June 10, 2023 • 55 mins
The Black Effect Presents... That Moment with Daymond John!
Ice T joined me on That Moment with Daymond John and gave me his raw and candid thoughts on some of the most transformative moments that he faced throughout his career, focusing most intently on the moment his album was blocked by Time Warner (spoiler: even though that’s the public narrative around how it went down…it’s not accurate, and Ice gave me the full inside scoop on how the situation with his album Home Invasion actually happened) and what finally prompted him to become a devoted and fully committed father and husband.
The stories Ice shared provide more than just a glimpse into how you can evolve as a person while also staying true to yourself, and listeners will walk away with so much inspiration that they can put to work in their own lives. As Ice explains in our talk, no one else wakes up with your dream, and it’s so important to lock that thought into the way you approach your passions. Tune in to That Moment with Daymond John to fulfill your true inner gangster and reframe the way you approach negativity!
Host: Daymond John
Producers: Beau Dozier & Shanelle Collins; Ted Kingsbery, Chauncey Bell, & Taryn Loftus
For more info on how to take your life and business to the next level, check out DaymondJohn.com and @thesharkdaymond on all platforms.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome to that moment with Damon John and I am
Damon John, and today we are going to get into
it with the legendary Iced team.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Let's get into it. Man.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
When you found out your album now is being blocked
by Warner how was the initial reaction.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Tell me about the initial reaction. What do you mean
with the cop Killer record?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, well, you know I know that they weren't going
to put out anymore. You know, you worked hard on
that on that album, and you know they just said
we're not going to back this anymore. And I know that's.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
That's not how it happened day. It didn't happen like that. All.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
We made this song called cop Killer, I was on
Sire Warner Brothers, and the record came out and it
did phenomenal. The album came out of when gold Warner
Brothers was really excited about it. You know, we actually
had a party for the success of the record, and
then we got hit by the Fraternal Order of Police
(01:17):
out of Austin, Texas that said cop Killer was the
cause of this problems or drama. Really, the police were
under siege, just like they're under siege now, and somebody
smart said, why don't we just push the narrative at
Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers put out this record. Now, they
couldn't really get mad at me because I'm a black
(01:38):
man and I'm making, you know, noise about the corruption
We've been dealing with our whole life. But they were like,
Warner Brothers, big corporation, how can you allow this man
this platform. But Warner Brothers stood, stayed down with me.
Jeral Levin, who was ahead of time, Warner wrote a
big letter to the Washington I mean, to the to
(02:01):
Wall Street Journal, and they backed me. They backed me
as much as they could. It hit them in the
stock you know, stock prices started to drive and what
the problem was.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
What I was saying. They understood. But they're a white corporation.
They're a corporation. They're part of the system. So now
this is challenging them and their stockholders.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Now you got to remember, at the time, Warner Brothers
had myself, They had Prince, they had Slayer, they had
Sam Kinniston, they had Andrew Dice Clay, they had the
Ghetto Boys, they had a lot of controversial edgy artists.
Madonna and Warner knew that as soon as they allowed
them to censor me. It was going to be a problem.
(02:47):
And I went into a meeting with Lenny Warnaker and
Moe Austin and they broke it down to me. There
was a big corporate table in front of me, and
they said, I see this is it. You're an artist
on Warner Brothers. And the guy put a quarter on
the table. He said, to see the size of this quarter.
This is how big Warner music is compared to Time Warner.
(03:11):
We're so you're a dot on that small quarter and
what you're doing is it's hurting the entire thing. So
I was like, damn, you know, and I just kind
of felt some kind of way like they're doing everything
they could to support me. So what happened was the
next album I was putting out was a rap album
(03:32):
which was called Home Invasion. And when I went in
there to do that record, when I turned it in,
they had me come in and they had every word
on the record written out in big letters on a board.
They were going through every little thing and there was
some there was some sketchy lyrics in there. I had
a lyrics said I don't give a fuck about a
(03:55):
cop or a g man. They all talk shit they're
breast smelling like semen. I catch them in that alley
all alone, put them in the prone pop pop pop
to the dome. So they like, you're killing cops again, right,
But I'm like this gangster rap right. So it was
so they were so uptight, Dame that I eventually just said,
you know what, let me go.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I asked for the release.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I said, it's kind of like me and you are
in business, and I'm like, my politics is messing with
your money.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
But we friends. Let me go. Man, I'm no.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Hard feelings, and I never had a hard feeling with
Warner Brothers.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
And what Warner Brothers did that was very cool.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
The Home Invasion album was about a half a million
dollar album to make.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
They gave it to me. They never recouped it.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
They just said here, good luck Ice, because you got
to remember, for so many years, like ten years, I
was the number one rapper on that label.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
They loved me.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
They you know, I had done nothing but bring them
golden platinum records, six consecutive golden platinum records, so they.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Couldn't turn on me like that.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
But I got them in a sticky situation, and that's
what happened. A lot of people didn't understand the source
magazine went after me. He said, I folded. Chuck d
said the best. He said, those that are don't in
the wars shouldn't comment on the battles. You have no
(05:22):
idea what was really going on behind the scene.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
But that was it. But Warner never really did Low.
They didn't do Low. They was just a bad situation.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
History is proven, or history is reflected only the times
that large corporations or any company turned their back on people.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I mean, we do see.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Nike will stand on the side of what they believe
is right, even when somebody's kneeling. They'll stand on that side,
and we can use them. But I don't think I've
ever heard of a music label, especially a label that
wasn't backed by like, let's say, a young person hip
like you, right like you. I've heard of Jimmy I
(06:10):
Bean backing you know, and and having somebody's back. I've
heard of a couple of people, and I never heard
of something like a Warner backing you and that that's
that's that's really rare.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
So you know what it was name, I don't think
they were backing me as much as they.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Was back in the back in the principle overall, Yeah,
once they censor you.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
And if you notice at the end of it, there
was no more Warner Music at some point. The last
thing was when death Row was trying to get involved
and Ted Turner came in and shut that whole ship down.
But nah, they they pretty much all the edgy groups
left Warner Brothers at that time. Uh, and they knew that.
(06:52):
They explained that to me, they like, it's bigger than you.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
It's where you go after that, though, you know what,
because I'm trying to find at that moment, that moment
you're saying you were you were you were, you were
doing well on there ten years in you would already well,
we'll get to the origin of when you decided to
put that gangster rap on an actual album and.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Go out there.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
But where did you Where did you go right after that?
What were your options that moment when you were like,
let me go. Did you already think, I listen, I'm
getting my guys in the sticky situation, I have other opportunity.
Did you feel like were you, being, of course courted
by other people or was it like I'm gonna go
do the ship myself. Like, what was that moment in
your life?
Speaker 3 (07:34):
It was it was nerve wrecking man, because you know
we I was red hot.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Uh. The cop Killer record, even though it was it
was in trouble, it went, it sold a million records.
Every record up to that point ic T was either
gold or platinum. So I wasn't on a downstroke. But
I was just like kind of like an out, like
people were afraid to touch me, you know. And I
(08:02):
basically went over to Priority Priority. Brian Turner over Priority
was familiar with the funk because he had put out NWA,
so he was not afraid of it. He was like,
let's do it. We'll do the Home and I did
two albums at Priority was this I can't even tell
(08:25):
you the year. I know that cop Killer shit hit
in ninety two, so it was probably ninety three ninety four,
trying to drop another record. But Brian Turner put out
the Home Invasion album, then he put out the Return
of the Real album, and then later on he put
out the Gangs Rap album. So I went over the
(08:45):
Priority because they were like not as big a corporation
and they didn't give a fuck.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And then body.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Count went over to Virgin, because Virgin is a British
own company, and they didn't really give a fuck about
American politics.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
They were just like fuck it. You know, that's that's
Richard Branson in them. Yeah, he was already a rebel himself.
He was already down there in trouble for himself. Yeah,
that's time, right right, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
I mean, you know what, if you're moving records, it's
not going to be a problem to find a home.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I remember we went.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Over to UH when we went to when I went
to Virgin, I went over there with my ball. I
let my balls hang like they were like. We were like,
what do we want for the record? I said, I
need a million up front. I need a million dollars
up front. I said, don't offer me three hundred thousand.
I got to watch the cost three hundred thousand. Let's
(09:39):
let's talk some numbers. I said, give me the equivalent
of the album going platinum up front.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
And if you don't think the record's going to go platinum,
why are we here? Why are we here?
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I need to be someplace that knows you can move
a million records, because I've done it before. And they
leaned back in the chair and wrote to check, so,
you know, and now that was my first really you know, me,
me being able to negotiate because my one idea was
always in a slow increment because I'd signed, you know,
a long term contract.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Now I'm a free agent.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
So and in them days, getting a million dollars for
a record up front.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Was big, right, big. Now these kids are getting twenty millions.
But that was big.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Let's let's let's let's wind it back, because I want
to know when when you were frustrated and you know nothing,
you know you you you know, we're boys. I know
these served this country. I know that also you you
you was a bad guy. You know, you were doing
what you had to do when you decided at that
moment to create your first single, your first song. Can
(10:43):
I can I ask you what was going through your
head around that time?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
What were the records that were motivating you at that time?
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Because you know me, when I was coming up, it
was a it was a rising to the top by
Kenny Burke, or it was public enemy, fear of you know,
you know, fear of a black planet and stuff like that,
and I, oh, no, rock him paid in full. I'm
driving my car going, I'm gonna get paid in full, right,
What were the songs of that time when you were
first coming up and you were like this is this
(11:12):
is in whatever you were doing, you was on the
car to go go and do something that we don't
agree upon now, or you was heading to the studio
and you were just you were frustrated or excited. What
was the songs that you remember at that time at
that moment for the most part.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Well, I first started hearing rap when I was in
the Army, and you know, I went out of high school.
I went in the Army and there were New York
kids there from and they had the tapes you know before.
So I was hearing Flash and I was hearing Trench
with three and all that on cassette tapes. And when
Sugar Hill Gang came out, I was like, I could
(11:49):
do that, you know, I could do that because I'd
been saying raps for the gang bangers in the streets.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I knew how to rhyme, so to speak.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And when I came back from the Army, my tension
was to be a DJ like Uncle Jam's Army and.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
You know, do that. But I got more attention rapping.
But it was like.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Curtis, Blow, Furious Five, the groups that were out there,
and then the first real superstar rap groups like Run
DMC and people like that that came out. Ll of
course he came out before me, and those were like
the targets, you know, and like everybody talking about the
LL beef with Ice, well that was because he was
(12:30):
the best, and he was a solo artist, and I
was a solo artist. So you have to go after
the man. You have to go after him, you know.
