Best of 2025- KING OF THE SOUTH - Jeezy Talks 20 Year 'Thug Motivation 101' Anniversary Tour, Jay-Z, Nia Long, Soul Survivor , Recorded 2025. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Morning everybody is the j n V. Just hilarious.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Charlamagne the guy. We all the Breakfast Club. We got
a special guest in the.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Building, one of the best to ever do it.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Celebrate in the twentieth anniversary of Thug Motivation One on one,
Ladies and gentlemen, j Z.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
What I'm doing, What I'm doing, what's happening? Good morning?
Good morning. How you feeling, brother man, great man, better
than most? You know what I mean? Right?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I would need I would say I was talking to
somebody yesterday, this is the other day, and he was like, yeah,
I'm my way to JEZ House.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm like for what He was like, I'm opening up
for Jesus. I said, what you mean to open up?
It's like j Z DJ as a hot used to
do it to shut up.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
He was like, yes, DJ, Yeah, you know I used
to DJ back in the day when I was you know,
young in the hood. You know what I'm saying. I
hustled up on the DJ set and uh, I was
just going the hood, just DJ on people's borges. That
was kind of my thing. But that's how I got
into music, you know. What I'm saying. So for me,
it's just like it's like a pastime. But you know,
like the great Andre three thousands said, if you can't
(01:01):
find a vibe, you gotta create it. So I just
invite dope people over to my crib, you know what
I'm saying, curated. You know, we might do some some
red wine and Popeye's Chicken, and I might throw the
set and we just get a cracking vibe. That's interesting.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
So that's how you've been feeling like you haven't been
finding a vibe late lyast you've been trying to create one.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Well, you know, I like to travel a lot, you
know what I'm saying, And I like to live, but
also I like to you know, like turn people onto
what I've learned when I've been around the world. So
it's just like different types of music, different types of curations.
So it's just dope to have people come up to
your houses you trust and just vibe. You know, people
get tired of going our cameras everywhere. You know, some
(01:41):
very distinguished black people in Atlanta and they like to
really live. So I just like, come over to my
crib man, we just hang out, you know what. I'm
saying it's dope though.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
It like is it all rapid?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
No?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
No, No, it was like no, it was like you
play everything.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, house music, old school. Yeah, it's vibe. You know
what I'm saying. Yeah, I got so, I got a
little soap. Yeah, I got a little something. You should
come nick safe.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
You know, I'm you're gonna tell about everybody in the house.
Whoever in the house, I tell you d everybody. Twenty
year anniversary and one of the greatest hip hop albums, Yes, yes, yes.
What does it feel like mentally to have to revisit
that era?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
To be honest with you, it feels like that album
was supposed to happen, uh, and even twenty years later,
just the obstacles that I had to go through to,
you know, get this tour going and everything, it just
feels like deja vu. But the but the consequences are
(02:46):
not dire. They just real life things and you got
to show your adversity. And it feels like I was
just talking to somebody about the other day. It's just like, now,
Soul Survivor really resonates with me. It makes sense, you
know what I'm saying, Because I'm a soul surviving and
I'm listening to the word, I'm like, oh, this is me,
this is who I am. You know when I wrote it,
it was a record. Now this is my life and
it's just like to be twenty because you got to think,
(03:07):
like you think about Park and Big you know, what
would they what would they have done twenty years in
the game. You know what I'm saying, You celebrating all
eyes on me life after death twenty years later. You know,
I don't know. Park might have been DJ in his basement.
I don't know what I'm saying, but I'm living life
and I'm going through you know, one of those stages
(03:30):
where you know, you get to watch the game line
wash the streets. You know what I'm saying. I'm in
this world, but I'm not of it, you know what
I'm saying. So I get to watch it. But at
the same time, I already put my work in so
I get to sit back. But I'm dealing with real
stuff now, running companies and doing deals and and you know,
empowering other people. So it's now I got to really
(03:50):
practice my skills of leadership, but with my catalog behind me,
because I can stand on that because it's solid. You
know what I'm saying. So I'm not you know what,
I'm fraid, you're barely amazed. I could keep going if
I wanted to, but I got to.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You have survivors remorse at all because I used to.
You have so many people that you ran.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, I used to. But everybody know me. They know
what I'm solid. You know what I'm saying. But at
the same time, my life is about peace, join freedom,
and I ain't e I'm saying that to say a
lot of people don't survive the war. Baby, you know
what I'm saying. It's like I ain't got no reason
to go back and then to approved. You know what
I'm saying. I'm just trying to live my life, make
sure my people straight, you know, put me into people
as I could put on and keep you know, just
(04:31):
you know, just inspiring and involving my culture, which is
why I'm even doing this symphony tour, which is crazy
because I think I'm the first one to ever take
a symphony around the world to do a tour. You
know what I mean to celebrate, you know, my first
debut album, which is about three four times platinum. I
ain't checked last.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Time, but I can't.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Motivation one. Yeah, and it's crazy because it's like, you know,
the only time I remember putting on the suit is
for a funeral or adding. It's a celebration and it's
not just about It's not just about you know, the music,
It's about everybody who came along with his journey with me.
That will celebrate. Think about where you was twenty years ago,
you know what I'm saying, Where you were twenty years ago,
(05:17):
and where y'all at now. This is a celebration of
that because that music reminds you of that time you
was out there grinding. But look what you grind it too.
So this is a reason for everybody put on a
suit in a nice black dress and come out and celebrate.
And I do want to say this, this is not
this is not the opera. You know what I'm saying.
