November 15, 2024 • 37 mins
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
Stephen A. is joined in-studio by rapper/singer-songwriter Cordae to discuss his life, career, and new album," Crossroads."
Cordae is in a completely different space in life, and he tackles that perfectly on “Crossroads.” He’s a father now and his baby’s mother is a tennis superstar, a subject he touches on throughout the album.
Support the show: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenasmith
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I love Jim Carry, but then with yes men, I
need honest ears. When in the studio turned down the
movie roll to finish the album, I pray the outcome
it's gun Clinton bigsbyat I'm tooken out of the hood,
carrying water, chopping the wood.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
But you're gonna always have motion if the product is gun.
Lord knows.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
It's crazy how I can just text holes and run
plays on the weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It's more than just exos. When I dropped my.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
First album was nervous my chest pros play's.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Gonna be executed like on death.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Row bought a new CRIBA that is an s pro come.
I credit sCOD Low as my self esteem, but I grow.
It's a yellow beam. When I glow, I have mellow dreams.
When I smoke to my fellow kids, keep the whole.
I think, Yllo, heaned up, wokeme this moment, acting wow
like a black of mind. We smoked the opponent. I
prayed in hope for this moment. And if I'm posting.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Out own, that's fine right there, Yeah, that's all right there.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
I appreciate that. I like that, Yes, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
What's going on in one of the only core days
here in the house with your Shirley stephen A. Smith Man.
That's Saturday? Is that what that was?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yes, sir, Saturday mornings.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Right, Saturday mornings. First of all, it's good to see you,
my man. It's been a while. How you doing?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Likewise, brother, I gotta say too, Man, you know I've
been I would like to think I'm an early guest
of the stephen A.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Smith Show, our early friend. You had quite a lot
of upgrades in this thing, my brother. It looks amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
It was great to start off with. Don't get me wrong,
it was. It was already amazing, but now I was like,
oh shit, like, okay, I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I appreciate it. I aim to please.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I aim to please.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Talk to me about you and where you feel you
are right now in your career. Things seem to be
going real well for you. Just twenty seven, you making
things happen. How you feeling about things right now?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Man? I feel great, bro, Like I'm really blessed, and
I'm sure you can relate to this.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Of like I've always had this mindset and still do
about just like, all right, what's next? What's the next
barrier to break? Through what's the next level. It's just
even something amazing, shit just happening. I'm already thinking about
like what's next, how do I take this to the
next level? But like right now, I think I've been
find that balance between just like staying consistent, working really hard,
but just also like being present, you know what I'm saying,
(02:14):
and just like, Yo, I'm just really blessed.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Like I set out and did a lot of things
that I wrote down that I wanted to do.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Still a lot more to do, but I say all
this to say, just presently, just very happy. Like my
manager was just telling me, He's like, yo, you know,
you sold like twelve million, twelve million.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I was getting ready through out the one of one
of the awards, well won of Grammy, right mery My Bad,
My Bad, My Bad, that nominated for Grammy, nominated for
Grammy one of they sold about twelve million. I mean
most people ain't doing that right now, How do you
think you've pulled that off?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know what, bro? One, I give all glory to God, honestly.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Two, I don't know, man, I'm blessed because like selling
music and tour, I'm even more than like the twelve
million records sold. I'm really proud of like being able
to sell out a tour, you know what I'm saying,
Because like now it's streaming and streaming to like numbers equivalent,
it gets a little tricky, like I don't really know.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Like back in the day, it's like when.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Niggas sold twelve million records because twelve million motherfuckers went
to the store and bought the shit. Now it's like
streaming equivalents is weird. But with a show, it's like
a five step process. In order to go to a show,
you gotta pay for the tickets. They gotta wait in line,
they gotta if they got kids, they gotta find a babysitter.
So when somebody actually shows up at your daughter come
to a show to see perform, that's real love. And
(03:33):
I've been blessed to be able to perform in all
corners of the earth, and so I'm really proud of that.
So I say that to say this being myself, and
lately my model has just been pushing my pan.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Bro, just pushing that pin, pushing the pin.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Did you take and I say a break, I'm thinking, mentally,
did you feel at any point in time over the
last few years, just with the climate that we're living in,
the kind of stuff going on in this world that
you needed to take a step back with think about
the kind of things that you wanted to do moving forward.
Or has it always been about the grind for you.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
I don't think I've earned a luxury to take a break,
but I got a break.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
We all did in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, and that was my time to where I was
just thinking about, like, what do I really want out
of this entertainment thing?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
What is what is my goal?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
And just being more intentional about everything. It's being more
intentional about like my brand, what's the message, what's my mantra,
what's my ethos? You know what I'm saying. And so
I kind of gathered that in twenty twenty. But in
twenty twenty, I was twenty three years old.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I'm twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Like I'm a whole different nigga, now, you know what
I'm saying, Like same persons, same value, same morals, but
just like you know, I have a kid, like yo,
it's all of these things transitioning. You know, even for
the average American, for average person from age twenty three
to twenty seven, there is a certain amount of growth.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So my bad, I'm going on tangents.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
No, yeah, going thank you, think yeah, thank you something,
all right, all right, take time, thank you.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Thank you. But I.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Got that break kind of in twenty twenty. So I
don't think I haven't tooken any breaks, like it's time
in between albums. But I won't even counted as breaks
because let's say my last album I dropped it January
twenty twenty two. I toured all of twenty twenty two
in twenty twenty three, and then as soon as I
get off tour, I'm in the studio twenty four to seven,
and so that hasn't really been a break since I
(05:28):
started it. But again, I feel like I haven't earned
a luxury of the right for You talked.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
About having a list, at least a mental one, if
not a literal one, where you just checked off the
things that you've done, Yeah, looking ahead to what you've
wanted to do. What have you done in your mind
that you can reveal to the audience. What is it
that you had on your Listen, you said, all right,
I want to do this, check I've done it. What
has that been?
Speaker 2 (05:51):
You know? What I had?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Getting the studio with Doctor Dre on the vision board
and I was able to do that, you know, early
on shout out to my boy Anderson Pack.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
He actually introduced us.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
You know how I feel about Doctor Dre.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, bro, Yeah he's real special.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
No, he's real special.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Nah the goat. And it's funny too.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I had like double ExLF freshmen on the early vision
board of mine. I had Grammys on my vision board
and I actually had like and I put Egott on
my vision board and so like, it's funny that I've
won the Emmy first because that's the e So it's
like I'm assuming, I assuming, you know, Grammy's next been
Oscar's Ben Tony, So you know, the Lord is want
me to do it on his time and in that time.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
And so that was one of the things, you know,
being on the Steven A. Smith Show.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
You know what I'm saying, one of my twenty twenty
four goals, you feel me and yeah, bro, just just
one step at a time. But I feel like, you know,
when you write things down, it becomes and.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You're looking at it every day.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
It gives me personally, like that extra motivation to keep
it going. But just a remind of like what I'm
doing this for because you know, this entertainment shit is
like it's treacherous, bro, How it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
How treacherous is it now compared to what it was,
say even four or five years.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Ago for you man?
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You know what, it's completely different even now, Like I'm
still fairly new to this shit, it's only been in
it since twenty eighteen, but it's completely changed.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Like even the rise. I feel like this is one
of my points too.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
We are in a podcast epidemic right now, Like too
many of them, yes, nigga, Like we don't need that
many more podcasts, like straight up like of people that's
missing formed. They're spreading misinformation, you know what I'm saying,
Like people like you've been doing this obviously, been doing
this a super long time, Like you've earned the right
to have your own platform and to speak on things
(07:34):
that you speak on. Most of these motherfuckers it's starting platforms,
not doing any research on the topics.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
They're stealing other people's content, stealing content.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
It's not original.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
They're not doing any research, they're not fact checking things
before they're speaking, and they're actually getting platforms an audience
that are But we're in a.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Very like sheep, like a group think world in the system.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
And so you got kids who might not I have
even heard anything about a certain subject, and they're getting
the information from this podcast who may have millions of subscribers,
and they're giving them the wrong information. They're not fact
checked in like even like a lot of these music
review podcasts. And it's like, Yo, it's this little like
and it's not a race thing, but it's more so
about a culture and a research thing. It's like, Yo,
(08:19):
you got this white boy who don't know who can't
tell you when.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Ellmatic came out, but you want to make a.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Hip hop podcast.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
But you know when Illmatic came out, you know what
I'm saying. You don't know when Ready to Die came out.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You don't know, and you ain't willing to admit an
acknowledge what you don't know. You're trying to pretend like
you do know.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
You know what I'm saying, So you have you haven't
earned the right to make a hip hop podcast. Not again,
not a race thing, but you haven't done your research.
You haven't done the education, you haven't done the programming.