The only way to be the man is to challenge
the man, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So I was.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Rapping like that, like a battle rapper like that kind
of rap was my first style.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
But you took it to another level though, you know,
because I grew up, thank God, with them, and I remember,
and I remember clearly, I will you know, I was
a roadie on on the tours, and I was on
that or pushing around speakers and trying to hang out
with people, and I was on that tour with LL
and and Fat Boys and Rock Kim and all that,
and I'd be very honest.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
At that time, some.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Of the rappers were a little disrespectful when they got
out of New York because New York they thought that
it was only New York.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
The world was New York. So they would see people that.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Look a little different with Jerry curls and and other stuff,
and they'll be disrespectful, like yo, Jerry curl, put your
hands in the air. And then I remember we got
to Detroit and there was a whole bunch of Jerry
Curle doers from LA and they would call n w
A and we ain't know much about them, but these
guys that the police were throwing boss of them.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
They were throwing boss the police.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
They had they had, they had machine guns, they had
ouzzies with them and all kinds of stuff. And I
was like, yeah, those Jerry Curle people with the mechanic
suits on, I'm afraid of them.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
You know, because the.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Rappers in New York, I mean, you know, they were
talking a little bit of stuff like yo, you know,
like it wasn't violence, it wasn't fight back. It was
kind of like a public enemy said fight back. But
it was kind of like the very much of Black Panthers.
You know, it was like we are you know, we
are going to uh, we're gonna police our own community.
(14:21):
But your rap was, you know, we're gonna we're gonna
police the police the way they're policing us.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
And what gave you that drive.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
To be able to be that vocal Because out of
all the rappers you were talking about, maybe the earlier days,
sugar Hill Gang was very pop. Maybe the message was
the one that was frustrating, where he was talking about
people pissling on the rail stations, just don't care. You
know what gave you that that anger or that that
ability to say, I'm gonna I'm gonna vocalize the streets
and in a way that very few people have and
I don't care it.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Really, it really comes from not coming from a hip
hop background, Like you know, like growing up in La
it's a gang culture, so you understand gangs and you
understand low riding, and you understand how we had what
the Cali look was.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
You did.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
So when I first started to rap, of course, I
was trying to rap like New York rappers.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
But then I heard Schooley d out of Out of Philly.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
He did a song called PSK where he sung about
the park Side Killers, and I'm like, he's rapping about
a gang, and I was like, that's okay, And at
that point, that's when I turned That was the pivotal
moment in my career where I'm like, oh, they like
that shit, right. And so six in the morning, what
(15:42):
they call the first gangster rap record really is not
the first gangster rap record is PSK.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And then six in the Morning.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I even snatched Schooli's Cadence when he said PSK, we
making that green. People always say, what the hell does
that mean? I said, six in the police at my
door fresh year. I'ven jack the Cadence, But I took
you on a ride through La you know, hitting crensyaw
first time anybody ever heard the street crenchyaw, rolling a
(16:13):
blazer with a Louis Vauton interior and getting jacked by
the police and going to jail and coming out and
that record hit Dame, that shit hit and I was like, yo,
and it hitting the Bay first. It hitting the Bay
because I got a call to do a show at
the Fillmore West, a very famous venue, and I said, Okay,
(16:37):
I'll do it. They called me back three days later
said we want you to do a show at the
Fillmore West. I'm like, I booked that. They go, No,
that sold out. I'm like word And once I you know,
sometimes you got to find your identity. Another thing that
helped me find my identity was Russell Simmons.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I was trying to be New York.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
I'm trying the dress, I got the spikes on early
like Mellie and I'm trying to rappers had to look.
And I was at a show with Russell in La
and they just called me on the stage. And that
day I had on my street clothes, I had on Fela,
I had k Swiss on, you know, my perm and
I went upstage wrapped and when I came up to stage,
(17:22):
Russell's like, that's your look, trying to look like New York.
You gotta look like La nigga. You were an La nigga.
You gotta rep the coast. And then I started to
evolve into just being a LA player. And early my
first two albums I didn't even rep gangster. It was
(17:43):
more like the player, the hustler. But when Nwa came
out and ice Cube said straight out of Cumpton, crazy
motherfucker named ice Cube from the gang called niggas with attitudes,
the press called it gangster. Yeah, So I said, well,
if it's gangster rap, I got two albums out already
(18:04):
then I'm the original gangst So that's where the og
shit came from me reclaiming like, okay, this is what
we're doing. Then yeah, let's make it clear. And you
know it's it's just really reflecting what you see versus
rocking the party. Like you know, when I tried to
write the party, it didn't work. You know, when I
(18:24):
started talking about the street shit, I reached a large
audience and it was really my perspective at the moment.
So earlier Ice Team music is a lot more negative
as before I started to evolve as as a man,
I was kind of like right off the block. Just
(18:45):
imagine if you took a kid right out of any Borough,
Queens or whatever in the projects. He's hustling, and if
you put him in a studio and whatever he said
happened to Ron. That's real raw gangster rap. You see
what I'm saying. It's just magically at Ron and he
told his story. That's what we were doing right out
(19:05):
the gate.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Let me go to that gangs of mentality though, because
you know, we can't help what we came from, and
that gang's mentality it seemed to have served you in
various different ways that you used it in the form,
and I always said, everybody, there's only two people to
get the ultimate pass snoop and iced tea. You can
get a a star on the Walker Hall of Fame
(19:27):
and curse everybody out at the same time, you know,
by getting and giving love to obviously the people in
the audience. But if you reflect on it, there's a
certain way you can think about gangs and stuff. You
can think about it that don't ever cross the line.
Don't disrespect me because this is all I have is
a reputation, and I'm gonna have to defend that reputation
because if I allow you to do that, well, then
everybody's gonna do it. Oh, it's a mentality of Listen,
(19:51):
I know you got dirty with me. Wanna I know
you've got a bigger priority, and you know I don't
think that. I don't think I want to take you
down that path kind of like you know you walking
down the block. Listen, a little homie, I did this
dirt by myself. Don't worry about it. I know you cool,
you ready, but I ain't gonna do that to you
or when you and I, you know, we're kind of
(20:11):
hanging out and chilling on our own.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
And you're like, listen.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I always talk to Dick Wolf and I be like, listen, man,
just tell me what it is, and I'm good.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
We I've had a good fortune of going for me
to cop killer, the longest run a cop on television,
and the TV and everything is changing. I got you,
you got me, I got you. Don't stress it that
you have a form of dedication from a gangster way,
but also you brought the form of But I'm not
going to bring you down that path. I mean you
just let me know what it is and we good
(20:40):
when we walk in you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
So that is c It's a code, man, It's a
code that you know. I was raised around a lot
of OG's older than me, and you know it's a code.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Man. It's like, yo, man, I got this. I did it.
It's my shit. Let me handle my shit.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You know, like people talking about snitching, Yo, if I
did it, I did it, I'll handle I could carry
my weight. When I was going through the cop killing shit,
I wasn't pointing at other rappers. Why would look at them?
They they're saying stuff too. I'm like, I handled my business.
But you know, you gotta have a little gangster to
survive in this business because the way that businesses, they'll
(21:23):
fuck you.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
They'll fuck you with the with the soft touch, you know.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
They and they will also challenge anything they think won't
fight back. They will definitely you have as as a businessman,
you got to be like, I know my shit, don't
blame me, don't play me. A lot of time when
I'm doing contracts with people and they're like, well, what
do you want in the contract, I'm like, why don't
you just send me one? Let me see what how
(21:48):
you feel about me. Let me see your offer. And
I don't know whether you're a fuck boy or you
really down with it. Like I can read, I can
read how you feel. You know, give me the offer.
I'm waiting to see how how valuable you think I
really am. So a lot of times, man, you know
this attitude now now my personality, this gangster shit, it's
(22:12):
not really who I am. I had, you know, fifty
Cents said it best. It's not how my mama raised me.
Is how the hood made all right. So you come
into this business world real soft and thinking everything's good.
They're gonna fuck you, They're gonna fuck you. They're gonna
find everything you don't know and take advantage of it.
It's like if you're doing a record deal, they go, Okay,
(22:35):
you're international merchandise.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
You know what do you go? Huh? They go fucking
right there? You know, right there, right there? Oh, what
we got to Now? They go publishing? What about that?
Hunh fucking mind. They're not gonna explain to you what
you're publishing. They're gonna hit you every place. You don't
think they don't think you know. But my boy used
(22:57):
to say, they're been fucking us long enough, we should
not a fuck nerve.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I don't think it's I think it's just the streets
translate to business very well.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Well, can I can? I?
Speaker 1 (23:23):
You know, because a lot of a lot of people
are going to be trying to move their career. Every
every day, somebody the fairy getting cancel or whatever. But
let me add, when is that not work for you?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
You know this mentality and if you ever said I
went too hard or I didn't know what I didn't know,
I mean, can you do you?
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Can you recall any times or that moment when you say,
you know what, maybe I should have gave them another chance.
But I had I had developed such a hard shell
that they weren't trying to fuck me, but I thought
they were. I mean, or or or listen, somebody could
have been trying to fuck you and you regretted it
at the time, you reflect and seeing what they did
to other peopleeople after.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You and they will you were like, yeah, yeah, you know,
you know not really, I'm very smooth. I'm very smooth
when I deal with people.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
It's always a soft touch, and I make sure that
people around me have a soft touch. That's the biggest problem.
My crew, like the guys I got working for me,
they not as seasoned in this as I am. So
you know, even this the way you know a lot
of brothers, the way they talk people like they're extorting me.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
No, no, ask them for the money you owe them.
That's all.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
But that there, I have to like work with my
guys like, look, man, you can't you're scary, like you know,
don't be like that. But nah, I mean, nah, I've
learned a lot. I've been in a lot of rooms
with people I've dealt with, you know, big heavyweight executives.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
And they're gangster, you know, they they're the way they
handle business.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Like I always say, like in business, the trick is,
like me and Dick Wolf's relatelationship, is we make the deal.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I stick to the deal. That's it.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
There's a moment when we get to negotiate, we go
back and forth. Now I think I'm worth this iced
I can get Brad Pitt for that. Come on, man,
well come on man, this, that and the third. Come on,
I'm the only black man on the show. I might
throw the race card in there. I'm trying to get
paid right.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
But then after we come to that negotiation and it's done,
I stick to the deal, and so does he. That's gangster.
I don't come back halfway in the middle of the
contract one that no no, no.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
No no. So he knows.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Once I told you, Dick Wolf said, iced tea is
the least pain in my ass, the best compliment I
ever got, because you know, when you have employees, the
person who's the least pain is your favorite person. You know,
the one that's always coming with problems and ideas and
book man, come on, man, you really close to the ads.
You think you're doing a lot, but you're really about
(25:57):
to get fired. Because you're driving me fucking crazy. So
you know, my boy, one of my other boys, said,
the only thing gangs about ice, he really is he
does not back up. Well hmmm, I like that. I
don't back up well. So in other words, everything's cool
until you tell me what I better do. Then naw,
(26:21):
because like you said, once I allow at, I might
as well let you do whatever you want to me.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
I might as well let you move in my house.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
You know what I'm saying, Like, there's got to be
a point where and you got one too where you're like, nah,
now not nah, now you're going to cross the line.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Nah. And you know, other than that, I'm fair game.
I'm play game fair Well.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
You know, your your history is coming up as a
as a really vocal music artist, embarrassed, and you know,
I don't really know what the real deal is.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I mean, you know I've been told your pimp told
you this that.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
And then you you you change your lifestyle, it alters
a little bit, and you you know, our wives of
friends and you change would be just becoming a new
dad again, taking that path, beautiful white, very dedicated dad.