You're not gonna sit down and cross your legs. This
is a party, you know what I'm saying. At the
(05:37):
same time, you know, shout out to Adam Blackstone. You know,
he helped me produce it. De Hodges, he wrote the music.
He's actually conducting it. Those brothers are crazy about DJ
drama with me. So you know, it's a part that
got dj A's with me. It's a celebration.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
I'm saying, when you were making this album twenty years ago, right,
were you just making songs or were you thinking the future?
Were you thinking because you look at a lot of
people in the industry and the catalog is not strong,
right that first album, the catalog's not strong, they can't
go on tour.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Were you thinking about that.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
When you're writing this first album or was it just
I'm just trying to get out the hood.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'm just I was just trying to still alive and free,
and I just wanted to be heard. And the reason
why that album is so solid is because I put
everything in that. You know, I didn't have another shot,
you know what I'm saying. It wasn't like no label
was looking for me. You know what I'm saying. I
had spent all these all these all this money to
build this buzz and I had this one opportunity. And
(06:32):
you gotta think, like I lost my voice, I tore
my vocal cords, you know, I had Bell's part. Like
all these things happened at one time, and I'm just
like I was humbled and the album got leaked four
weeks before it came out. Think about that. I was
up against all that and I'm still like praying, you
know what I'm saying, And it happened. So when I
(06:53):
look back twenty years ago, like I didn't realize what
I was doing, but I know to change the trajectory
my family and our generational wealth and getting my family
in a better place that this is all I had,
you know what I'm saying. So I put everything in
that trapa dye in this. Yeah, everything, by the way,
I probably you know it was riding around. You're still
(07:15):
getting it. The Statute of limitations or put that out there.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
You know, it's interesting what you said about the record
Soul Survivor, because at that point in your life you
had survived to a certain extent, but you didn't you
didn't feel that way.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
No, I mean you got to think about it. I
didn't really even start celebrating life until the recession. Wow, yeah,
I was. I was out of it, bro I was drinking, smoking, living.
I'm just holding on, you know what I'm saying, because
I didn't know then I woke up one day It's like, damn,
I'm still free.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
You know, you know at any moment it could go yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
And ain't nothing like that. That's some type of stress
you don't even want, you know what I'm saying, because
it's just it's every day, it never stops, and you're
always on edge. You're living from uh you know, you're
living from a survival mindset. You know I'm saying. And
you know when I woke up on that day when
I started to work on the Recession, That's when I
realized what abundance was. You know what I'm saying. I'm
(08:09):
saying because now I'm like, I'm a superstar. You know,
I was telling them the other day. Man, I got
in the gym, got myself together. My first show in
Boston for the Recession tour. You know, I get the
stage and I'm telling the security guard, Hey, yo, they
throwing stuff at me. We got to get out here
and get down. He's like, sir, No, their panties.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Down like this.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
You know what I'm saying, objects, you know, bros and stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And I'm like, Yo, this is this is different because
you got to think when I was doing shows, when
Doug Motivation came out, all the gangsters in the front.
You know what I'm saying all the all the hustlers.
It wasn't no women. I didn't have any women fans,
you know, shout out to the women fans out there.
You know what I'm saying. Yeah, I didn't have that.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
So when you put that record, the record with Tree
songs on the album, that was them trying to tell you, Jesus,
you got to make something.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
For the lead. That was me trying to do a
record with Trey. Oh okay, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
you ever hung out with Trigger Drey? Yes? Yeah, it
makes you want to do records like this. I need that.
I need that about life. You know what I'm saying. Emotionally?
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Do you ever get triggered when you're on stage performing
some of those records though?
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Yeah? Yeah, I mean, especially like lately, because I'm so
seasoned with it that, you know, everything is like a
sermon to me. You know what I'm saying. I don't
take dislikely. I don't. I'm in a space where I'm
I'm I'm you know, I'm definitely I'm blessed and I'm
grateful to still have people that understand what my mission
(09:39):
is because it's my purpose, it's who I am like,
you know a lot of people do this because it
has money or some type of you know, some some
type of something behind it. But this is who I
am every day, Like this is my life. Like when
I walk out of here and I go walk downstairs
and I see somebody, they ain't talking about the song.
They talking about me, like we like, I keep doing
what you're doing because we live in through you. So
(10:01):
for me, it's just like some of those songs, especially
like twenty years later to see it, because I'm gonna
be honest, like Soul Survivor hits so different. It hits
so different, like because back then it was a great song.
You know, shout out this kid Stewart, you know, Rescipeace.
He made me put that on the album. You know
what I'm saying. But my whole thing was like I
want to go trap or die, you know. And imagine
(10:23):
if I would have listened to that myself and stayed
on that trajectory and then where is that now? Because
when I'm doing this Soul Surviving arenas and I'm looking
at these kids, I'm looking at these people, I'm like
I want to do they realize like this is who
I am. You know what I'm saying, and this is
me living my dream being on the stage. I'm still
getting standing ovations twenty years later, you know what I'm saying.
(10:44):
So I don't know nobody else that can say that
they're soul survivor and mean it like that. So yeah,
that record means a lot to me and even Trapper Die.
You know what I'm saying. It's just like that's real.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
But you're not sitting on the block with your thank
God no more.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Nah, we'll talk about that offline, but.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I was gonna ask, does the street mentality actually leave? Right?
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So if you see I.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Mean, and you've been around Jay and you're seeing his
evolution of being always looking over his shoulder to now,
but when I see him walking in the buildings, it's
like free, I don't have to worry about that.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
When I see fifty more, yeah, he feels more free.