You know what I'm saying, Like, I love this music
shit Like I don't study the greats, you know what
I'm saying. And so yeah, people, Yeah, I feel like
we're definitely in the podcast epidemic.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
You got a new single out, Noe, mad as Fuck.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, that's the title of it.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Is that one of the things you mad about?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Absolutely? That's what else?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Let me see because I imagine you know, you're a
deep thinker, and I imagine you're mad about more than
one thing.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Yeah. Absolutely. You know. I'm gonna quote a good brother,
James Baldwin.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
He said, to be black, and I'm paraphrasing it, but
to be black and politically not politically where, but to
be black and socially aware, it's to be enraged all
the time.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And so I'm gonna take that quote as a genesis
of mad as fuck. But mad as fuck isn't It's
not that my song isn't that deep.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
But yeah, just a bunch of shit, just like.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
I mean, we encounter things every day that make us mad,
you know what I'm saying, Whether it's traffic, whether it's
you know.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
A bunch of shit.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
You see some stupid shit people are saying online about
it only even gonna be about you, about whoever. You know,
the spread of misinformation, These bullshit podcasts that we're going about.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah, a bunch of shit, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
A bunch of people have asked me, They said, Steven there.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
How do you do it?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
How do you do what you do? Every day? You
on television, you know, you're doing your YouTube show, you
got your podcast, you got all of this going on.
They coming at you all the times.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
People, How you deal with it?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I said, first of all, not a nine percent of
the time. I don't know what the hell they talking
about because I don't read it. I don't pay any
attention to it, because I know the objective is to
distract me from what I'm trying to do. Absolutely every
now and then I might listen to it, j just
to continue to develop my alligated skin, to show myself.
I can take it, you understand, and you march forward.
Sometimes the haters inspire you more than you realize, and
(10:32):
you can use it. You can utilize it that way.
But sometimes, damn it, you just ain't in the mood
to listen to that negativity because it can mess with
your spirit, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Where do you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Find yourself doing in order to get through it, because
I imagine, I don't give a damn who you are.
If you successful, somebody got something to say. And obviously
you're a successful, brother, so people got stuff to say.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Appreciate you. It takes success to no success, brother, how
about that? But what was I finna say? You know
what it is too.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I feel like our brains as as an artist, entertainer,
anybody with a platform and just human being, our brains
are more centered and engaging to negativity, unfortunately, especially when
it's about us. So you may have ten thousand comments
that's like yo, Steven, that you the man, go you
done did this, but your brain is automatically gonna pay
attention to the five hundred comments. It's like bulls snig sucks.
(11:21):
But you know what I'm saying, And that's for every entertainer, artists, whatever.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
So I say all this to say I try to
keep that in mind.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Like, fortunately for me, it's been a lot more love
than negativity, So I try to just focus on the
love and then too, like you said, like I don't
even pay attention to that shit. Like I have Instagram
on my phone, I upload it, I get my news
like it's like you read the news and shit.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I read the news.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
If I got to upload a song or post whatever,
do that and I delete the shit, and I try
to only have it on my phone, like for that
purpose to read the news, get updated on what's going
on in the zeitgeist in the earth post. If I
got to and then just delete it.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
You don't get as much hate nearly as some other
artists will remain nameless. I'm not gonna throw no shade
on them because they don't deserve it. But you get
a lot more love than hate. Why do you think
that is?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Because that's what I pay attention to. This is from
my synopsis, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I'm sure there is, like you know, like you said,
haters out there, negativity, but I only try to pay
attention to give energy to the love.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
You know. So I'm not gonna just say.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
It's just all love. Everybody just loved. Everybody fuck with me.
I know it's obviously it's not gonna be that. That's
impossible for any artists, But I just try to stay
focused and give energy to the love versus like the negativity,
because I've given too much energy and thought to the
negativity and it make me like second guess myself, doubt myself, overthink,
(12:39):
and like when I just delete Instagram, Twitter, social media
and I just live my actual life just like Nigga.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Like, are you a proponent of folks getting rid of
their social media accounts not even having anything to do
with it? You ain't got on social media account, you
don't know what the hell is going on, you don't
receive any of you, you don't pay attention to any of it.
Are you a proponent at least in some cases of
people just having absolutely positively nothing to do with social media?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Man, my plan is to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
I feel like I'm not quite there yet where I
want to be, and it would be behoove of me,
and I not behoove it would I'll be a fool
to do that, not a fool, But it wouldn't be
wise if I would do that right now.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Because your audience is there.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, my audience is there, and there's other ways to
you know, direct to consumer ways, but yeah, my goal
is to get to a place in my life and
my career where I don't have to entertain that at all.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Gotcha?
Speaker 1 (13:29):
You know, because it has positive you know, positives, but
you know, I feel like the negatives is pretty large.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You originated WHYBN group. I mean it was filled with rappers,
record producer, social media personalities and promoters from different parts
of the country if I remember correctly. I want to
know how all of that came together and was that
the key to the group's success, the fact that everybody
came seemingly from a different genre.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well, you know, I was like probably the last member
of Why Being. Honestly, it was started by Why being
my Mayor and Why being Blizzion while being Almighty Jr.
And they started off on the Xbox like they were
all friends together on the Xbox and shit, and you know,
they came up and came together, and I was just
cool with Not Mayor. We had a mutual friend and
whenever it was in the same city, we would link
(14:13):
if you would. And so you know, I gotta be honest, like, Nah,
Mayor just strew me that oop. He honestly just strew
me the crazy oop and I called it and slam
dunked it. So I'm like forever grateful, Like no matter
what Nam Mayor got to say about me, I don't
got nothing but the absolute highest things to say about
him because he shined that.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Light, you know when he didn't have to, and he
owe me that.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
So I got nothing but love for him and that
group and like what is and what is done for me?
And like you know, and just not even more so
what it's done for me, but like that time in
my life, you know what I'm saying, the ushers being young,
making music, traveling the world and stuff. So that was
really like not mirroring them, that constructed and construed that
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
You talk about what was done for you? What do
you believe you've done for the music industry? Hip hop?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Hmm?
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I feel I don't know, this is gonna sound narcissistic,
but you know I'm asking you, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Only all you're doing is answering the question that's that day.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
But I feel like I feel.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Like I bring a much needed balance to music because
it's a lot of dark ship, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
And you know that's.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Cool, like how you express yourself. You know, Edgar Allan
Poe is dark, you know what I'm saying. Length and
Hughes had some dark poems every now and then, right,
So like it's a lot of darkness and music, and
that's fine, you know, like because that's how you're expressing yourself,
and you got to talk.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
About your environment. I mean, I got a song called
matis Fuck, I got a song called broke as Fuck.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Sometimes you gotta let that get out of you, you know,
like like how mad as Fuck came about. I don't
really complain too much, to be honest, I don't like.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Well, just because you ain't complaining too much, don't mean
you ain't feeling it in your soul.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yeah, exactly. I would like to say, I'm a we
just talked about this earlier. I'm a.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
If I complain, I like to be a solution based
I'm a solution based complainer. Like I was at my
homies crib and shit was playing a game, and I
was just thinking of my head, like damn, this Nigga
TV small ast shit, but I didn't want to see
it there playing the game of shit like a thirty
inch TV.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Like Nigga TV, not Today's DA's got to be at
least seventy.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Five, That's what I'm saying. So I was just like
I was thinking.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
About it, and I was just laughing, like yo to
Steevie's smallst shit like my boy like what what you
laughing like? He's like, what the TV's small? And I
was like, I was like, nah, But I say that
to say I end up and I'm not. I don't
want to say like, oh, I did this for my homie,
but I didn't want to bring up that TV until
I got them a new one. I got him a
(16:43):
new one as like a housewoman gift. You know what
I'm saying, because it's like, yo, I want to come.
Let's let's be solution based. So wrapping back to your
question of what I needed for a hip not needed.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
But what I think I've brought to hip hop is
just like.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Just positivity amongst so much dark, refreshing sound among so
much dark shit, authenticity and and just realness.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I just be myself.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
I can't be compromised. I'm gonna always say what's on
my heart, whether right or wrong. I'm gonna always say
what I feel, whether right or wrong. I'm not don
know politically correct vibes. I'm not for no huge corporation.
You know, I'm not here to like, oh you you
know entertainment. You know you gotta be smart, right, don't
be a fool. But I feel like we owe it
to the general public and the fans to still like
(17:28):
speak with our hearts, say what's on our mind, and
not be too afraid to burn bridges that were robots,
you know what I'm saying. And so I feel like
what I bring the music is like authenticity, me speaking
my full truth and nothing but the truth, whether right
or wrong.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right and a fresh sound and yeah, just some light.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
I could be wrong. I don't recall hearing you much.
And I'm gonna bring this up and I'll only go
as far as you want me to because this is
your business. But congratulations, you've got a baby, thank Osaka.
I mean, she fantastic tennis player, fantastic okay, But we
know her story in terms of what she had to
(18:07):
go through with fans and what she had to deal with.
