself sick. Like we would get
up in the morning and have Ian J for breakfast
like you know, ship like literally every day, like you
know what I'm saying, and for breakfast like that was
I think, you know what I'm saying, Like as crazy
as it sound, that's what we were doing. And why
was that? Because a lot of people don't really understand
sickle cell like that. So why was that so bad

(01:34:05):
for you? Um? Because I learned later. I didn't know
it this time, but I learned later that alcohol um
dehydrates you know what I mean, your blood, It d
It takes all the oxygen out your blood. It drives
up your blood cells. So if that, uh, when oxygen
is missing out of my blood, that's what triggers a
sick of cell crisis. Like you know what I'm saying,

(01:34:26):
you were having a lot back then. I didn't even
realize I'm doing it to myself. I'm thinking because the
doctor which told me all my life you got sick
of cells. None you can do about it. You're not
gonna live past forty, you know what I'm saying. That's
what they told me all my life. You know what
I'm saying. There's nothing you can do about it. It
is no cure. Just that's it. You got to deal
with this ship. So do you think a part of
the Nehilists kind of I don't give an attitude, is

(01:34:48):
just the fact that inside you felt maybe by the
time I'm forty, I'm not even gonna be there anyway.
So it's just it wasn't so much. I mean, maybe
subconsciously that, but I never I never thought like I'm
gonna die forty because that's what they said. But I
used to hear that all the time, so maybe sub consciously, yeah,
you know what I mean. But definitely the pain that

(01:35:11):
I was going through made me off a little bit.
You know what I'm saying a little bit. What is
the stomach? Well, um, now, it's like pain and blood.
It starts. It starts like all right, you know, blood
cells around you know what may look like a life
save or whatever. And when my blood is missing oxygen,

(01:35:34):
when it's not enough oxygen, my blood my blood cells
change shape and turning like crescent moon shapes, sickle shapes,
and they start interlocking with each other like this, and
it causes like chain reaction. And when they when they
start interlocking with each other, it just builds up and
I guess creates pressure. I don't really like a headache
or not. He's like like somebody took a hammer or

(01:35:57):
sledge hammer and just like boom, Like you know what
I mean. Ever, the pain is that, That's what I'm saying.
It's like crippling, like you know what I mean. I
can't even walk, I can't move sometimes my friends had
to carry me to the hospital like it's crazy, get
crazy like so um, you know, I mean, I've been
remember that. I can remember being a little baby laying
in the hospital looking up at my family looking down

(01:36:18):
at me. I don't even I probably was like three
years old, you know what I'm saying, And I could
I remember those memories, just laying in the hospital looking
up at my family, being sick in the hospital. I
ain't understand what was going on. I just know I'm
in pain. I don't know what then is happening. So
this pain been with me all my life and it definitely,
you know, had an effect on, you know, my mentality

(01:36:39):
and maybe angry. I ain't believe in God, you know
what I mean, because I used to prey it make
make the pain go away, and it's not going away.
So I was like, oh, it ain't no God. What
I'm saying. It just might be a dumb, non celebrity question,
but did you ever Were you ever in the same
room with like tea box? Because I feel like y'all
would have some of the same issues the job. Both

(01:37:00):
were on tour a lot, and she seemed like she
really went through it a lot. Yeah, we had a conversation.
We were going to do a song on my H
and I See album, but she said, how label wouldn't
let her do a song? But do you can never
feel my pains? Right? Yeah, she was supposed to get
on that with me. I had made that song for
me and huh and uh. I went down and flew
down to Atlanta and for for her to hear it.
She came to the studio and she liked it. She

(01:37:22):
was like, my labels not gonna let me do it
because they're not gonna let me get on the hard
core rap song. So I don't know, you know what
I mean? But yeah, the sick of Cell was crazy.
It was a crazy thing to grow up with. And
you know it definitely he made me angry, you know
what I mean. I was an angry, piste off kid
and then my fault. Would you know, he didn't help
all the ship he was teaching me, and you know

(01:37:43):
what I'm saying. So you know, by the time I
got to high school and they have I was it
was I was insane. I was an insane kid. Like
you know what I'm saying. I was very fucking insane man,
And uh, you know, going on toll. I didn't realize
I was chilling myself like I would. We would get
off the plane. I'm sick. I gotta go right to

(01:38:04):
the hospital. You can't even do you got to cancel
the show. I have got to perform by itself. This
is when infamous, you know what I mean, infamous came out.
We was like touring overseas immediately when shook ones and
all that, and uh, you know, I get I got
sick in Paris, had to go to hospital in Paris.
I had to go you know, different places overseas, and
you know, I just thought it was normal because this

(01:38:25):
is what I did all my life, you know what
I mean, get sick or the hospital. We get better
after a couple of weeks come out. But when it
started affecting the shows and started affecting the money and
people booking us, and you know what I mean, that
affect your relationship with with with having no na like

(01:38:47):
would he be on you like yo, man, like you
know if you do this, he didn't mess up the
money or yeah he didn't know. You know, we just thought,
you know, I got sick, of sell I get sick.
We didn't I didn't realize didn't connect it's because of
my diet and you know this drinking or just smoking
or this, we didn't know that, you know what I mean.
So we just think I'm he gets sick all the time.

(01:39:09):
I hope he doesn't get sick tonight. I hope he
doesn't get you know what I mean. So after a while,
the money getting fucked up and promoter scared the book us,
that started making me think different, Like, all right, hold up,
this is sucking up the business. I keep getting sick.
What's going on? So you know, I started doing research
and I started finding out there like you know, you

(01:39:29):
could control the sick of cell just you know, having
a proper diet. It's all about diet and what you
put into your body and and uh also also you're
like your spirit, your mentality, like because once you change
your mind and spirit, it kind of has a domino effect.
Everything has a domino effect. Once you start making change

(01:39:51):
in your life little things, whether it's diet or whether
it's spirituality. With once you start making changes everything else
you look. You start looking at other things. All right, Well,
I eat clean, I eat vegetables, all right, so what
else do I need to clean? Up in my life,
Like you know what I mean, I need to stop
this or I need to stop hanging out with with
these people they you know mean, get me in trouble.

(01:40:11):
I need to stop thinking like this. I need to
start having negative thoughts. So it's like a domino effect.
Is it easy to do that? Well, we didn't even
get into how you guys went from political profits to
mob deep. But even the first time I met y'all,
I don't know if you remember, like the you guys
did an in store, Well maybe I were just there.

(01:40:32):
I don't know, Um, when do you want more? Our
our second album came out in Philadelphia at Tower Records. Yeah,
we were We did an in store, like played inside
of the side of that store, and you guys were there,
and I was kind of shocked. I was like, because
you know, even then for us, I guess people sort
of looked at this like alternative rep kind of didn't

(01:40:55):
accept us into the fold until like wait later. But
I was shocked. I was like, damn mob D here,
Like damn okay, maybe maybe we're doing good. Like I
know that you guys were in town at night to
do how N the night before, but I also knew
it's that y'all rolled humongous like big, Like, how how

(01:41:17):
do you if you decide, okay, maybe I need to
break away, Like how do you separate yourself from church
and state if you will? I mean, I mean, you know,
it's it's very tricky, man, It's very tricky navigating do
that whole lifestyle and do that whole like you know
what I mean, communities that we grew up in, Like

(01:41:39):
you know what I mean. It's it's not easy, man,
you know what I'm saying. Like on the average tour,
how many people are rolling with y'all um now? Or
if we was in the States maybe like fifteen twenty,
it could be more. Sometimes if sometimes we would drive
to like Genetic in or drive to Boston it or something,

(01:42:00):
and we had like fifteen calls with us, So I
got people, So I gotta ask, Not because we're dropping,
like you know what I mean, it's nothing really, So
I gotta ask because of us sleeping in the room,
like you know what I'm saying. So when when drop
a Gym on Him came out and I first heard
that on a mixtape, I mean that was like at

(01:42:21):
the not even at the hype but at the beginning
of what would soon become a very unnecessary you know,
Fable talked about East West rivalry thing, which you guys
were like caught dead in the middle. What was what
was your reaction? Because I know, I mean, in hindsight,

(01:42:45):
I know that Tupac was just basically like just calling
out any and every name. I mean even Day Last
Soul and the Fuji's got. I was like, what do
they do about it? Right exactly? So I know they
were just calling out he was just calling out any
and everyone. But when you first heard, when you first

(01:43:08):
heard hit him up, like, what was your reaction, You're
feeling like, did y'all ever have a relationship with Tupac before? Nah?
We never. We never met poc. We've been in the
same room a few times, but we didn't we didn't
have any connection. We didn't know each other, Like you
know what I'm saying, Um, yeah. So so when uh,

(01:43:29):
you know, when they hit him up Ship came out,
he was like, oh Ship or work. So immediately, you know,
I'm already thinking like, oh, he's standing up for a
snoop because we just made a song going back at
Snoop and Pockets the brand new artists on on death Roll.
I forgot about New York. You know what I'm saying,
pockets the brand new artists on death Roll. So he

(01:43:49):
feels like he gotta show y'all what I'm I'm death Roll.
Now watch out, Snoop. You know what I'm saying, Like,
I'll hand do these niggas for you. I'm the new artist.
Let me. This is my job to do this, you
know what I'm saying. So that's how park mentality was,
I think, you know what I mean. He was like
that he got to show improved to Death Row. He's
gonna hold it down, you know what I'm saying. So
he went at us for Snoop. That's what I think,

