E-40 | Ep 7 | (Re)Session Podcast by Jeezy

In this episode of the (Re)Session Podcast, Jeezy speaks with rapper, actor and entrepreneur E-40. He discusses his roots in Vallejo, CA, how community influences music, longevity as an artist, Verzuz, his business ventures, stories from college, cooking and much more!

This episode is based off the song "Ghetto," one of the tracks on Jeezy's latest album, The Recession 2.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Recessing Podcast with Yours Truly. Jeezy is a production
of Black Effect and Our Heart Radio. This is Jeezy,
Grammy nominated Urban philosopher, philanthropists and entrepreneur, and this is
my show, The Recessing Podcast. For years, I used my

(00:22):
music to highlight the struggles and issues facing this country
the economy, politics, protests, mental health and more. And now
strong voices are more important than ever before. On this show,
I will speak the powerful people from all walks of
life to have real conversations about change, perseverance, and hope.

(00:43):
In each episode will feature a sample of a song
from my new album, The Recession Too. So, without further ado,
let's begin the Recessing Podcast. Let's get it so. Here
we are, ladies and gentlemen. You know it's it's it's

(01:04):
a happy new year for for some and the rest.
We're gonna get it together. Um, without further d Man,
this guy right here, you know it's crazy. I grew
up listening to him. You know, I remember to click
the whole thing. And I was just in my Oldsmobile
Cutlers with the European fronts, and I'm like, yo, I
gotta get me some bread. I gotta get me some money.
Gotta give me some paper man. And and I've been

(01:27):
watching this evolution and watching everything he's he's been a
part of as far as you know, becoming an entrepreneur,
staying relevant, diversifying his portfolio, and just being all around
you know, a great example for you know, a lot
of the catch is coming up in this game and
just knowing you could stay the sane and and still
grow and uh without further du you know, he's on

(01:50):
the song on the new album to just release on
the Recessing It's called the Ghetto And uh, you know,
I ain't got a lot of people that I look
at and be like, hey man, how you do that?
Yere um? But you know you've been around since you know,
the masterp days and and even before that, and always
been independent. But y'all give it up for for for

(02:11):
for E funz a relli E foty the the I
don't even know what to call you right now, man,
you're coming fresh off the versus and I just want
to welcome to the show man. What's up? Big Dog
forty representing that Bay area on the Recession podcast right here. Damn,
we're trying to get out and that's a fact. Finished
college commaculations on that resulation. My father is he dating

(02:34):
the drift? Bro? He activated my get our whip split
in half by the pulp. We could be our own
in the minute. Let's we're dealing with white supremacism, right.
It's why I learned what got my blessing. It's a
little It's a little jay Z number love, man, love
and respect. You know that. Happy new Year, big dog,

(02:54):
Happy year, Yes sir, Yes, sir, Happy New Year you too.
I was, I was just going through all and stuff, man,
And I'm I gotta be honest with you, bro, like
I feel like you've still the test of time, you know.
And I don't know where you got the energizing battery from,
but you you've been rocking with that thing, man, And um,
you know, I I, for one, you know, I'm still

(03:16):
waiting on that. It might be out there. I don't know,
like I'm just gonna put it out there, but I'm
still waiting on that. Uh that efort the definition of slang.
I mean that that d I never did it. I
definitely yeah, yeah, you gotta do it. And so so
let me ask you this. So, so I've been in
the Bay Area. Actually I just left out there and

(03:39):
I actually I rode through Valeto and I'm like, damn,
Like when you look at Oakland, you look at Valleo,
you look at San Francisco, you look at all the babe,
you look at all the water, and you're just like, damn,
Like what do y'all get this coolness for? Like we're
just flamboyant, like just when you get your words from man,
let's start there. I think a lot of us our

(04:02):
families are grandparents. They came from the South and they moved,
you know, like the military, being in the military and
stuff like that. So they moved someone to Richmond, someone
to Oakland, someone to Valleo at merr Island, someone to
Alameda Air Force Base. You understand what I'm saying. So

(04:22):
a lot of them moved to the Bay Area, and
you know, the South. You know that's that Like like
I always say, like my Richmond all, my Richmond partners,
a lot of them got gold. They got that one
gold teeth or they got a whole brill full of
gold too. But I'm like I sayd y'all was born
with permanent gold teeth right from Mississippi. Couple of Louisiana.

(04:44):
Like my daddy from Mississippi, from Kenton, Mississippi. He came
out of the four team. My grandmama and my granddad,
they're from Bernice, Louisiana, you know. And my mom you know,
you know, she she the third oldest, so she got
a dose of it and everything. She's the third old
is out of eleven kids, you know. Oh man, yeah,
so so so so something. Some of this, some of
this um came from just your South roots, yeah, definitely. Yeah.

(05:09):
And then just being in the Bay area period, Like
it's involved, like it's these are this is what the
hustle is. That this is what wheen you well understand
we you we make we make a way out of
no way, no choice. You know a lot of us
were in the hood by by force, not by choice,
you know, correct, you know that's that's real. And so

(05:30):
you know, um, it's it's it's just the b it's
the you know they tell me my old g said, man,
wherever you go, man uphold your badness. Man, the Bay
is serious about being the Bay. You know what I'm saying.
You know, it's coaching, it's really, Um, I was out
there with with your guy that was shooting the video
was in East Oakland, and I swear to you we
pulled up to a store and there was nobody out there.

(05:53):
Within about five minutes, it was thousands of you know,
they're coming through doing the dope nut. You just see it,
and when you see it in person, he was just like, damn,
like this is a whole you know, and and even
the music. It's just like it's a culture and you
gotta be from there to know how to move to it,
to understand what they're saying and and and it's been

(06:16):
like that forever. So I almost feel like y'all I
call like like like the bay Um, like like Cuba,
like y'all reserved all. Y'all know what I'm saying. Y'all right, right,
you know what I'm saying, Like you go to Cuba,
like you know, you in Cuba, you know what I'm saying,
because it's just like they reserve everything, and when you
get there, it's like it's not watered down. It's all solid.

(06:37):
And y'all got people that's um you know, that's been
doing it for a long time. To consider legends out
there that that a lot of us in the South,
you know, might only know one of two records, but
y'all know, you know their whole discography, and and when
you play it as timeless and you know, for me
like just watching it, just coming up and listening to
the slang. You know, even back then, you know, I

(06:59):
used to hear you know, the hurricane and and and
and the old mobiles and the cause and the and
the things you just had to do to be cool.
And I'm in the South, I'm in Georgia, so you know,
at the time, it's just like I didn't have a
lot to pull from my head, like you know, the
masterpieas and cash money and things like that. But what
I liked about your movement, um, it's like it seemed
like you had your sisters somebody rapping with your sugar

(07:21):
t shoot. I would want to say we made the
first rap duor gold record ever. That will sprinkle me.
You know the fact that when the album went Platforum,
so the single went because the single was on the
platinum and that was the main single that pushed it. Wow,
this was was this was this independent of this was
like this one. Well we did Cap and saber Hoole

(07:43):
and and some other ones, you know, together that was
independent and this was independent too through Drive Records, But
I had major distribution deal back then, yeah before before
before anybody, before any of those rappers. What did you
get that business sense from? Like, because you know, we
were just trying to get in the game. But it
seemed like you guys had it sold up, like you

(08:05):
understood the business part of it. And I can imagine
back then y'all was probably getting people right around you
to make the make the music and the beats and
the production everything. So everything was pretty much in the house.
But how did you know the even going there and say,
you know, we got to do a semi fi deal
off the rip. Well, you know, I was laced by
the best man. Like I said, I mentioned Pete earlier,
which I love, I got them, but love and respect

(08:25):
for Pete. That's a friend of mine, straight up. And
you know you might have heard him mentioned. A guy
by the name of St. Charles. Charles is my mama's brother.
That's my uncle. Oh okay, he he laced us. You know,
we learned together, but he laced us. He knew. He
taught me so much more than just music. He taught