What was that like for you as the man in
her life seeing her go through that and thinking to yourself,
what could you do, if anything at all, in light
of the fact that she's in the public eye and
you had people that were just coming that up just
(18:28):
because that's what people are gonna do. You got fans,
and you got people that want you to lose and
everybody was a root for her.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
What was that like for you, well, to be honest,
when she was going through all of that stuff, like
I'm on tour, while she's on tour, I'm on tour,
you know what I'm saying. So you know, it's not
the best when you can't be there in person for somebody,
you know. So it kind of sucked that she had to,
you know, go through that by herself.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And it's funny.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
My first time going to a tennis event regardless, was
at the US Open.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
I was just like I saw you.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
I felt uncomfortable, you know what I'm saying. Like, I
was just like, damn, like yo, this feels like a
lot of classism, you know what I'm saying, a lot
of racism. I would say more classism than racism. But
I just felt like a black sheep, if you would.
And so I can only imagine as a black tennis player,
I'm just a bystander in the crowd, and I felt
(19:22):
like hell out of place, you know what I'm saying.
Like I said, I'm myself in every venue, I'm ass.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
I'm like, let's go Nigga US Open. This all cut
and niggas like what you know.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So I say all that to say, yeah, man, it's
hard man, because it's like when you're like and it's
not like a team sport either. And I don't want
to speak for her because I don't know what she
truly felt, and I don't want to be eyeing her
pr and I'm not her spokesperson, so I don't want
to misrepresent her. But I can only imagine what it
feels like when you're off there by yourself. You don't
got teammates, you can't even damn.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I think they can just now start talking to the coaches.
So yeah, it's easy for them to fill alone out there.
And that's a whole other layer when you add you're.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
A person of color, you know what I'm saying, Well,
then you're a loud person of color when you speak,
you know your ideality.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
And it broke my heart to watch her go through that.
And this is the last thing I'll say about that,
because you have a right to know, you have a
right to know where I stood on that issue. On
one hand, I felt incredibly sad for her for having
to go through it, but I covered sports and it
seemed very normal to me. What people were doing. In
(20:30):
other words, she's great. We don't want her winning. She
busting people as.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Left and right tennis court.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Anything that we could do to distract her and to
stop her from continuing the bus how you know what
for the first for the athlete that we're rooting for,
that's what they were going to do. You're Washington Commanders
fan in football, right, Well, you go to you have
met Life Stadium, An't nobody root for them? You go
to Dallas, Ain't nobody rooting for them? So I was
saying to myself as a sports fan, as wrong as
(20:59):
it may be, there's no way to escape that because
nobody is going to stop. How do you continue to
move forward knowing that the world that we're living in,
you're gonna have people rooting for you, and then you're
gonna have people rooting against you, and those who are
rooting against you will do everything they can to derail
your success. I'm like, what do you say to that?
(21:20):
I'm asking you as a sports fan more so than
anything else, of course, how do you deal with Well?
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I feel like with tennis is different because it's such
the culture at a tennis MATCHSS like, nobody don't say nothing.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
It's very like you speak when I might be the
wrong representative because I've only been a not too many,
you know, save here.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
But I feel like sport yeah yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
But the culture is just like quietness. You know what
I'm saying. It's like quietness, you know. So it's very
It's a club sport. It's a very elitist sport. It's
how the vibes I get from it.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So everybody don't feel invited. I say the same thing
about golf. Yeah exactly, I don't necessarily feel invited.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, so hecklers aren't as often in that sport as
it is like basketball football, and whether you know heckler's
right or wrong, like you said, it's a part of
the game.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
But it's just much more of a standout in tennis.
Sport is super rare.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Versus basketball niggas like, hey, nigga, you suck every day,
you know what I'm saying. And so just going back
to just athletes in general and how they should deal
with that, I feel like everybody has their own process.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
I mean, you got headphones. I guess where you're playing,
you can't put on headphones. But I don't know.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
It's like everybody I don't have. I'm not gonna I'm
not an athlete, you know, So I don't want to
give athletes advice on how they should deal with fans,
hecklers and things of that nature.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Like when I'm performing, it's all fans in there.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
That's where I was going. Is it all fans when
you're performing?
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Yeah, because they had to pay for a ticket.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Like when I'm doing a cord A headline show, Like
that's what I'm speaking of.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
It's all they literally pay to see me. It's nobody
else there but but me. So it's like literally like
all love and admiration.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Now, let's say when we do a festival like a Coachella,
Like Coachella is like a hundred other artists, you know,
it ain't gonna be I haven't got any like Booze. Fortunately,
I haven't got you know. I feel like I put
on a really damn thing.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
You would do if you did get Booze? How do
you think that would affect you?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Honestly?
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So, the equivalent of Booze to me performing is a
is a dry crowd.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
They're just not in act giving it back to you.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
And in that case, brother, I put in both of
my in ears and I just treat it like its
TV performance. I just put on my in ears. I
still give a great performance. I rock through it and
I get my money.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
You address a lot of sociations. I'm thinking about Crossroads,
your third albums coming out November fifteenth. I ain't forget that,
worry about it. I'll be pumping that over and in
the days we theys to come, make no mistake about that.
But I want to ask you, because you you address
a lot of social issues, yes, sir, in your music,
how do you decide what issues you're going to address?
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Just about what's most important? What connects with me the most?
On the day drop Saturday mornings, it was when the
police killed this black woman. Okay, I can't think of
the name off the top.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Of my head, and I want to sit down to research.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
But I say all this to say I had to
drop a single on the same day that that happened,
and part of me was like, Yo, this is crazy,
this is fucked up. Like yeah, we gotta protect ours,
we gotta protect our black women, Like.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
This is like, oh, this is crazy. This is crazy,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
And part of me was like, I didn't want to
post it because I didn't want to seem like I
was pandering on the day I dropped a single. It
just happened to occur the same day. But I'm like, nah,
I know what my heart was at. This really affected me,
This really fucked me up. I was raised by all
black women. I got eight aunts. You know what I'm saying,
My mom Like, so I say all this to say
just things that connect with me personally. You know what
(24:52):
I'm saying. Things that connect with me and move me
personally is what I try.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
To speak on You fly under the radar, Yes, sir,
in a lot of people's eyes, you're pretty much under
the radar. Number one? Is that intentional? Number two? How
do you pull it off considering the level of success
you enjoy?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
You know what, It's definitely intentional.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Because even this is my first interview for this entire like,
I'll roll out. You know what I'm saying, And because
we have a relationship we've been locked in for years.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
You know what I'm saying. I feel like it was
important to do it on this shelf.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
You know now, I appreciate you for giving me the
space to speak, but yeah, just being very intentional because
I don't want to oversaturate myself and now I don't
want to mince and waste words, you.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
I feel like a lot of people just be talking
just for the sake of talking, you know what I'm saying.
And like I was going back earlier of like it's
too many podcasts, Like can it really be that many
opinions about other things that's going on? Like, so I
just try to offer a unique perspective on things, going
back to the music question, whatever, I feel like I
can offer a unique perspective on something that hasn't been
(25:58):
said before. Some things that touch me personally and with
me just like you know, laying low it's just for
my peace of mind too, Like just for my personal
peace of mind. I like to live like a fairly
normal life, you know what I'm saying. High level of course,
you know, but you all.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
With somebody who's one of the greatest players in the world.
How you gonna how you're gonna live a low profile
for you got somebody that loss yeah yeah, yeah you yeah, yeah,
Like ain't like she out there doing her thing and
you you you you home, you know, working a nine
to five. Yeah, yeah, yeah, how you pulling that off?
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Man?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
You know it's funny she moves she moves even lower
than me, like in the sense of like low keyness,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
And so yeah, man, just I don't know, just being intentional.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I feel like this being intentionalble about everything, even when
I go out in public, Like my hair.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Is the dead giveaway when I wear.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
My hair when I'm like out like this, I walk,
I gotta take a hundred pictures and I'm fine with that.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
It's super cool. But like y'all just wear dude rag shades,
you know, masks. So just being intentional.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
You know, I'm gonna throw something out to you. I
want to get your opinion on this because you brought
up the you know, like the invasion of the epidemic podcasts,
epidemic and stuff like that. Absolutely, here's what I detest
about it, Like this shit here has earned they ain't
given I put in. I put in decades before I
decided to do something like this. It's not the fact
that people have podcasts. It's exactly what you pointed out.
(27:25):
It's what they're doing with it. I'm seeing cats and
and and again. You put in work, I put in work,
and I'm looking at people with podcasts and it's like,
all right, let me tell you what happened. And they're
playing a clip for somebody else's work, somebody else's interview.
They're putting it out there. They sitting at the same desk,
ain't move, they ain't travel, they ain't research, they ain't
(27:47):
doing any of this. Well, let me tell you what
I feel about this. And for some reason, that's a
podcast and as a result, they're getting paid off of that.