(01:44:11):
you know what I mean. And also a lot of
people say that on the album on Survival when our
homies have his cousin, he says in the chorus, Doug life,
we're still living it, Doug life, were still living it.
Like on the chorus, um, we wasn't dissing Park. That
was just like a slang in the street, like the
Doug like probably coined, probably coined the phrase, right, but

(01:44:35):
it was so this is what how we were talking, like,
you know, what I mean. So I heard that Park
took offense to that, you know what I mean, because
we were saying thug life. You're still living it, you
know what I mean? So not knowing you just adapting
what he did. It wasn't know it wasn't even taking
those shots, right, So what drop dropping Jim on him?
It's like you know, for for most East Coast rappers,

(01:45:00):
one to l A is like, yo, that's some function.
I mean, at least for now now that you know
what I mean. But yeah, like how I mean just
to be caught up in that ship. Were you guys
like very cautious and coming to Los Angeles for fear
of like some ship might go down? Or was it
just like um when when the L A l A

(01:45:23):
and New York, New York came out and then Pop
dropped hit him up? Um? I saw L A l
A was number one l A radio, you know what
I'm saying. For whatever reason, we had a big fan
base in Cali early, you know what I'm saying. So
we had fans out there and the song became number

(01:45:44):
one in l A radio and they was requesting for
us to fly out there and perform it. So we
were flying to l A. We would bring like all
our boys with us, you know what I'm saying, and
we would go perform this song. And we had the
mentality like you know, yeah, we're were already, We're gonna
bring our niggers with us. Something pop off. We're gonna
pop off, like you know what I'm saying. That was

(01:46:05):
our mentality, like you know what I'm saying. And we
was out there performing that ship, you know what I mean,
in the middle of all that. Damn, I'm glad nothing escalated, yeah,
because you know I can get bad anyway. LA is bad.
New York is bad, like everybody bad, like you know
what I mean. So it could have got nasty, you
know what I mean. But you know it is what
it is, man like. That's I'm just saying how I
went down, Like you know what I mean. We were

(01:46:26):
performing out there the l A l A record and
it felt weird, but we did it. It felt like, yeah,
we was in danger, but we didn't give a funk
because we're in danger back home too, you know what
I mean. When we hang out with the clubs, we're
hanging in the hood. Our friends are getting shot, So
what's the difference. That's our that was our attitude, like

(01:46:47):
you know what I mean, it's a different I don't
give a funk, Let's go perform. Like I happen to
read the source article, uh for your solo project when
you were explaining that, you know, the whole snoop crusted
the buildings line or whatever. I mean, I got the
perspective you were coming from saying like basically, like we
out here on the front lines. You know, we're out

(01:47:08):
here Reppertend where we came from, that sort of thing.
So it's just the the the whole takeover situation like
in hindsight, I mean, how do you feel like, have
you guys spoken sense or is it just like is
it water on the bridge now or yeah, it's basically

(01:47:28):
you know what under the bridge. Of course, we still
we still got that little you know, competition and us
like we still be looking at it like and you know,
Jay don't really funk with nobody. You don't do songs
with nobody like badly. I was surprised when Jay did
to join with Fabulous. I was like, oh, ship, he
did the joint with fab that's dope, you know what
I'm saying. I was happy for fab when that happened.

(01:47:49):
But you know, Jay don't do songs with nobody, so
it's like I know that him and Nas sort of.
You know, people basically see take it over as a
as a Nas jay Z situation. So let let me
let me, let me let me start from the top, right.
I was already thinking when I first heard Jay said
that line. I was in the club in Queens and
it was always all my boys and I heard the

(01:48:11):
song money Cash Holes playing in the club. I was like,
it's just dope. That beat is crazy, but with the
piano ship right, So I heard the line, I was like,
because you know we listened to we like really be
scrutinizing rap, you know what I mean, We're like, what
do you just said? You know what I'm saying? Who
we talked about? Like what you know? I mean, we'd
be over analyzing ship. Like. So when I heard this
and I was like, huh, I caught that ship right away.

(01:48:33):
I was like in the open Snoop Ever since Snoop
came through and I was like, what the fun is
he talking about? So, you know, the thought just went
past my head. So I ain't think none of the
really after that. And I was in office one day
and Loud and Punt was dead, Fat Joe was dead,
and I was just kicking in the office chilling, and
I overheard that Joe said, Yo, you heard that line.
He was talking to somebody. You know you heard that line,

(01:48:55):
Jay said, and he yoke, and so I was like, words, all,
I feel the same way his money. I was like, Yo,
that's crazy. You said that. So I feel the same way.
He's like, work, that's kind of crazy he said that.
So you know, um, when when doing the Source, I
did the Source interview and I was like, man, Jay
z a bitch ass nigger for saying that, Like how

(01:49:16):
you gonna say that? Like you know what I mean?
That was some bitch ass nigger ship to say that,
Like come on, man, cut it out, man, like we
was holding it down, we was out there performing, We've
risking our life like it was serious, like you know
what I'm saying. And that comes years later saying some
ship like shut the funk up, like you know what
I'm saying, Just rap nigga, Why are you talking about
that that has nothing to do with you, Like you
know what I'm saying, Just wrap nigger. So I was pissed,

(01:49:37):
and you know, I was on my bullshit. You know
what I'm saying when I was young, my bullshit. I said,
I said something. I was like, here a bitch ass
nigger for saying that, you know what I mean. And
you know, he he got the word back from Dane
Dazz and Dan was like, yo, Jay was you know,
Jay said, you know, he wish you just would have
reached out and spoke to him instead of saying that

(01:49:58):
in the magazine. I'm like, man, whatever, man, you know
what I'm saying. So then, Uh, I actually had a
conversation with Nas right like before this article. I had
a conversation with Nas, and uh because met meet what's
his nigga name, Memphis Bleak. Um, Memphis Bleak was taking
shots to Nas. You know what I'm saying, Um, he was,

(01:50:22):
I can help you out. He was just saying a
little slick ship here and he was like, your life
was written? Who you kidding? Something like that. Whatever. So
you know, I took offense to that. Anybody talking about Nas,
I'm taking offense to it, you know what I'm saying,
Like everybody, you know Queen's Bridge, like that's the crue,
that's that's our cruel. So I'll talk to naas One day.
I was like, yo, son, I was like, you heard

(01:50:43):
you heard he hit these niggas and he was like yeah,
He's like, I ain't worry about that ship though. I
was like something that. Fuck that. Let's go out these niggas,
so what's up. He's like, no, you like that fun
the niggas, but you don't gonna go out the niggas
and niggas ain't nobody. I'm like, your son, fuck that,
Let's go at these. He was trying to pop ship.
So you hear this ship they popping man ship. He's like, man, far,

(01:51:05):
I'm telling you man, funk that ship man that it
ain't about nothing. And I'm like, yo, I'm gonna just
do it by myself then fuck it. He was like
all right. Then. You know that's when I did the
article ship said the ship about him, blah blah blah,
and then he did the Summer Jam ship. You know
what I'm saying, Yeah, so how that happened is earth

(01:51:28):
Gotti is cool with you know, with Jay and a
shot T used to go to my Grandmo's dance school.
You know what I'm saying, Hi O and and Uh.
At the time, we had did a song with Vita
called Burn. You know, we was like that was my

(01:51:51):
We was like my we was going at it with
Jay like we was going at it like you know
what I'm saying. I was going at it with Jay
like little Ship on mixed tapes. I wasn't taking it
as serious. I wasn't like being like rapper, like being
like I gotta write some balls like I was on
some right and like, Nigga, when we see you, we're

(01:52:12):
gonna beat you while we're gonna I'm gonna shoot you
in your foot. Don't remember that ship, you know, Like
that was about mentality. I'm not even thinking like I
gotta write immaculate balls. I gotta make a battle rap
Like I'm not even thinking like that at all. I'm
just thinking like nig I'm just writing like nig I'm

(01:52:34):
angry right, like see this nigga, so fuck you know
you know what I'm saying. So we did a song
with Vita called Burn, and Vita signed, you know, to
er Gotti. So it's trying to shoot the video for Burn,
and you know, Burn is getting a lot of play.

(01:52:56):
Flex is playing this ship out of it. Right, and
it becomes a hit and we're trying to shoot the video.
We hill let and we get a word from Vida
that she can't do the video. So I called her
because I was like, video was kicking it, you know
what I'm saying. So I had a number. I'm called up.
I'm like, Yo, what's going on. She's like yo, pee,

(01:53:17):
let me tell you. She was like Earth told me
I can't do the video because Jay, you know, it
was like, Yo, don't let her do that. I was like, word,
he was like yeah, they're hating on you over there
right now. Just then the third she was like I can't.
I'm sorry, I can't do the video. I'm like, word,
they really did that? She was like yeah, she was
like they over there like you know what I'm saying, Jay, like,
don't let her do it? Something like all right, it's cool,

(01:53:39):
I understand, you know what I'm saying. Whatever. So Vita
never got in the video with us because of that.
So then the whole summer jam ship happened, and he
pushed this picture up me dressed like Michael Jackson. You know,
I thought Michael Jackson when I was a little kid
who didn't so right, away. I knew where it came

(01:53:59):
from them right away. You know. Immediately I was like,
oh wow, he did some real real over ship. Like
he went and got a pictures and put he lied
on the picture, said it was proud of the nineteen
nine or some ship like you know what I mean.
He lied about the year. Um, so whatever. I thought.
It was funny, you know what I'm saying that, Like

(01:54:21):
mym Nigger was in in the audience and some of
Jim Man illergy. He called me like, Yo, Pete, you know,
I told you that picture was gonna come back to
haunt youse. He had seen the pictures years ago and
ship when he was like working on music. He was
looking through the books. He's like, oh, ship looking at
this ship. So whatever, He's like, Yo, I told you
that picture come back to haunt. You Like what you're
talking about? He said, Yo, son, Jay, just put your