What was that moment when you you said, I don't
know I feel like change.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I mean, you know you didn't change immediately.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
You were ready for change to be the guy that
we know now very beloved as a father or husband
of various other things and no longer.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I mean your gangster at hard.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
So it's very hard to explain Ice, but that moment
of being calm in your career, you know, going on
and being an actor, but the meantime being on stage
your shirt off, doing heavy metals and ship over here,
and then you know, being on the player's ball, which
I think that's my favorite role of Ice, being on
the player's ball.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
But yeah, yeah, when when did you.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Get that form of like being just really comfortable whatever
you did and being a dedicated dad because I know,
I know the story when you know, so when you
decided to to you know, to be that person with Coco,
I know you gave her the phone and and said
any any any young lady call you answer this and
you know what you say it better than I do.
(28:10):
What was that that moment when you gave her the
phone and said boom?
Speaker 3 (28:14):
Well, like like like this has been a long transformation,
you know. So the first transformation was leaving the streets
when I started making music, and I got a little famous.
I just said, man, I'm done. I can't break the
law no more because you know, now all eyes are
on me and I don't want to get any of
you guys in trouble.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
But how about you thinking not keeping it real?
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I mean, we just we're just seeing what happened to
Gunner and all these dudes who they were making all
this money. But you know now they got Rico chargers
and they probably going to jail until you know, I
don't until aliens come down start rapping it.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Well, there's a difference between fame and infamy. When you're infamous,
you don't nobody knows your name. You like low key,
and like I said, if everybody in the street knows
your name, so did the cops.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
So I had been able to duck them. And when
I decided and finally start making a little record money,
of course I went broke. But that was a career
change I made because now I'm doing interviews, I'm meeting people.
You can't do that and go out and break the law.
And my other book, I had this chapter called Too
Famous to Steal, where I went to do something and
(29:20):
steal something.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Some kids came out of the house and wanted autographs.
I'm like, what the wait a minute, what hold on?
You went to steal what? You was already famous and
you were trying to steal something.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Yeah, I mean, you know, you don't really get no
bread to your first, second, third album. So I had
a Porsche and I was trying to get a part
Porsche and my boys just stole a Porsche and I
didn't want to pay for it, and they was full
of shit about getting the part I needed. I'm like,
where's the motherfuck car at where's the car? I'll go
get it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Fuck that.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
So I got a ratchet set, I got my boys.
I walked through this apartment building. I walked through this
apartment building. I pulled a car cover off the car.
I'm in the car, still in the park. Part probably
costs like a thousand dollars. I could have paid for it.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
I was just it I wanted.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Plus I was showing my niggas I knew I was
still good with my ship. But when I get in
the car, all these little kids come walking out the
motherfucking house and they're.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Like, I see oh shp. So now their mothers and
stuff come out, and I'm taking.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Pictures in front of a G in front of a
G t A. I'm standing there taking pictures because they
saw me in breaking and some ship and yeah, it's
funny now. So then after they all left, they thought
that was my car. I had to call the home.
He's like, Yo, this car can't be here in the morning.
Move this fucking car. But yeah, that's a chapter one
(31:00):
of my books called too Famous to Steal. But long
story short, now made just transition. I'm going through all
this music and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I left my I was with my ex Darlene for
like fifteen years, never got married, and when I came
to New York, we broke up. You know, usually when
you break up with a woman, you really broke up
a year or so earlier.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
So we were together, but we weren't really living like that,
you know, and finalized. When I came to New York
to do law and order, it was like, okay, might
as well stop playing this charade out for my son.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Let's just cut it off. So now I was single
out here for a couple of years. Didn't dig it.
I didn't dig it.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Because you know, it's just a it's an illusion, you know,
it's always when you got your girl on your arm,
all the girls are fine. As soon as she gets
off your arm, these bitches changed. They transform into all
kinds of other scary looking things.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
You know. It's just something about being single. It's not
it's fun. It's a weird warp. So when you're young,
it's cool because you'll fuck anything.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
But when you're older and you refine your taste, you know,
you ain't gonna see that shit you want walking around
by yourself.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
It's just not I think, you know, I think that
is a greeting call. When you're young, you'd fuck anything,
you know. I think you should write cars. Young, you
fuck anything. When you get a little older, you ain't
gonna see the ship you want to fuck.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
You know.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
I think that's pretty. You know you should write greeting cars.
I think that's that moment. But let's go, let's go
into let's go further in your taste. Yeah, you refine
your taste. So I met Coco.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
Now, when I was going after Coco, I was watching
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
The Osbourne's.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Ozzie and Sharon, and I was looking like, would Ozzie
have a mansion if it wasn't for sharing Osbourne, Like,
this woman is running all the tours, running all his business.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Doesn't even seem like Ozzie would know how to pay
a phone bill.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Ozzie is something different, right, But he's wealthy because you
got a woman to hold it together. So me personally,
I could get money for crossing t's and dynay's.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
It's not my thing. It's not many artists things.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
That's why artists have business managers, because you know you
my business manager. You send me in a studio, Da
da da da dah, Send me over here, send me
over there. I will get money, But somebody gotta pay
the taxes. Somebody gotta you know, that ain't what we
want to do. We just want to make the money.
So I told when I met Coco, she was fine.
(33:28):
I was like, told her, I said, yo, I mean,
I'm not really just trying to get another number in
my phone. I'm really trying to find somebody that wants
to ride. And she dug the flyness of me.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
She was a chick. When I met her. I had
on a red snake skin suit, so she was like, ooh,
that's fly. See some girls some girls want soft niggas
and some girls want real niggas.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
You know, they don't a soft nigga. They like, I'm
not even into you. You ain't got no base in
your voice. Some women want to man man.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
So she was like.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Coke, Yeah, like put me in my place. You I
like that shit. You know what I'm saying. You know,
some chicks I don't know. They emasculate niggas, but that's different.
They won't even fuck with us. They to day is
already know that nigga Ice is too managed. Funny story,
Whoopy Goldberg was talking about Coco one day and she said, yeah,
Coco that she's a dope sister, and they go sister,
(34:25):
They said, uh, Whoop, you know Coco's wife. She said,
Coco been dealing for twenty years with Ice teased managed ass.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
She's a She's an honorary sister, that nigga.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
So anyway, when we got together, I was just like, Yo,
are we gonna do this?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Are we are?
Speaker 3 (34:48):
We are we gonna do this as a couple And
she was like, I'm down. So I had a phone
at the time, and I'm like, here, take it. Start
answering the calls, and anybody that calls up, just say
who you are and take the message.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
At that time. Yeah, I was out in the street,
but I didn't have no chicks that could lay claim
to me.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
They were just chicks, you know what I'm saying. So
when they got the call, she's like, Hey, what's up
is this? I no, this is Coco. Oh okay, Well,
maybe they might hang up, maybe they might tell her
to leave a message.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Sometimes I got the message. It was such and such.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
But you know, when you out in the streets and
you you're a player, that girl is calling from Atlanta.
She ain't talked to you in a year. She's just
checking in. You know, we're going to Miami. Y're gonna
be into Miami.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
You know that bullshit? I don't know if you're talking about. Yeah. Right.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
So anyway, Coco cleared the house in a beautiful way.
But then she would also take messages from my niggas.
So I would get messages like this from her. She's like, uh, baby,
uh trigger said he left some bullets and come on.
Or the funny thing is like they would call and
(36:07):
it would be like.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
This, yo, yo, what's good? What's that? What's here? She'd
be like, oh, this is Coco. Same nigga, Hey, Coco.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
What's the same Nigga's voice would change when he would
talk to her.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
So you know, it's been good. Now we've been together
twenty two going on twenty three years. It's good man.
And uh, it was a smart move. You know, it
was a smart move for me. You know, it's dating scene.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Anybody knows out there it's toxic and it's full of
land mines. And uh, you know, I got the fuck
off the field for I called a body. Did you
find balance?
Speaker 1 (36:43):
And that's interesting because she show she's she's one of
the as you would say, I say too, she's one
of the nicest people you'll ever meet, right, and.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
She's not trying to be this trying She's just who
she is. And did you find that that kind of
friends change your perspective? One thing? You know, not really.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
I never really dated a white girl before, you know,
so my thing was like, you know, I've been around
white girls, I work with them and stuff, but as
far as actually being like in love and all that,
that was different for me.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
But you know, I always say I'm a player. I
don't really care.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
You know, if a Martian bitch dropped down and was
saying the right shit, I'd be fucking green pussy right now,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
You like Captain Kirk because Captain Captain Kirk.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Would would do it with anybody, bang everything in the universe.
My partner, my pimp, Buddy Rich, said, man, you just
look for a bitch. You could understand what the fuck
you be talking about. You just need somebody could comprehend. Boom,
that's you needed comprehension, my nigga. So I was like, no,
Coco was dope. But I think I always say this,
(37:49):
and I say this in a weird kind of way, but.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Coke and I are.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Like like like like the exact same thing, but turn
into a woman and a male. So think of it
like this, right, Okay, uh, if my gangster was feminine,
it would be sexy, right. A woman's power is sexy,
(38:16):
being sexy, not being like a man. She would be sexy, right,
So that would result probably in a big titty blonde
right that. And her gangster is male, it would be
a nigga a gangster. So it's it's like we're very
alpha of each of each side of the spectrum. You
(38:37):
feel me like she's an alpha alpha woman, I'm an
alpha male. And also I think that like you and
your wife. The trick is, you have to find someone
who matches your energy. Now, if I go out by myself,
I spin the room when I walk in.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
That's iced tea. That's iced tea.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Well, she spends it too, she spends it on her own.
So there for we we have equal power and we
are a good couple. If I'm with a chick that
doesn't have that same energy, my energy intimidates her, like
why you got to take pictures with all the people?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
Why you got why you got it that.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
If my wife is with a weaker nigga, he like,
why you gotta wear that?
Speaker 2 (39:17):
You gotta you look too.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
You know, you're dracking too much attention, So you gotta
have a Both people have to be very confident in
who they are, just like you and your wife.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
You know who you are. She knows who she is.
And that's why, y'all.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
You know, we both dealt with chicks that are insecure,
and we both dealt with you know, so it's it
was a lucky lick, you know. And I was in
my forties when I met her, so you know, I've
done everything a nigga could do. I remember I told
my boy, I said Yo, I'm thinking about getting married
to Coco. It's like, Nigga, you didna have more sex
(39:50):
than a football team. Nigga, you have time to bring
bring that shit home to shit down, Like what are
you trying? What are you trying to do?
Speaker 2 (40:00):
And I'm very happy and now with my daughter.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
Our daughter is about the same age.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
I quote Muhammad Ali.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
He says, when a man has a child in the
second half of his life, after he turns fifty, it's
like it resets it. It's like it resets his life.
(40:39):
It made me want to live forever. It made me
create new goals. Because you got bread, you can start
slowing down. But now not that new baby. That new baby,
and it's the best gift I could ever get. I
see how much you love your daughter. I think the
(41:00):
difference with Chanelle and my other kids is I'm very
conscious of this baby. Like I had my daughter when
I was in high school. I was ripping and running,
so it was presence over presents. I wasn't there. Yeah,
you know, same way my son. My son, Ice happened
(41:21):
right when I was becoming Ice Tea. You know, I
had never been famous before. This was a whole new thing.