And the way I view it is, you want to
get paid for not working in fact, because we could
tell the difference between those who's putting in the work
and those who don't. That's what appalls me about the
podcast business, because I'm in it, right. It's supposed to
(28:11):
be a form of journalism, all right, a form of commentary,
and to me, that's not the case in a lot
of situations. As a musician, as an artist, how does
it make you feel if you see somebody out there
that they ain't putting in the work, But for some
reason it's getting a little bit of shine, even when
(28:31):
that work isn't there.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Honestly, I'll be like, man, get your money, bro. I
don't got an ounce of hater in me. Like, yo,
get to it, bro, that don't got nothing to do
with me. It is enough, fan, Like I said, it's
enough everybody. It's enough for everybody.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
I am blessed. Bro. I've done three headline towards across
the world, all.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Of them sold out. You know what I'm saying. I
do very well for myself. It's like, okay, like.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Like even like when I have like friends and family
that do music and they play it for me and
I'm like, yo, I'm ana my pin.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
But I am one human being. Bro.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
It's artists out there that I think are garbage juice, bro,
straight garbage juice, but they doing a thing. You can
find the audience. We're in the age now. Just find
your niche audience. Cater to them, and they're going to
tell their like minded friends about it, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And so seven billion people in the world.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
So when I see an artist that's like garbage juice
and they're like going crazy and blowing up, It's like, yo,
get yours absolutely, because gold, don't get old, and like longevity,
those that's supposed to be here always stay here.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Got you. That's another point that's good. That's a good
phrase to live by. Crossroads. Back to that, what can
fans expect.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
My best work yet?
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Like my whole model, like I was telling you earlier,
has just been pushing that pin, you know, Like production wise,
I think this is my most tasteful beat selection out
of all my previous projects.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And I just been pushing that pin. Like it's some songs.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
While we wrote the verses eight times, and I might
end up just going back to.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
The very first verse.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But the fact is I he wanted to push my
pendancy if I can take it.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Further some verses.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I out of the eight verses, I row, I take
a piece of this, piece of that, piece of that,
piece of that, and that becomes the verse.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
But because once music.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Is out, it's out, bro echoes into eternity forever. Once
it's in the zeigeist is there. It's no going back.
And so I just sleep a lot better at night
knowing that I put my all into it and I
try my very best to push it to take it
to the highest level.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
I can, Like creatively.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
And my model right now the last year has been
if I had a time machine, I go in that
time machine and play the music back for sixteen year
old Karda. Is he impressed with the music, not with
oh my god, I made it, I got and music.
Grammy's out of there, so millions of records like nah,
it's just like I just go back in the time
machine playing the music he needs to be impressed of,
like yo.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
I was able to get that good, like I was
able to create something that's good like wow. And if I.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Don't think it impresses sixteen year old Korda, then it's
gonna stay in the vault.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
I've never met an artist that don't have an opinion
about sports. Come on, so I'll let you get on
out of here. Let's do what the hell is on
your mind about the sports world. Let's get that out there.
First of all, what's on your mind? Is it NFL?
This is it NBA? What's on your mind most both
of them?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Man, I'm tapped into the NFL. I see the.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Jets just got yellow GMS Aaron.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
I don't know what it's gonna do for them. With
Baltimore Kansas City Buffalo just got.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Yeah, that's a big pick up for them. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Now, commanders, I see the Panthers. You know, my dad's
a big Panthers fan, so I grew up heavy on.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Panally my condole sisters, your dad.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Yeah, man, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Horrible French, horrible, Yo, the g we have the worst
GM in sports.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
How the fuck excuse my French. But it's the only
way to say it. How to fun I'm saying excuse my.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
French thirty minutes in an interview, right, But Yo, how
the fuck do you trade away Christian McCaffrey for two seconds?
Speaker 3 (32:01):
How do you miss that badly? On Bryce Young compared
to c J. Stroup. Now, I know Bryce Young coming
out of Alabama was all world, but damn you see
how small he is and and and you look at
the offensive line it's supposed to protect it.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
I mean, I spent a million dollars. They spent hundreds
of millions of dollars on the offensive line.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
And then they want to talk to me like I
can say something different than what I'm saying. I'm like,
I can't help you. I mean, it's just that damn bad.
Now we'll say this about your commanders, Jaydon Daniels. Yeah,
Jadon Daniels, true, I'm trying to lay low because I
don't want to jinx M. I don't want them to
get hurt like r G three got hurt.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Don't bring.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
I don't know, don't don't do that. Don't do that,
don't do that. Don't bring up my man Rob like that.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Don't do it.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
I'm doing that. We're gonna We're gonna let that go.
But I'll tell you this, r G three was big time,
not nearly That brother was special, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Jaden Daniels, you believe in him, absolutely, one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I rebuke all r G three energy.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Jesus rebuke now, Jaden Daniels the one. You know what
this reminds me of, like just that excitement. They didn't
do what they were supposed to do. But I remember
just being in sixth grade, we had like Jason Campbell,
like Hugh Lee saying, Tanna Moss Clinton.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Portis our ba handsworth.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You know that for the season started, Shad.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
What a monster.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Oh my goodness, but that squad just had me so
excited before the season started.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Now they went eight and eight. God, ras Sean Taylor soul.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
But I say this to say, this commander's team, and
it's looking real good for I think we got.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Rid of Dan Schneider. We had to get heat that something. Yeah,
we had to get he was.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
I don't even know he in the country. He won't
come in and cut away.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
Yeah, he was cursing. Man, like we good.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
I know that. Listen, Josh Harris a billionaire. You paid
over six billion dollars for the franchise, but part of
that ownership group is serving Magic Johnson. How are you
feeling about that?
Speaker 2 (33:59):
I love it, man, I love it. This is this
is great. Now they need to buy the Wizards too.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
They don't own the Wizards, No, they don't. You do
know this. They almost as bad as the Carolina Panthers.
They might be, they might be worse. Yeah, well, but
I mean the only thing you could say is that
at least Carolina only puts us through seventeen weeks in misery.
The Wizards put us through eighty two games.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
And this ship, yeah, man, it's the Wizards is.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Bad all right? So who you got in the NBA
this year?
Speaker 2 (34:27):
NBA? I like the Masks. I think that No, let me.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Go ahead, go ahead. They just got the ass whip
in the finals that you bringing up because they got
Clay Thompson.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Man, I think he got a bone to pick, man,
he got a point to prove, and I feel like
people been playing with him.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
I feel like, oh, he's big time. You know, he's
big time Hall of Famer, one of the great shooters.
But they think he lost the step. Golden State thinks
he lost the step defensive.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
And now he's the third option versus the second OPA.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
If he's open, he's gonna make shots.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
He's gonna hit that he got and Kyrie handing it
off to him.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Here's my issue with Kyrie Irving spectacular, spectacular throughout the years.
Put on a show in the playoffs, it was absolutely sensational.
In the finals in Boston, he forgot how to play no.
No in Boston.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
We ain't gonna do that. Look, I'm gonna tell you
that's my brother in real. Okay, I'm a little bias.
I'm a little biased. I'm a little bias. That's my
that's my tribe for that's my main man.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
I got a lot of love despite what people think.
We had our disagreements, but I respect the hell out
of him and I got a lot of love for him.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
And going back to the point of like that courage
and that willingness to speak his truth.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
He did. No political correctness.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
He did.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
And I feel like the entire world and you said
this publicly owes him apology.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
You know what I'm saying, Like people owe with this
man in apology because he stood.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
On his beliefs and his morals and we got to
reward that as a community.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
And what you sit in here, I look right in
the camera and I'll say this, Okay, I got on him,
but I got on him because I got tired him
missing them Damn games. He's too great for me not
to watch you play. He's too great. But I was
never of the mindset, yo, take the vaccine during the
COVID pandemic because it's the vaccine. I was of the mindset, yo,
(36:15):
Kat and Brooklyn because of you, James Harden and Brooklyn
because of you do what you gotta do to make
sure you win in the chip in Brooklyn. That was
my position. But I do owe him an apology, so
does everybody else in this regard what we've seen the
politicians turn it into what we've seen revealed about COVID,
(36:37):
the vaccine, and all the stuff that comes with that,
the conspiracy theories, and beyond the inconsistencies, the statistical lies.
Kyrie look a hell of a lot better now than
he did years ago. People like me and others need
to shut the hell up about that issue. We can't
say anything against him at this point.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
That I appreciate it right there.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
My man. I'm proud of you, man, keep making it happen.
Crossroads drops November fifteenth, All the best of you, man,
always home here for you one brother.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I appreciate you. Thank you. I'm gonna take this couch
with me too, man.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
I need the couch. Man, I ain't got your money.