(08:48):
me how to be a man. You know. And and
stand on morals and respect. He taught me how to
go get a bank account. I always looked up to him,
and I was a young man little I used to
always say, I say, Charles, say char I don't want
to make a I can want I want to make
a record? Was that? And this all the time with
the money with shout out to St. Charles Man, that's hard,

(09:12):
so so so basically, And that's the thing is just
like when you look at the you know, the music
into just so y'all know, listening out there, like forty'd
been doing this for a long time, but he never
watered down his brand. So for him to say that
he was doing independent moves back then, and what you
gutts see now, um is how these junks are going
straight from uh you know, from from from the studio

(09:35):
to consumer. It's something that he already had put in play.
So y'all, y'all was basically almost selling CDs out of
the trunk at one We were going to barbershops, were
going to uh rims and tire shops, you know, were
all the deep boys will go to. You're gonna see anywhere,
you're gonna find somebody else, got some bread, you know
the barbershop, you know was the liquor store. We had

(09:58):
our CONCESSI our vinyl and c D s all that
ship weight because you know, we came in and eight
you know what I mean, our first album came out,
Our EP came out, and eight to Click we was
m VP Most Valuable Players. And then we changed our
name like eight months later. To the Click was the
first one. But we would go to you know, um,
all the liquor stores put out I'll drop off thirty

(10:20):
fifty consents or whatever or whatever it is, whether the
vinyl concess or c D s and you understand me,
and put them on consignment. Had a consignment. I used
to give my bus the briefcase, put it up you
had you had, and I'll be in my cutler. I
go to my pull out and put out the box

(10:42):
cascesss or whatever. Drop it off in like places like
M and M's Liquor, our bills and wheels. You know
what I'm saying. Uh, you understand me, Rich arts, barbershop,
places like that, And once they sold through the thirty
fifty UM cascess or whatever, then they pay us on
that and then I'll drop off more. Right then, and
there have it right there there, I'll write and receipt,
we'll walk the whol bam. You know. Then we had

(11:04):
then we also cooked up with Music People, which is
a one stop Music People and City Hall Records, and
they became the main hub for so anybody that wanted
to order. My uncle St. Charles made this made this
list up where he got anybody. He got a list
of a big encyclopedia book. But it was just like
nothing but phone numbers and contacts of anybody that dealt

(11:24):
with any rap music, any retail store, any moment pop
store that deal with rap music period. And he would
put all that together and here and he has sent
out packages through pitney Ball, pitney Ball, um ups and its.
It was snail mail back then. It might you know,
end up in the brastar end up in Kansas City
at seventh Heaven. Seventh Heaven, uh probably you know, uh

(11:47):
eight days later. But to get there. So once they
once they got there, you know, um, he would have
here put here, piece of free concess in there just
for the energy life. Here you go, man, just get
these out to whoever got some slapping their trump or whatever,
and they'll do it. And man, when they when they've
seen the covers in the way our lifestyle was on
the album covers and stuff, they'll be like, these dudes,

(12:08):
let me slap their music in there. And they you know,
they spreading the word word of mouth, get around. Now
that's all going everywhere. It's everywhere like it. So that's
how I went, man, you know what I'm saying. And
that's crazy because it's just like if you just something
our suec I want to just ask you this because
just De Bay Areas is a tech hub period. But

(12:28):
just imagine, you know, because the story that you're telling
is basically because a lot of these casts is coming
up now. They're just uploading their music and it's out
there so they don't have to do none of the
leg work and and and have no encyclopedias of contacts.
And just imagine you're Madagine if if the tech was
up then and you was doing that game. But I mean,

(12:49):
efore they would be on the Billy right now, man
ship man, and you know, and and but we had
hard time. It was hard. It wasn't this easy, you know,
especially me being from a little city called Valo, California.
You know, and you know now you can just push

(13:10):
a button, man, and your music goes out to millions
of people every Yeah, you can go in the studio
right now, you go, I see you an instrumental, or
you sent me an instrumental. We put a hook on
that bit. You knock out the first I knocked out
my first tonight, And next thing, you know, we can
have that thing uploaded with them twenty four hours, you
know what I'm And they already like seeing what it's

(13:33):
doing and monitoring it. And so you guys had to
basically um sell, sell cassettes and keep up with what
you were selling and then go out and buy some
actual more cassettes because and that's another thing too. I
don't think they understand. It's like you guys had to
actually put the music on the cassettes. So it's a process.
It wasn't like you just got the cassettes. So it
was a whole thing. You know, it's a trip jeezy

(13:55):
back then, and you probably got a dose of this too,
I'm pretty sure back then, late eighties, early nineties, all
that ship. Man, it's a trip because when we did,
like when we mixed, when we're mixing down songs, we
only we had two inch reels, but we're doing on
a two inch real. And it was a two inch
real costs like two hundred fifty dollars two two hundred

(14:17):
fifty to three hundred dollars each two inch rel. But
it only held three songs. Three songs. You can get
it for two hundred fifty. You can get a hard
drive that hold thousands. Yeah, you know, it's terrify, you
know what I'm saying that like, but she was. She

(14:37):
was on two inch real though, y'all. It was big
boy in there. Man. I started off with with, uh,
what's it? D eight eighth? We did all like you know,
that was no. My first ship m VP Most Valuable
Class was missed mixed by al eating Um al Eaton

(14:58):
and that was in Richmond, California. He missed it on
a VHS tape Bro used to master. On the VHS
tape that was our master. We sent it to Rainbow
Records out there in southern California, pressed up the vinyl
m VP Most Valuable Players. We used to get all
our stuff. We ordered all our products from Rainbow Records,

(15:20):
so we would have to a bunch of um uh
you know the actual uh you know the actual covers,
did you slide inside the insert We had to order.
We had to order extra them every time because that
was the main thing that took a long time to
get to get done. So we ordered, like if I
gotta if I got a p O from City Hall
Records for maybe fifty thousand records, you know, were ordering

(15:43):
a whole. We weren't tripled that many you know um
coverage for the you know, the inserted and jewel cases.
So we would have when when when it was delivered
to us, I would have probably a whole like probably
about you know cases of cassets. Our CDs in my
garage are a mixture of boats in my garage. St.

(16:05):
Charles had the same amount of his garage. Shot had
the same amount of his garage. Be Legita had the
same amount of his garage. So anytime we got a
p O, you know what I'm saying, we have, we're
gonna pick up a a uhawl truck and gonna take
it down the City Hall Records and Sam Raphael are
the Oakland that Jason Blaine want uh want stop, you
know what I'm saying. So you know that was crime

(16:26):
BROI six sick with the records I remember because be
Leg is one of my favorite rappers. You know what
I'm saying, Like, I just it's be Legit slid. You
wouldn't picked him up out the block and like, Yo,
broke me here to the studio. You want to come?
He's like, we see it. I don't really you know,
know about the studio, but I just you know, it's
like he just talked like he just walked off the
ports Man. Yeah love wrapper. Yeah, we thought it off

(16:53):
together and we ended together, and you know, yeah, y'all
spoke several times, y'all. You know, yeah, yeah, it's solid.
We don't out of Miami one day. Yeah, we all
gotta Miami one night. Man be a little solid, yeah
yeah yeah, but but sometimes you know, you you you
you gotta be that to get that ghetto trophy. Like
when you have cats like myself, I grew up listening

(17:13):
to and staying solid because of the moors and in
the values and the integrity that we got from you know,
cats like yourself. Um, you know, so shout out for
bealing for that and also yourself sick with it records,
Like even when I was coming up, my whole thing
was you know, and a lot of people don't know.
I didn't even start off as an artist. You know,
I wanted to be a CEO, you know what I mean.
So I want to sign some cats from my neighborhood,