So I'm distracted by that just becoming.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Chanelle. I'm comfortable. I'm in a cruise pattern.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
I was there when Coco was pregnant, I went to
the hospital, and she now still sleeps into bed with us,
you know. So I'm so much more connected to her
than my other kids. But it's been a beautiful.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Thing, you know, I really I took away a lot
of stuff here, a lot of a lot of a
lot of a lot of gifts, really, and there's a
lot of things that a lot of hitting gems in there.
And obviously, I mean I never thought of a when
you think of gangs of being a big titty blonde,
you know. Okay, yeah, I get it, though, I get it,
you know what I'm saying, because that that could be
(42:09):
gangs and big titty blonde, big titty brunette.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Big titty whatever, little titty whatever. I mean.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
You know, Barbara Corkran always says you an got big
titties put up put with with pigtails.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
You know. So, But.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
I gotta say, you know, when you when you when
you talk about young ice and you're advising a lot
of the younger people coming up now who look at
you and you you pretty much have done in your terms.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
It hasn't been easy.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
A lot of people were against you, and it wasn't
really done before. Of what you've accomplished in regards of
being very true to your your.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Upbringing, what would you say? What what is your go to.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
In that moment when you have to make critical decisions
and you say do you trust your gut? Do you say,
I go back to these cold you know? What is
your kind of your thing that leads you back to
the fundamentals of ice And no matter what, he's not
gonna break these And I don't give a shit if
I lose everything, I'm not gonna go against this.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
I never I would never betray my friends, you know.
I would never. You know. I'm not that guy you
know and the only person that can betray you with
somebody that you trust, you know, so I wouldn't. I'm
not that guy. I don't know, you know.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
I run into lots of issues. I like to sleep
on stuff, you know. I like to like if something
is difficult to me to answer, I'm like, give me
some time, let me think on it. A lot of
times I'll wake up the next day. I was noticing
a lot of times things we stress off. Sometimes you
just need to make the phone call and just get
(43:58):
that out of the way, like just that postponing it.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
That anxiety of.
Speaker 3 (44:03):
It isn't usually as big as the actual issue once
you get to the people and you talk and get
that over with. But I just really, I just don't
fuck with bad energy no more. You know, I know
what bad energy is. I know when you're out to
do wrong and you're out to do bad things.
Speaker 2 (44:22):
I just don't do that no more. I don't even
entertain it.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Do you entertain people around you who are not putting
the energy towards you, but you hear them they talking
about other people.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
They all got there. So what happened?
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Because sometimes as family, sometimes people who you know, I
tend to cut people off after years and I look
at the list, you know, at the end of the year,
and I go, this person's not a good friend to themselves,
They're never going to be a good friend to me.
Or maybe I don't mess with them and there's something
wrong with me. But whatever it is, I can't change.
I don't like them, and I just I just kind of,
(44:56):
you know, I let them know where we're at. Though,
I let them know, Hey, I can't mess with you
on this level or that level. I tell him I'm
clear because I don't want to be. I don't want
I don't want no misunderstandings. What do you do about
the people around here to do that?
Speaker 2 (45:06):
But they're not.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
They never do it to you. Managers, lawyers, friends, called colleagues.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
They say, if you can't change some of your friends,
you have to change some of your friends.
Speaker 3 (45:18):
So I, I don't know. Pretty much, I got my
shit down to a skeleton crew. I'll keep it one hundred.
I got it down to a skeleton crew. I got
a very very few people that I really fuck with
to where you know, I'm gonna return their phone calls
if they call me. I just don't fuck with people
like that. Like a lot of one of my homies
(45:39):
was like, Ice is your friend? Yeah, as Ice ever
called you? Has he ever called you? Did you ever
pill on the phone? He's like, hey, man, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (45:50):
Okay? Think about that for a minute, right, Like how
does he call you? I don't think.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
My dad used to tell me if you can count
your friends on your hand, it's a big thing.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
It's very it's very rare that.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
You have people that you really let into your real world,
like you know, like I know, grim's your man, I
know certain people, those are people that are inside. Yeah,
but those people that are inside are the ones that
can hurt you the most. That they go less because
they have the access. So you just have to be
very cautious. I don't know, Dan, you know, you're right.
(46:25):
I think it's your gut. I think by now your
gut is very seasoned and you can feel it, and
you just try to learn from your mistakes. You make mistakes,
and you like, I mean, you know, I didn't even
doing business. I just did a business deal with some
people and they came in and they act like they
had a lot of money, and then halfway through the
(46:46):
deal they ain't had no money.
Speaker 2 (46:48):
And I was like, I was like, we can't even
assume them.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
They broke And so I told my partner, we cannot
deal with broke mo fuckers, Like before we start, we
have to make sure they can handle what they claim
and they can hear.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
So these are lessons. These are lessons.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
But you know, I don't know, man, I don't know
what makes me tick at this moment. I just really
just try to like keep it positive, to keep you know.
You know, my thing is I've never counted on anybody
other's health, hustle. I think that's my success thing is
I've never counted on anyone.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Else but me.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
And that's the scary part of it is. Right now,
I'm trying to get into other businesses. I'm trying to
get you know, we're starting a dispensary. I'm trying to
find things that generate money other than myself, because what
if something does happen to me and I physically can't
get it, you know, But I have to learn about
(47:50):
those things because I've always been the money person that
generated the money.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
And yeah, man, I just I don't know.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
Man, it's hard to say. Man, I think you just
have a code. You have a it's really your character.
It's like, what is your character? It's your character a
good person or your character a shady person or a
slick person. And you know, I don't got no ops,
I don't got nobody after me. I don't have no
no negative energy like that. I don't want that shit.
(48:21):
It ain't worth it, He's not.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Really you know.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
I think I can vocalize it as well. I mean,
you know, I agree with so much of what you've said.
But this is about you and me trying to go
down that rabbit hole with you and get that thought
process if you going. But I think it's the same thing,
you know, after you've been through so much, all these
deals and people that come to you when it's a rush, right,
it was always a rush. Hey, Cannas is hot this year,
(48:45):
let's get it home.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
Slow down. So oh hey cryptos hot, this is you.
Come on, come on, I need you to sign this.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
I need you to do this, like you know, And
if there's so much of a rush and you can't
go home and think about it, then all of a sudden,
why was it so much of a rush? Also, yeah,
you know, it's not necessarily the deals that you you
don't do that hold you up. The deals you do
because you get into the deals of these people that
don't have money. Because it's funny, right, a lot of
people will come to you, me and the people listening
(49:11):
right now, and they go, oh, we're doing all this,
we're doing all that, we're doing that, but we ain't
got no money for you because we want to why
everybody else got picky, why everybody else got paid? What
are you you're doing? All this and that, you know.
You know, I like to do they go. You know,
I was gonna take this over to ditty. I was
gonna take this leap. I'm gonna take to you for no, no,
no no, take it to them, take it to them.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
You know.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
But I think I think that, I think it. What
it really boiled down to is your gut, you know, because.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
You know, yeah.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
One thing I like to say also with me is
that I hold friendships, dear. You know, so I'm friends
with you. I'm friends with doctor Dre. But I'm like, say,
Dre Dray, But I never talked to Dre about music,
right m you know you're on Shark Tank. I've never
talked you about money. I never we don't talk about it.
Speaker 2 (50:03):
You know.
Speaker 3 (50:04):
So I get around somebody like you know Jamon John,
Oh shit, you should get him that. I'm like, Look, see,
that's why you can't be his friend, because you know
that's not what he does. You know, if you're friends
with somebody like Dre, you want he wants you to
come over and play Xbox and leave like that.
Speaker 2 (50:20):
Just be his friend. You know. If something generically happens,
that's great.
Speaker 3 (50:26):
But you know, I like people for who they are,
you know, and just have friendships.
Speaker 2 (50:32):
And that's hard in this business because everybody's angling.
Speaker 3 (50:36):
You know, your boy will come over and at the
end of the night, after you done had fun drank,
here comes a pitch you like this, what this whole
thing was about? This pitch you got for me? Like,
come on, man, take it easy.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
I don't know. It's different. Different people see things different ways,
you know, and so.
Speaker 3 (50:53):
I I see things my way, and you know, I
always say, I think, at the end of the day, Dame,
what really matters to me is my legacy, not the money,
not none of this shit. Because when you're gone, you're
just gonna give the money to people who gonna fuck
it off because they didn't have the acremen to get
(51:16):
it in the first place. So it doesn't mean they're
gonna have the acremen to hold it. They're gonna fuck
it off. So you know, the only thing that really
you leave is your reputation. And if you are a
great man, when people meet your daughter or your wife,
they go, oh, that's Dami John's people.
Speaker 2 (51:33):
Okay, let them through. Like my son is in La
this nigga telling me, oh, I got juice.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
You got juice. How the fuck you got juice? You
telling them you little ice and they letting you through
the ropes. That's your daddy's juice, you got, you know.
But my daughter's in Atlanta. When she says who she is,
people treat her like a little queen or princess. That's
what's important to me, my legacy. If I leave here
as a great man or a good man, then everyone
(52:02):
else gets to live off of that, not the money.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
It's my rep at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (52:07):
Our legacies is more important because that's what our families
are going to live off of. That's what you know,
your your wife, your kids, and on and on and on.
And we just had to be careful because they try
to scandalize you or do something ruin that.
Speaker 2 (52:20):
And that's more important to me than anything else.
Speaker 3 (52:23):
So you know, I've just got to be careful and
cautious because they hate to see, you know, especially black men,
become successful and pull it off and leave, you know,
on a good note, you know, And that's what my
thing is about, you know. So I'm very careful and
trying to stay you know, straight, So my kids and
(52:45):
my wife and anybody who represents me.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
Can be proud.
Speaker 1 (52:51):
Right well, Listen, man, I always learned something new when
we hang out. And I love the fact of going
down this kind of history path, of that moment, the
moment that you know, you realize that you were famous
and you couldn't no longer live the life that you
will even even though you didn't have necessarily money, the
moment that you have to deal with with the decision
of facing Warner and or you were going through the
(53:12):
moment of you know, meeting your your wife and changing
your life and moving New.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
York and you know, moving away from her.
Speaker 1 (53:19):
You know who you're with, So a lot of decisions
have to be made in your life, man, And I'm
glad you took the moment today to share it with us.
Speaker 2 (53:26):
And you always inspired me.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
A lot of times you're just telling me things that
I didn't know if I did the right thing or
anybody else felt like like I feel, you know, as
I'm still trying to learn and grow. So I appreciate
you spending time with me, man, and thank you for being.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
On that moment.
Speaker 3 (53:43):
Hey, Hey, you know what, oh, at the end of
the day, Man, you know what I learned is that
it's always going to be you, just on you by yourself.
There's not a group of people to help you when
shit goes wrong, It's going to be on you. And
in closing, I try to tell everybody, nobody wakes up.
Speaker 2 (54:02):
In the morning with your dream. Whatever you want to do.
Speaker 3 (54:06):
You could think you got partners, but nobody wakes up
thinking about what you want. And the only way it's
gonna happen is that you do it. Because I could
be on the sidelines. I'm helping you, but I don't
wake up with your dream. That's your dream, all right,
that's sure, Thank you brother.