I don't feel like buying another one.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
We ain't gonna talk. We ain't gonna do that, brother,
But you know what, all right, We're good. We're good.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
We're gonna do that, all right, all right, y'all, sir,
I love Jim Carry, but then with yes men, I
need honest ears. When in the studio turned down the
movie roll to finish the album, I pray the outcome
it's gun Clinton bigsbyat I'm tooken out of the hood,
carrying water, chopping the wood.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
But you're gonna always have motion if the product is gun.
Lord knows.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
It's crazy how I can just text holes and run
plays on the weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It's more than just exos. When I dropped my.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
First album was nervous my chest pros play's.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Gonna be executed like on death.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Row bought a new CRIBA that is an s pro come.
I credit sCOD Low as my self esteem, but I grow.
It's a yellow beam. When I glow, I have mellow dreams.
When I smoke to my fellow kids, keep the whole.
I think, Yllo, heaned up, wokeme this moment, acting wow
like a black of mind. We smoked the opponent. I
prayed in hope for this moment. And if I'm posting.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Out own, that's fine right there, Yeah, that's all right there.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
I appreciate that. I like that, Yes, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
What's going on in one of the only core days
here in the house with your Shirley stephen A. Smith Man.
That's Saturday? Is that what that was?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yes, sir, Saturday mornings.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Right, Saturday mornings. First of all, it's good to see you,
my man. It's been a while. How you doing?
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Likewise, brother, I gotta say too, Man, you know I've
been I would like to think I'm an early guest
of the stephen A.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Smith Show, our early friend. You had quite a lot
of upgrades in this thing, my brother. It looks amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
It was great to start off with. Don't get me wrong,
it was. It was already amazing, but now I was like,
oh shit, like, okay, I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I appreciate it. I aim to please.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I aim to please.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Talk to me about you and where you feel you
are right now in your career. Things seem to be
going real well for you. Just twenty seven, you making
things happen. How you feeling about things right now?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Man? I feel great, bro, Like I'm really blessed, and
I'm sure you can relate to this.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Of like I've always had this mindset and still do
about just like, all right, what's next? What's the next
barrier to break? Through what's the next level. It's just
even something amazing, shit just happening. I'm already thinking about
like what's next, how do I take this to the
next level? But like right now, I think I've been
find that balance between just like staying consistent, working really hard,
but just also like being present, you know what I'm saying,
(02:14):
and just like, Yo, I'm just really blessed.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Like I set out and did a lot of things
that I wrote down that I wanted to do.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Still a lot more to do, but I say all
this to say, just presently, just very happy. Like my
manager was just telling me, He's like, yo, you know,
you sold like twelve million, twelve million.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I was getting ready through out the one of one
of the awards, well won of Grammy, right mery My Bad,
My Bad, My Bad, that nominated for Grammy, nominated for
Grammy one of they sold about twelve million. I mean
most people ain't doing that right now, How do you
think you've pulled that off?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know what, bro? One, I give all glory to God, honestly.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Two, I don't know, man, I'm blessed because like selling
music and tour, I'm even more than like the twelve
million records sold. I'm really proud of like being able
to sell out a tour, you know what I'm saying,
Because like now it's streaming and streaming to like numbers equivalent,
it gets a little tricky, like I don't really know.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Like back in the day, it's like when.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Niggas sold twelve million records because twelve million motherfuckers went
to the store and bought the shit. Now it's like
streaming equivalents is weird. But with a show, it's like
a five step process. In order to go to a show,
you gotta pay for the tickets. They gotta wait in line,
they gotta if they got kids, they gotta find a babysitter.
So when somebody actually shows up at your daughter come
to a show to see perform, that's real love. And
(03:33):
I've been blessed to be able to perform in all
corners of the earth, and so I'm really proud of that.
So I say that to say this being myself, and
lately my model has just been pushing my pan.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Bro, just pushing that pin, pushing the pin.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Did you take and I say a break, I'm thinking, mentally,
did you feel at any point in time over the
last few years, just with the climate that we're living in,
the kind of stuff going on in this world that
you needed to take a step back with think about
the kind of things that you wanted to do moving forward.
Or has it always been about the grind for you.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
I don't think I've earned a luxury to take a break,
but I got a break.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
We all did in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, and that was my time to where I was
just thinking about, like, what do I really want out
of this entertainment thing?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
What is what is my goal?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
And just being more intentional about everything. It's being more
intentional about like my brand, what's the message, what's my mantra,
what's my ethos? You know what I'm saying. And so
I kind of gathered that in twenty twenty. But in
twenty twenty, I was twenty three years old.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I'm twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Like I'm a whole different nigga, now, you know what
I'm saying, Like same persons, same value, same morals, but
just like you know, I have a kid, like yo,
it's all of these things transitioning. You know, even for
the average American, for average person from age twenty three
to twenty seven, there is a certain amount of growth.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So my bad, I'm going on tangents.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
No, yeah, going thank you, think yeah, thank you something,
all right, all right, take time, thank you.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Thank you. But I.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Got that break kind of in twenty twenty. So I
don't think I haven't tooken any breaks, like it's time
in between albums. But I won't even counted as breaks
because let's say my last album I dropped it January
twenty twenty two. I toured all of twenty twenty two
in twenty twenty three, and then as soon as I
get off tour, I'm in the studio twenty four to seven,
and so that hasn't really been a break since I
(05:28):
started it. But again, I feel like I haven't earned
a luxury of the right for You talked.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
About having a list, at least a mental one, if
not a literal one, where you just checked off the
things that you've done, Yeah, looking ahead to what you've
wanted to do. What have you done in your mind
that you can reveal to the audience. What is it
that you had on your Listen, you said, all right,
I want to do this, check I've done it. What
has that been?
Speaker 2 (05:51):
You know? What I had?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Getting the studio with Doctor Dre on the vision board
and I was able to do that, you know, early
on shout out to my boy Anderson Pack.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
He actually introduced us.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
You know how I feel about Doctor Dre.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, bro, Yeah he's real special.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
No, he's real special.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Nah the goat. And it's funny too.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I had like double ExLF freshmen on the early vision
board of mine. I had Grammys on my vision board
and I actually had like and I put Egott on
my vision board and so like, it's funny that I've
won the Emmy first because that's the e So it's
like I'm assuming, I assuming, you know, Grammy's next been
Oscar's Ben Tony, So you know, the Lord is want
me to do it on his time and in that time.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
And so that was one of the things, you know,
being on the Steven A. Smith Show.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
You know what I'm saying, one of my twenty twenty
four goals, you feel me and yeah, bro, just just
one step at a time. But I feel like, you know,
when you write things down, it becomes and.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
You're looking at it every day.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
It gives me personally, like that extra motivation to keep
it going. But just a remind of like what I'm
doing this for because you know, this entertainment shit is
like it's treacherous, bro, How it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
How treacherous is it now compared to what it was,
say even four or five years.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Ago for you man?
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You know what, it's completely different even now, Like I'm
still fairly new to this shit, it's only been in
it since twenty eighteen, but it's completely changed.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Like even the rise. I feel like this is one
of my points too.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
We are in a podcast epidemic right now, Like too
many of them, yes, nigga, Like we don't need that
many more podcasts, like straight up like of people that's
missing formed. They're spreading misinformation, you know what I'm saying,
Like people like you've been doing this obviously, been doing
this a super long time, Like you've earned the right
to have your own platform and to speak on things
(07:34):
that you speak on. Most of these motherfuckers it's starting platforms,
not doing any research on the topics.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
They're stealing other people's content, stealing content.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
It's not original.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
They're not doing any research, they're not fact checking things
before they're speaking, and they're actually getting platforms an audience
that are But we're in a.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Very like sheep, like a group think world in the system.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
And so you got kids who might not I have
even heard anything about a certain subject, and they're getting
the information from this podcast who may have millions of subscribers,
and they're giving them the wrong information. They're not fact
checked in like even like a lot of these music
review podcasts. And it's like, Yo, it's this little like
and it's not a race thing, but it's more so
about a culture and a research thing. It's like, Yo,
(08:19):
you got this white boy who don't know who can't
tell you when.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Ellmatic came out, but you want to make a.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Hip hop podcast.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
But you know when Illmatic came out, you know what
I'm saying. You don't know when Ready to Die came out.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You don't know, and you ain't willing to admit an
acknowledge what you don't know. You're trying to pretend like
you do know.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
You know what I'm saying, So you have you haven't
earned the right to make a hip hop podcast. Not again,
not a race thing, but you haven't done your research.
You haven't done the education, you haven't done the programming.