(17:35):
and quite naturally, they got into you know, a whole
bunch of things. It's so crazy. I want to sign
some cats from my neighborhood. One of them, uh end
up going to prison and the other two some crazy
it happened with him. But it's crazy because just two weeks,
three weeks, like maybe two months ago, I was I
had a party in Atlanta after the verses and I

(17:56):
went to the club and when I got out of
the car, I seen my little homie that I had signed.
He just did nineteen years. You know what I'm saying,
nineteen years And I'm not like damn. So he was
one of my first artists that I signed, and he
did nineteen years. So for you know, that's my first
time seeing him since he got home. He had been
home maybe like a year, so and uh, but I'm

(18:17):
just saying. So I went in with that mentality to
be a CEO when they got locked up. That's how
I ended up being the artist because all my money
was tied up in the studio and what I was doing,
so I really didn't have a choice. So I had
to kind of figure it out myself. And my man
was like, man, you remember rapping phote? Of course, of
course I always remember what he said. He said, a

(18:38):
lot of these players that make some real good rhyme, says,
you know what I mean. So what he's basically saying
is a lot of cast that's from the inner city,
from the lord development houses and whatnot. You know, they
are the ones who spent the most game. They the
ones who went through it and seen it all and
to the streets better so that the state they relate.
And that's me and that's your self, you know, you

(19:01):
know what I'm saying. I was, uh, you know, but
it's crazy because just like when you think about and
you know, we could talk about music all day, but
I really I really respect your business mindset because it
started record label back then and and put your people
on and set up this whole uh you know, conglomerati.

(19:25):
But but it came off of you know, your your
your your swagger and the things that you was doing
and what you was building around and your team. Because
everybody had their own things like you had a death row.
We knew what that was about. You had you know,
the dog Pound was Snoop and all these different people.
But it was like your music was like hustle music.
But but like you know, you're cool, like you you

(19:47):
ain't you ain't on like it's always about the bread,
you know, it's always about about you know, how you're feeling.
You know, just you know with your ride, what you're
smoking on and how you coming through. And they create
a record because I remember y'all had they had the
change with the with the pig on it, sick with
it right right, had the pig on it is to

(20:11):
show because you know out here and you probably heard
it before, were hawks like Savage Beastie sick with it all.
We're sick with it. So we're about we're about that
money may money hungry react right right right? You greedy
gotta have, you gotta eat, you gotta got it. But

(20:33):
what I'm saying is like for you to even like
because you gotta think like us, us as individuals from
the from the from the block, from the soil, you know,
for us to turn what we know into a business,
because you gotta think if you didn't start that back then,
you wouldn't be the efforty that we know now. And
you started back then and you built the company basically,
you know what I'm saying. You built the company from

(20:54):
the game that you was given and just to have
that type of inside I don't know, you got some
game from some players, Pe and and all these guys
it was around, but you started this whole thing that's
been an imprint in in in debay ever since and
even to this day. But it's still business though, because
E forty was like E forty was like the smart hustler.
You ain't never really heard your name and nothing crazy,

(21:16):
Like you don't really get caught up, you know what
I mean. You stay out the way, but then all
of a sudden when you pop out, it's like, oh
that's forty, you know what I'm saying. So it's just
like for you to have that mindset, you know, back then,
because even now if you look a lot of casts
of starting labels and and and doing different things, but
it ain't the same because you don't know where it's
based from. Like you know, to have a home basis,

(21:38):
like when you think about p and these guys, you
think about New Orleans and what they came from. You
had to know that baby and him was from two
different sides of the bridge, because they got two different
ways of thinking. But then when it comes to to
to to to the Bay, you know, you guys had uh,
you know, you guys had uh, what's what's my man?
From the silly Sale back in the day. But like
it was so different from what you was because was doing.

(22:04):
You know, it's a trip with my mama and Selly
sell parents. My mom and my daddy and Selly sell
parents went to school together. You know, me and Shelly
Sale little I stay on Mac I lived on Magazine Street.
So you go on the Magazine Street, go all the
way from Glenn Cove all the way into South Valo, right,
So it's a long street. So Celly Sell right there

(22:24):
on the hundred block. Then you make a you make
a left coming into Hollywood Street. He stayed on Hollywood Street,
walking distance. We grew up together. We we was we
was moving around in the traffic together. You know, me
and Jail were really from the grid, from playing baseball
to the to the to the streets to executive weeks.
You know what I'm saying. So it was so sell

(22:45):
me and be Legit peeped it out. He was like,
this is boy trying to do his own thing. Man,
he sounded good. He gave us a cassette one day.
We're like this boy lightweight jam be Legit. Me and
be Legit looked at each other. It was like, man,
we need to go holiday them on some business. He
need we right right, right right. And we went to
dinner and and you know, he was like, let's go tonight. Yo.

(23:15):
I heard that ship and was wow. I was like yo.
But you got to understand you was motivating cats like
myself because we were stuck in rural areas in the South,
and it's just like, you know, we was either um,
you know, West Coast influence or at the time, New
York influence. So to get something else that was there
was more relatable to us. You know, we just started

(23:36):
to kind of understand who we were as a culture,
you know what I'm saying. Like we started to be like, okay,
we we we we could dress like this, we could
ride like that, we could talk like this, and we
don't feel you know, we don't feel like we're we're
off degree. But you know, we all wanted to be
like New York for as, the way the way they
dressed it, they was fresh. They got the fashion capital.

(23:59):
But then we we we say, man, you know, we
gotta be us. We gotta be us. We know that's
three ship. We gotta spit that ship. We gotta spit
that ship. We gotta give life lessons in it too.
Between spitting three ship, it's all shooting up pay But
I don't gonna I'm on his head, nigger. Yeah, we
know you're nigga the option. You understand men, nigga, you
know we scored and it's different. It's game involved. You

(24:20):
gotta put a game in why this happened, you know
how how you didn't want it to happen. But it
was mis misunderstanding. He didn't want to get on the
phone and holland nig you want to have on me,
niggas was It's just all kind of ship like you
gotta put the story with that ship. Got to be
a method to the madness that you spit. Man, you know,

(24:41):
and sometimes and and and and a message and and
a message and the takeaway definitely know what I'm saying. Man,
you've been doing a few years. I've been doing a
few years. Many of us mad, you know. Yeah, So
that's that's what. That's what that's when you you know,
you get As I get older, I get even wiser.
And when I was young, I was wise. I was
my piece like that, you know. Mmmm yeah. But to me,

(25:03):
it's just like when you think about music and like
it's the takeaway that made it real for me because
a lot of these things you can't read in the book,
and you can't you know, you can't go sit down
with somebody and they give it to you that raw.
So with the music, I learned a lot of this ship,
I know, you know, through music, you know, I learned
a lot of things just watching how Park you know,

(25:25):
put words together and what he stood on because I'm like,
oh he got you know, and a lot of those
things left with him as far as like morals in
the game and you know, certain things you shouldn't do
putting your people on, Like we didn't know all that
because you can't. You're not gonna get that from your uncle.
You're not gonna get that music, right. I learned a
lot of music too. I learned a lot from listening
to Public Enemy and down productions. I don't even know anything,

(25:49):
you know, Malcolm X, because they didn't teach us that
in school when I was growing up. You know, I
don't know who Malcolm mentionment is. And I'm a half
a hundred years old. I don't even know who he was.
And I got like, you know, eighteen years old when
I first heard her Bookie down Production, seventeen years old.
Seventeen eighteen years old, you know what I'm when I
was at Granda State University. The boys, you know, it's

(26:11):
always a message in Caress one. You know music, Bro,
that's that's a bad brother. I never did I got
my I got doing ad lib from him, Like yeah,
I was doing that back in the eighties. I got
it from Karen's one and then many others fun you
know yeah, like like myself, Like myself, I thought I
was the ad lib Can you doing ad libs in

(26:33):
the eighties? Man? That's crazy, But it's even crazy to
see how you like so, like you know when back
when John Little John and them was popular, like John
Man had it sold up, it was it was it
was solid, you know what I'm saying, Like there was
no club anywhere that you can go in and wasn't
playing Little John and what they hed going on, and