Speaker 2 (54:22):
All Right, Pete Dame, I've talked to you soon.
Speaker 1 (54:24):
All right, you gotta think, all right, And this has
been that Moment with Damon John. That Moment with Damon
John is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
(54:45):
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite show and don't forget to subscribe to the
show and.
Speaker 2 (54:53):
Rate the show.
Speaker 1 (54:54):
You can all connect with me on any social media
platform at the show daymon as in Raymond with a
D
Welcome to that moment with Damon John and I am
Damon John, and today we are going to get into
it with the legendary Iced team.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Let's get into it. Man.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
When you found out your album now is being blocked
by Warner how was the initial reaction.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Tell me about the initial reaction. What do you mean
with the cop Killer record?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, well, you know I know that they weren't going
to put out anymore. You know, you worked hard on
that on that album, and you know they just said
we're not going to back this anymore. And I know that's.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
That's not how it happened day. It didn't happen like that. All.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
We made this song called cop Killer, I was on
Sire Warner Brothers, and the record came out and it
did phenomenal. The album came out of when gold Warner
Brothers was really excited about it. You know, we actually
had a party for the success of the record, and
then we got hit by the Fraternal Order of Police
(01:17):
out of Austin, Texas that said cop Killer was the
cause of this problems or drama. Really, the police were
under siege, just like they're under siege now, and somebody
smart said, why don't we just push the narrative at
Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers put out this record. Now, they
couldn't really get mad at me because I'm a black
(01:38):
man and I'm making, you know, noise about the corruption
We've been dealing with our whole life. But they were like,
Warner Brothers, big corporation, how can you allow this man
this platform. But Warner Brothers stood, stayed down with me.
Jeral Levin, who was ahead of time, Warner wrote a
big letter to the Washington I mean, to the to
(02:01):
Wall Street Journal, and they backed me. They backed me
as much as they could. It hit them in the
stock you know, stock prices started to drive and what
the problem was.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
What I was saying. They understood. But they're a white corporation.
They're a corporation. They're part of the system. So now
this is challenging them and their stockholders.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Now you got to remember, at the time, Warner Brothers
had myself, They had Prince, they had Slayer, they had
Sam Kinniston, they had Andrew Dice Clay, they had the
Ghetto Boys, they had a lot of controversial edgy artists.
Madonna and Warner knew that as soon as they allowed
them to censor me. It was going to be a problem.
(02:47):
And I went into a meeting with Lenny Warnaker and
Moe Austin and they broke it down to me. There
was a big corporate table in front of me, and
they said, I see this is it. You're an artist
on Warner Brothers. And the guy put a quarter on
the table. He said, to see the size of this quarter.
This is how big Warner music is compared to Time Warner.
(03:11):
We're so you're a dot on that small quarter and
what you're doing is it's hurting the entire thing. So
I was like, damn, you know, and I just kind
of felt some kind of way like they're doing everything
they could to support me. So what happened was the
next album I was putting out was a rap album
(03:32):
which was called Home Invasion. And when I went in
there to do that record, when I turned it in,
they had me come in and they had every word
on the record written out in big letters on a board.
They were going through every little thing and there was
some there was some sketchy lyrics in there. I had
a lyrics said I don't give a fuck about a
(03:55):
cop or a g man. They all talk shit they're
breast smelling like semen. I catch them in that alley
all alone, put them in the prone pop pop pop
to the dome. So they like, you're killing cops again, right,
But I'm like this gangster rap right. So it was
so they were so uptight, Dame that I eventually just said,
you know what, let me go.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I asked for the release.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I said, it's kind of like me and you are
in business, and I'm like, my politics is messing with
your money.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
But we friends. Let me go. Man, I'm no.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Hard feelings, and I never had a hard feeling with
Warner Brothers.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
And what Warner Brothers did that was very cool.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
The Home Invasion album was about a half a million
dollar album to make.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
They gave it to me. They never recouped it.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
They just said here, good luck Ice, because you got
to remember, for so many years, like ten years, I
was the number one rapper on that label.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
They loved me.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
They you know, I had done nothing but bring them
golden platinum records, six consecutive golden platinum records, so they.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Couldn't turn on me like that.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
But I got them in a sticky situation, and that's
what happened. A lot of people didn't understand the source
magazine went after me. He said, I folded. Chuck d
said the best. He said, those that are don't in
the wars shouldn't comment on the battles. You have no
(05:22):
idea what was really going on behind the scene.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
But that was it. But Warner never really did Low.
They didn't do Low. They was just a bad situation.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
History is proven, or history is reflected only the times
that large corporations or any company turned their back on people.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I mean, we do see.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Nike will stand on the side of what they believe
is right, even when somebody's kneeling. They'll stand on that side,
and we can use them. But I don't think I've
ever heard of a music label, especially a label that
wasn't backed by like, let's say, a young person hip
like you, right like you. I've heard of Jimmy I
(06:10):
Bean backing you know, and and having somebody's back. I've
heard of a couple of people, and I never heard
of something like a Warner backing you and that that's
that's that's really rare.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
So you know what it was name, I don't think
they were backing me as much as they.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Was back in the back in the principle overall, Yeah,
once they censor you.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
And if you notice at the end of it, there
was no more Warner Music at some point. The last
thing was when death Row was trying to get involved
and Ted Turner came in and shut that whole ship down.
But nah, they they pretty much all the edgy groups
left Warner Brothers at that time. Uh, and they knew that.
(06:52):
They explained that to me, they like, it's bigger than you.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
It's where you go after that, though, you know what,
because I'm trying to find at that moment, that moment
you're saying you were you were you were, you were
doing well on there ten years in you would already well,
we'll get to the origin of when you decided to
put that gangster rap on an actual album and.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Go out there.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
But where did you Where did you go right after that?
What were your options that moment when you were like,
let me go. Did you already think, I listen, I'm
getting my guys in the sticky situation, I have other opportunity.
Did you feel like were you, being, of course courted
by other people or was it like I'm gonna go
do the ship myself. Like, what was that moment in
your life?
Speaker 3 (07:34):
It was it was nerve wrecking man, because you know
we I was red hot.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Uh. The cop Killer record, even though it was it
was in trouble, it went, it sold a million records.
Every record up to that point ic T was either
gold or platinum. So I wasn't on a downstroke. But
I was just like kind of like an out, like
people were afraid to touch me, you know. And I
(08:02):
basically went over to Priority Priority. Brian Turner over Priority
was familiar with the funk because he had put out NWA,
so he was not afraid of it. He was like,
let's do it. We'll do the Home and I did
two albums at Priority was this I can't even tell
(08:25):
you the year. I know that cop Killer shit hit
in ninety two, so it was probably ninety three ninety four,
trying to drop another record. But Brian Turner put out
the Home Invasion album, then he put out the Return
of the Real album, and then later on he put
out the Gangs Rap album. So I went over the
(08:45):
Priority because they were like not as big a corporation
and they didn't give a fuck.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And then body.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Count went over to Virgin, because Virgin is a British
own company, and they didn't really give a fuck about
American politics.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
They were just like fuck it. You know, that's that's
Richard Branson in them. Yeah, he was already a rebel himself.
He was already down there in trouble for himself. Yeah,
that's time, right right, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
I mean, you know what, if you're moving records, it's
not going to be a problem to find a home.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I remember we went.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Over to UH when we went to when I went
to Virgin, I went over there with my ball. I
let my balls hang like they were like. We were like,
what do we want for the record? I said, I
need a million up front. I need a million dollars
up front. I said, don't offer me three hundred thousand.
I got to watch the cost three hundred thousand. Let's
(09:39):
let's talk some numbers. I said, give me the equivalent
of the album going platinum up front.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
And if you don't think the record's going to go platinum,
why are we here? Why are we here?
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I need to be someplace that knows you can move
a million records, because I've done it before. And they
leaned back in the chair and wrote to check, so,
you know, and now that was my first really you know, me,
me being able to negotiate because my one idea was
always in a slow increment because I'd signed, you know,
a long term contract.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Now I'm a free agent.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
So and in them days, getting a million dollars for
a record up front.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Was big, right, big. Now these kids are getting twenty millions.
But that was big.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Let's let's let's let's wind it back, because I want
to know when when you were frustrated and you know nothing,
you know you you you know, we're boys. I know
these served this country. I know that also you you
you was a bad guy. You know, you were doing
what you had to do when you decided at that
moment to create your first single, your first song. Can
(10:43):
I can I ask you what was going through your
head around that time?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
What were the records that were motivating you at that time?
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Because you know me, when I was coming up, it
was a it was a rising to the top by
Kenny Burke, or it was public enemy, fear of you know,
you know, fear of a black planet and stuff like that,
and I, oh, no, rock him paid in full. I'm
driving my car going, I'm gonna get paid in full, right,
What were the songs of that time when you were
first coming up and you were like this is this
(11:12):
is in whatever you were doing, you was on the
car to go go and do something that we don't
agree upon now, or you was heading to the studio
and you were just you were frustrated or excited. What
was the songs that you remember at that time at
that moment for the most part.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Well, I first started hearing rap when I was in
the Army, and you know, I went out of high school.
I went in the Army and there were New York
kids there from and they had the tapes you know before.
So I was hearing Flash and I was hearing Trench
with three and all that on cassette tapes. And when
Sugar Hill Gang came out, I was like, I could
(11:49):
do that, you know, I could do that because I'd
been saying raps for the gang bangers in the streets.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I knew how to rhyme, so to speak.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And when I came back from the Army, my tension
was to be a DJ like Uncle Jam's Army and.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
You know, do that. But I got more attention rapping.
But it was like.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Curtis, Blow, Furious Five, the groups that were out there,
and then the first real superstar rap groups like Run
DMC and people like that that came out. Ll of
course he came out before me, and those were like
the targets, you know, and like everybody talking about the
LL beef with Ice, well that was because he was
(12:30):
the best, and he was a solo artist, and I
was a solo artist. So you have to go after
the man. You have to go after him, you know.
The only way to be the man is to challenge
the man, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So I was.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Rapping like that, like a battle rapper like that kind
of rap was my first style.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
But you took it to another level though, you know,
because I grew up, thank God, with them, and I remember,
and I remember clearly, I will you know, I was
a roadie on on the tours, and I was on
that or pushing around speakers and trying to hang out
with people, and I was on that tour with LL
and and Fat Boys and Rock Kim and all that,
and I'd be very honest.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
At that time, some.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Of the rappers were a little disrespectful when they got
out of New York because New York they thought that
it was only New York.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
The world was New York. So they would see people that.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Look a little different with Jerry curls and and other stuff,
and they'll be disrespectful, like yo, Jerry curl, put your
hands in the air. And then I remember we got
to Detroit and there was a whole bunch of Jerry
Curle doers from LA and they would call n w
A and we ain't know much about them, but these
guys that the police were throwing boss of them.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
They were throwing boss the police.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
They had they had, they had machine guns, they had
ouzzies with them and all kinds of stuff. And I
was like, yeah, those Jerry Curle people with the mechanic
suits on, I'm afraid of them.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
You know, because the.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Rappers in New York, I mean, you know, they were
talking a little bit of stuff like yo, you know,
like it wasn't violence, it wasn't fight back. It was
kind of like a public enemy said fight back. But
it was kind of like the very much of Black Panthers.