(01:54:43):
picture up summer. Jim like what So now we died
and laughing on the phone right So now I'm like, wow,
that's crazy. So I'm like, all right, that's what's up.
He got jokes, He got jokes. I cool, It's funny,
you know what I'm saying. And that was that and
then he made you know, he was going at Naas
and and me. He was like, as Nas, you don't
want it with holes, so basically talking to me, you

(01:55:04):
know what I'm saying, like, as Nas, you don't want
it with held this that I got money stacks bigger
than you and all this ship. He talked about me
the whole song. You know what I'm saying. He took
a little jabb at Nas where he talking about me
the whole song. So um, now I'm like this is
it funk that it's warm? And you know what I'm saying,
fuck this ship, Fuck this nigga. Everybody day down with

(01:55:29):
So you know, I was on my ship and Nas
dropped ether, you know what I'm saying, and it just
I was like, whoa, he took it serious, he took
the beef and you know what I'm saying, making Yeah,
I was like, oh, I wouldn't have wrote no ship
like that. I was. I was too angry. I was
just mad. I wanted to catch this nigga like and

(01:55:50):
do something to him, like you know what I'm saying.
Did you ever talk to Nas after he did either
about it? Because like he changed his mind and then
he changed his mind to a major extent. So what
was he thinking. Was it that he got mad for
the attack on you or the mad for the attack?
I think na. I think NAS did eat defended his title. Yeah,
I think NAS did eat And the song called Building

(01:56:11):
Destroy number one because Jay mentioned his name, so he's like,
I got fun that and plus we was me and
I was already talking about I was like, Yo, let's
go out these niggers, Like you know what I'm saying.
But now I guess he heard that song and that
drew the line. He was like, man, funk that. So
he made a song called Building Destroy. Also at the
same time he shipped on me talking about your apology
get robbed? You know us that he was talking about.
Nas was saying some things that he doesn't have no

(01:56:33):
idea what really happened. He thinks he knows, but he
really doesn't know. So he was something I got robbed
to stand the third and uh. At the end of
the song, he apologized to me, I love you, man,
just get away from them fake gass niggers. That's what
he's saying on the song, Like you know what I'm
saying after you just shipped it on me. The whole.

(01:56:54):
I'm like, yo, where did this come from? Oh? He
didn't hit you like ya, I got this joint building
destroy just in a student with him, Like I was
mad that they was rapping about Nas. I'm like, yo,
that let's go out these niggas. They're rapping about you.
So you know what I'm saying. And now he had
a song this in me, I'm like, where did this
come from? I don't have no beef for Nats. I
hate to ask this. What the album is? That one?

(01:57:14):
It was one? Was it still madic? I think? I
think Building shows an still madly? I think I found
out that Nas was mad at me because I did
the song with co Omega right, And I didn't when
I did this one of my favorite songs on Murder Music, right,
no no, no, no no, it was one of the
mega songs. When I did the song with co Omega,

(01:57:37):
he didn't have a verse on it. It was just
a beat. I went wrote my verse to it. I left.
When he pushed the song out, he writes his whole
verse this and Nash. So I didn't know that before situation,
you know what I'm saying. I didn't know that. So
then I found out later. That's why nas he. I
guess he thought my verses about him because he heard

(01:57:59):
that's far from you know what I'm saying, like I didn't.
I never that. I guess they can change his version
without you even knowing. I guess years later after me
being vocal about it and talking about it. That's why.
That's why I wrote. That's why I wrote the book,
because it's the story. It's so much complex, pieces to everything.

(01:58:19):
I want people to understand how everything transpired, how it
went down. I was communicating. I was one of the
main reasons I wrote that book. And plus I looked
at it like, this is my youth. I'm gonna grown
man now. That book is my youth. That's my youth,
that's me growing up. I'm gonna grown man now. I'm
not like that no more. You know what I mean.

(01:58:40):
I was very hard headed and ignorant and on my bullshit,
and I grew up. So I was like, you know what,
I'm gonna write a book and I'm gonna just like
you know, I'm gonna explaining how I grew up, and
I'm explaining certain situations for people so they can understand
why this happened, how did that happen? How did you know?
What I'm saying? Like? It was so many questions, and
I'm sure that fans want to know why y'all beefing?

(01:59:02):
Why did it? Just? How did this start with it?
That was the main reason I wrote this book, because
I want people to have a clear picture of how
actually went down. Like now, oh yeah, I see Nas
everyone again. I've just seen him recently at New York
Fashion Week. We kicked it like you know what I'm saying,
and we were talking about doing some new music together.
So we're cool. I don't got no problem with Nas.
We never really had a I was gonna say, how

(01:59:24):
come like a Queen's Bridge? Like just Summit Meeting album?
Never went down? Could have been There's too many years,
too many egos, there's too many people like thinking like
mom deep Nas like yeah, like eight some of the

(01:59:49):
most incredible as MCO. One day, Um, I was on
the phone with Pharrell and Pharrell was like our first
conversation never No, actually I second conversation. Who's on the
phone And he was like, Yo, you gotta ask you something.
He was like, what's wrong with you? Whuen's Bridge? Knames?
So why don't you fucking stick together and just do music.

(02:00:11):
My nigga was wrong with you, Like I'm like your son. Yeah,
it just it is what it is. My niggas just
hood ship, Like that's what happens. Man. Everybody don't get along.
I mean, I'm sure everybody wants to be lovey dovey
and picture perfect, but it's not like that, you know
what I'm saying, Like, what's the what's the deal now
with I'm thinking about other queens of his cats like
Mega Nature, Littles, Bars and Hooks, Like, what's what's They're

(02:00:35):
all doing anything? You know what they're doing anything, and
you know we're doing our thing. And that's it just
is what it is. Everybody just doing their own separate
things like you know what I'm saying. I mean, especially
for me, I look at it. I went through a
lot of ship, you know what I mean, just like
being out there because I'm like outside out there, you
know what I'm saying. So a lot of people treated
me like that. They were like from the hood. I

(02:00:56):
always had to deal with that attitude a little bit.
A lot of people might have been scared to say
it or they didn't want to say it. But I
could just feel it, you know what I mean, and
a lot of people did say it. So again it
kind of turned me off a little bit and made
me really want to just do my own thing, like
I never said I was from Queensbridge. Always something from Hempstead,
like you know what I'm saying, And there's a lot
of a lot of different people from Queensbridge wh would

(02:01:18):
like to I would like to have you think that
I'm a fake queen like I like I say I'm
from Queensbridge, like he ain't rarely from the hood, like
I never said I was. You just want people to
think that, like you know what I'm saying. Stop running
in people's minds like you know what I'm saying. So
I had to deal with that attitude all the time
with a lot of rappers, a lot of regular people

(02:01:38):
in the hood or whatever whatever. So it kind of
turned me off and made me just like you know what,
I kind of I kind of small, just do my
own ship because I gotta show it made me like
I have to show you now that I don't care
about none of this. I'm my own person, I'm my
own entity, y'all, don't control anything. I'll do y'all don't
scare me. I don't give a fun from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queensbridge,

(02:02:00):
a good Queen's l a. I don't give a funk
where you from. This is my life. Everybody lived their life,
and I don't live my life in fear, you know
what I'm saying. So it made me back up over everybody.
It made me back up over everybody and just want
to do my own thing, man. That's what I started doing,
you know, my own ship, man, because I started dealing
with a lot of that, a lot of that, you know,

(02:02:21):
just just weird ship people like you're not from out here.
Don't you think it's ironic that, like amongst that, all
those mcs who look at you like that in that way,
it's like, now they're raising children who and they're bringing
them up in a way that you were brought up
in your childhood, like culturally and all the stuff. And
I even thought that now we're looking at the video
you doing ballet and like that, now that we have
the context of where that come from, it adds to

(02:02:42):
the dopeness of who you are. And now I look
at even a blue ivy and I'm like, that's her
she's growing up in that environment. So do you see
that now as clearly? And um, I just think that,
you know, it's not everybody. Everybody's not a bad person,
Like everybody didn't have the attitude. It was only certain
particular people. And yeah, I mean it just it just

(02:03:05):
is what it is. Man. I'm me, Man, you know
what I'm saying. And I'm the type of person. I
was trying to get everybody together, and you know I'm
that type of person. I'm like, Yo, all right, come on,
you're gonna rap. We made Nooyd and Twin and everybody rap,
like you know what I'm saying. We was like, now
you're gonna rap Nigger and Noid Like I don't want
to sell drugs. I don't want to wrap. You know
what I'm saying, Like, no, come to the studio with us.

(02:03:27):
Come on, you're gonna wrap son. You know what I'm saying.
I used to help Noid right this ship, you know
what I'm saying. And we used to all help each other,
you know what I'm saying. And then it was just like,
you know what I'm saying, I'm that type of person
to try to, you know, keep the team strong and
keep everybody together. I shot a movie for Queen's Bridge,
you know what I mean, called Murder Music. I put
everybody's in the movie. Nas, Everybody's in that motherfucking like.

(02:03:50):
You know what I'm saying. That's the type of person
I am. You know what I'm saying, Like, I try
to do ship the right way, to get it together.
And then you got niggas as haters. They don't want
to see that. Like he ain't even from out here
doing that. I should be doing it. I'm all right.
So you listen to the cost of Supreme. We're unto
our last hour prodigy of Mob Deep and Kathie Yonder Lee,

(02:04:11):
journalists and co author of Prodigies latedst book Commissary Kitchen,
my infamous prison cookbook, And we'll be right back after
a quick message from our sponsor. So, I feel like
your journey, it's probably you of anyone has had a
kind of a parallel journey to that of like Malcolm X.