Do you feel that way?
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Yeah, Like there's always I mean, but I still got
it because I'm not exempt, but I understand what it is.
But you know, I carry myself with a level of integrity.
So it's just like, as long as I feel like
it's mutual respect, I don't feel like the need to
even have to watch the room. But I will tell
you this, I've been on a journey for about like
(11:44):
almost eight nine years now, you know what I'm saying.
But I can tell you at this point of my
life like I'm really at peace, Like I don't worry
about the things that I can't control, and that is
including people, you know what I'm saying. So for me,
it's just like I don't you know, everybody know me.
I float around myl with any city.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Though, because it took you a long time to get there.
What got you there?
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Work therapy, therapy, work, h journal and meditating all that,
you know what I'm saying, Like I'm not even gonna
hold you like it's real. And when you wake up
and you start to realize like okay, and you can
emotionally regulate and you and you know who you are,
you have nothing to prove. There's no better feeling, you
know what I'm saying, because I don't got to prove anything.
And by the way you can see, you can tell
(12:24):
because people are attracted to that, because they can tell
that that's how you feel. Piece attracts peace, Chaos attracts chaos.
Anyway around that. You know what I'm saying, If you
if you got nervous energy, you're gonna tract nervous people.
I ain't invite no nervous people to my house. Watch
me DJ. You know that Yan to go back.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Do you remember the moment when jay Z told you
that album was a classic?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I remember reading that and maybe double.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
He said to me. He said to me, you you
got a brand? He texts me. He was like, you
got a brand. And I didn't know what that meant
at first, but you know, twenty year years later, I
can see that what he meant, like you actually stand
for something and people understand what that is. Right, So
it's almost like your bread could be anything. But my
(13:12):
brain has always been motivation, you know what I'm saying.
But if you coming out with your first album, it's
hard to tell people you're motivating people. But twenty years later,
that's what it is. I'm still doing what I know
how to do best, and that's what he was trying
to get me to see, Like stay there. You know
what I'm saying, because you know music was changing. You know,
we all want to be hot, but it's like when
you when you when you're on fire in the inside.
You don't need to be on fireside. You know what
(13:33):
I'm saying. I ain't got to chase nothing. But then
I would have you know what I'm saying. You know,
like you it was snap music, it was crunk music.
I had to figure it out. You know, I'm rapping
it and I'm making songs that are the temple, you know,
seventy two. You know, you think about knock if you buck.
You know that was up there. So I'm in the
club competing with that, thinking, man, maybe I should, you know.
(13:54):
But he was more saying like stay there, you're good.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Yeah, but didn't he tell you that that album was
a classic?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah he did. He did. He hit me up.
He was just like yo, I think when he heard
it for the first time because I played it for him,
you know what I'm saying. And yeah, he definitely told me.
He was like, Yo, this this one here gonna live
with you. And you know me, I was already on
to the next one. I was like, well'm well do
for the next album, because you know how it is
(14:19):
you living from you know, you're living from that place
to survivor You're like, man, if this worked. I gotta
be ready to go in because that's a lot of pressure,
you know what I'm saying. I don't know if that
helped me when he told me it was a classic,
because you know, back then, you know, I was a
little wild, So that got to you know that that definitely, uh,
you know, made my head a little bigger. So that definitely,
you know, like that to my ego. Did you ask
(14:39):
him to get on Dope Boys Go Crazy?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Absolutely, I remember playing it. So first of all, that
record was a record that I heard when I was
over somebody else's trap house and they was playing this
Tip mixtape. I think it was Down with the King
and I was just over there and I was kicking
and it was playing it. They asked me that I
hear it, and I heard that I heard him rapping
over to go Crazy, and I'm like damn, I said,
(15:01):
who made the beat? There was like Don Cannon. So
I left and I called Don Cannon. I was like, yo,
I need a beat like that, And then he said
why not use that beat? And I said, okay, what
you mean and he said tipped and by the beat
he just rapped over. I was like, bet where you at?
And pull up on you now. You know what I'm
saying right now. I got the I got the record.
I had a meeting in Death Jam, so I flew in.
(15:25):
Me and coach K flew into UH to New York.
That morning, he picked me up from the studio. We
flew in. We flew back that same night. On the
way back, I wrote go crazy on the plane. You
know what I'm saying flying back to Atlanta. Recorded that night,
I had three verses. Death Jam came about two weeks later,
and it was all in patchworks and I played the
whole album and when I got to that song, it
(15:47):
was all clapping when it was done, and I was like, Yo,
by the way, I'm putting jay Z on the song.
I said, y'all need to work that out. So La
read that yet speak of the existence. And one day
for the BT Awards, I was out in LA and
who called me to his hotel. He's like, YO, come by,
to come by the hotel. So we sit upstairs and
(16:08):
this suite outside on the patio, smoking cigars, just talking
because we never talked about music. We always talk about life.
And then he was like, Uh, what verse you're gonna
take off? And I was like, we mean, and then
he was talking about go Craze. I had three verses
and then he said, uh, I'm doing it, by the way,
and I was like, take it. You can take them
(16:29):
all off. That's what you want to do. I still
on the hook, and I remember I never forget it.