You know, it was like we are you know, we
are going to uh, we're gonna police our own community.
(14:21):
But your rap was, you know, we're gonna we're gonna
police the police the way they're policing us.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
And what gave you that drive.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
To be able to be that vocal Because out of
all the rappers you were talking about, maybe the earlier days,
sugar Hill Gang was very pop. Maybe the message was
the one that was frustrating, where he was talking about
people pissling on the rail stations, just don't care. You
know what gave you that that anger or that that
ability to say, I'm gonna I'm gonna vocalize the streets
and in a way that very few people have and
I don't care it.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Really, it really comes from not coming from a hip
hop background, Like you know, like growing up in La
it's a gang culture, so you understand gangs and you
understand low riding, and you understand how we had what
the Cali look was.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
You did.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
So when I first started to rap, of course, I
was trying to rap like New York rappers.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
But then I heard Schooley d out of Out of Philly.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
He did a song called PSK where he sung about
the park Side Killers, and I'm like, he's rapping about
a gang, and I was like, that's okay, And at
that point, that's when I turned That was the pivotal
moment in my career where I'm like, oh, they like
that shit, right. And so six in the morning, what
(15:42):
they call the first gangster rap record really is not
the first gangster rap record is PSK.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And then six in the Morning.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I even snatched Schooli's Cadence when he said PSK, we
making that green. People always say, what the hell does
that mean? I said, six in the police at my
door fresh year. I'ven jack the Cadence, But I took
you on a ride through La you know, hitting crensyaw
first time anybody ever heard the street crenchyaw, rolling a
(16:13):
blazer with a Louis Vauton interior and getting jacked by
the police and going to jail and coming out and
that record hit Dame, that shit hit and I was like, yo,
and it hitting the Bay first. It hitting the Bay
because I got a call to do a show at
the Fillmore West, a very famous venue, and I said, Okay,
(16:37):
I'll do it. They called me back three days later
said we want you to do a show at the
Fillmore West. I'm like, I booked that. They go, No,
that sold out. I'm like word And once I you know,
sometimes you got to find your identity. Another thing that
helped me find my identity was Russell Simmons.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I was trying to be New York.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
I'm trying the dress, I got the spikes on early
like Mellie and I'm trying to rappers had to look.
And I was at a show with Russell in La
and they just called me on the stage. And that
day I had on my street clothes, I had on Fela,
I had k Swiss on, you know, my perm and
I went upstage wrapped and when I came up to stage,
(17:22):
Russell's like, that's your look, trying to look like New York.
You gotta look like La nigga. You were an La nigga.
You gotta rep the coast. And then I started to
evolve into just being a LA player. And early my
first two albums I didn't even rep gangster. It was
(17:43):
more like the player, the hustler. But when Nwa came
out and ice Cube said straight out of Cumpton, crazy
motherfucker named ice Cube from the gang called niggas with attitudes,
the press called it gangster. Yeah, So I said, well,
if it's gangster rap, I got two albums out already
(18:04):
then I'm the original gangst So that's where the og
shit came from me reclaiming like, okay, this is what
we're doing. Then yeah, let's make it clear. And you
know it's it's just really reflecting what you see versus
rocking the party. Like you know, when I tried to
write the party, it didn't work. You know, when I
(18:24):
started talking about the street shit, I reached a large
audience and it was really my perspective at the moment.
So earlier Ice Team music is a lot more negative
as before I started to evolve as as a man,
I was kind of like right off the block. Just
(18:45):
imagine if you took a kid right out of any Borough,
Queens or whatever in the projects. He's hustling, and if
you put him in a studio and whatever he said
happened to Ron. That's real raw gangster rap. You see
what I'm saying. It's just magically at Ron and he
told his story. That's what we were doing right out
(19:05):
the gate.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Let me go to that gangs of mentality though, because
you know, we can't help what we came from, and
that gang's mentality it seemed to have served you in
various different ways that you used it in the form,
and I always said, everybody, there's only two people to
get the ultimate pass snoop and iced tea. You can
get a a star on the Walker Hall of Fame
(19:27):
and curse everybody out at the same time, you know,
by getting and giving love to obviously the people in
the audience. But if you reflect on it, there's a
certain way you can think about gangs and stuff. You
can think about it that don't ever cross the line.
Don't disrespect me because this is all I have is
a reputation, and I'm gonna have to defend that reputation
because if I allow you to do that, well, then
everybody's gonna do it. Oh, it's a mentality of Listen,
(19:51):
I know you got dirty with me. Wanna I know
you've got a bigger priority, and you know I don't
think that. I don't think I want to take you
down that path kind of like you know you walking
down the block. Listen, a little homie, I did this
dirt by myself. Don't worry about it. I know you cool,
you ready, but I ain't gonna do that to you
or when you and I, you know, we're kind of
(20:11):
hanging out and chilling on our own.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
And you're like, listen.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I always talk to Dick Wolf and I be like, listen, man,
just tell me what it is, and I'm good.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
We I've had a good fortune of going for me
to cop killer, the longest run a cop on television,
and the TV and everything is changing. I got you,
you got me, I got you. Don't stress it that
you have a form of dedication from a gangster way,
but also you brought the form of But I'm not
going to bring you down that path. I mean you
just let me know what it is and we good
(20:40):
when we walk in you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
So that is c It's a code, man, It's a
code that you know. I was raised around a lot
of OG's older than me, and you know it's a code.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Man. It's like, yo, man, I got this. I did it.
It's my shit. Let me handle my shit.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
You know, like people talking about snitching, Yo, if I
did it, I did it, I'll handle I could carry
my weight. When I was going through the cop killing shit,
I wasn't pointing at other rappers. Why would look at them?
They they're saying stuff too. I'm like, I handled my business.
But you know, you gotta have a little gangster to
survive in this business because the way that businesses, they'll
(21:23):
fuck you.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
They'll fuck you with the with the soft touch, you know.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
They and they will also challenge anything they think won't
fight back. They will definitely you have as as a businessman,
you got to be like, I know my shit, don't
blame me, don't play me. A lot of time when
I'm doing contracts with people and they're like, well, what
do you want in the contract, I'm like, why don't
you just send me one? Let me see what how
(21:48):
you feel about me. Let me see your offer. And
I don't know whether you're a fuck boy or you
really down with it. Like I can read, I can
read how you feel. You know, give me the offer.
I'm waiting to see how how valuable you think I
really am. So a lot of times, man, you know
this attitude now now my personality, this gangster shit, it's
(22:12):
not really who I am. I had, you know, fifty
Cents said it best. It's not how my mama raised me.
Is how the hood made all right. So you come
into this business world real soft and thinking everything's good.
They're gonna fuck you, They're gonna fuck you. They're gonna
find everything you don't know and take advantage of it.
It's like if you're doing a record deal, they go, Okay,
(22:35):
you're international merchandise.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
You know what do you go? Huh? They go fucking
right there? You know, right there, right there? Oh, what
we got to Now? They go publishing? What about that?
Hunh fucking mind. They're not gonna explain to you what
you're publishing. They're gonna hit you every place. You don't
think they don't think you know. But my boy used
(22:57):
to say, they're been fucking us long enough, we should
not a fuck nerve.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I don't think it's I think it's just the streets
translate to business very well.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Well, can I can? I?
Speaker 1 (23:23):
You know, because a lot of a lot of people
are going to be trying to move their career. Every
every day, somebody the fairy getting cancel or whatever. But
let me add, when is that not work for you?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
You know this mentality and if you ever said I
went too hard or I didn't know what I didn't know,
I mean, can you do you?
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Can you recall any times or that moment when you say,
you know what, maybe I should have gave them another chance.
But I had I had developed such a hard shell
that they weren't trying to fuck me, but I thought
they were. I mean, or or or listen, somebody could
have been trying to fuck you and you regretted it
at the time, you reflect and seeing what they did
to other peopleeople after.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You and they will you were like, yeah, yeah, you know,
you know not really, I'm very smooth. I'm very smooth
when I deal with people.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
It's always a soft touch, and I make sure that
people around me have a soft touch. That's the biggest problem.
My crew, like the guys I got working for me,
they not as seasoned in this as I am. So
you know, even this the way you know a lot
of brothers, the way they talk people like they're extorting me.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
No, no, ask them for the money you owe them.
That's all.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
But that there, I have to like work with my
guys like, look, man, you can't you're scary, like you know,
don't be like that. But nah, I mean, nah, I've
learned a lot. I've been in a lot of rooms
with people I've dealt with, you know, big heavyweight executives.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
And they're gangster, you know, they they're the way they
handle business.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Like I always say, like in business, the trick is,
like me and Dick Wolf's relatelationship, is we make the deal.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I stick to the deal. That's it.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
There's a moment when we get to negotiate, we go
back and forth. Now I think I'm worth this iced
I can get Brad Pitt for that. Come on, man,
well come on man, this, that and the third. Come on,
I'm the only black man on the show. I might
throw the race card in there. I'm trying to get
paid right.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (25:22):
But then after we come to that negotiation and it's done,
I stick to the deal, and so does he. That's gangster.
I don't come back halfway in the middle of the
contract one that no no, no.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
No no. So he knows.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Once I told you, Dick Wolf said, iced tea is
the least pain in my ass, the best compliment I
ever got, because you know, when you have employees, the
person who's the least pain is your favorite person. You know,
the one that's always coming with problems and ideas and
book man, come on, man, you really close to the ads.
You think you're doing a lot, but you're really about
(25:57):
to get fired. Because you're driving me fucking crazy. So
you know, my boy, one of my other boys, said,
the only thing gangs about ice, he really is he
does not back up. Well hmmm, I like that. I
don't back up well. So in other words, everything's cool
until you tell me what I better do. Then naw,
(26:21):
because like you said, once I allow at, I might
as well let you do whatever you want to me.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
I might as well let you move in my house.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
You know what I'm saying, Like, there's got to be
a point where and you got one too where you're like, nah,
now not nah, now you're going to cross the line.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Nah. And you know, other than that, I'm fair game.
I'm play game fair Well.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
You know, your your history is coming up as a
as a really vocal music artist, embarrassed, and you know,
I don't really know what the real deal is.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I mean, you know I've been told your pimp told
you this that.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
And then you you you change your lifestyle, it alters
a little bit, and you you know, our wives of
friends and you change would be just becoming a new
dad again, taking that path, beautiful white, very dedicated dad.
What was that moment when you you said, I don't
know I feel like change.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I mean, you know you didn't change immediately.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
You were ready for change to be the guy that
we know now very beloved as a father or husband
of various other things and no longer.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I mean your gangster at hard.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
So it's very hard to explain Ice, but that moment
of being calm in your career, you know, going on
and being an actor, but the meantime being on stage
your shirt off, doing heavy metals and ship over here,
and then you know, being on the player's ball, which
I think that's my favorite role of Ice, being on
the player's ball.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
But yeah, yeah, when when did you.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Get that form of like being just really comfortable whatever
you did and being a dedicated dad because I know,
I know the story when you know, so when you
decided to to you know, to be that person with Coco,
I know you gave her the phone and and said
any any any young lady call you answer this and
you know what you say it better than I do.