(02:04:33):
We're like you. You had your Detroit Red experience. Literally right,
oh damn, that's right, yeah, like you. You You you
had your your Malcolm little Detroit Red experience. And then
in two thousand and eight when you had to do

(02:04:54):
your bid um you know you said and that that
that really changed as you save my life explained that
because what I want to know, and I'm trying to
ask in away because i know a lot of people
have a tendency especially in the press, they have a
tendency to like fetishized jail. Yeah, like or just like

(02:05:17):
people have experience, so tell me what it was like
or whatever. But I'm I'm personally curious, like to be
a celebrity going into that environment, like what is it
what is your first day, like when you're when you're
going there? All right, let me let me just back
up a little bit and say because I always think
of it. I always think about people comments when you

(02:05:39):
you know, I mean here the podcast or like people
what what they say? And a lot of people like
to say, why is he talking about all this is over?
It's in the past, Like why you keep saying like,
because this is the questions I'm being asked, So I
have to answer, all right, you know what I'm saying.
I just want to make that clear real quick for
the listeners to shuttle that calm and shift down, like

(02:06:01):
I'm being asked questions. That's why I'm talking about this
like you know what I'm saying, and and you know,
I wrote a book about my life and my youth.
I wrote a book about my youth, and my book
it talks about all these things, and you know what
I mean, that's my past. I'm a grown man now,
you know what I'm saying. So I put my I
put my youth out there for the people so they
could see all the funked up ship. And now I

(02:06:22):
grew up and the funked up ship that I did
and been through, and you know what I mean, all
the good ship and what got me to this point. Um.
So that's why I did this book. That's why I
do these interviews and talk about past things a lot,
because these are questions that people asking, they want to
know the answers to. So going when I got locked up, um,
it was the best thing that happened to me because

(02:06:45):
at this time I was dealing with a lot of
hatred coming from people from certain people from Queensbridge, you
know what I mean, certain people from uh, you know whatever, whatever,
but mostly from Queensbridge. A couple of individuals that have
a few problems with that they just didn't like me.
Can a quick question. So after the informence, are you

(02:07:06):
still living in the Queen's Bridge area or did you
like we we we probably moved. We probably moved like
around right after informence came out. You know, I was
living with Halving Queensben for like two years when we
was working on the infamous and what I'm saying, we
would stay at his crib or that we would take
the equipment back to Long Island Hempstead, change the scenery
for a little while, then we go back to Queen's Bridge,

(02:07:26):
like you know what I'm saying. So after the infamous
job and we was doing tools and ship, we kind
of like but we would still go back all the
time because that's why people on the block, you know
what I mean. And we grew up with the mentality
you don't shoot on your people. You always take care
of your people, like you know what I mean. You
don't run away from problems, You don't run away from anything.

(02:07:47):
You deal with it, You face it, you know what
I mean, and you deal with the ship. That's how
we grew up. So that's why we're still then in
these communities dealing with my people's that I grew up
with my PIDs because I'm not the type of person
is gonna run away from ship. I got to deal with,
like you know what I'm saying. So we were just
learning how to navigate, uh being celebrity and all that ship.

(02:08:08):
And it was never awkward going back there, even though
you're obviously established as a celebrity rapper and now because
that was just like home base. That was like the block.
You know what I'm saying. We'd go to the block,
have fun, like drink all night. We just I just
fall asleep on the bench, wake up in the morning,
little kids going to school. You know what I'm saying,
Like I'm bent waking up like oh ship, Like you

(02:08:28):
know what I mean. So it's just like that was
the block. That's why that's what our friends is at.
We made something monumental from this block. We created Infamous,
Mall Deep, we created all these ships. So this is
our ship, this is our people, like, this is our
home team. So that's how mentality was. But um, you know,
after a while, you know, we deal with a lot

(02:08:50):
of jealousy people black pe coming right with a jury on.
You know, ain't from our head rapping about my life?
Why are you rapping by my life, Like that's what
they like to say, Like you know what I'm saying,
you're wrapping about my life. Everybody likes to say that
that's so crazy. But anyway, I was dealing with people
that didn't grow up with me. Have it, grew up

(02:09:12):
with all these people, you know all I'm annoyed when
they grew up with all these niggas. I didn't grow
up with these people, you know what I'm saying. So
they don't know me. I don't really know them. We're
figuring out each other. I'm seeing who scared who not,
who's putting pressure on people who are doing this. I'm like, oh, word,
that's how these niggas get down that word, that's how
that's out here in the world. Like you know what

(02:09:33):
I'm saying, I'm learning, that's I'm kids still, Like I'm
learning as I go. And uh, you know, we got
to the point where we were just dealing with a
lot of jealousy and we had to click up. We
had to strap up, like you know what I mean.
It's on Like we had to strap up, like we
got beef with niggas that shoot people. You know what
I'm saying, Like these niggas shoot people like and that's it.

(02:09:54):
So they cut people, shoot people like that's what we
was dealing with. So I'm protecting myself, you know what
I mean, I would carry the hammer. I'm not out
doing no harm to nobody, you know what i mean.
At this point in my life, I'm just protecting myself.
So you know, it just got bad, man. It got
to the point where you know, I started just just

(02:10:15):
losing it man, Like you know what I'm saying so
much negative, negative thoughts, so much all the time, just
ready to shoot somebody every time I get out of
my car and walk into my crib or what whatever.
I'm like, all right, if somebody gonna try to run
up on my car being the bushes or I'm on point,
like you know what I'm saying, Like certain ship that

(02:10:36):
we used to do to people back in the days.
We was bad kids, Like we was bad growing up
in high school. He was would come back there. We
was foul neggas. We was doing foul ship to people
like we're robbing people doing foul you know, young young ship. Right,
So I got the mentality already, like that's how niggas
get down. And I'm not gonna let that happen to me.
So I'm like, you know, carrying guns. I'm dealing with

(02:10:59):
this mentality or time, and that ship rots your fucking
brain and your your spirit and ship rots. You keep
thinking like that and keep living like that and moving
like that, it just takes away from your spirit. Man.
It just makes you a foul person after a while,
Like you know what I mean, because you're dealing with
all this negativity and people saying they're gonna do this

(02:11:21):
to me when they see me, and making threats, and
and then I gotta stand up for myself like, Ni,
you ain't doing nothing when you see me, Like you
know what I'm saying. And that's just what it was.
So unfortunately, this is the you know, the the crazy
life that I was growing up living and the ship
that I had to deal with. And it got to
the point where you know, I was just out of control, man, smoking, man,

(02:11:43):
we just drinking heavily. Like I was already learned that
ship funks up my sick oft sell when I do that.
When I was so angry and just wanting to hurt somebody,
just always like trick those fingers itchy, like ready to
show a nigga, like, don't play with me. Like I'm
I'm just trying to going about my business doing my music.

(02:12:05):
I'm making my money. Don't come over here playing with
my life, you know what I'm saying, Because you're gonna
find out what happens. So this is my mentority every day.
And that's just started. Like I said, it started to
right away. My spirit, my brain, everything was just like
it felt disgusting. And I didn't realize how disgusting it
was until I got put with the gun in my
car and got locked up, and I just started thinking

(02:12:26):
about everything, like damn, just just living that life and
just not thinking being young minded, and it was just
it was just bad. It wasn't good, man. It was
I was I was gonna eventually get killed or some
or I was gonna kill somebody or hurt and I
would have went to jail. One or the other was
definitely gonna happen. That was definitely for sure, one gonna

(02:12:49):
happen eventually. If I didn't go to jail. You know
what I'm saying. It was like serious, um, And it's
sad to say it's like that, you know what I mean.
And I know a lot of people would listen to
this interview, like, like I said on the album, like
you know what I mean, Pete think he's tough, Pete
talking tough. What I'm saying, I think it's tough, But
I like to address the people that think that so
they can hear me say that. So save your little Pete,

(02:13:12):
I think you tough comment because I'm already ahead of you.
Though I know that's what you're thinking. We have a
bunch of nerves. Some people they hit that and they're like, oh,
this know this guy think he's talking tough. You're trying
to make his leave, trying to portray his life. There's
something that's not I'm just being honest with you. This
is what it was. I thank you for this, because

(02:13:34):
the thing is that hip hop really doesn't allow for
its figures to come uh in a kind of a
three dimensional, flesh and blood tone like this is the
first time I'm really hearing your story. Like I've known
of you for twenty plus years as an artist, and
I've read lots of articles, but you know, I've never

(02:13:57):
ever known about out your life or your experiences, like
this is the first time I'm really, really really hearing
you as a human being even speaking complete sentences. So no, no, no,
I mean I think the contrary. I think, if anything,
you know, it's it's more you really showing a human

(02:14:17):
side too, your life journey and your experiences. You know. Yeah,
I was going down a bad, a bad road man,
because it was just like ship was escalating, the drama
was escalating, the threats people were making threats to us
was escalating, like it was getting really crazy, especially we
at the g and It deal and the money got

(02:14:39):
even bigger. A lot of people was like, all these
niggers are stupid. While they signed the fifty, they now
they're looking as like we stupid. They don't even understand it.
We got a relationship with fifty, Like you know what
I'm saying. Fifty from self side, it's like my family,
Like you know what I'm saying, Like we got friends
in common. You know what I mean that, Like me
and fifty got friends in common, Like you know what
I'm saying. And it was just meant to be. You