(26:54):
really Little John them kind of put Atlanta on the
map as far as a sound other than what Outcare
was doing. But I kind of people how you how
you kind of got in with them because it was
just like, you know, you was like a country cousin,
you know what I mean. And it was like I
kind of saw the play, but it was it kind
of shold me where you were there because a lot
of people from the Baby wasn't hooking up with Southern

(27:14):
artists like that, you know what I'm saying. So it
was like you was ahead of your head of the curve,
like you kind of just you know, many moons ago. Um.
It was a guy by the name of Greg Street. Um, yes, sir,
my god, that's my guy, sir, yes, sir yes. And
I'm out there in Dallas because I got Kim Folk
in Dallas and whatnot. And you know, me and Greg,

(27:38):
we was already Holland and nine he once, so we
had Federal. I had Federal out in de Ha. You
could call me on the if you need someone to
talk to, just down my number. He had that, and
I had um the Alan Federal. So he street said, man,
take to take the beat to the Federal and you know,
and and put and talk about all all the you know,

(28:01):
the neighborhoods and the soils around Dallas. And I did.
I talked about oak Clifton, you know, in good in
a good way. And he didn't. And it was called
six o'clock time for six o'clock. At six o'clock time
for three to rock like that, right debt put me in,
you know with Dallas because with it did? They played
that during his show every night. The next thing, you know,

(28:24):
me d shot shaking tea and and Vila came with
Captain Saborhoe right like right after, like after in nine
Greg three say this one boy, watch what I do
with this blew it up, blew it up out there
at nine box, yes, sir, the one. Because I used

(28:47):
to be in the South all the time. I used
to be out there with Little Jay Prince and them,
you know, with Ja Prince and um and you know
all the US square face, UM, you know all of
you know, DJ screw all in you understand me. Three
tune them in the convicts, you know, all them boys,
Big Mike and all of them. Man. I used to
be out there. Later on, I was still out there

(29:07):
with Paul Waldam and Chamellionaire. So I've always been looking
with the South overall and in Atlanta and stand me.
You know jazz Fabe. We've been rocking with jazz Faye
for many moments. People like jazz Faye. Um, you know
pim C. He moved to the he moved there. You
know who. He's out there with them. We got If
people listen, they'll find a lot of stuff. Eight B

(29:28):
on m j G that I was on the album's
way back. I'm on eight j G saying my hallway
it's A. It's A. It's a triple album. I was
it was called lost. I was on that. You know
what I'm saying. I've been rocking with the West for
many moons, with Nelly and all of them casts like
I've been. It's like I try to tell people, man,
it's bet it's more than I said. I'm I ain't

(29:49):
I ain't local, I'm global. Main it's it's bigger than
It's bigger than seven blocks and seven continents. You know
what I'm saying. Tell them go from me in Spain.
I love But the thing is, I love the way,
because even a lot of these casts you mentioned, and
that the clearly legends in that time. You know, the

(30:11):
thing that I think that separates from you from them
is you understand what gevity is about. And I don't.
I don't quite understand how you put it together. But
it's like, you know, forty is forty, Like you know it,
don't even it, don't swap. It's like and it's just
like you got a way to stay in the pocket
and stay and even when you even when you kind
of kick it with the youngsters, it's like you you

(30:31):
sound like you're comfortable, Like you don't you know what
I'm saying, Like you don't feel like you're forcing anything,
and just to have all those decades of gevity, you know,
it says something about you know, just the way you
set your your whole you know, just your whole thing
up because if you want, like even when I did together,
I was like, can't nobody talk like this, but you

(30:52):
I gotta reach out because ain't nobody else got that
much history that that understands what I'm trying to say,
you know what I mean. So I don't know what
it is, but I feel like I'm waiting on the book.
That's all' gonna say. I'm just waiting on the book
to each other. Bro, you know we know that want
of cornbread and porking beans. We talked that ship because
we're from it, right, You're from the air. What you know,

(31:15):
your mamma, pinch you. I'm gonna pitch you. Boy. You
know what I'm sat pinch you know what I like.
It's it's a different cloth we cut from. You know
what I'm saying. And I'm and I know I know that,
Like I know you anstand me every part of my body. Man,
I know this. Yeah, yeah, but I mean but you,

(31:35):
but but how did you? How did you? How did
you navigate just staying like relevant in pocket and not
sacrificing anything. So you know, you know what we gotta do.
It's like it's like getting up the back. You know.
You gotta keep your eye on the ball because you
don't know if it's gonna throw you a curve drop,

(31:58):
you understand me, a fastball, whatever, you just gotta You
don't know if they fit the BAF and it hit you,
You're not gonna be ready to duck if a dude
depending on nothing but you. You gotta keep eye, keep
your eye on the ball, because it's all about turn
with the times. Are the times gonna turn on you?
Or I should say with the times, are the times
gonna change on you? Because what happens is, you know, um,

(32:20):
you could do all this stuff music, with the with
the with the slaps, all the slaps that you funk with.
If you're a real artist like you, you know how
to funk up. You've been on the up Temple slaps
with us, you know what I'm saying. You was on
the remix that was some big ship. But you did it,
your wife, you don't sound out of place. It's all
about real artists gonna be able to adjust to any

(32:41):
particular kind of beat. I don't given and that's me.
And you can still be you by adjusted to them beasts.
But just be you find that pocket, be you spit
your ship, you know what I'm saying. And so I
went from you know, don't get it sucked up. Mob
music is my ship. I love my music. I got
a song out called right Now getting great reaction, you

(33:02):
know what I'm saying, video and on and the falcon,
a green falcon with with zenas and vols. Yeah, you
know you know what I'm saying, we'reving and we up temple.
We're doing it all. So that's it. That's just keep
rounding the ball, and that's how you stay relevant and
keep and if you keep throwing ship at the wall,
eventually that's that's ship on stick. And you gotta just

(33:23):
fold on like a hubcap in the fast length. Even
even when the rug was took from the Bay Area,
it was podcast the West Post kind of like you know,
the rug was like and the South took over, like
you know what I'm saying, which which is no problem,
but you know me, the Watermelon already was working with
the South because we family, you know what I'm saying.
So I'm funk with the South cast. I'm on. I'm

(33:45):
on Master Peena, I'm on cash, money, backers and albums.
I'm on all. Then mind we're rocking because we always
take one another, you know what I'm saying. So that's
how we That's how I did it. And then when
it's your turn when to come back around, just be
right when the ball, when the ball when coming to
you and you're trying to you know, you know, catch
that shi and receive it right right right, say stay ready,

(34:08):
you ain't gotta get red, Damn man. I respect that.
It's crazy too, because I always felt like just even
going back to sick with it watching your semi five
deal and even to now see you if they're sipping
it looks like you're sipping on some of that that
forty wine, you know, the Earl Stevens. Know what I'm saying, Um,

(34:32):
I like your business, bro, Like I love the music,
but I love the business because you know, it's all
funny games and to everybody find out the guys in
the soups work for somebody like yourself, for the Scully
and I love that. And it's crazy too, just not
to mention because I just left napping myself, and when
I was out there, it's actually my first time really

(34:53):
getting to go and see what was going on. When
I was looking all the wine nions and I'm just
watching everything and I'm going, damn, like, this's a real thing.
Got that? So for you to already be plugged in
it makes a lot of sense. But it says a
lot about you, you know what I'm saying. It says
that you got out there and you and you talked
about these different drinks and the slurry, the hurricanes and

(35:14):
all the stuff you was doing and then you just
put it all together and it goes with the brand
of who you are today because that you've grown, you flying,
you know what I'm saying, and you and you get it.
But now you gotta wine with your name or that.
I come on, man, you grew up like I grew up.
We go to frigerator, ain't nothing, And now how you
get your own wine? You know what I'm saying. You know,
just like you know wants you see want you in it?