We was at kDa in New York. I mean, I'm
sorry in LA and Coach K walk in like we're
doing an interview like this. Coach K walk in. He
was like I got it, and I'm like what he's like,
I got the jay Z verse med interview. I told
the guy, I think it's Julio. I said, Julio, you
(16:50):
got We stopped the interview. I was like, you got
hold up and I go outside and I told him
to come in the hallway. Coach played press play and
I heard that verse more than a hustle on the
death cover. I was happy at first, but then I
started thinking.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
That it's okay, that record's best ever.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah, I was. I was. I was like, damn, okay,
how did this work? You know? I think I got
him back on seeing it all.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Though, I think, so yeah, oh yeah, motivation one on one.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Is there a record that didn't make the album because
of clearance or for whatever reason that you said, Damn,
I wish that one made that album.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yeah, it was a bunch of like mixtape stuff that
didn't make it. And the thing about it is like
the album really got pressured out. You know what I'm saying.
Because one of the interns who was up there, who
was trying to get his beats on the album, we'll
get a beat on the album. You know, I never
did anything on his records, and I left my drives
(17:54):
at Patchworks, so I guess he got mad and leaked
the album four weeks before it came out. So now
Bell's palsy, uh my vocal cords, all these things happening
at once, and now the album's leaked. So now I'm
sitting there and I'm like, what am I gonna do?
(18:18):
Because now I got to think of the next plan.
So I can't go back to the streets. You know
what I'm saying, Because now I'm like, damn, like this
is it. And I'll never forget I went to pass Works.
You know, I caught a lawsuit. I'll say that, you
know what I'm saying, because I had to bring the
books right and and uh, you know. Actually it helped me,
(18:38):
you know what I'm saying. So you know what they say,
no no weapon, you know, in form against me. So
prosible help me because it went to all the bootlegs
and it spread it everywhere. And the thing that I
had the most anxiety about out of every thing was
I had to pick a single right and on mixtapes
they try to put that they pick it for you.
So by the time he leaked it and it was
already going, I didn't know what I was going. And
(19:00):
I was still pushing Trapade the song and the label
called me and Secure called me. He's like yo, He's like, yeah,
you can shoot trapa dive. That's what you want to do.
We're shooting Soul Surviva. How do you want to shoot
the video? Came to Brooklyn, shot the video. Everybody showed up, Hold,
Jim Jones, Cameron, you name it. It was crazy. It was
it was festive and the video you know, we did
(19:21):
it like paid him full. It was crazy. It was
probably one of the most memorable moments of my career,
you know what I'm saying, Because you know, you always
heard stories about Brooklyn, like, ain't nobody come to Brooklyn.
They're like, Jesus, we love you. Like I'm I'm out
in Brooklyn shooting the video and everybody from the blocks
coming out, and the whole label was there. A lot
of guys from Atlanta came in like it was. It was,
(19:43):
it was ill and when the video came out, it
was gone. And I didn't really and I told I
was telling somebody that I knew Akon from being around
the way because it was like him and Boo. I
couldn't tell him apart, right, you know what I'm saying.
So I didn't realize he was that big oversea and
I didn't. And then this is the first collaboration that
I've ever done, so I didn't realize doing a record
(20:05):
with somebody that you can actually tap into their fan
base too, on a national level or a global level, right,
And I ain't know that. So it went from me
being able to walk through the airport, you know what
I'm saying, seven a m. To catch my flight to
like now I'm walking through the airport. Everybody, Hey, con
you like where you from? Brother Africa? Man? We love you.
I'm like, oh man, you know what I'm saying. So
it was love and it was just like one thing
(20:27):
I say about the boy Khin, He's different, you know
what I'm saying, because he's over there, you know, and
they love him. You know. I shows with him in
Africa and I'm like, okay, like what is going on?
Nobody knows who I am, but know who you are.
And he was like, you got to be over here
a little bit more. And I love that, you know
what I'm saying. And we over the years hit me up.
(20:47):
You know, over the years we always stayed locked in.
Hit me up. The other day, I was like, yo,
we number one on TikTok. I don't even know what
that means, but I'm like, yeah, really flippered to the judge.
Yeah he did. Yeah right, way got them ten. I'm
(21:07):
trying to get him off for about phone and a half,
but yeah, yeah, shout out to ma'a man.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
I'm shocked that you didn't know that you were such
a saxaple. I'm really sitting here like you how.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Did you not?
Speaker 1 (21:17):
I mean, you know, like in the you know, like
I didn't know that then, you know what I'm saying,
cause you gotta think like back then when I was
doing you know, I was I'm five eight. I was
two sixty skin bad. I want drinking water. My dad
was waffle House and Crystal. You know what I'm saying.
I'm partying all day because I didn't know if I
was going to be home for real. Yeah I was
(21:41):
big now, Oh yeah yeah yeah, not get it now.
I mean even on the intellectual level, like I know
that I can sit down smart with the best of them.
I know that for a fact.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
We saw you with Neil.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Yeah shot, and then I.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
Said, I was even saying a lot of women in
the commons saying, oh after the divorce, man, he looked
even better.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Oh wow, I received that.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
But I know that that was like an intense time.
You know, last year, you're going through all of that,
even with you know, the custody battle she did win
and everything. Where are things with you on your ex?
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Now?
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Peace? Yeah? Peace? Man. I just I'm I'm all about understanding.