(02:15:00):
know what I'm saying. That he got in a position
where he was able to put you on reach back
into to some of his favorite all this or whatever,
and he was like Mom, come on, you're coming with me.
You know what I'm saying. Come on. We was like,
hold up, you know what I'm saying, Like we're gonna
get out of this, you know what I mean. He
was like, you're gonna get this. You're gonna get this,
you gonna get this. We was like, where did we
sign up? You know what I'm saying? Like, we was like,

(02:15:22):
where did we sign up? I was I was one
of the people. It's funny. I was on the people
like years ago, uh that I wrote a review. It
wasn't even a review. I was just on our little
website and I was talking about the album. I know
it was okay. I was on the lawn. It was

(02:15:43):
like just the right, but then the lawn. But then
it went to okay player. So no, I was just dude,
I'm all my message, but we're just talking whatever. I'm like, man,
ain't nobody gonna read this ship. It's like thirty people
here whatever. Then the ship goes okay player. Then like
two or three days later XXL Fonte, this is mom,

(02:16:04):
what the funk are you serious? So then like a
couple of years later, it was I guess it's right
before you went in and like he wrote, he wrote
a blog. He was like, you know what I'm saying.
He was, he was like dissing me back. I was like, okay,
well that's so. That's like four guests and around. So

(02:16:30):
dude getting sob and this is our first time like
really talking talking like we've met like once I met
you once at Al's crib like years ago. But but yeah,
but we wash this first time we really talked. And
so afterwards, um, the joint came out and then you

(02:16:50):
did the blog and then you went on your in
your bid. So then I was on tour with us
for a minute. We was touring. Um it was LB
little brother and uh, evidence was with us and he
an alt with him and so me an owl on
the bus like we just chopping it up by everything.
We're just talking whatever, and he was he asked me,
but he was like, yo the album, Like Yo, why
you going? I was like, dog, it wasn't that, I said,

(02:17:12):
first off, I did you know they were listening back
to it? Like at that point, I said, it was
better much like Phrenology. I think it aged better than
it would than it did. Critique the album myself. You
know what I'm saying when I when I read what
you had said, it made me think that should it
hit me? I was like, he he said, we got
rich to stop trying. When I suggested yesterday gonna be

(02:17:45):
on this show, did your first start on? I was like,
I was like, okay, but but I don't know what's
gonna be nothing. Let me it's real. Bet. I was
just like, it ain't like that. That that but when
you said, look, when you said that, it made me
think like and being being locked up that shi just

(02:18:06):
made me think about everything. Made me think about life
and decisions that we were making, just everything, because you know,
I'm sitting there without nothing else to do but think,
so I'm not just thinking about my own life and decisions.
We made business decisions. And then I read I read that,
and I would listen to the album and hear other
people talk about it was mad we signed a G
on it, but that but you were coming from a

(02:18:27):
different perspective. There was other people that was like just
mad we signed and they're like, y'all mob, you know
I was. I was on eight Street one day and
this old black ladies had to be like seven years old.
She seen me. She was like prodigen. I was like, yeah.
She was like, yo, why the fund y'all signed that?

(02:18:48):
Just shot down. I was like yo, she was like,
y'all mobb deep. You're supposed to be just mobb deep.
You don't signing nobody else. I'm like, yo, it's just
a business move. Like hold me, like it's the Queen's thing,
Like nah nah, she was upset what it was. It
made sense for me because I thought he was from Queen's.
They from Queen's he looking out. I got that, I

(02:19:09):
guess just for me at that time as a family
and grand this is ten years ago, you know what
I mean. We all have grown whatever is then. But
my thing was because y'all was coming off the Free
Agents Joint and that was my ship. I was like, yo,
actually we was coming on from that's right. It was
a job, that's right, because we went from jobs. And

(02:19:33):
so with that, I was just like, I mean the
stuff that y'all was doing with alchemists, particularly like you
and alchemists, just the chemistry y'all have and still have,
like with Return of the Mac And I was like, yo,
they just do that. I'm like, man, So then so
for me just coming from that perspective where I said
that got rich, I was just like, man like, to me,
it just felt like like I understood on paper and

(02:19:54):
like business wise while it worked, but just to me,
just as a true hardcore fan, I was just like,
and then I think they could have just did them.
And I thought about it. I was like, it was
right because I'm sitting there listening to you. I examined
that album, that Unit album, we did so much, and
what I got out of it is when I when
I was in jail, when I was just like listening

(02:20:16):
to it and listening to it and trying to figure
out why people are saying things that they were saying,
and I was like, I was like, Okay, the first
thing I noticed that it was too much g Unit
on the album. They was on almost every song. I
didn't realize that why we're making it. We were just
having fun, like oh ship, I didn't come on do this,
Oh Buck, come on Buck, get on this song, your
banks get on this one. Like you know what I'm saying.

(02:20:38):
We're not even thinking, like we're just having fun moving
so but you know, being in jail, sitting there with
nothing to do, I'm just like listening to analyzing the album,
like Okay, it's to day on too many songs. Not
only that, but it was it was too many like
beats from like outside that wasn't really like mall deep

(02:20:58):
sounding beats, you know what I mean. But we didn't
realize that while we're sitting there making it. We was
like so caught up on G five going on tour,
and we're like, you know, we were just living a
high life, like you know what I'm saying, Like we
was already used to, you know, having fun living that
life on the road, but now it was just like
living that life on steroids, like you know what I'm saying,

(02:21:19):
with the interschool money now and the big budget and
the private jets and arenas every night, like you know
what I mean. So we were just lost, man, Like
we were lost at that point, like you know what
I mean. And I was officially lost because I'm already
already got the attitude like, um, I gotta defend myself
like it's mad threats going on. So the threats is

(02:21:41):
even high in that because they know we got bread.
They know we you know, fifty, I bought a bulletproof truck.
I'm like, nig you know what I'm saying, I'm like
fifty moving right, I'm about to do the same thing
because I'm we're getting threats like that, and we kind
of got beef with the same niggas almost like you
know what I mean. So it was like, you know,
I just wasn't living right. So not living right plus

(02:22:02):
access to all of that, no money and high life,
it was just like a recipe for disaster. You know
what I'm saying. I wasn't. I was gone. I was
gone dog, you know what I mean. Like I was gone.
So I had to get locked up that first that
first week or the first day, like it is the
goal just to be under the radar and do your

(02:22:25):
time or like for people that are notable and and
doing time. Is there a thing where the judges like, okay,
I know because I know in Tupox case, he was
they gladly threw him in gym Pop. Like all right,
you go to gym Pop, no no protection, you know
what I'm saying. So is it a thing where like

(02:22:46):
what is your goal or what is your thought mentality
that first week there, especially with your condition, which leads
to the book, which when I when I got locked up,
when I realized I had to go to jail and
served three and a half years and I got locked up.
I was like, all right, let me deal with this.
I gotta do this time, you know what I'm saying.

(02:23:08):
And I went in there with the attitude like, you know,
I don't want to make friends like you said, fly
under the radar, do my time, get the funk out
of there, get my ship. And I went in there
with the mentality to get my ship together because I
already knew what my problem was, already knew what the
downfall was as far as like streak sho I was

(02:23:28):
going through in my health and just my spirituality. I
was my spirit wasn't right, you know what I mean.
So I went in there with the plans to get
my spirit together, get my body together, get my health
in order come and try to come out a better person.
So I really went in and went to school with myself.
I went to school to learn myself how much time
did you have to prepare from the time of your

(02:23:50):
sentence to the time that you're going in because I
know that you have a family take cut care of
and that sort of thing. So it was it was
about maybe a few months, like three or four months
maybe you know what I mean. And yeah, I went
in there with the attitude like I'm I'm going in
here to get my ship together. I'm gonna learn. I'm
gonna discipline myself as far as diet, as far as uh,

(02:24:15):
you know, just spirituality, my my thoughts, you know what
I mean. I started reading a lot of books on
you know, your thought patterns, and you know that if
you have negative thoughts, that change it immediately into something positive.
And when you practice, when you practice that, it becomes normal.
You know what I'm saying. When you practice getting rid
of the negative thoughts as soon as you think, it

(02:24:36):
becomes normal. And just you know everything, man, just getting
better with myself and be just trying to become a
better person. And like I said, I was listening to
the albums and seeing what we did wrong, what we
was doing right. I was just analyzing everything like and
it took me some time to adjust because I was
writing blogs and you know what I mean, still popping
ship and talking crazy ship. But then after a while

(02:24:59):
I started being like, Okay, I'm going about this all wrong.
You know what I'm saying. I gotta I gotta be more.
You know, I gotta be more humble, humbling, like you
know what I'm saying, humble myself from calm down and
you know what I'm saying. Um. I was sitting in
the dayroom one day with one of my young homies
in there, his name is Fresh, and we're watching BT
and somebody video came on. I was, man, that ship

(02:25:20):
is garbage. You like this ship? He was like, yo, Pee,
why you say everything is garbage when you're like, like,
give people a chance, son, He's like, why you don't
give nobody a chance? Like when he said he said
he was that serious and said it just like that. Now.
He made me look at myself. I never thought about that.
I was like, I was like, damn you right, Like
I never like, I was like you right. He was like, Yo,

(02:25:42):
the dude just trying to get his money MONEYGGA, like everybody,
you know, not the same, everybody got different tastes. Just
let that man get his money, like stop shipping on everybody,
Like you know what I'm saying. And it made me.
That ship made me. That ship changed me. I was like, oh,
I was like I never thought of it like that. Somebody,
Nobody ever said that to me before. You know what
I'm saying. They were just letting me beat me. No