(28:10):
What was that that moment when you gave her the
phone and said boom?
Speaker 3 (28:14):
Well, like like like this has been a long transformation,
you know. So the first transformation was leaving the streets
when I started making music, and I got a little famous.
I just said, man, I'm done. I can't break the
law no more because you know, now all eyes are
on me and I don't want to get any of
you guys in trouble.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
But how about you thinking not keeping it real?
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I mean, we just we're just seeing what happened to
Gunner and all these dudes who they were making all
this money. But you know now they got Rico chargers
and they probably going to jail until you know, I
don't until aliens come down start rapping it.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Well, there's a difference between fame and infamy. When you're infamous,
you don't nobody knows your name. You like low key,
and like I said, if everybody in the street knows
your name, so did the cops.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
So I had been able to duck them. And when
I decided and finally start making a little record money,
of course I went broke. But that was a career
change I made because now I'm doing interviews, I'm meeting people.
You can't do that and go out and break the law.
And my other book, I had this chapter called Too
Famous to Steal, where I went to do something and
(29:20):
steal something.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Some kids came out of the house and wanted autographs.
I'm like, what the wait a minute, what hold on?
You went to steal what? You was already famous and
you were trying to steal something.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Yeah, I mean, you know, you don't really get no
bread to your first, second, third album. So I had
a Porsche and I was trying to get a part
Porsche and my boys just stole a Porsche and I
didn't want to pay for it, and they was full
of shit about getting the part I needed. I'm like,
where's the motherfuck car at where's the car? I'll go
get it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Fuck that.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
So I got a ratchet set, I got my boys.
I walked through this apartment building. I walked through this
apartment building. I pulled a car cover off the car.
I'm in the car, still in the park. Part probably
costs like a thousand dollars. I could have paid for it.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
I was just it I wanted.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Plus I was showing my niggas I knew I was
still good with my ship. But when I get in
the car, all these little kids come walking out the
motherfucking house and they're.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Like, I see oh shp. So now their mothers and
stuff come out, and I'm taking.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Pictures in front of a G in front of a
G t A. I'm standing there taking pictures because they
saw me in breaking and some ship and yeah, it's
funny now. So then after they all left, they thought
that was my car. I had to call the home.
He's like, Yo, this car can't be here in the morning.
Move this fucking car. But yeah, that's a chapter one
(31:00):
of my books called too Famous to Steal. But long
story short, now made just transition. I'm going through all
this music and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I left my I was with my ex Darlene for
like fifteen years, never got married, and when I came
to New York, we broke up. You know, usually when
you break up with a woman, you really broke up
a year or so earlier.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
So we were together, but we weren't really living like that,
you know, and finalized. When I came to New York
to do law and order, it was like, okay, might
as well stop playing this charade out for my son.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Let's just cut it off. So now I was single
out here for a couple of years. Didn't dig it.
I didn't dig it.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Because you know, it's just a it's an illusion, you know,
it's always when you got your girl on your arm,
all the girls are fine. As soon as she gets
off your arm, these bitches changed. They transform into all
kinds of other scary looking things.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
You know. It's just something about being single. It's not
it's fun. It's a weird warp. So when you're young,
it's cool because you'll fuck anything.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
But when you're older and you refine your taste, you know,
you ain't gonna see that shit you want walking around
by yourself.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
It's just not I think, you know, I think that
is a greeting call. When you're young, you'd fuck anything,
you know. I think you should write cars. Young, you
fuck anything. When you get a little older, you ain't
gonna see the ship you want to fuck.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
You know.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
I think that's pretty. You know you should write greeting cars.
I think that's that moment. But let's go, let's go
into let's go further in your taste. Yeah, you refine
your taste. So I met Coco.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
Now, when I was going after Coco, I was watching
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
The Osbourne's.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Ozzie and Sharon, and I was looking like, would Ozzie
have a mansion if it wasn't for sharing Osbourne, Like,
this woman is running all the tours, running all his business.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Doesn't even seem like Ozzie would know how to pay
a phone bill.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Ozzie is something different, right, But he's wealthy because you
got a woman to hold it together. So me personally,
I could get money for crossing t's and dynay's.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
It's not my thing. It's not many artists things.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
That's why artists have business managers, because you know you
my business manager. You send me in a studio, Da
da da da dah, Send me over here, send me
over there. I will get money, But somebody gotta pay
the taxes. Somebody gotta you know, that ain't what we
want to do. We just want to make the money.
So I told when I met Coco, she was fine.
(33:28):
I was like, told her, I said, yo, I mean,
I'm not really just trying to get another number in
my phone. I'm really trying to find somebody that wants
to ride. And she dug the flyness of me.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
She was a chick. When I met her. I had
on a red snake skin suit, so she was like, ooh,
that's fly. See some girls some girls want soft niggas
and some girls want real niggas.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
You know, they don't a soft nigga. They like, I'm
not even into you. You ain't got no base in
your voice. Some women want to man man.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
So she was like.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Coke, Yeah, like put me in my place. You I
like that shit. You know what I'm saying. You know,
some chicks I don't know. They emasculate niggas, but that's different.
They won't even fuck with us. They to day is
already know that nigga Ice is too managed. Funny story,
Whoopy Goldberg was talking about Coco one day and she said, yeah,
Coco that she's a dope sister, and they go sister,
(34:25):
They said, uh, Whoop, you know Coco's wife. She said,
Coco been dealing for twenty years with Ice teased managed ass.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
She's a She's an honorary sister, that nigga.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
So anyway, when we got together, I was just like, Yo,
are we gonna do this?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Are we are?
Speaker 3 (34:48):
We are we gonna do this as a couple And
she was like, I'm down. So I had a phone
at the time, and I'm like, here, take it. Start
answering the calls, and anybody that calls up, just say
who you are and take the message.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
At that time. Yeah, I was out in the street,
but I didn't have no chicks that could lay claim
to me.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
They were just chicks, you know what I'm saying. So
when they got the call, she's like, Hey, what's up
is this? I no, this is Coco. Oh okay, Well,
maybe they might hang up, maybe they might tell her
to leave a message.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Sometimes I got the message. It was such and such.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
But you know, when you out in the streets and
you you're a player, that girl is calling from Atlanta.
She ain't talked to you in a year. She's just
checking in. You know, we're going to Miami. Y're gonna
be into Miami.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
You know that bullshit? I don't know if you're talking about. Yeah. Right.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
So anyway, Coco cleared the house in a beautiful way.
But then she would also take messages from my niggas.
So I would get messages like this from her. She's like, uh, baby,
uh trigger said he left some bullets and come on.
Or the funny thing is like they would call and
(36:07):
it would be like.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
This, yo, yo, what's good? What's that? What's here? She'd
be like, oh, this is Coco. Same nigga, Hey, Coco.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
What's the same Nigga's voice would change when he would
talk to her.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
So you know, it's been good. Now we've been together
twenty two going on twenty three years. It's good man.
And uh, it was a smart move. You know, it
was a smart move for me. You know, it's dating scene.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Anybody knows out there it's toxic and it's full of
land mines. And uh, you know, I got the fuck
off the field for I called a body. Did you
find balance?
Speaker 1 (36:43):
And that's interesting because she show she's she's one of
the as you would say, I say too, she's one
of the nicest people you'll ever meet, right, and.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
She's not trying to be this trying She's just who
she is. And did you find that that kind of
friends change your perspective? One thing? You know, not really.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
I never really dated a white girl before, you know,
so my thing was like, you know, I've been around
white girls, I work with them and stuff, but as
far as actually being like in love and all that,
that was different for me.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
But you know, I always say I'm a player. I
don't really care.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
You know, if a Martian bitch dropped down and was
saying the right shit, I'd be fucking green pussy right now,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
You like Captain Kirk because Captain Captain Kirk.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Would would do it with anybody, bang everything in the universe.
My partner, my pimp, Buddy Rich, said, man, you just
look for a bitch. You could understand what the fuck
you be talking about. You just need somebody could comprehend. Boom,
that's you needed comprehension, my nigga. So I was like, no,
Coco was dope. But I think I always say this,
(37:49):
and I say this in a weird kind of way, but.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Coke and I are.
Speaker 3 (37:54):
Like like like like the exact same thing, but turn
into a woman and a male. So think of it
like this, right, Okay, uh, if my gangster was feminine,
it would be sexy, right. A woman's power is sexy,
(38:16):
being sexy, not being like a man. She would be sexy, right,
So that would result probably in a big titty blonde
right that. And her gangster is male, it would be
a nigga a gangster. So it's it's like we're very
alpha of each of each side of the spectrum. You
(38:37):
feel me like she's an alpha alpha woman, I'm an
alpha male. And also I think that like you and
your wife. The trick is, you have to find someone
who matches your energy. Now, if I go out by myself,
I spin the room when I walk in.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
That's iced tea. That's iced tea.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Well, she spends it too, she spends it on her own.
So there for we we have equal power and we
are a good couple. If I'm with a chick that
doesn't have that same energy, my energy intimidates her, like
why you got to take pictures with all the people?
Speaker 2 (39:11):
Why you got why you got it that.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
If my wife is with a weaker nigga, he like,
why you gotta wear that?
Speaker 2 (39:17):
You gotta you look too.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
You know, you're dracking too much attention, So you gotta
have a Both people have to be very confident in
who they are, just like you and your wife.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
You know who you are. She knows who she is.
And that's why, y'all.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
You know, we both dealt with chicks that are insecure,
and we both dealt with you know, so it's it
was a lucky lick, you know. And I was in
my forties when I met her, so you know, I've
done everything a nigga could do. I remember I told
my boy, I said Yo, I'm thinking about getting married
to Coco. It's like, Nigga, you didna have more sex
(39:50):
than a football team. Nigga, you have time to bring
bring that shit home to shit down, Like what are
you trying? What are you trying to do?
Speaker 2 (40:00):
And I'm very happy and now with my daughter.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
Our daughter is about the same age.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
I quote Muhammad Ali.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
He says, when a man has a child in the
second half of his life, after he turns fifty, it's
like it resets it. It's like it resets his life.
(40:39):
It made me want to live forever. It made me
create new goals. Because you got bread, you can start
slowing down. But now not that new baby. That new baby,
and it's the best gift I could ever get. I
see how much you love your daughter. I think the
(41:00):
difference with Chanelle and my other kids is I'm very
conscious of this baby. Like I had my daughter when
I was in high school. I was ripping and running,
so it was presence over presents. I wasn't there. Yeah,
you know, same way my son. My son, Ice happened
(41:21):
right when I was becoming Ice Tea. You know, I
had never been famous before. This was a whole new thing.
So I'm distracted by that just becoming.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
Chanelle. I'm comfortable. I'm in a cruise pattern.
Speaker 3 (41:34):
I was there when Coco was pregnant, I went to
the hospital, and she now still sleeps into bed with us,
you know. So I'm so much more connected to her
than my other kids. But it's been a beautiful.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Thing, you know, I really I took away a lot
of stuff here, a lot of a lot of a
lot of a lot of gifts, really, and there's a
lot of things that a lot of hitting gems in there.