I'm all about what's best for everybody, the greater you know,
the greater good. And it's just like I'm just telling you,
Like my life, I tell myself this every day, like, man,
this is amazing. I don't got no enemies, I ain't
got no issues. I don't want no enemies. I don't
(22:33):
want no issues. I just want peace. I just want joy,
and I just want freedom. I love my freedom. You
know what I'm saying, Like I love it, Like you
just talk about I came up here independently. I just
call like I'm coming to the breakfast club. You know
what I'm saying, Like I ain't got to check in,
I ain't gotta you know, I ain't got to talk
to no label, I ain't got to do nothing to
shout out to depth jam. I love y'all. But it's
just like freedom and ownership is everything. You know what
(22:57):
I'm saying, Especially when you're talking art, you're talking culture,
talking to your mind. You know what I'm saying, Like
I've worked hard my whole life. This is like this
this is the season of me. You know what I'm saying.
I'm putting myself first. It all costs, you know what
I'm saying, And it's just like my piece is everything.
Like everybody didn't know me. Know that. You know what
I'm saying. They calm and be like, yeah, bro, like
I love you, but don't call me nothing crazy. You
(23:17):
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I want to ask you know, how was that because
you're very private, very private person, but that was so
public did not irk you at all, like everybody in
your business talking about you.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Well, I had to come to the realization that I
know who I am and that nobody else can't tell
me different. So as long as I stayed on the
path of integrity and staying true to myself, it wasn't
nothing really to worry about because anybody didn't know me,
Like I mean, I even heard y'all was up here,
like now, I know, I know Jezu you know that,
But that's that's because my reputation exceeds me. I'm like,
(23:50):
I ain't. I ain't on nothing, you know what I'm saying.
That's I need to be you know what I'm saying,
And I'm not. So it's just like it comes with
the territory, you know what I'm saying, he where as
the crown. It's just like you know, people talked about Jesus,
you know what I'm saying, They're gonna talk about everybody.
Everybody's not gonna like you. Now, if I'm a good
person to you and you don't like me, then there's
(24:10):
a problem. But if you don't like me because of
what you heard or what you think, then I ain't
none of my spiritual business. I can't do nothing about that.
You know what I'm saying. I can't even convince you
because your mind has made up. However, if you know
me and we had some type of interaction and action,
I haven't done anything wrong to you, then that says
more about you than me, because now you judge and
(24:30):
now you judge me. There's no judgment here because I'm
not perfect by far. But if I haven't done anything
to you, then you can't take that position because you know,
the people around me got real love for me and
my friends in my circle, like I never felt any
type of just but the people who wasn't for me
of course, and that I mean that did me a solid.
(24:52):
Now I ain't got to even worry about cutting you off.
You know what I'm saying, would get married again yet
me up, I'm gonna be all the way on. I
love my freedom and that has nothing to do and
has nothing to do with anything in the past. I
just love my freedom. You know what I'm saying, Like
I love it. You know, I think like partners are amazing.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
You know I would think, so, how did you feel
when the Internet said you were you were trying to
holler me along by any means necessarily.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
They wasn't lying, It was not lying. But I was real. Men,
I never cheated like that. No, I don't cheat me
like that. I'm saying, like, that's a little hanging fruit.
If I'm locked in, I'm like, then we got to
(25:41):
be married. Like, I'm just not a cheater. That's like,
I'm not gonna cheat my friends. You know what I'm saying.
I'm not. I'm not. That ain't in my blood. But
but but you said I was trying to holler, Yeah,
I was, you know, but I had to be respectful
because I was still you know, finalizing, you know what
I'm saying. So it was hard.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
It was tough saying focus, they're gonna link you with
everybody now, they're gonna link you everybody.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Ability the other day when you did that, they.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Wouldn't do that. They would do We love Cynthia. Man
shout out to Cynthia. That's a home. You know what
I'm saying. Now.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Now the other one, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
I just said on that real quick.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
On the other one, oh, absolutely everything is smilized.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Park.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I'm gonna hit the Park. But I'm not gonna play
about that.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
So you said you might see her at some of
these shows.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I mean, listen, she's invited. I know she has a
beautiful black dress. He's definitely invited.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
I do want to know what what inspired you to
re reimagine the album in this way though, because I'm
sitting I'm like your symphony orchestra, black tie, twist your
fingers up bag.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
But when we did it with the we did it
in Atlanta was the first one. There was no feeling
like that because there was a lot of people that
I saw and by the way, I've been trying to
do this for you know, at least five years. But
it was like so many people that I saw in
the crowd that I knew personally that I was just
proud of where they was at because they're successful this,
(27:15):
that that, But they don't want to come to a
show where they feel I want to bring my woman out,
I want to get you. I want to go to
dinner before and hit the spot after. This is a celebration.
This isn't a show a concert. This is a one
night you know, one man. One might think, and it's
just like, why not celebrate the evolution of it. And
also I would like to add that I feel like
(27:37):
it's my moral obligation because I was the one that
told these kids that trapide. I feel like it's my
moral obligation to show them evolution in this and that
you don't have to change to evolve, you know what
I'm saying. It's like, if you make art, it should
grow with you, right, it shouldn't. You shouldn't have to
be a different person, because I think that's what they
run into the roadblocks. It's just like I gotta be
(27:59):
thugged forever, you know what I'm saying. And that's if
that's how you feel, that's how you feel, But I don't.
I ain't gonna gotta be on the block with my
you know what I'm saying. Like now, I'm in the boardrooms,
right and that's okay. And my thing is my is
my mind because I know I'm a lot of water
dos and I don't been through enough to know that
if the press is on, I'm not worried about losing
my job. They may be. I'm gonna make sound decisions
(28:21):
because I've been through it before. So that's my gift.