(02:26:04):
one challenge you. I did never say, you know what's
wrong with you? Should like why you shut the funk up?
Like you know what I'm saying, Let that man get
his money, like you know what I'm saying. And I
was made me look at myself. I felt stupid when
he said that, you know what I mean. I was like, Damn,
I had the wrong attitude this whole time. You know
what I'm saying. Now, how does how does someone survive

(02:26:24):
in that system with uh dietary restrictions? Like is it
possible to be a vegan in jail or a vegetarian?
And does the private prison complex even allow for those
types of foods too? For you to even have access

(02:26:47):
to that? Well, every mohere do they care? Every prison
is different, Every prison allowed different things, and every prison
you know, won't allow certain things, and um, so every
prison is different. One will let you know, a whole
chicken in the ovel. They won't let you let it in,
you know. I mean, it's just so it depends on

(02:27:07):
what you have. And like the packaging, the way it's packaged,
the way it's sealed, the color on the packaging. Like
every jail is different. It's real specific, you know what
I mean, for each individual jel. Some jails you can
have CDs. Other jails you can't have CDs. You only
have cassettes. Some jails, you know what I mean, they

(02:27:28):
still got they still got cassettes. And in certain jails
you're gonna only have cassettes because they I was in mistake.
It's like four hours four hours from here dropping up,
you know what I mean. And uh yeah, So every
every prison is different. The food that they that they serve,

(02:27:49):
you know what I'm saying, and what they allow in
the package from your family, it's all different. So um,
you know they have a special diet in prison for
like Kosher coaching I or halal diet, you know what
I mean. You got to prove that you know, that's
your religion, and you gotta have a special diet. Sugar.
Because one of my prisoner friends asked me, were you

(02:28:10):
gonna do a book for the folks to mean for
the non sugar. Um, yeah, I mean I don't really
know too much about that, but uh side newt uh
for the very few people in this room that no
my day managers era. She loves the ship at this
point because her diet is that fucked up, Like she's

(02:28:36):
like prom noodles. I like this, like she saw that
as like college survival food. I'm like, not quite there, No,
I mean she's the type of prison that actually, yes,
she looked at it. It's like that is okay. But yeah,

(02:28:59):
So bringing Kathy into this, how are you hey? I'm
glad you here. I forgot she was here. So what
what is the research process in trying these uh these
recipes out that you you you made in the in

(02:29:20):
the book in and I guess the trial and era
of it all, Like how do you even, I guess
with very little instruments, instruments or tools, you know, it
it becomes you know, creative creativities is your is your
best instruments. So how do you test these things out
to see what works and what doesn't work? Well, there's

(02:29:42):
two like completely different parts of the cookbook. There's the
stuff that that p always cooked, and then there's the
stuff that most people in prison cook. So you know,
so were you allowed special? You know, he just chose
Like see the thing that's kind of the thing that's
pretty interesting about the commissary catching cookebook is everything that

(02:30:06):
was cooked was what you could purchase in commissary. But
you know he had been through what was it, five
different prisons in three years because he always had to
have an infirmary like nearby, so you know he was moved,
but I think he spent the longest at Mid State, right.
So in doing that research, I went through the commissary
that was available at mid State to know what some

(02:30:27):
of those items were. And then so what's the typical meal,
what's the typical breakfast? Well, typical breakfast at chow is
different from see because you know they would give the
breakfast would be at six, right, Lunch would be at ten. Yeah,
so you gotta wake up at five. What was it
like like quarter to six breakfast and they go to

(02:30:51):
yard and like seven, yeah, lunch would be at ten.
Four o'clock was dinner and you were done so when
you had Jesus Christ. Yeah, So when it came to
the commissary, that was the thing that people used to
to fill to fill them up for the rest of
the day. So if your family doesn't have a lot
of money to fill the commissary, that's where you get

(02:31:12):
those traditional prison meals like mashing up cheetos and pouring
chili on them because those are the cheapest things in commissary.
And also there's a pound limitation to what like family
could mail you as well, and he would um make
most of that those deliveries of nothing but can vegetables.
But because they're in a can, they weigh more. So
it wasn't like he was able to get like tons

(02:31:33):
of spinache, you know, because he would mostly get spinage
delivered like that, but it's by can. So yeah, even
though the potential of that being a weapon, you can
use the top, you can get it taken away. They
won't allow CDs, but you can have a UM. Yeah.

(02:31:56):
So you know, in going through and going through this book,
you know, and we were going through some of the
recipes that he actually made, UM, there was just this
whole other part that you know, I feel is like
this this voice to culture of people wanting to know
about those kinds of traditional prison meals. And in doing
that research and seeing some of those things, and the
thing that I thought was really important about putting it

(02:32:17):
in the book was, you know, on piece first day,
he had food poisoning because one of the inmates wanted
to make him a welcome meal, which was one of
those traditional prison dishes, but peace stomach obviously wasn't trained
to that. It's like going to Mexico and drinking the water,
you know, prison surprise, which is um jack mac mashed
up cheetos to make a cheese sauce poured over like ramen. Right,

(02:32:41):
it was something like that. And and by the end
of the night he had n ivy in his arm,
so because you know, he wasn't used to eating. And
I mean the thing is sweat and bullets throwing up
me up. Yeah. Yeah. And you learn about certain things
in doing this research, where like, for example, they only
give you fruit punch and iced tea, but if you

(02:33:03):
want water, they give you an empty jug and you
have to go get it. So it's like, if you
want to lead a healthy lifestyle, you have to actively
pursue it in prison. So there's there's also you know,
there's this um there's prison tea that a lot of
inmates drink, which is just simply a Ramen packet in water,
and the average Ramen packet has of us. So you're

(02:33:24):
drinking that's prison. It's called prison tea. And how are
you able to how are you able to cook the
food on your own in your cell? Like are you allowed? No,
there's a there's a common area where there's a microwave
and a toaster oven, which is that's why so many
of these meals are so simple, which is why so
many people in dorms will gravitate towards it because of

(02:33:46):
of just the availability of those just two devices and
a couple of other things. So, you know, and but
in doing the research, you really learn the way the
prison system kind of controls the situation. And you know,
for me, the reason why I even you know, I
was part of this project was over over, Like you know,

(02:34:07):
the ten fifteen years that I've been a rap journalist,
I've had this kind of like unique privilege of speaking
to a lot of artists right when they get out
of prison. And I spoke with p like right when
you get up got out. But I also spoke with
Boosey and come to find out, yeah, but he had
also cancer, so I believe it was kidney cancer. So

(02:34:32):
and they blamed it on the lean. But I started to, like,
you know, you start putting two and two together, how
people can enter somewhat healthy and leave like completely a mess.
And you know, in talking with p about it, like
literally when he got out and he was just telling
me these stories and I'll never forget it was one
of your guys gave me one of the cassettes that

(02:34:54):
were available in prison. It was a Jada Kiss, The
Last Kiss, and like a prison catalog, and he's like, yeah,
this is what's a available. So you know, I was
just like going through the what was available, and I'm like,
how can anyone survive on this stuff? So you know,
we were putting this this together and you just look
at the nutritional information and then I started to dig
even deeper and you look at what was available in

(02:35:15):
like the UK in the fifties, a typical prison meal
was like prime rib and like mash potatoes and glazed carrotter.
That was like a typical prison meal. And you start
you see what happens over the years, and especially as
it made its way, you know, to this country, and

(02:35:36):
and like what was available, I mean even in the past,
what was available here it was so fundamentally different than
what's available now. And you know, when we were touring
this book, the biggest prison strike in history was happening,
So it was kind of like this perfect storm. But
it was also pretty funny because some of the stuff
that we were discussing, like, we didn't make it too

(02:35:57):
politically heavy, but if you start to read about some
of these recipes and what's available and all this other stuff,
you can kind of put two and two together and
be like, oh, you know, trying to kill you in there.
You know, Well, the book they get banned in some
We got banned in California because yeah, but they said
it was because there was a hood recipe, like like
who doesn't know how to make a cooch at this point?
But you know, and I think, um, I think there's

(02:36:20):
also parts, you know, especially when it comes to pop culture,
the way people like glamorize prison, especially because of Oranges
in the New Black, and just make it seem make
this like cool place for a camaraderie. And there is
some of that in the book, you know, because that
some of that is true, but there's also something real.
I mean, there's an episode of Oranges the New Black
where they they use the prison packets for current for

(02:36:41):
like currencies so they can season their food. But it's like, yeah,
but the sodium, like you know, or there's a joke
that one of the inmates um pretends to be Jewish.
She she could so she can have a kosher meal.
But like because the kosher meal is the only meal
that actually has fresh vegetables in it. So you know,
there's there's things that they that they put in there

(02:37:03):
that I think it's pretty cool. But if you don't
do your research on why those things are even incorporated
into those episodes or whatever, you know, you don't you
don't really understand what's going on. So uh yeah, I
mean the kosher meals are like amazing in prison and
the only fresh thing that um that in in peace
facility were allowed to have as an apple damn celly sticks.