(35:37):
You in it. So what I've learned, especially being an entrepreneur,
when they say, you know, when they say black excellence
and when they say black entrepreneurs, and you know by black,
I'm the epitome of that because that's me. I'm that,
I'm the you know that's me one thousand percent because
I'm the I'm the I'm probably one of the few.

(35:58):
I don't know how many of us they got that
my own tequila straight from police school mare he called
that's on one by me. Okay, um, my own coney
act from Corneak, France. That's on one by me. That's
Tycoon Cone and put into tequila. That's not tequila out
of Jalisco, Mexico. That's all one on by me. Equadinta

(36:20):
means e forty in Spanish. You know, um tycoon. I've
been screaming at tycoon words since I was you know,
ankle low to a centerpiece toe. You know, my first
entered the rap game. You understand what I'm saying. So
then you got and then I got. Now I got
my own and I got my own wine. So what
happened was, you know, being being next door to Napae

(36:44):
what I'm saying, I'm talking five minutes outside of Nappa
bro v Leo, California. We got the same area called
seven oh seven. You know, I mean, it was only
right to to make my own wine, you know. And
I started off selling wine online and then one thing
led to another next thing, you know, you know, the

(37:04):
descributor I hooked up. I went to go meet a
distributor called Southern Glaziers Wine and Spirits and a brother,
a guy by the name of Steve hart Steve Harton,
which is a great guy. And he accepted my meeting.
He liked it. The wine he brought me in, you know,
for distribution. So you know, at first I've started off.
I saw my first palette, a palette that's fifty six

(37:27):
cases with twelve bottles in the case. Cases to food
for lesson vallel booth for us is a chain. They
have a whole bunch of them in um southern California
as well. I think they got like a hundred fifty
of them. But so that was that was my first palette. Okay, bam.
So the guidess in charge of my portfolio, my boy Kevin.

(37:48):
He said, Earl watched one day, we're gonna come pick
up a whole truckload of your wine. Watch man. They
did that in no time, Bro. They did that probably
like three weeks later. That's how big that the man was.
They do. You know truck loads Now, truckload is twenty
one pallets to each palace cases on the palace. So

(38:08):
it's a thousand, thousand fifty pretty much a thousand cases
per truck load. You understand what I'm saying. So in
each truck load, it's it's you know, it's a it's
a lucrative business when you when you yeah, absolutely, I mean, listen,
I don't care what you got a truck load up,
whatever you got if it's right right right. I just

(38:33):
I think I think that I mean, I'm gonna use
the word I think that's fascinating because it's just like
you just take you know, how to take the land
and eat off the land, whether it's you know, making
the music that the culture understands, of figuring out ways
to you know, just to to to to to expand
your portfolio. Even like being in being in the Bay

(38:57):
and being close to San Francisco and making the Microsoft investment.
It's just like I would have never put the two
and two together back then to be like, yo, this
is the same guy that was telling me don't save him,
but he making Microsoft, Like tell me what to tell
me what that's about? Like I get when I did
Microsoft that I didn't. I didn't catch it when I

(39:20):
wanted to, when when everybody else when it really but
you know what I'm saying, I just wanted to get
in it because I thought that's the only one I
knew of, you know, So that wasn't that wasn't that
didn't turned out to be such a big you know,
such a big return for me, you know, but I
did it. That was the beginning, and you always gotta
start from somewhere as we know. So I did it

(39:42):
and next thing, you know, Um, I ended up later
on years later, you know, because I did you know,
I did clubs and half that. Did you ever come
to my club ambassador's lounge. I wouldn't. I wouldn't doubt it,
right ever used to light as fast forward and ended

(40:05):
up um doing environament, doing like not a vitamin water,
but doing a water called forty water with my man Kobe.
He had highie energy, drink, beverages and ship you know.
But I had Cordy handle all that because I was
new to it, like you know, and so so on
the fourth and so going past that, Um, I ended
up doing, you know, of course, buying a whole bunch
of property by the houses, you know, and I fixed

(40:30):
them up. But at the same time I would buy
new development, new houses and in new development areas right
whether it was stopt in Sacramento over layout, you know
what I'm saying me like all over the Bay Area,
and I would, Um, I sit on some houses when
they brand new, I sit them into into it, you
know it, rise up, make my profit on that and

(40:50):
didn't sell it. Then a lot of times I would
have a property management handle the house that had um
session eight you know what I'm saying, and the property
man as my team or pay me. They collect all
the money every month. That was a beautiful thing. How
are you? How are you coming up with all this?
Like and you doing music and staying relevant at the
same time, like it was a team this you getting

(41:12):
up saying, you know what, I need to go buy
full or five houses to flip. I was later so,
but going back with me and my brother had a
clothing store, Me and d Shot nineteen eighty nine, ninety
and ninety one. You know what I'm saying. We had
a clothing store on Salano Avenue and Valeo called New
Fat Clothing. Next door to us was Davenport. You know,

(41:35):
they did taxes, so they came intore one day. My
man Keith Towns. He was like Earl, you know, he
always spending with us. He always coming in and buying
some clothes and really supporting the black business. We want
we're teenagers, right, really coming in there supporting black business.
And uh he was like, man, who do y'all taxes?
And I say, um right, he said, man, let's beat Tom.

(42:04):
You come in here with the white and myself and
you and let's sit down and talk, you know. And
they even doing my taxes every since, you know, for
thirty some years. Right, So then you got UM. You
also have a man, Dave Dave Dave Souls. He he's
a you know, he helped build a lot of big developments.
You know. Uh, he had a lot to do with

(42:24):
me getting all my property and stuff like that. He
laced me like that too. You know what I'm saying.
They always I was just I just listened to all
of O g s. You know what I'm saying. You're
right right with that whole shopping sitting. It was that
the whole um shopping mall area on that one street
right across street from Churches Chicken in Millersville. So you
had to check cashing on the corner right there, you

(42:47):
had UM. You had us next door to the check cashing,
and then you had rich Arts Barbershop. Then right next
doing the rich Arts barbershop, you had Studio Tone. Studio
studio Tone. You know you ever had a studio tone,
the one who made Captain save a Whole and who
yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah. We were So

(43:08):
I take my little change that I'm making over a
new fat clothing and I go drop a little deposit down,
say studio tone. I just need like four hours, bro,
he said, Okay, give me the puns right quick, and
I come down there. I have my lyrics already written
while I'm in the store behind the cash register. I'm
back there writing at the same time to listen to
the music, you know what I'm saying, and so already
should already written. So when I go in there that

(43:28):
fo I was, I'm knocking out four or five songs
at once. Songs. Yeah, I had a lot, and I
was straight from you know what I'm saying right. You know,
this is a trip, all of it all unfolded, man.
You know it's a trip. Man. I got so many
stories they're speaking of that, like, um, this book of slang,

(43:48):
is is it together? Is it coming out? What's going
over you? Hell of pages? Like I can go. I
probably go upstairs and go find a big gas book
of that, and I probably think they need to go
pull it out because I know some words in there
that I ain't even be saying. And I need to
sign because it's it's unlimited game and it's in it's
ahead of its time, it's futuristic. You know a lot

(44:11):
of people like you know. I don't know if you've
seen my frustration a little bit on versus when I
was just I hate how it's so many games goofy
as motherfucker's out there that really just think I'll be
talking crazy like I don't really know what I'm saying,
and all my words really be meaning some ship and
it's really I'm put my little twist to a lot
of it, but it's real ship, and it's too much
game for their brank that they lame bro when I

(44:32):
say that it's over here, like Zo, it really is
over the here, like the blood, remember the blue they
got they gotta be like but but you got you
gotta be. You gotta be from that to understanding. That's
what make coaches dope because it's just like you. When
I went to New Orleans, I was just like, oh, okay,
that's a real thing. Because when I heard, you know,

(44:53):
Juvie and all them guys talking like that, I was like,
what the hell. But when I went to New Orleans, like, oh,
I get it. And it's crazy because I say that
out respect, because I love Bob Marley. I listened to
his music, you know, and I always felt like he
was legendary. But the minute I went to where he
was from, which is seven mile of Jamaica, is up
in the mountains whatever, and I got around his people,
the people that really grew up with him, and I

(45:14):
just watched how they live and what they've done and
how they talked about him. I got it instantly. The
things that he talked about was their way of life.
We just took it his music. So if you didn't
get whether it was coming from and get how, you
know they really smoked. The guns are to just kind
of release because they worked so hard and they grind
so because you go to Jamaica, everybody grinding, grandma's kids everything.