But for the culture, it hurts me to know these
young men and to see them in these situations. I care,
bro Like, I don't care what nobody These are my
These are like my little brothers, and I know I
can't change them, right, so I can't judge them. The
only thing I could do is what I saw, like
(28:43):
hold them do for me. Just leave by example. You
know what I'm meaning, Just do your thing and just
leave the door open or the back door at least,
because it's not easy, like to even get to this
point and all the turmoil and those that got closed
on me just to even do this this project, you
know what I'm saying. I had to really really realize,
like okay, you still you. So you gotta really, you know,
(29:04):
do this the right way and it's on your own.
But you gotta realize they ain't gonna let just let
you in this door like that. But so I got
to make sure I leave the door open for the kids.
It's coming up at the generation behind him, because if
you really look at it, when Trappa Daye dropped up
motivation all this, if you've seen the influx of street
cats that got into music because they was like, man,
I saw Jesus, I know people that he actually was
(29:30):
affiliated with, got down with whatever cities he been to, whatever,
So I know, if he can do it, I can
do it. The only problem is the rules are different
because ain't nobody, ain't no big homies, So it's like
the wild wild West, you know what I'm saying. It's
probably why I'm listening to the house music these days,
you know what I'm saying, Because it's like I love
the music, but it's a different vibration, so I don't
need that all day. I can listen to it in
(29:50):
the gym, right, but I'm not gonna listen to it,
you know when I get up in the morning to
go do what I gotta do, because I want to
keep it, you know. But at the same time, I
feel like it's my more gatson, like in my heart,
you know what I'm saying, Like that's my purpose to
inspire and to help culture evolve, Like that's that's my purpose.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Do you have conversations with the younger artists?
Speaker 3 (30:11):
And the reason I ask is yeah, it's like you said,
you know, we talk about it all the time. We
did a lot of super stuff back then, but there
was none of this. There was no internet, right, They
weren't telling on themselves, but now it just seems like
it's the cool thing to tell everybody what you did,
rather hate it illegal or not, which is the wow.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Crazy because there's no integrity and there's nobody to follow,
which is why I don't do a lot of interviews.
You know what I'm saying. I come talk to y'all.
We don't kick it, but I don't got nothing to
say to somebody who's looking for ignorance. For me, you
know what I'm saying, I'm not. I'm still operating by
the cold, you know what I'm saying. These people are
moving the goalposts. I don't like that. I don't want
to play in that game. You know what I'm saying.
(30:47):
Every time it's something different. Why is it something different
for them and not me, you know what I'm saying,
or us? So for me, I feel for them because
they don't got nobody to follow, you know what I'm saying.
And there's nothing like giving somebody this because you got
to think about it, like WEE got the type of
money he got, but he ain't get Lebron money for playing.
So they're giving them a different type of money, and
they're using the money. They still got trauma, they still
(31:08):
got things going on that's so important to them that
they feel like they got to deal with. But now
you're giving them money to few the war man.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
I seen this kid on TikTok a Couples goingmembery showing
you that video. The dude was literally in his room
crying to his girlfriend because his object came up on
some money, right, and the way he was serious, he
was like, man like, man, they're gonna have all the
type of choppers and switching's actually ain't fair.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I'm like, yeah, first of all, why you're recording this
number one? He's probably trying to get a safe haven
to me. You know who it is. I don't respect it.
You know, I said I wasn't gonna talk about it
when I came up here because I feel like, ain't
none of my spiritual business. But as somebody who's been
in the game, a part of the game and in
this world or not of it, I just don't respect it.
Ain't no integrity. Like everybody getting up here, they talking
(31:51):
too much. They're saying too many things, and if that's okay,
then the next generation gonna do the same thing and
even worse. It even worse. And I'm only concerned about
the culture because at some point, when nobody respects it
no more, they're not going to respect the art form.
It don't even matter what you say. It'll be like
we'll be obsolete, you know what I'm saying, because ain't nothing,
ain't no, There ain't no integrity behind what we're doing
(32:13):
or saying, because we're doing anything, and it looks like
we're doing anything for money, right And I don't like
that because I'm not doing anything for money. You know
what I'm saying. I probably turned down more than I
accept because it got to be in line with my purpose.
And that's just me. I'm not asking nobody else to
be that way. But when you speak of a culture,
you can see why people kind of stay away from
it because they're kind of like, I don't know if
(32:33):
I want to be affiliated with that, you know what
I'm saying, because I don't. I don't, you know, And
if all my kids are going to think is that
you know that I was an artist, and that's it.
I'm a father first, I'm a man first. You know
what I'm saying. I'm a CEO first. You know what
I'm saying. I'm a big brother first, you know what
I'm saying. I'm all the things. I'm a son, you know,
(32:55):
So we can't just get categorized and boxed into what
we are as far as coach and go live that out,
because then if something happened to your kids, are the
ones and suffering, you know, ain't nothing like having a
daddy that was rich and now we ain't got nothing
because he made a decision for what he thought was right.
They had nothing to do with anybody. And you asked
me earlier, And I ain't calling no names because I
(33:17):
ain't trying to call nobody out because I love them. Bro,
I don't want to set on these catch beds in
their house and they room like, hey man, we got
to talk, bro. Like I'm a call like, hey man,
what you got going?
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Like, come pull up on me. Let's talk about this. Man.
I'm did it so many times. And I think that
the disconnect is when they when these labels are giving
these kids these type of money, money equals respect to them.