And obviously, I mean I never thought of a when
you think of gangs of being a big titty blonde,
you know. Okay, yeah, I get it, though, I get it,
you know what I'm saying, because that that could be
(42:09):
gangs and big titty blonde, big titty brunette.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Big titty whatever, little titty whatever. I mean.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
You know, Barbara Corkran always says you an got big
titties put up put with with pigtails.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
You know. So, But.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
I gotta say, you know, when you when you when
you talk about young ice and you're advising a lot
of the younger people coming up now who look at
you and you you pretty much have done in your terms.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
It hasn't been easy.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
A lot of people were against you, and it wasn't
really done before. Of what you've accomplished in regards of
being very true to your your.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Upbringing, what would you say? What what is your go to.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
In that moment when you have to make critical decisions
and you say do you trust your gut? Do you say,
I go back to these cold you know? What is
your kind of your thing that leads you back to
the fundamentals of ice And no matter what, he's not
gonna break these And I don't give a shit if
I lose everything, I'm not gonna go against this.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
I never I would never betray my friends, you know.
I would never. You know. I'm not that guy you
know and the only person that can betray you with
somebody that you trust, you know, so I wouldn't. I'm
not that guy. I don't know, you know.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
I run into lots of issues. I like to sleep
on stuff, you know. I like to like if something
is difficult to me to answer, I'm like, give me
some time, let me think on it. A lot of
times I'll wake up the next day. I was noticing
a lot of times things we stress off. Sometimes you
just need to make the phone call and just get
(43:58):
that out of the way, like just that postponing it.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
That anxiety of.
Speaker 3 (44:03):
It isn't usually as big as the actual issue once
you get to the people and you talk and get
that over with. But I just really, I just don't
fuck with bad energy no more. You know, I know
what bad energy is. I know when you're out to
do wrong and you're out to do bad things.
Speaker 2 (44:22):
I just don't do that no more. I don't even
entertain it.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Do you entertain people around you who are not putting
the energy towards you, but you hear them they talking
about other people.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
They all got there. So what happened?
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Because sometimes as family, sometimes people who you know, I
tend to cut people off after years and I look
at the list, you know, at the end of the year,
and I go, this person's not a good friend to themselves,
They're never going to be a good friend to me.
Or maybe I don't mess with them and there's something
wrong with me. But whatever it is, I can't change.
I don't like them, and I just I just kind of,
(44:56):
you know, I let them know where we're at. Though,
I let them know, Hey, I can't mess with you
on this level or that level. I tell him I'm
clear because I don't want to be. I don't want
I don't want no misunderstandings. What do you do about
the people around here to do that?
Speaker 2 (45:06):
But they're not.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
They never do it to you. Managers, lawyers, friends, called colleagues.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
They say, if you can't change some of your friends,
you have to change some of your friends.
Speaker 3 (45:18):
So I, I don't know. Pretty much, I got my
shit down to a skeleton crew. I'll keep it one hundred.
I got it down to a skeleton crew. I got
a very very few people that I really fuck with
to where you know, I'm gonna return their phone calls
if they call me. I just don't fuck with people
like that. Like a lot of one of my homies
(45:39):
was like, Ice is your friend? Yeah, as Ice ever
called you? Has he ever called you? Did you ever
pill on the phone? He's like, hey, man, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (45:50):
Okay? Think about that for a minute, right, Like how
does he call you? I don't think.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
My dad used to tell me if you can count
your friends on your hand, it's a big thing.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
It's very it's very rare that.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
You have people that you really let into your real world,
like you know, like I know, grim's your man, I
know certain people, those are people that are inside. Yeah,
but those people that are inside are the ones that
can hurt you the most. That they go less because
they have the access. So you just have to be
very cautious. I don't know, Dan, you know, you're right.
(46:25):
I think it's your gut. I think by now your
gut is very seasoned and you can feel it, and
you just try to learn from your mistakes. You make mistakes,
and you like, I mean, you know, I didn't even
doing business. I just did a business deal with some
people and they came in and they act like they
had a lot of money, and then halfway through the
(46:46):
deal they ain't had no money.
Speaker 2 (46:48):
And I was like, I was like, we can't even
assume them.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
They broke And so I told my partner, we cannot
deal with broke mo fuckers, Like before we start, we
have to make sure they can handle what they claim
and they can hear.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
So these are lessons. These are lessons.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
But you know, I don't know, man, I don't know
what makes me tick at this moment. I just really
just try to like keep it positive, to keep you know.
You know, my thing is I've never counted on anybody
other's health, hustle. I think that's my success thing is
I've never counted on anyone.
Speaker 2 (47:26):
Else but me.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
And that's the scary part of it is. Right now,
I'm trying to get into other businesses. I'm trying to
get you know, we're starting a dispensary. I'm trying to
find things that generate money other than myself, because what
if something does happen to me and I physically can't
get it, you know, But I have to learn about
(47:50):
those things because I've always been the money person that
generated the money.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
And yeah, man, I just I don't know.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
Man, it's hard to say. Man, I think you just
have a code. You have a it's really your character.
It's like, what is your character? It's your character a
good person or your character a shady person or a
slick person. And you know, I don't got no ops,
I don't got nobody after me. I don't have no
no negative energy like that. I don't want that shit.
(48:21):
It ain't worth it, He's not.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Really you know.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
I think I can vocalize it as well. I mean,
you know, I agree with so much of what you've said.
But this is about you and me trying to go
down that rabbit hole with you and get that thought
process if you going. But I think it's the same thing,
you know, after you've been through so much, all these
deals and people that come to you when it's a rush, right,
it was always a rush. Hey, Cannas is hot this year,
(48:45):
let's get it home.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
Slow down. So oh hey cryptos hot, this is you.
Come on, come on, I need you to sign this.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
I need you to do this, like you know, And
if there's so much of a rush and you can't
go home and think about it, then all of a sudden,
why was it so much of a rush? Also, yeah,
you know, it's not necessarily the deals that you you
don't do that hold you up. The deals you do
because you get into the deals of these people that
don't have money. Because it's funny, right, a lot of
people will come to you, me and the people listening
(49:11):
right now, and they go, oh, we're doing all this,
we're doing all that, we're doing that, but we ain't
got no money for you because we want to why
everybody else got picky, why everybody else got paid? What
are you you're doing? All this and that, you know.
You know, I like to do they go. You know,
I was gonna take this over to ditty. I was
gonna take this leap. I'm gonna take to you for no, no,
no no, take it to them, take it to them.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
You know.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
But I think I think that, I think it. What
it really boiled down to is your gut, you know, because.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
You know, yeah.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
One thing I like to say also with me is
that I hold friendships, dear. You know, so I'm friends
with you. I'm friends with doctor Dre. But I'm like, say,
Dre Dray, But I never talked to Dre about music,
right m you know you're on Shark Tank. I've never
talked you about money. I never we don't talk about it.
Speaker 2 (50:03):
You know.
Speaker 3 (50:04):
So I get around somebody like you know Jamon John,
Oh shit, you should get him that. I'm like, Look, see,
that's why you can't be his friend, because you know
that's not what he does. You know, if you're friends
with somebody like Dre, you want he wants you to
come over and play Xbox and leave like that.
Speaker 2 (50:20):
Just be his friend. You know. If something generically happens,
that's great.
Speaker 3 (50:26):
But you know, I like people for who they are,
you know, and just have friendships.
Speaker 2 (50:32):
And that's hard in this business because everybody's angling.
Speaker 3 (50:36):
You know, your boy will come over and at the
end of the night, after you done had fun drank,
here comes a pitch you like this, what this whole
thing was about? This pitch you got for me? Like,
come on, man, take it easy.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
I don't know. It's different. Different people see things different ways,
you know, and so.
Speaker 3 (50:53):
I I see things my way, and you know, I
always say, I think, at the end of the day, Dame,
what really matters to me is my legacy, not the money,
not none of this shit. Because when you're gone, you're
just gonna give the money to people who gonna fuck
it off because they didn't have the acremen to get
(51:16):
it in the first place. So it doesn't mean they're
gonna have the acremen to hold it. They're gonna fuck
it off. So you know, the only thing that really
you leave is your reputation. And if you are a
great man, when people meet your daughter or your wife,
they go, oh, that's Dami John's people.
Speaker 2 (51:33):
Okay, let them through. Like my son is in La
this nigga telling me, oh, I got juice.
Speaker 3 (51:39):
You got juice. How the fuck you got juice? You
telling them you little ice and they letting you through
the ropes. That's your daddy's juice, you got, you know.
But my daughter's in Atlanta. When she says who she is,
people treat her like a little queen or princess. That's
what's important to me, my legacy. If I leave here
as a great man or a good man, then everyone
(52:02):
else gets to live off of that, not the money.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
It's my rep at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 (52:07):
Our legacies is more important because that's what our families
are going to live off of. That's what you know,
your your wife, your kids, and on and on and on.
And we just had to be careful because they try
to scandalize you or do something ruin that.
Speaker 2 (52:20):
And that's more important to me than anything else.
Speaker 3 (52:23):
So you know, I've just got to be careful and
cautious because they hate to see, you know, especially black men,
become successful and pull it off and leave, you know,
on a good note, you know, And that's what my
thing is about, you know. So I'm very careful and
trying to stay you know, straight, So my kids and
(52:45):
my wife and anybody who represents me.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
Can be proud.
Speaker 1 (52:51):
Right well, Listen, man, I always learned something new when
we hang out. And I love the fact of going
down this kind of history path, of that moment, the
moment that you know, you realize that you were famous
and you couldn't no longer live the life that you
will even even though you didn't have necessarily money, the
moment that you have to deal with with the decision
of facing Warner and or you were going through the
(53:12):
moment of you know, meeting your your wife and changing
your life and moving New.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
York and you know, moving away from her.
Speaker 1 (53:19):
You know who you're with, So a lot of decisions
have to be made in your life, man, And I'm
glad you took the moment today to share it with us.
Speaker 2 (53:26):
And you always inspired me.
Speaker 1 (53:28):
A lot of times you're just telling me things that
I didn't know if I did the right thing or
anybody else felt like like I feel, you know, as
I'm still trying to learn and grow. So I appreciate
you spending time with me, man, and thank you for being.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
On that moment.
Speaker 3 (53:43):
Hey, Hey, you know what, oh, at the end of
the day, Man, you know what I learned is that
it's always going to be you, just on you by yourself.
There's not a group of people to help you when
shit goes wrong, It's going to be on you. And
in closing, I try to tell everybody, nobody wakes up.
Speaker 2 (54:02):
In the morning with your dream. Whatever you want to do.
Speaker 3 (54:06):
You could think you got partners, but nobody wakes up
thinking about what you want. And the only way it's
gonna happen is that you do it. Because I could
be on the sidelines. I'm helping you, but I don't
wake up with your dream. That's your dream, all right,
that's sure, Thank you brother.
Speaker 2 (54:22):
All Right, Pete Dame, I've talked to you soon.
Speaker 1 (54:24):
All right, you gotta think, all right, And this has
been that Moment with Damon John. That Moment with Damon
John is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
(54:45):
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite show and don't forget to subscribe to the
show and.
Speaker 2 (54:53):
Rate the show.
Speaker 1 (54:54):
You can all connect with me on any social media
platform at the show daymon as in Raymond with a
D
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