(45:34):
So it's just like what they celebrate through is the
music and and and it's not about just being rich.
It's about being rich and hard. And that's what he
was kicking. So if you don't, if you if you're
not from that soil, and you don't understand that part
of the coaching, right you just going through the music,
so where you coming from, it's just like, you know,
the the young cat with all the game, that's the

(45:54):
one that's leading the pack you know what I'm saying,
that's the one that got that confidence and he talking
the way he's talking, and that's what are we following
because be like DN, he knows something that we don't know.
And what I did see, um, going a little bit
back to the verses, is that you know what you
in short did for that error in that time was
was so real because everybody that you guys were raising

(46:16):
and it was listening to what you was doing and
living that got a chance to live that, you know
what I'm saying, got a chance to be that that
night and celebrate, celebrate the slag, celebrate the terminology, celebrate
the times in in the era. You know what I mean.
And I commend you and um short for even yeah
he feeling. I saw some things online. I was tripping there.

(46:39):
I saw one guy dance with his baby. I was like,
you know, he gotta be for me. His open to
a lot of people love that boy. Man. Everybody in
there they love they love everybody that was in that video.
And explain explain to us, like why why that was
such Because I got a lot of partners from the
bay and it's crazy to I got a lot of
partners from Detroit. Did did connect with y'all. It's almost

(47:00):
like y'all y'all like cousins. But explain, you know, to
the people why that was so such a big moment
in history and town, because that was the stuff we
took him back to was when, um, you know, when
some of the people that was listening was living the
lifestyle of the stuff we was talking and they can

(47:23):
relay easy. They can relate like this nigger this when
I was sitting on two hundred thou Wow, you know
what this this mentality? You know, then you got some
little you got some ysters. There was like dadny I
remember you used to slap this. This was your one

(47:45):
right here, you know, years old. Now you know what
I'm saying. More you know what I'm saying. So it's
like and then you know, even with the when I
when we start turning up to the up up temples
and some of the um you know, the hype music
and shift. A lot of yannsters grew up on that
ship like that, the college cancer like some of the
best times. So you know, I always say one thing

(48:06):
about myself and too short. We were able to, you know,
be be part of every generation of hip hop effort.
You know, I was too young, like you know, eight
years old or something in the seventies, you know, come
out or whatever, you know, but every part of the
hip hop, every every every trend, every era of hip

(48:26):
hop adjust to it. We were able to adjust to
the times. And you know from the mob music, the
g From area and even before that, you know, the
Blackfish area. You know we had African Dowons and everything.
You know, you know all that, man, you know, it's
just like you gotta, you gotta. You can't let grass
grow under your feet. I tell him off, like, ain't

(48:46):
never sitting steel. Hell, you can't let the grass grow
in the year. You gotta stay moving. You know, comet
still but a broken down bottel you feel yea, man,
We're gonna keep it moving. We gonna do it. You
know I'm talking about man. But see, it's crazy because
you just said that. I understood everything you said. But

(49:08):
it's gonna be some people out there that's gonna clearly
that game game googy. I love it. So you you
intended to uh HBCU, Like, what how does that go? Man?
How does ford go to college? Like? Explain this to me?
Like that my life well, I learned so much and everything, man,

(49:33):
you know, And I didn't go through the whole five
years or our four years. I went one year and
that's when I went. In the fall of eight s
eighties seven came back. That's when we made m VP.
We went straight to the studio most players, that's what
it came out. So anyway, um, I went to college.
So check this out. I have. I'm gonna be honest
with you. You know, one thing I wanted back when

(49:55):
we if you didn't pass in the twelfth grade, if
you didn't pass, that was very embarrassing. Like if you
didn't pass, if you from your government class, you ain't
you ain't graduating. So that was embarrassing. So me and
my partners on magazine Shore, we all get together go
to the library, like nigga, we ain't going out like that, nigger,
y'all go, y'all go to therary. We went to the

(50:15):
library back then, Yeah, to do for that particular era,
just for that little government class. Right. We didn't have
Google with ship like that. Just looks up some ship
graduated in nineteen five. I was seventeen years old. It
wasn't because I was hell of smartness. Just my birthday
was November. I'm a spl so it fell on the

(50:37):
right day. So I gratulated, you know, but I don't
want to. I wasn't for the funk man. I said, man,
we're gonna pass our government class man. And I did it.
So anyway, I had enough, you know, I had enough
um my great point alsum was enough to get into
Grandma State University. I wasn't gonna go at first. I
didn't have no clue to even go. But Bevila, you know,
beat the people don't know Beata streets mark. He's street

(51:01):
smart and he's got smart. He's soiled all away one.
But he also, like many others, are very smart up here,
you know what I'm saying. So Bieler pulled up one day,
he was like, man, you know the next month, next month,
me and Dion were from we were going to Graham
State University. I say, Grandma State University. He just yeah,

(51:22):
I said, and he just uh. I say, nigga, you
ain't gonna leave me. Nigga, Hold up, she said, she said,
I called I got aunt that stay up there right. Uh.
She actually was a teacher at Gramma State University. You know,
I didn't like I didn't. We didn't realize this year.

(51:42):
I didn't realize that, you know what I'm saying. So anyway,
I get up there. I didn't get up there, I'll
say I wouldn't. Got my transcript from Hogan High. And
then I got in there. I got into Graham. You know.
We stayed with my my, my, my great great ground,
my great grandmama. Her name was mine ylv. You said,
we so all, y'all stay, I tell you, yeah, so

(52:03):
we how can be just mustang at that time? Right?
And we go we uh we d We drove up there.
And at that time, I was seventeen. I'm I'm I
ain't gonna lie. I didn't know how all my cars
was automatics. I didn't know how to drive a stick.
I didn't know. I don't you know motherfucker's He asked me, Am,
I gonna get in because I funk with all the
bike club all the casts in the bike clubs. Right,

(52:26):
get your motorcycle. Man, you're gonna put your Harley. I say,
hell no, I don't a motorcycle. Everything automatic, nigger. I'm saying,
I gave me a motherfucking Harley truck, nigga Harley and
the last you know, I'd be in there. Yeah, that's
I get in the club. I get like that. But

(52:46):
I was like, so I didn't know. I saw dud
Dion and Um and Bela drove up there while I'm
in the back seat, and I'm just every motherfucking city.
I'm like, nigga stopped by the liquor stuff. Nigger right,
I'm just drinking. Was getting you get the Arizona. At
that time, I had a perm a perfect here. My

(53:07):
wife ad did it because she went to Kenneth College
and Valet to do hair. Your white So your wife
did you? Yeah, it was a perm as a bro
Lord Jesus perm I don't fly, my nigga. My baller
Billy started kicking in later on as I got older,
you know, dollar life. Hello, it's right, that's I get

(53:30):
the ground. I get the Arizona. My boy, D. I say, man,
you might as well cut it, my nigga, you might
well cut it, because you know, he wasn't hating, he
was CONGRATULATD. He just he just said, because you know,
they think a little different up here, and you know
in the South Niga, California, niggas they're be thinking. You
know what I'm saying, Nigga, you unerstand me, You stand me?
You know like that right, And I'm like, man, you
know what fun I'm gonna cut it because it's gonna

(53:52):
be hell of hot out there. You know, I ain't
got nobody to really take care of my perm because white.
You know what I'm saying. I said, I cut this
it right there in Arizona, a broken down hotel. Right,
So when you know I'm there, I get in line.
I get it. We we okay, we get up there.
We stayed with my mom myum my great grandmother, Mommy Elie,

(54:14):
and she's in Bernice, Louisiana, and she would get up
and go to work. She was like eighty something at
that time every morning. So we were there for three
days at her house, me Dean and me Dean Davis
and and be legit. We stayed there and she had
hell of food that she had a freezer and she
had a frigerator in her freezer. It was ship like
you know fry. It was chicken patties that you're just

(54:36):
putting the oven and ship like I ain't never seen
no ship like that she had. I'm like, when you
eat everything that deep freezer broke with all the kind
of beauties up in that thing, she said, up behind yourself.