(02:37:26):
So yeah, until the day that you you rated. Uh,
little Punza the CEO the correction office refrigerating little Yeah,
he used called little punks. He look like little guy,
a little person, but he would eat the inmates food.
Like he would come in there and he would eat
their meals. Like why is there is there someone to

(02:37:52):
be an advocate for better health? There's there's some steps
that I know in California that are now leaving their
respective I mean these are like Michelin, uh michellan level chefs,
James Beard, chefs that you know, kind of felt in
a moral waves, im moral for them to you know,

(02:38:14):
learn fine cuisine and then charge people two thousand dollars
to eat it. And so they're going to the opposite there,
they're going to the hoods. They're going in like South Central,
opening up healthy versions of fast food spots. And even
Magic Johnson said the reason why he, you know, opened
up a Friday's was because, uh, you know, that's one

(02:38:36):
of the few places where you can get a garden
salad or that sort of thing. Um, don't sad, I'm
going to Fridays for the salad. No. But a woman
approached Magic and said, yo, I hope this is like
when he opened up his movie theater. She's like, yo,

(02:38:57):
I really hope you opened up a restaurant and bring
it to the hood so we can have fresh salads,
because you'll be shocked at the fact that you cannot
find I mean now that most hood spots are being gentrified.
I mean even with um the locks, they opened up
a jar, you know, giving people their first taste of

(02:39:17):
healthy options. So it's like, you know, for for a
lot of for a lot of people, especially like I
mean even the idea of soul food is inaccessible, inaccessible now,
like you go to find Southern cuisine spots at least
in the northeast, not not in North Carolina. No, no,
but I mean soul food right now, and most hoods

(02:39:39):
are take out Chinese food, like what people had the
experience of, like oh Kyla green and chicken and grits
for dinner like in the sixties and seventies. Now it's
gravy white, yeah, ris and wings for unto five. So
it's like, do you you were play order specially so

(02:40:03):
after you experience all right, motherfucker's I'm just I'm just asking,
do you feel that it's almost necessary that someone advocates,
uh or speaks on the behalf of of getting better

(02:40:25):
conditions because I often hear of the conditions in prison
being horrible and you know, substandard, and of course you know,
you'll you'll hear these these you know, right wing Republicans
just being like you knows that's what it deserves. But
you know, it's still like you still got to treat
a person human, and so like, is there any is it,

(02:40:50):
is there any step or do you realistically see reality
where that could be changed. I think it's getting I
think it's getting every one on board, but having you know,
their own reasons for it, like um, a lot of
a lot of right wing Republicans have you know, hit

(02:41:10):
me and my d m s along with um crazy
mob deep fans. Uh, but you know, kind of trying
to challenge me in this discussion. And you know, well,
their prisoners, like you know, they can eat whatever, whatever.
And even if you take away like the humane aspect
of it, right, someone enters prison healthy, they leave with diabetes, hypertension,

(02:41:37):
you know, poor liver functions everything right. When they get sick,
they go to the e er. You pay for the
e R. So if you want to, you don't want
to even look at it for anything other than selfish
financial reasons. Look at that. Look at that at the

(02:41:57):
heart of it that it's still it's ultimately costing you
money for these for people to to get better essentially,
so you know, which it's a horrible reason to have
to It's a horrible argument to even present. But there
are some people that yeah, yeah, well people don't also realize,

(02:42:18):
you know, when when you hear people arguing against the
idea of private prison industry complex, people don't know that,
um if you're one of the commissary owners. There was
a website. There was an article I was reading about
I guess one of the CEOs of of I don't
know if Bonton is a thing here, and it's in

(02:42:40):
Pennsylvania's real big. It's like little Devies Bontan. It's like
these local snack companies, but they are making a killing
being the exclusive uh provider of all these high end snacks.
And it's almost like I feel, I mean not even
I feel I almost know of that. It's like the

(02:43:02):
cheapest high sodium, high sugar amount which keeps you almost
And what's funny is even when you go visit. I
just made me think about something because I've been the
way too many prisoners in Jersey. Even when you go
to visit, they don't even provide, Like the snacks are
the same for as for the visit, Like say you're
there and his families as kids and they want to
eat something while they're there, you better go to the

(02:43:24):
vendom machine and get you a chocolate or something. Not
even like the trail makes nothing in that area, is it, Kathy?
Is there not one prison is working on their dietary situation.
You know, I think, um, sorry, Martha Stewart changed her
spot in West Virginia and she's still yeah, she's still
but hers is like a minimum security it's a federal

(02:43:47):
women's present. I think it was Morgan. That's not Morgan Thomas. Yeah,
she's still actively sends them uh fresh veestivals and fruit
and you know what, what what's going to ultimately happen
In my opinion, I mean, I'm seeing some of it
that they're they're talking about doing it in New York.
It's going to take someone trying to do it in

(02:44:08):
such a kitchy way because that's what's gonna end up.
It's going to become trendy to do it because um,
I was reading some articles and I like, check out
the farm to table prison whatever, and it becomes it's
gonna have to take that rebranding, like rebranding. Yeah, it's
gonna have to be that. Unfortunately in the same way
that you've got to change the argument for Republicans on

(02:44:30):
on the whole prison system in general. But it's going
to have to be something cute. See for them to
kids are doing is like wait a minute, right, so
kind of like the way Heroin got rebranded. I mean,
but you know, the the jump from OZ to Orange
is the new black one, you know what took off

(02:44:50):
by making it like, hey, what happens when you put
you know, like that kind of Yeah. So I think, um,
I think that's going to be the thing that will
will have to do it. Uh, you know it's it's
not not similar, but um, you know when people started
to advocate for better snacks and offices and schools and
all these other all these other things where those things

(02:45:12):
had to change, but it had to be a slow build.
It's a harder argument in prison, Kathy, Are you saying
Michelle Obama missed out on that one? Because I just
like she was supposed to cover that. No, I love
all prices due to the Queen, but the clue just
went off in my head, right, she did schools, she
didn't Well, you know the thing that Michelle Obama did

(02:45:34):
that I think was wonderful too was, um, you know
there's a school in particular, I forget the name. You know,
my mom had consulted for them in Nork. They had
a garden at the top on the roof and the
kids would grow the vegetables they would pull down the
vegetables and they would cook with the vegetables for their lunches.
So she did some amazing things, but that kind of
stuff doesn't translate into prison, you know. I mean, I

(02:45:55):
think the the initiative that she did was it was
making nutrition fun, because that was the problem. Kids weren't
having fun with nutrition. Your your brustles sprouts are gross
like you know, dipam and chocolate like whenever. Like that
you're making you're making you're making nutrition fun. But convincing,
convincing inmates whose families are maybe putting five dollars into

(02:46:17):
their commissary and they finish eating at four pm and
they're starving by eight o'clock and they're hanging out in
the common area and all they have is like enough
in their commissary for ramen noodles, convinced them that nutrition
is fun. Because what what happens is it's not the
it's not the commissary necessarily, that's the problem. It's the
quality of the food that they're eating in chow too.

(02:46:39):
I mean the sodium levels of some of those things.
But also it's expired food sometimes you know, they'll leave
cans for however, long. I mean, there's rat poisoning in
certain prisons, and some of the food they found glass
pubic hair. I mean, these are things like these are
real issues that just the quality of the food alone,
and what will end up happening is a lot of
the inmates just don't want to eat the food. You know,

(02:47:01):
who's gonna want to eat that? So it becomes a
matter of all right, well I'll just eat some chips.
There's a lot of artists that I've spoken to who
when they got out of prison, and even before meeting
um Pete and hearing that story, I would say, what
did you eat like, you know most of the time
to some chips, like living off like freedoms, you know,
And and then I remember, um, I forget the artists.

(02:47:24):
Was it Thurst and how the third who did the
prison cooking shows? And he would do this like show
or he would like, you know, mash up all like
the food and he would like make these prison dishes,
and I was just so fascinated. I'm just like, yeah,
I get it, because if like if someone said to you, okay,
every day all you can eat the bag of Cheetos,
bag of Dorito's one of those packets of chili and

(02:47:46):
a pack of ramen noodles. Of course by week three, Yeah,
if you're you're trying to deep fry your ramen noodles
in the toaster and you're trying to make a burger
out of the chili patty, like you're gonna try to
get creative. So um, and and that that chapter that
we put in the book. Um. I remember. I remember

(02:48:06):
talking to pe about it and he's like, you know,
some of the things we were going over, and he's
like fucking disgusting because like you know, he he was
like he just made a concerted effort to not touch
any of that stuff because for him it was like
it could it's life, you know. There he can't eat
that stuff. So I mean, I remember when you know,

(02:48:27):
there was like a lot of the guys would go
and they would cook together, and I remember, you know,
asking p like what was the main thing, and he's like, no,
I would just have spinach. Like if I didn't if
there was if I didn't want to cook, I would
just keep eating canned spinach. But you didn't even have
to wash that off. It's like packed with sodium. So
there's like really no way out if you don't sit
and think about it, which is why we put this

(02:48:47):
book together because it's like, listen, I get it. You know,
maybe your commissary is lower than the next guy, but
there's ways around what you're choosing to buy and how
you're choosing to prepare it. You know, can I ask
what was the first and you ate when you got out.
I went to this Korean barbecue spot, Koo Lio downtown
and Soho Korean Barbecue. It was really good and I

(02:49:10):
thought about it the whole big every time I sat
down to eighth hold, I was like, yo, man, if
I was home right now, I'll be eating Korean barbecue.
Everybody was like, what the fun is that you make
it yourself? I was likest me, trust me. So as
soon as I got out, we drove straight to the
restaurant and I couldn't wait to eat some more that
good food. What's your diet and stuff like on the

(02:49:30):
day to day now? Um, you know, I just try
to my favorite thing to eat it. I try to
like grilled chicken, um, like Cathy said, a lot of
green vegetables, a lot of water, um, brown rice. You know.
I try to just eliminate fried foods and red meats um.