You know what I'm saying, Like, I love this music
shit Like I don't study the greats, you know what
I'm saying. And so yeah, people, Yeah, I feel like
we're definitely in the podcast epidemic.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
You got a new single out, Noe, mad as Fuck.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, that's the title of it.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Is that one of the things you mad about?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Absolutely? That's what else?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Let me see because I imagine you know, you're a
deep thinker, and I imagine you're mad about more than
one thing.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Yeah. Absolutely. You know. I'm gonna quote a good brother,
James Baldwin.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
He said, to be black, and I'm paraphrasing it, but
to be black and politically not politically where, but to
be black and socially aware, it's to be enraged all
the time.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And so I'm gonna take that quote as a genesis
of mad as fuck. But mad as fuck isn't It's
not that my song isn't that deep.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
But yeah, just a bunch of shit, just like.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
I mean, we encounter things every day that make us mad,
you know what I'm saying, Whether it's traffic, whether it's
you know.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
A bunch of shit.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
You see some stupid shit people are saying online about
it only even gonna be about you, about whoever. You know,
the spread of misinformation, These bullshit podcasts that we're going about.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah, a bunch of shit, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
A bunch of people have asked me, They said, Steven there.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
How do you do it?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
How do you do what you do? Every day? You
on television, you know, you're doing your YouTube show, you
got your podcast, you got all of this going on.
They coming at you all the times.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
People, How you deal with it?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
I said, first of all, not a nine percent of
the time. I don't know what the hell they talking
about because I don't read it. I don't pay any
attention to it, because I know the objective is to
distract me from what I'm trying to do. Absolutely every
now and then I might listen to it, j just
to continue to develop my alligated skin, to show myself.
I can take it, you understand, and you march forward.
Sometimes the haters inspire you more than you realize, and
(10:32):
you can use it. You can utilize it that way.
But sometimes, damn it, you just ain't in the mood
to listen to that negativity because it can mess with
your spirit, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Where do you.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Find yourself doing in order to get through it, because
I imagine, I don't give a damn who you are.
If you successful, somebody got something to say. And obviously
you're a successful, brother, so people got stuff to say.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Appreciate you. It takes success to no success, brother, how
about that? But what was I finna say? You know
what it is too.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I feel like our brains as as an artist, entertainer,
anybody with a platform and just human being, our brains
are more centered and engaging to negativity, unfortunately, especially when
it's about us. So you may have ten thousand comments
that's like yo, Steven, that you the man, go you
done did this, but your brain is automatically gonna pay
attention to the five hundred comments. It's like bulls snig sucks.
(11:21):
But you know what I'm saying, And that's for every entertainer, artists, whatever.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
So I say all this to say I try to
keep that in mind.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Like, fortunately for me, it's been a lot more love
than negativity, So I try to just focus on the
love and then too, like you said, like I don't
even pay attention to that shit. Like I have Instagram
on my phone, I upload it, I get my news
like it's like you read the news and shit.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I read the news.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
If I got to upload a song or post whatever,
do that and I delete the shit, and I try
to only have it on my phone, like for that
purpose to read the news, get updated on what's going
on in the zeitgeist in the earth post. If I
got to and then just delete it.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
You don't get as much hate nearly as some other
artists will remain nameless. I'm not gonna throw no shade
on them because they don't deserve it. But you get
a lot more love than hate. Why do you think
that is?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Because that's what I pay attention to. This is from
my synopsis, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I'm sure there is, like you know, like you said,
haters out there, negativity, but I only try to pay
attention to give energy to the love.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
You know. So I'm not gonna just say.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
It's just all love. Everybody just loved. Everybody fuck with me.
I know it's obviously it's not gonna be that. That's
impossible for any artists, But I just try to stay
focused and give energy to the love versus like the negativity,
because I've given too much energy and thought to the
negativity and it make me like second guess myself, doubt myself, overthink,
(12:39):
and like when I just delete Instagram, Twitter, social media
and I just live my actual life just like Nigga.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Like, are you a proponent of folks getting rid of
their social media accounts not even having anything to do
with it? You ain't got on social media account, you
don't know what the hell is going on, you don't
receive any of you, you don't pay attention to any of it.
Are you a proponent at least in some cases of
people just having absolutely positively nothing to do with social media?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Man, my plan is to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
I feel like I'm not quite there yet where I
want to be, and it would be behoove of me,
and I not behoove it would I'll be a fool
to do that, not a fool, But it wouldn't be
wise if I would do that right now.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Because your audience is there.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, my audience is there, and there's other ways to
you know, direct to consumer ways, but yeah, my goal
is to get to a place in my life and
my career where I don't have to entertain that at all.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Gotcha?
Speaker 1 (13:29):
You know, because it has positive you know, positives, but
you know, I feel like the negatives is pretty large.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
You originated WHYBN group. I mean it was filled with rappers,
record producer, social media personalities and promoters from different parts
of the country if I remember correctly. I want to
know how all of that came together and was that
the key to the group's success, the fact that everybody
came seemingly from a different genre.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well, you know, I was like probably the last member
of Why Being. Honestly, it was started by Why being
my Mayor and Why being Blizzion while being Almighty Jr.
And they started off on the Xbox like they were
all friends together on the Xbox and shit, and you know,
they came up and came together, and I was just
cool with Not Mayor. We had a mutual friend and
whenever it was in the same city, we would link
(14:13):
if you would. And so you know, I gotta be honest, like, Nah,
Mayor just strew me that oop. He honestly just strew
me the crazy oop and I called it and slam
dunked it. So I'm like forever grateful, Like no matter
what Nam Mayor got to say about me, I don't
got nothing but the absolute highest things to say about
him because he shined that.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Light, you know when he didn't have to, and he
owe me that.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
So I got nothing but love for him and that
group and like what is and what is done for me?
And like you know, and just not even more so
what it's done for me, but like that time in
my life, you know what I'm saying, the ushers being young,
making music, traveling the world and stuff. So that was
really like not mirroring them, that constructed and construed that
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
You talk about what was done for you? What do
you believe you've done for the music industry? Hip hop?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Hmm?
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I feel I don't know, this is gonna sound narcissistic,
but you know I'm asking you, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Only all you're doing is answering the question that's that day.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
But I feel like I feel.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Like I bring a much needed balance to music because
it's a lot of dark ship, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
And you know that's.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Cool, like how you express yourself. You know, Edgar Allan
Poe is dark, you know what I'm saying. Length and
Hughes had some dark poems every now and then, right,
So like it's a lot of darkness and music, and
that's fine, you know, like because that's how you're expressing yourself,
and you got to talk.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
About your environment. I mean, I got a song called
matis Fuck, I got a song called broke as Fuck.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Sometimes you gotta let that get out of you, you know,
like like how mad as Fuck came about. I don't
really complain too much, to be honest, I don't like.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Well, just because you ain't complaining too much, don't mean
you ain't feeling it in your soul.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yeah, exactly. I would like to say, I'm a we
just talked about this earlier. I'm a.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
If I complain, I like to be a solution based
I'm a solution based complainer. Like I was at my
homies crib and shit was playing a game, and I
was just thinking of my head, like damn, this Nigga
TV small ast shit, but I didn't want to see
it there playing the game of shit like a thirty
inch TV.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Like Nigga TV, not Today's DA's got to be at
least seventy.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Five, That's what I'm saying. So I was just like
I was thinking.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
About it, and I was just laughing, like yo to
Steevie's smallst shit like my boy like what what you
laughing like? He's like, what the TV's small? And I
was like, I was like, nah, But I say that
to say I end up and I'm not. I don't
want to say like, oh, I did this for my homie,
but I didn't want to bring up that TV until
I got them a new one. I got him a
(16:43):
new one as like a housewoman gift. You know what
I'm saying, because it's like, yo, I want to come.
Let's let's be solution based. So wrapping back to your
question of what I needed for a hip not needed.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
But what I think I've brought to hip hop is
just like.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Just positivity amongst so much dark, refreshing sound among so
much dark shit, authenticity and and just realness.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
I just be myself.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
I can't be compromised. I'm gonna always say what's on
my heart, whether right or wrong. I'm gonna always say
what I feel, whether right or wrong. I'm not don
know politically correct vibes. I'm not for no huge corporation.
You know, I'm not here to like, oh you you
know entertainment. You know you gotta be smart, right, don't
be a fool. But I feel like we owe it
to the general public and the fans to still like
(17:28):
speak with our hearts, say what's on our mind, and
not be too afraid to burn bridges that were robots,
you know what I'm saying. And so I feel like
what I bring the music is like authenticity, me speaking
my full truth and nothing but the truth, whether right
or wrong.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right and a fresh sound and yeah, just some light.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
I could be wrong. I don't recall hearing you much.
And I'm gonna bring this up and I'll only go
as far as you want me to because this is
your business. But congratulations, you've got a baby, thank Osaka.
I mean, she fantastic tennis player, fantastic okay, But we
know her story in terms of what she had to
(18:07):
go through with fans and what she had to deal with.