(54:57):
Her house was fireless. It was a small little house,
spotless done. So we stayed there for three days. We
went to um. We had we knew we had to
get like cooking utensil. So I got me this little
pope to cook my noodles here because I love top
Roman noodles and Vienna saws that I chopped them up
tout the Vma saws in the top Roma noodles make
stay there pretty much, you know. And you know what

(55:19):
I'm saying, oysters and ship like that, crackers and tuna,
and you understand me. And so then I had got
this little friar this at a roma sale. We stopped
by rubber sale. Everybody got out. We got everything we
needed at this one room and sale nigger yard sale,
you know what the rubber sales right or yard sale sale.
We got one fire. That's friar. Was the dopest little

(55:42):
fire you plug in the wall ever in life, because
every Friday was cool. Starting my making every Friday nigga,
I was making all the chicken legs and we called
it the carnival. I mean fried chicken legs make the
whole dorm, and the whole dorm with niggers down there
living it up there. For the half out of the carnival,
we had Hello lecor you know what I'm saying, like

(56:04):
dominoes the whole when you take a long story short,
the short story long. I stayed at my We stayed
at my grandmama's house for three days, um, and then
then it was time to go. Uh. We was registering
at that time. Then it was trying to go into
our dorms. So I stayed in Drew Hall, and then
my boy Waldo Binnsworth, Dion and be legit State of Pittsburgh.

(56:24):
I think Dion stayed in the baseball dorm because he
played for the baseball team. You know what I'm saying.
I went that one year. Well let me just say this, nigga,
we got into a fight. Nigga, Oh, we got to
a fight. I'm at the student union right and um
at Grammar. And while I'm there, Alfred Payton it's something

(56:49):
instnd of play for the NBA. My nigger and Alfred
went to the pros. So me and just a trip
Elfred nigga. We had um we at the student union,
and it's just like the jail house. He on the phone, right,
and um here on there for hell alone. You know,
I'm a California nigga with a California mentality. My nigga,
go to the phone, my nigga phone check on. He

(57:16):
was here too long. I say, like, hold on, hold on,
waldy who back in right? Hold on? Hold on? Straight
from New Orleans? He passport us, right, nigga's a be legit,
come through. Just say, nigga, niggas ain't doing number barking

(57:37):
like that, right, he seen he's seen this Oregon. He
come through. Niggas ain't doing nothing but barking. Took off
on it right, came at me, nigga come long as
big as nigga. I had an upper We didn't. It
wasn't no beat down on either one of our side, right,

(57:57):
it was you. And then we made it outside and
so hitting everybody, breaking it up. So now I got
funk with the New Orleans niggers right right. And so
it's a nigga named Reggie Pugh from Oakland. He said
he stayed in my dorm. He just he said something.
He said like a cock down to my room. He
just when I sat and I went up to his room,

(58:18):
he just he was already a junior like he knew
all of the the Orland niggas and everybody right then. Nigga,
just homeboy from the town. My nigga. I know you've
got a little thing and ship stay on me. But Nigga,
I got your back, Nigga. I know a last one
of these nakes, nigga, and we're gonna get them up again. Nigga.
You know what I'm saying, I haven't met in my life.

(58:41):
You're ready ready for the he with anybody. Everybody he was.
He didn't had no prouse with him, none of that.
He just had my back back of the suit. You
know what I'm saying. It's so you know, we hybernate,
you understand me. I'm doing my little pushing up and
shot like that. Nigga, I'm shadow boxing. I'm really you know,

(59:04):
training like I wasn't to play. But anyway, so with
cut check this out. So look so so damn Okay.
It was a night when we had to really get
down and we had Hella California niggas. That was we
was at a gym and it was um what you
call it when not not a cop like a It
was like a block party. I was in the gym though,

(59:26):
you know what I'm saying. And so you know, Hella
California niggas was there, Big California nis from l A
all over place. The niggas all act like they had
our back, right, hell of New Orleans niggas sitting mind you,
all the New Orleans niggas was clicked up with all
the bad ruge niggas, big Africans, my niggative right. Look,

(59:50):
so check this out. This is this is this is
a fool right here. This is a movie. So you know,
so we end up getting in, we end up hitting.
Um we had the squad one on one I had,
I had him he had and then my nigga na
r I p no that cav he had passed away
a few years later um uh and then um my

(01:00:10):
nigga being legit. It was just up. But when we
was walking to the spot by the baseball doing, when
we were when we meet, we when we met for
the battle, Um nigga, hell of Hell of California was
with us, like a hundred of us nigga as we
started walking the way, you know, just right for me

(01:00:32):
le know that Kevin and and Reggie Pew. That's it,
my nigga, that we got him up. It was over
so quick by fiddles hurt because he wasn't bruised up, understand,
but we so we just nigga, fuck that nigga. And
I'm a California nigga and I'm straight from the motherfucking
soil with the ship shit right. We took pstrels up there,

(01:00:54):
my nigga, Grondlin State University. I'm like Nick Pistol. So
we go there be up and we up on the
floor up there. Nig is down there and uh, I say,
Nick doing me and nigga on everything, eighteen year old

(01:01:18):
forty waterhead right, and so I'm walking, I'm gonna walked
down and just no, no, Beetle just saved my life.
I'm probably be in prison. He just no, no, no,
what's shoot out the window? So we opened up. We
started stooting in the air and bust. We just started shooting. Man,

(01:01:40):
old cap the old camp is like yo, the bathing
like crazy, right, check this out. Now, Look it's like God.
The meantime while we mayor Nate's daying low right, you
know we we we we hooked up with um I
think his name Jay, Yeah, Jay. He had a big
boom box and we took Original Concept beat um dr

(01:02:02):
Dre now Big dr Dre and ed lover Um not
dr Dre from the South from from from the West
coast dr Dre from the East coast. They was called
Original Concept. They had a song called Knowledge made Oh
may don't know I'm talking about looted it. And then

(01:02:25):
we said my potler wabble Benz worked from Oakland, him
and and Bila. They was like, we need to make
a song. We need to we need to name ourselves
the drifters or something, because we used to always talking
about NIGGI over there drifting, you know what I'm saying.
That's like just tweaking, like just drawing and just like
when we're drinking and ship. Like we was like, so
we called ourselves intellectual drifters, right, just some ship. We

(01:02:45):
just made it up, you know what I'm saying. So
we we had Graham we uh, we end up making
that we made a school I'm a matera. We made
the school I'm a mad as a rap song because
they didn't have It was just like Dear Ram whatever
it was at the time. We made that ship Hit Nigga.
We talked about everything that went down on Gramley campus,
like every We talked about all the classes. You know,

(01:03:07):
how legendary Eddie Eddie Robinson was like all this ship like,
we talked about everything, the history of ground. We talked
about the band, you know, one of the most world
renowned bands. You know what I'm saying all that the
cassette started surfacing all around the motherfucking um campus. The
cassette people was dubbing Cassette because we was getting famous.