So it's like, I'm not listening to you because you
ain't doing nothing for me. And I got this, which
is fine now, sustaining it is a whole different conversation,
(33:50):
but even keeping you because now you got the change
to change generational wealth, you know what I'm saying, or
either put those kids in. It's a difference between your
kids going to to public school and private school or
having those type of friends when they grow up, because
that's what it's about, like their relationships and who they're
gonna meet and grow up with and go to college
with and all that, because it ain't about you. It's
about your kids, right, But just imagine that everything's going great,
(34:16):
everybody's loving this new life we got, and then you
just make a decision. It's purely based on the motions
and ego. And I tell everybody, man, a bad day
for the ego is a great day for the soul.
You know what I'm saying, Because I've had to make
so many unpopular decisions, but it all worked out for
me because I'm in peace right and I ain't gotta play,
you know what I'm saying. It's like I don't got
(34:37):
to play the game because if you come over here,
you know what I'm saying, We're gonna be in the right.
It's not even it ain't even about being gangs. It's
about being a man. It's just like I don't want
to be nothwhere around it. I love y'all. You can
come one on, you know, one on one, but don't
bring all your partners. I don't want to be bought
of that, you know what I'm saying. But I feel
for them because you know, it's a lot of web
pinles in that penitentium. Man, you know what I'm saying.
(35:00):
There's a lot I do want to say.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
In regard to the music you used to make twenty
years ago, you can't beat yourself up about that because
you was doing the best you could with the information
you had at the time. And when I listened to
Third Motivation one on one that don't just a hustle
is a hustle, I don't mean that leaving me.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
To no, no. And I don't want you to think
that I'm tripping. I'm saying because I always knew it
was a position of leadership. I always understood that now
what I was going through. When I was going through,
I just wised up over time and started listening to
the people who's really trying to help me, right, because
they really were, and they were people that I wouldn't
expect you know what I'm saying. There were people that
(35:37):
was reaching out having these conversations, but I took hey,
and I was just like, Okay, tell me about that.
And you gotta stay curious, you know, you got to
ask the questions. And then when you start seeing what's
happening around you, it goes back to the streets. Like
I knew what not to do based off behind all
these people getting into trouble. So I'm like, I don't
want to do that. I ain't the jail type. I'm
gonna tell you right now. I can't see sitting nowhere
(35:59):
and not being product. So I don't want to even
put myself in a position like that without me having
to you know what I'm saying. But I don't regret anything.
I don't regret my hard times. I don't regret my lows.
I don't regret my highs. I don't regret my run ins.
I don't regret anything because it all taught me a lesson.
You know what I'm saying, And I stand that now
and I can say that whole hardly. So when somebody
comes and talk to me, I can say, bro, look,
(36:21):
I can't tell you what to do but I'm gonna
tell you, like, I don't know how that's gonna work out,
because this is what happened over here. This is what
I've seen happen with this person. Now, you could take
that data and that information, you could do whatever you
want with it, but I can assure you that if
you do that, there's gonna be some type of consequence.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
So when you when you go on a journey like this,
you know, for your your twenty years of thumb motivation
one on one, does it make you like does it
make you reach out to like older people you came
up with?
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Like, have you smoke in the big meat?
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Yes? Solid? Solid? Okay, yeah, everybody solid? Bro. I'm just
peace man. Welcome home is love, baby. You know what
I'm saying for me, it's you know, I'm like I said, man,
it's all good me bro, you know what I'm saying?
All good?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
What's the deep album cut that you really enjoy performing
off Doug Motivation on one man?
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I mean listen, bro, I can't get past intro, you
know what I'm saying. And you gotta you gotta wait
till you hear this with the with the symphony, you
know what I'm saying with the symphony, and I need
everybody know I'm coming through your city. I'm coming through
your town. It's gonna be amazing one night only, and
you gotta pull up. And going back to your other
(37:28):
question about me reaching back out, I think it's more
important for me to reach forward. So shout out the LISK,
who I just partner with for my nonprofit space, and
shout out to the Urban League of Atlanta, who I
reached out with for my Young CEO program.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Because it's like, what is list I know you do
that with the Screen Dreams Foundation.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Yeah, list is is. So we got to two things
going right now. We definitely got the prostate cancer campaign
going on because I had a couple of friends that
go through that, so we were locked in there. But
it's definitely entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs, you know tech spaces just
you have it like we're showing them how to set
up their lives so that they can win. And same
(38:10):
thing with the Urban League of Atlanta. Same thing. We
got the Young CEO program. You can go on my
Instagram check it out. You know, anybody from the ages,
what's the agent seventeen to twenty four and we send
it up. We're putting them with mentors all that. And
by the way, like this is who I am. Like,
I love this. And somebody asked me, how do you
(38:32):
do both? They're all the same, you know what I'm saying.
We still motivating. It's all the same to me. You know,
it's just we get to jump on the stage, but
then we get to go help some people with prostate
against We get to jump on the stage and we
get to go help mentor some kids. You know. I
love it.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
And you're saving people, you know, and people can live
a much longer life if they just go.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
And I know I said this last time, but I
got to say it again because you saved me. Brother.
Shout out to Charlemagne for my New York Time best
selling book Adversity for Sale, because I ran into a
situation where I had an issue with a publishing company
and I called charlemagne'e like, who published your book? And
he put me with somebody and we went on to
(39:09):
sell a New York Times bestseller.
Speaker 4 (39:12):
Yeah, so thank you, thank you, brother, Thank you for
all the years of motivation with the music. My last question,
if you could go back and tell two thousand and
five GZ one thing before TM one or one drop,
what would it be?