What was that like for you as the man in
her life seeing her go through that and thinking to yourself,
what could you do, if anything at all, in light
of the fact that she's in the public eye and
you had people that were just coming that up just
(18:28):
because that's what people are gonna do. You got fans,
and you got people that want you to lose and
everybody was a root for her.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
What was that like for you, well, to be honest,
when she was going through all of that stuff, like
I'm on tour, while she's on tour, I'm on tour,
you know what I'm saying. So you know, it's not
the best when you can't be there in person for somebody,
you know. So it kind of sucked that she had to,
you know, go through that by herself.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And it's funny.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
My first time going to a tennis event regardless, was
at the US Open.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
I was just like I saw you.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
I felt uncomfortable, you know what I'm saying. Like, I
was just like, damn, like yo, this feels like a
lot of classism, you know what I'm saying, a lot
of racism. I would say more classism than racism. But
I just felt like a black sheep, if you would.
And so I can only imagine as a black tennis player,
I'm just a bystander in the crowd, and I felt
(19:22):
like hell out of place, you know what I'm saying.
Like I said, I'm myself in every venue, I'm ass.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
I'm like, let's go Nigga US Open. This all cut
and niggas like what you know.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So I say all that to say, yeah, man, it's
hard man, because it's like when you're like and it's
not like a team sport either. And I don't want
to speak for her because I don't know what she
truly felt, and I don't want to be eyeing her
pr and I'm not her spokesperson, so I don't want
to misrepresent her. But I can only imagine what it
feels like when you're off there by yourself. You don't
got teammates, you can't even damn.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I think they can just now start talking to the coaches.
So yeah, it's easy for them to fill alone out there.
And that's a whole other layer when you add you're.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
A person of color, you know what I'm saying, Well,
then you're a loud person of color when you speak,
you know your ideality.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
And it broke my heart to watch her go through that.
And this is the last thing I'll say about that,
because you have a right to know, you have a
right to know where I stood on that issue. On
one hand, I felt incredibly sad for her for having
to go through it, but I covered sports and it
seemed very normal to me. What people were doing. In
(20:30):
other words, she's great. We don't want her winning. She
busting people as.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Left and right tennis court.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Anything that we could do to distract her and to
stop her from continuing the bus how you know what
for the first for the athlete that we're rooting for,
that's what they were going to do. You're Washington Commanders
fan in football, right, Well, you go to you have
met Life Stadium, An't nobody root for them? You go
to Dallas, Ain't nobody rooting for them? So I was
saying to myself as a sports fan, as wrong as
(20:59):
it may be, there's no way to escape that because
nobody is going to stop. How do you continue to
move forward knowing that the world that we're living in,
you're gonna have people rooting for you, and then you're
gonna have people rooting against you, and those who are
rooting against you will do everything they can to derail
your success. I'm like, what do you say to that?
(21:20):
I'm asking you as a sports fan more so than
anything else, of course, how do you deal with Well?
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I feel like with tennis is different because it's such
the culture at a tennis MATCHSS like, nobody don't say nothing.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
It's very like you speak when I might be the
wrong representative because I've only been a not too many,
you know, save here.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
But I feel like sport yeah yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
But the culture is just like quietness. You know what
I'm saying. It's like quietness, you know. So it's very
It's a club sport. It's a very elitist sport. It's
how the vibes I get from it.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
So everybody don't feel invited. I say the same thing
about golf. Yeah exactly, I don't necessarily feel invited.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, so hecklers aren't as often in that sport as
it is like basketball football, and whether you know heckler's
right or wrong, like you said, it's a part of
the game.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
But it's just much more of a standout in tennis.
Sport is super rare.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Versus basketball niggas like, hey, nigga, you suck every day,
you know what I'm saying. And so just going back
to just athletes in general and how they should deal
with that, I feel like everybody has their own process.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
I mean, you got headphones. I guess where you're playing,
you can't put on headphones. But I don't know.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
It's like everybody I don't have. I'm not gonna I'm
not an athlete, you know, So I don't want to
give athletes advice on how they should deal with fans,
hecklers and things of that nature.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Like when I'm performing, it's all fans in there.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
That's where I was going. Is it all fans when
you're performing?
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Yeah, because they had to pay for a ticket.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Like when I'm doing a cord A headline show, Like
that's what I'm speaking of.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
It's all they literally pay to see me. It's nobody
else there but but me. So it's like literally like
all love and admiration.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Now, let's say when we do a festival like a Coachella,
Like Coachella is like a hundred other artists, you know,
it ain't gonna be I haven't got any like Booze. Fortunately,
I haven't got you know. I feel like I put
on a really damn thing.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
You would do if you did get Booze? How do
you think that would affect you?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
Honestly?
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So, the equivalent of Booze to me performing is a
is a dry crowd.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
They're just not in act giving it back to you.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
And in that case, brother, I put in both of
my in ears and I just treat it like its
TV performance. I just put on my in ears. I
still give a great performance. I rock through it and
I get my money.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
You address a lot of sociations. I'm thinking about Crossroads,
your third albums coming out November fifteenth. I ain't forget that,
worry about it. I'll be pumping that over and in
the days we theys to come, make no mistake about that.
But I want to ask you, because you you address
a lot of social issues, yes, sir, in your music,
how do you decide what issues you're going to address?
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Just about what's most important? What connects with me the most?
On the day drop Saturday mornings, it was when the
police killed this black woman. Okay, I can't think of
the name off the top.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Of my head, and I want to sit down to research.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
But I say all this to say I had to
drop a single on the same day that that happened,
and part of me was like, Yo, this is crazy,
this is fucked up. Like yeah, we gotta protect ours,
we gotta protect our black women, Like.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
This is like, oh, this is crazy. This is crazy,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
And part of me was like, I didn't want to
post it because I didn't want to seem like I
was pandering on the day I dropped a single. It
just happened to occur the same day. But I'm like, nah,
I know what my heart was at. This really affected me,
This really fucked me up. I was raised by all
black women. I got eight aunts. You know what I'm saying,
My mom Like, so I say all this to say
just things that connect with me personally. You know what
(24:52):
I'm saying. Things that connect with me and move me
personally is what I try.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
To speak on You fly under the radar, Yes, sir,
in a lot of people's eyes, you're pretty much under
the radar. Number one? Is that intentional? Number two? How
do you pull it off considering the level of success
you enjoy?
Speaker 2 (25:10):
You know what, It's definitely intentional.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Because even this is my first interview for this entire like,
I'll roll out. You know what I'm saying, And because
we have a relationship we've been locked in for years.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
You know what I'm saying. I feel like it was
important to do it on this shelf.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
You know now, I appreciate you for giving me the
space to speak, but yeah, just being very intentional because
I don't want to oversaturate myself and now I don't
want to mince and waste words, you.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
I feel like a lot of people just be talking
just for the sake of talking, you know what I'm saying.
And like I was going back earlier of like it's
too many podcasts, Like can it really be that many
opinions about other things that's going on? Like, so I
just try to offer a unique perspective on things, going
back to the music question, whatever, I feel like I
can offer a unique perspective on something that hasn't been
(25:58):
said before. Some things that touch me personally and with
me just like you know, laying low it's just for
my peace of mind too, Like just for my personal
peace of mind. I like to live like a fairly
normal life, you know what I'm saying. High level of course,
you know, but you all.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
With somebody who's one of the greatest players in the world.
How you gonna how you're gonna live a low profile
for you got somebody that loss yeah yeah, yeah you yeah, yeah,
Like ain't like she out there doing her thing and
you you you you home, you know, working a nine
to five. Yeah, yeah, yeah, how you pulling that off?
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Man?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
You know it's funny she moves she moves even lower
than me, like in the sense of like low keyness,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
And so yeah, man, just I don't know, just being intentional.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I feel like this being intentionalble about everything, even when
I go out in public, Like my hair.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Is the dead giveaway when I wear.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
My hair when I'm like out like this, I walk,
I gotta take a hundred pictures and I'm fine with that.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
It's super cool. But like y'all just wear dude rag shades,
you know, masks. So just being intentional.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
You know, I'm gonna throw something out to you. I
want to get your opinion on this because you brought
up the you know, like the invasion of the epidemic podcasts,
epidemic and stuff like that. Absolutely, here's what I detest
about it, Like this shit here has earned they ain't
given I put in. I put in decades before I
decided to do something like this. It's not the fact
that people have podcasts. It's exactly what you pointed out.
(27:25):
It's what they're doing with it. I'm seeing cats and
and and again. You put in work, I put in work,
and I'm looking at people with podcasts and it's like,
all right, let me tell you what happened. And they're
playing a clip for somebody else's work, somebody else's interview.
They're putting it out there. They sitting at the same desk,
ain't move, they ain't travel, they ain't research, they ain't
(27:47):
doing any of this. Well, let me tell you what
I feel about this. And for some reason, that's a
podcast and as a result, they're getting paid off of that.