(01:03:28):
Naga then hit him to Um hit come to Um.
What you call that? The the Talent Show. We entered
the Talent Show, me Walter Bensworth and be Legit Nigga.
We get out there Nigga, and we saw that song, Nigga,
and we won the contest. We won the whole Talent show, Nigga.
When we walked outside, Nigga, we signed it. I grasped

(01:03:48):
niggas we represented you know, you became real friends and
you know, and later just recently, right before covid Man,
I'm at the airport, Um, I'm at the airport. Man
and and so, I said, man, who they gave me

(01:04:10):
a number to call to pick me up. So the
dude that that arranged everything, um he said, he said,
He said, man, I'm gonna sin, I'm fnna sin uh
somebody to pick you up. And he had no idea
about anything, right, he just knows that I want the grammar.
You understand me? And uh and we they honored me.

(01:04:31):
They honored me. You don't know at the time. You
know what I'm saying. The honored me at that event
right before Codd in New Orleans, Me and my wife
went to to to New Orleans and so then uh,
I go out, he said, folty man, uh my name,
I'm picking you up and we at. I just who
is this? He said? Mano man folded listen, man, you
man pholted you for the trip. Foty right he put.

(01:04:55):
I walked outside. He he said, pholt to this ever
it I'll say, right, nigga that nigga, big ass hug
nigga like you guys seen you in Helly He was nigga.
Man this he said this Elfred man, nigga car. We're

(01:05:16):
getting to call my wife getting the car. I say, hey, nigga.
I say, nigga, you see this lady right here, this
the girl, the woman I was checking you about. Nigga,
she just my high school sweet part. Nigga. That's why
you gotta put it all over the la. Yeah, he said,
you say, I know, And he said, you see this
woman right here, this on the phone, right here, this

(01:05:37):
I'm talking that he had it. He had heard. He
had his girl on the phone. He was on the
phone with her when I was checking. So we saw
that on it was silent, so it's a trip, so
we you know, it was just like, man, I love
that dude. Man. It's like because even during that time
we were people don't know. I was one of the
one of the New Orleans niggas that I that. That

(01:05:59):
was one of the niggas that I got into it
with that were part of the New Orleans Baton Rouge team.
Was Jubilee. Jubilee is a legendary uh do do do.
Jubilee had all the gigs too, like he could dance
and ship. But also Jubilee was a DJ like it
have songs like Jubilee was a rapper with all of

(01:06:20):
you know, all the bounce music and ship like he
legendary out there and right before so that night Jubilee
came too, so I got paid through me Jubilee and
Elfred you know and everything. He was like, you know
my son and the NBA, Elfred Elford Payton Jr. I'm like, wow,
it's crazy. I'll just id just going off. Ever, but

(01:06:42):
to this a lot of others, man, we got each other.
Contact is never love love. I gotta ask you before
we go though. When you was at your grandmother's house,
you went in that deep free and you was cooking
these patties and stuff that you saw. Did that inspire you?
Because I checked you out of there from time to

(01:07:03):
time and I'm damn pestontarian, but you be having me
on the backslide? And did this goon from goon with
a spoon start from? Because now I'm cooking, so I'm
watching Eat Audio, the cooking show, just so you know
here we come, you feel me? But where did that
come from? Bro? Like? Because I just feel like I

(01:07:24):
got one of my partners you tell me is a
stress reliever, Like he just cooked you like what you
on Mexican This that another. But I just sit there
and want you and put it together I'm like, damn,
that's crazy, right on, man, Yeah, I got I know
some cooks. I know some bona fide you know, Michelin
Star cooks that be like they say they when they
see me on the ground, like their wives will be

(01:07:44):
on there and they'd be like, maybe why you don't
never make this for me? Look, they tell me the
ship I like, I like to cook ship that I
know that's gonna be good, you know what I'm saying. Like,
so anyway, um so um me being the olders of

(01:08:04):
four moms, you know, she worked. My mom and my
dad divorced when I was eight and a half years old,
so I was older. That was I was eight, d
Shot was six, Sugar Team was four, and young Muggsy
was too, so I was I had to take Madison
into my own hands. Though my daddy never deserted us.
He paid child support like he was a post to everything,
and we would go visit him every other weekend, you

(01:08:27):
know what I'm saying. And he you know, he didn't
run away from us. I love my pops, you know
what I'm saying. But we was on but you know,
he paid his child for it, but it wasn't enough
for what we needed done because we were Hella athletic.
We played baseball, football all that ship, all of the
three boys, you know what I'm saying. And even Sugar
Tea she played softball all that ship. She was involved
with all the community, ship everything. So you know, moms,

(01:08:48):
you know she worked two or three jobs were over
there on the hillside, now you know what I'm saying.
And so I had to be like the man of
the house, you know. And you know, even though Sugar
could cook and everything, but she was so young. You know,
Masa cooked, I was cook. I was just learned how
to cook and ship like that was my little specialty.
All of us not how to cook because you know,
it's just like you know, a lot of neggas. When
you're from a soil, you just gotta know how to
cook certain things. So I started getting all the way

(01:09:09):
involved in it as I got older. You know, I
worked with this restaurant, Me and be Legit d Shot.
We was jump. It was in Venicia, California. It was
called the Commandos Restaurant. And I started love washing dishes,
you know what I'm saying. And then I ended up
working at the pantry. Then I started learning how to
cook a scargo, Um, London broil, um, you know, lobster, lobster,
biscu um, you know, chicken Gordon blue. You know what

(01:09:32):
I'm saying. Ship like that, you know, and became in
my mind, you know, a Michelin star share so he so, so,
my my mother in law and twenty fourteen, my mother law,
my father in law brought me um brought me a
power of pressure cooking. And then from then on I
was like this ship, this ship going crazy, like you

(01:09:53):
cook some chicken in their motherfucking that ship falling off
the bone and make it through the gumbo and all
kind of hour on short rings. You know what I'm saying, Like,
I'm like, this ship crazy. So so you know, being
from the soil, you know, you know, you know I'm

(01:10:13):
over the stove. That's why I'm sloping. I had a
stone kind of over the stove, you know what I'm saying.
So you know, um so be legit. You know. One
of the things he would say, he would google with
the spoon. I got it from Legit. But when we
were saying that, we were talking about the streets, and
you know what I'm saying. But I was like, you
know what what can I call this to? You know,

(01:10:35):
when I'm cooking, I just started hashtag and good with
the spoon because really I'm a Google, but I'm but
the kitchen make cooking and make cooking real soil related
like hood related, like we know what you mean. But
at the same time, he we know what you mean
about the kitchen. He really is in the cooking up
and ship. I touched it into that now now I
got I touched it into that. Now I got food

(01:10:57):
products coming out under the Google oh, like like hot
links and breados and all kind of ship like you know,
jerky and soups and ice cream and all kind of
ship I got coming out under the gum with the spoom. Man. Congratulations, man,
I just want to take the time to tell you, bro,

(01:11:17):
like I commend you on youngevity. I commend you on
the way that you stay solid and you just you
know you you leave without saying too much and and
and you know, we love you, bro, like we we like.
I remember a long conversation I had with you and
Snoop that really got me back on track. When we're
shooting the video, you guys put me to the side
and just kind of told me like, yo, man, listen, bro,

(01:11:39):
like you gotta do what you say you're gonna do
and stay solid. And we just commend you man, and
and and and I'm gonna keep watching I hit you
up there. They had to tell you, like, look, whatever
you're doing is looking good on you. Bro. You know
what I'm saying. You're looking younger, you you're talking better,
and um, you know we're gonna support you into the end.
And I thank you for stopping through the rest. Some

(01:12:00):
podcasts take some time out of date hang with us,
and um, you know, congratulations on on the verses, congratulations
on the project you just dropped, and uh, you know
we're gonna rock with you, baby, eat funds and really
recording was a legendary for its Alute both of y'all
for so thank you for stopping by the Recessing podcast
forty y'all love my brother anybody already Thanks for listening

(01:12:30):
to The Recession Podcast by Jeez, a production of Black
Effect and Our Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit the
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