(02:49:52):
You know, it takes it takes time to get to
that point, a lot of time and discipline. Some people
don't like water, you know. I mean, it took mean
about a year or two to really get used to,
like I could just guzzle water and I love how
it tastes. Before that, I was always craving for juice
or you know what I'm saying, So that it takes
time to develop and discipline your body and your mind

(02:50:17):
and your taste buzz to, you know, to do the
right thing. So you know, after a while, you know,
even before I went to jail, I was already learning
that stuff in my twenties, Like you know what I'm saying,
and you know, just being locked up it made me like,
all right, I want to see what happens if I'm
on some military discipline ship. I want to see what happens,

(02:50:39):
how my body is gonna react, how my mind, how
how things are gonna be different if I, like on
some military discipline straight water every day, green vestibule. I
wanted to see the outcome of that, So I did it,
you know what I mean. Because of doing that, I
was able to work out, like you know they tell
doctors told me in my life, I can't work out,

(02:50:59):
I can't do any um physical contact or stren you
with exercise because the trigger is sick of sell. And
it's true. Like certain things I do, like if if
if if I'm running around too much, my heart rates
start going too fast, I get to hype, my adrenaline
start pumping and triggered my sicker cell. It can trigger
my sick So you know, once I, once I cleaned out,

(02:51:21):
changed my diet and was very very very strict with
it and with the water, very strict with with the
vegetables and everything. I noticed that I wasn't getting sick.
I didn't feel sick at all. I was able to
work out, not feel sick like you know what I mean.
I was just able to get strong and it felt great.
It felt great. I was like, wow, this is ill,

(02:51:42):
like you know what I'm saying, because I was already
doing it in the streets. Like I said, I learned.
I learned how to do that. In my twenties, I
kind of fell off, you know what I mean. Right
before I went to jail, I started going a little
down with spiral, going through some bullshit in my life.
But you know I was already with that discipline. I
had already changed my life five six years straight smoking.

(02:52:02):
But this is this is lie from two thousand let
me excuse me from ninety eight, like two thousand two,
something like that, you know what I'm saying. Maybe two
thousand three. Um, you know, I was on some strict
diet and I was like learning how to heal myself

(02:52:23):
through diet and spirituality. So I did that already and
I felt the effects of it. And then I kind of,
like I said, I kind of went on a down
spiral right before I got locked up. So when I
got locked up, I was like, you know what, I
want to try what I did, I want to do
it to the maximum now. And I don't want to
really do this ship now. Like I said, straight military
discipline with it. So what spiritually I don't do you

(02:52:44):
mean like meditating, deep reaving. I mean like just the
thoughts affirmations, Yeah, like just the power of your thoughts,
you know what I'm saying, Negative thoughts like if somebody, like,
especially being in jail, everybody got bad attitude, nobody wants
to be there. Everybody's upset. Thing in jail, like everybody
wakes up in the morning piste off. Nobody even to see.

(02:53:05):
Even the correction officers are piste off. They gotta work,
you know what I'm saying. So everybody got an attitude,
and that motherfucker and especially correcting officers. They talked to
you like up, go through this, go do go, go
wash the toilets, go through like they bossed you around,
like they funk with you, especially when they first meeting
you and you didn't know who you are. They funk

(02:53:26):
with you. They try to press your buttons and see
if you how you react. So I used that as
all right, this is gonna be my training. I'm gonna
control my thoughts as soon as he or anybody gives
me a bad attitude instead of me saying that funk
in my mind. You know, my first thought in my
mind used to be gonna fun this nigger, like you
know what I'm saying, piece of ship. But then now

(02:53:48):
I started practicing as soon as that thought pops in
my head, change it. But like you know what, I'll
pray for him, you know what I'm saying. Hopefully he'll
get his thing together, you know what I mean. He
don't know what he's doing. You know what I'm saying,
he's just angry, he gotta work here. So I'll pray
for this person that should and I'll change my thoughts
to that. So I started practicing that and there, and
that was like the perfect place to practice that, you

(02:54:10):
know what I'm saying, because you're dealing with all his
tensions and foul ship every day. So I would practice
that every day every day, practice changing my thoughts immediately
as soon as the thought prop of mina I changed
to something else. And then when I kept doing it,
it just it happened naturally, you know. I mean, I
have to think about it no more. And through eating
right and you know, thinking different, it changed like spirituality,

(02:54:33):
that changes your spirit. Once you start thinking different, you know,
you're more at peace. You're more at peace with everybody
else and yourself. You know what I'm saying. You you
walk peacefully, like you carry yourself peacefully. You know what
I'm saying. Um. At the same time, you know, UM,
who I am. I grew up how I grew up,
So it's not like I turned into some soft sucker motherfucker.

(02:54:58):
I just know how to control my thoughts. Now. I
was gonna say too man, I hear that in the
new record too. I listened to it on the plane
on the way over here. And ship is dope, Man,
I can hear like just the the I don't want
to misquote the liquor, but it was one joint in particular.
You were talking about, you know what, it ain't about
black and I don't care if you white. Uh, you know,

(02:55:19):
it ain't about your religion. You were just you know,
just kind of speaking. Yeah, and you're saying, I just tyranny,
don't about none of that. Race don't matter. Yeah, your
faith don't matter. The enemy is government tyranny. All that
other ship don't matter, like you know what I'm saying.
You rich, don't matter, you broke, don't matter. The enemy

(02:55:39):
they threatened our liberties, all that other ship don't matter,
like you know what I'm saying. That's what I'm trying
to get because they try to like divert attention with
like a lot of racial issues. Now, don't get me wrong,
there's a lot of racial issues with this country, like
for a long time. But they magnify that ship on
the news, and they magnify so much to the point

(02:56:01):
where we think it's more than what it really is,
you know what I'm saying, Like, and if people only
knew we all have a common enemy that's really trying
to destroy our spirit in our soul and I control
our life. We actually have a common enemy. Is like,
you know what I'm saying, That's what I was trying
to get a cross the point I was trying to
get closed on that song. So um yeah, you know

(02:56:23):
I would practice that in jail, and it just it
changed me. Man, that's it felt great. I was like, oh, ship,
this is ill. I was like, this is a great
way to think. Like I'm glad I was doing this.
I was like, man, this is great man meditation. Well,
I was like, you know what I mean. It just
made me feel better. I felt better every day as
a person, Like you know what I mean, Well, priors

(02:56:49):
of you, we are going to have to close this show. Unfortunately,
we could talk to you forever. I do have one
last question, what up though? Are we gonna get one
more reunion an album out of you? And having we
definitely didn't have like crack fings when it comes to
hip hop, like it's like we that's good like rock him,

(02:57:11):
but like my fiend, So you're about to do something
your You're I know that you're gonna do. Uh, you're
doing a few projects with live musicians, You're doing your
residency at Blue Note. Yeah that's every month. Yeah, we
do it once a month. Then, so how can people
find out like news about upcoming dates with you and
that sort of thing? Um, always tell people like you know,

(02:57:31):
you can always Google, come hit up, hit up Google,
like Yo, are you on Twitter? Or yeah, yeah I'm
on Twitter, Mob Deep, Instagram, Prodigy, mab Deep. Um, but
I'll forget sometimes to myself. If you want to know
what any of your favorite artist is performing, or when
a new album is dropping in, you could go right
on Google and just be like yo, Deep new album

(02:57:52):
or Prodigy new concert or you know what I'm saying,
like and it's all pop up like you know what
I'm saying or or you you I guess. Uh. Cleverly
released the Hegelian dialect dialectic uh Orange January, which was
yeah I was gonna say and I was playing out.

(02:58:14):
We did that, I figured as much. Um, Oh, my
year's birthday and your birthday, well yeah it's all about you,
like right, well, Kathy and prior, I thank you very
much for Yeah, thank you. I don't even think I'll
go through the customary what we learned thing, because I

(02:58:34):
think we learned everything at the same time. Man, shout
out to everybody too, Man, I always gotta do this. Man,
Shout to jay Z, Shout to NAJ, Shout to my niggas. Man.
You know what I'm saying. So low, you know I
funk with your n This is like, Man, I'm a
fan of jay Z. You know what I'm saying. We
went through our ship. I'm a fan. I love son,
He's one of the allers. I learned so much from

(02:58:55):
him watching him do business. Hey, charry yourself in the
same with Nasa. I so much for how he writes
songs and make his music. Like, you know what I'm saying.
It ain't no, ain't no beef, ain't know none of
that ship. Man, we grown involved, I'm saying, yeah, But
you gotta get out the comments. Don't read them comments.
No more they get comments reading the comments than the

(02:59:18):
articles that when they're taking him down too much. Remember
none of the positive. I don't remember the negative. Joe.
The listeners out there, man, you know what I mean.
Anybody could go to jail. I was locked up with
a lot of characters from different walks of life. Everybody
could get locked You too can go to jail. I

(02:59:39):
was in there with judges, d A's detectives. My prisoner
friend just said at the other day here and there
with engineers, bombers, millionaires. Anybody can get locked up. Mistakes happy,
you know, I mean, you can make a mistake, a
fatal mistake, and end up going to jail. And from
any walk of life. Look at Martha Stewart. So what
I don't wop saying that is just, you know, stay

(03:00:00):
out of jail man, so you ain't gotta eat that
crap man out the corner store. Stay out the corner
store man, stay as in the street man due to
the reg thing. And on that note, on b Prodigy
Kathie Yonda, I got it finally, Sugar Steve, Sugar Steve,
Damn Sugar Steve. We didn't even bring up your sugar,

(03:00:22):
Sugar Sugar exactly get you. Just hang out with you
and that whatever whatever. Unfaith Bill Boss Bill Fartigolo and
Margaret Margaret, how many prisons have been doing Jersey remember
everywhere tool, Yeah, this is a question. Love, of course,

(03:00:45):
Love Supreme. We will see you on the next ground.
Thank you very much, see you later. What's Love Supreme
is a production my Heart Radio. This classic episode was
produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

(03:01:09):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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