And the way I view it is, you want to
get paid for not working in fact, because we could
tell the difference between those who's putting in the work
and those who don't. That's what appalls me about the
podcast business, because I'm in it, right. It's supposed to
(28:11):
be a form of journalism, all right, a form of commentary,
and to me, that's not the case in a lot
of situations. As a musician, as an artist, how does
it make you feel if you see somebody out there
that they ain't putting in the work, But for some
reason it's getting a little bit of shine, even when
(28:31):
that work isn't there.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Honestly, I'll be like, man, get your money, bro. I
don't got an ounce of hater in me. Like, yo,
get to it, bro, that don't got nothing to do
with me. It is enough, fan, Like I said, it's
enough everybody. It's enough for everybody.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
I am blessed. Bro. I've done three headline towards across
the world, all.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Of them sold out. You know what I'm saying. I
do very well for myself. It's like, okay, like.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Like even like when I have like friends and family
that do music and they play it for me and
I'm like, yo, I'm ana my pin.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
But I am one human being. Bro.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
It's artists out there that I think are garbage juice, bro,
straight garbage juice, but they doing a thing. You can
find the audience. We're in the age now. Just find
your niche audience. Cater to them, and they're going to
tell their like minded friends about it, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And so seven billion people in the world.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
So when I see an artist that's like garbage juice
and they're like going crazy and blowing up, It's like, yo,
get yours absolutely, because gold, don't get old, and like longevity,
those that's supposed to be here always stay here.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Got you. That's another point that's good. That's a good
phrase to live by. Crossroads. Back to that, what can
fans expect.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
My best work yet?
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Like my whole model, like I was telling you earlier,
has just been pushing that pin, you know, Like production wise,
I think this is my most tasteful beat selection out
of all my previous projects.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And I just been pushing that pin. Like it's some songs.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
While we wrote the verses eight times, and I might
end up just going back to.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
The very first verse.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But the fact is I he wanted to push my
pendancy if I can take it.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Further some verses.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I out of the eight verses, I row, I take
a piece of this, piece of that, piece of that,
piece of that, and that becomes the verse.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
But because once music.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Is out, it's out, bro echoes into eternity forever. Once
it's in the zeigeist is there. It's no going back.
And so I just sleep a lot better at night
knowing that I put my all into it and I
try my very best to push it to take it
to the highest level.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
I can, Like creatively.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
And my model right now the last year has been
if I had a time machine, I go in that
time machine and play the music back for sixteen year
old Karda. Is he impressed with the music, not with
oh my god, I made it, I got and music.
Grammy's out of there, so millions of records like nah,
it's just like I just go back in the time
machine playing the music he needs to be impressed of,
like yo.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
I was able to get that good, like I was
able to create something that's good like wow. And if I.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Don't think it impresses sixteen year old Korda, then it's
gonna stay in the vault.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
I've never met an artist that don't have an opinion
about sports. Come on, so I'll let you get on
out of here. Let's do what the hell is on
your mind about the sports world. Let's get that out there.
First of all, what's on your mind? Is it NFL?
This is it NBA? What's on your mind most both
of them?
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Man, I'm tapped into the NFL. I see the.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Jets just got yellow GMS Aaron.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
I don't know what it's gonna do for them. With
Baltimore Kansas City Buffalo just got.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Yeah, that's a big pick up for them. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Now, commanders, I see the Panthers. You know, my dad's
a big Panthers fan, so I grew up heavy on.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Panally my condole sisters, your dad.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Yeah, man, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Horrible French, horrible, Yo, the g we have the worst
GM in sports.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
How the fuck excuse my French. But it's the only
way to say it. How to fun I'm saying excuse my.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
French thirty minutes in an interview, right, But Yo, how
the fuck do you trade away Christian McCaffrey for two seconds?
Speaker 3 (32:01):
How do you miss that badly? On Bryce Young compared
to c J. Stroup. Now, I know Bryce Young coming
out of Alabama was all world, but damn you see
how small he is and and and you look at
the offensive line it's supposed to protect it.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
I mean, I spent a million dollars. They spent hundreds
of millions of dollars on the offensive line.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
And then they want to talk to me like I
can say something different than what I'm saying. I'm like,
I can't help you. I mean, it's just that damn bad.
Now we'll say this about your commanders, Jaydon Daniels. Yeah,
Jadon Daniels, true, I'm trying to lay low because I
don't want to jinx M. I don't want them to
get hurt like r G three got hurt.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Don't bring.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
I don't know, don't don't do that. Don't do that,
don't do that. Don't bring up my man Rob like that.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Don't do it.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
I'm doing that. We're gonna We're gonna let that go.
But I'll tell you this, r G three was big time,
not nearly That brother was special, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Jaden Daniels, you believe in him, absolutely, one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I rebuke all r G three energy.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Jesus rebuke now, Jaden Daniels the one. You know what
this reminds me of, like just that excitement. They didn't
do what they were supposed to do. But I remember
just being in sixth grade, we had like Jason Campbell,
like Hugh Lee saying, Tanna Moss Clinton.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Portis our ba handsworth.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You know that for the season started, Shad.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
What a monster.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Oh my goodness, but that squad just had me so
excited before the season started.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Now they went eight and eight. God, ras Sean Taylor soul.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
But I say this to say, this commander's team, and
it's looking real good for I think we got.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Rid of Dan Schneider. We had to get heat that something. Yeah,
we had to get he was.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
I don't even know he in the country. He won't
come in and cut away.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
Yeah, he was cursing. Man, like we good.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
I know that. Listen, Josh Harris a billionaire. You paid
over six billion dollars for the franchise, but part of
that ownership group is serving Magic Johnson. How are you
feeling about that?
Speaker 2 (33:59):
I love it, man, I love it. This is this
is great. Now they need to buy the Wizards too.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
They don't own the Wizards, No, they don't. You do
know this. They almost as bad as the Carolina Panthers.
They might be, they might be worse. Yeah, well, but
I mean the only thing you could say is that
at least Carolina only puts us through seventeen weeks in misery.
The Wizards put us through eighty two games.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
And this ship, yeah, man, it's the Wizards is.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
Bad all right? So who you got in the NBA
this year?
Speaker 2 (34:27):
NBA? I like the Masks. I think that No, let me.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Go ahead, go ahead. They just got the ass whip
in the finals that you bringing up because they got
Clay Thompson.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Man, I think he got a bone to pick, man,
he got a point to prove, and I feel like
people been playing with him.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
I feel like, oh, he's big time. You know, he's
big time Hall of Famer, one of the great shooters.
But they think he lost the step. Golden State thinks
he lost the step defensive.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
And now he's the third option versus the second OPA.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
If he's open, he's gonna make shots.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
He's gonna hit that he got and Kyrie handing it
off to him.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Here's my issue with Kyrie Irving spectacular, spectacular throughout the years.
Put on a show in the playoffs, it was absolutely sensational.
In the finals in Boston, he forgot how to play no.
No in Boston.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
We ain't gonna do that. Look, I'm gonna tell you
that's my brother in real. Okay, I'm a little bias.
I'm a little biased. I'm a little bias. That's my
that's my tribe for that's my main man.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
I got a lot of love despite what people think.
We had our disagreements, but I respect the hell out
of him and I got a lot of love for him.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
And going back to the point of like that courage
and that willingness to speak his truth.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
He did. No political correctness.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
He did.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
And I feel like the entire world and you said
this publicly owes him apology.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
You know what I'm saying, Like people owe with this
man in apology because he stood.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
On his beliefs and his morals and we got to
reward that as a community.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
And what you sit in here, I look right in
the camera and I'll say this, Okay, I got on him,
but I got on him because I got tired him
missing them Damn games. He's too great for me not
to watch you play. He's too great. But I was
never of the mindset, yo, take the vaccine during the
COVID pandemic because it's the vaccine. I was of the mindset, yo,
(36:15):
Kat and Brooklyn because of you, James Harden and Brooklyn
because of you do what you gotta do to make
sure you win in the chip in Brooklyn. That was
my position. But I do owe him an apology, so
does everybody else in this regard what we've seen the
politicians turn it into what we've seen revealed about COVID,
(36:37):
the vaccine, and all the stuff that comes with that,
the conspiracy theories, and beyond the inconsistencies, the statistical lies.
Kyrie look a hell of a lot better now than
he did years ago. People like me and others need
to shut the hell up about that issue. We can't
say anything against him at this point.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
That I appreciate it right there.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
My man. I'm proud of you, man, keep making it happen.
Crossroads drops November fifteenth, All the best of you, man,
always home here for you one brother.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I appreciate you. Thank you. I'm gonna take this couch
with me too, man.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
I need the couch. Man, I ain't got your money.
I don't feel like buying another one.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
We ain't gonna talk. We ain't gonna do that, brother,
But you know what, all right, We're good. We're good.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
We're gonna do that, all right, all right, y'all, sir,
Host
Stephen A. Smith
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