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Go order? Because I was a little reluctant because you know,
I was scared of failure, you know what I mean,
because I had so much on the line. So it
was like real pressure. You know, it ain't nothing like
everybody looking at you like a way out, you know
what I'm saying. That pressure is on your shoulder. But
(39:44):
then you're also looking at yourself like if because it's
different if a record labels inquiring you and you hide
in the streets and on your like they're they're pushing
this issue like this is your money, this is your time,
this is your energy. So if it doesn't work, you know,
nine times out of ten, you don't spend all. You
don't spend all your bread and now you got to
(40:04):
figure something else out and you don't turn your back
on everything you knew as far as like the streets,
to take this chance. So I always said it go
harder because there was a lot of times where I
was like I was sitting back not being the star
that I could have been, because I was having what
did it called the impostra sycally, you know, because I
was in these rooms with these guys that was really
(40:25):
writing and really like this is what they been doing
their whole life, and I kind of just stumbled into
this and it wasn't until I just realized that, like,
but you but you're real though, you are who you
say you are, and you don't have to be as witty.
You can be realer. And that was my thing. So
when I was saying if it's taken too long to
lock up, I was talking to the people who knew
what I was talking about, So everybody wasn't gonna get there.
(40:46):
And that's the that's the that's what I had over
everybody else. I knew how to talk to the people
that mattered to me. And uh, it wasn't until I
really figured that out is when I was like, okay,
I could live in and like I said, it was
it was. I was three hours in before I woke up,
and I was just like I took that book bag
with all those not bricks, I mean like waiting it
(41:08):
because it was heavy, and I just took it off
and through it and I was like, I'm going to
be a star. I'm going to be a star man,
you know. So thug motivation to me was a blur
because it was like it could have happened. It might
not happened, but everything I went through I'm grateful for
even right now to this day, because there's nothing that
(41:28):
I go up against that I don't go What would
I have done in two thousand and five? You know
what I'm saying, how would I've worked around this? And
I love it because when people put me into you know,
like if I get in situations with business and I
called back and I called my team the next thing
and be like, Yo, we're gonna do this, they'd be like, oh, man,
I knew it. We got them, you know what I'm saying,
because they tried to box me in. I figured it out.
Speaker 4 (41:50):
So yeah, answer in a lot of ways just towards
like you being able to relive that time but actually
enjoy the moment.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Enjoy the moment, man, I do, and I want people
to enjoy with me. And I'm gonna say this, like
this is for us. You know, put your put your
black suito. If you don't got a bow tie, put
your black dress on. Let's have a good time. Let's celebrate.
Let's celebrate you know, evolution, Let's celebrate life, Let's celebrate
our wins, our losses and everything, like, let's have a
good time because I don't want to keep coming and
(42:18):
we're doing like, you know, you could do a show,
but I want an experience. You know what I'm saying.
I want you to see what I'm trying to say.
And again, this is a party. This is not uh,
you know, you just come and sitting down. You know,
this is not the opera. Shout out to the opera.
But it's not the opera, gotch. We appreciate you for joinings.
I appreciate you guys and tickets. Oh you go to
gez It's TM one on one.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Live one dot com. Sir, we appreciate you for joining us.
Let's definitely pulling.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Oh yeah, and I want to say this before I leave.
New York is gonna be lit because I'm actually officially
closing down the Apollo. I'm doing the last show there
until they do the renovation, so they're gonna sit down
for the rest of the year. So I will be
having an official last show with them. It's gonna be crazy.
Look on the website to find out when I'm coming
through your city. Shout out to the Breakfast Club, Shout
out to you. Out. Yeah, well there you have it. Yes, sir,
(43:09):
it's Jeezy.
Speaker 2 (43:10):
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Wake that ass up here in the morning. The Breakfast
Club
Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Morning everybody is the j n V. Just hilarious.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Charlamagne the guy. We all the Breakfast Club. We got
a special guest in the.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Building, one of the best to ever do it.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Celebrate in the twentieth anniversary of Thug Motivation One on one,
Ladies and gentlemen, j Z.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
What I'm doing, What I'm doing, what's happening? Good morning?
Good morning. How you feeling, brother man, great man, better
than most? You know what I mean? Right?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I would need I would say I was talking to
somebody yesterday, this is the other day, and he was like, yeah,
I'm my way to JEZ House.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm like for what He was like, I'm opening up
for Jesus. I said, what you mean to open up?
It's like j Z DJ as a hot used to
do it to shut up.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
He was like, yes, DJ, Yeah, you know I used
to DJ back in the day when I was you know,
young in the hood. You know what I'm saying. I
hustled up on the DJ set and uh, I was
just going the hood, just DJ on people's borges. That
was kind of my thing. But that's how I got
into music, you know. What I'm saying. So for me,
it's just like it's like a pastime. But you know,
like the great Andre three thousands said, if you can't
(01:01):
find a vibe, you gotta create it. So I just
invite dope people over to my crib, you know what
I'm saying, curated. You know, we might do some some
red wine and Popeye's Chicken, and I might throw the
set and we just get a cracking vibe. That's interesting.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
So that's how you've been feeling like you haven't been
finding a vibe late lyast you've been trying to create one.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Well, you know, I like to travel a lot, you
know what I'm saying, And I like to live, but
also I like to you know, like turn people onto
what I've learned when I've been around the world. So
it's just like different types of music, different types of curations.
So it's just dope to have people come up to
your houses you trust and just vibe. You know, people
get tired of going our cameras everywhere. You know, some
(01:41):
very distinguished black people in Atlanta and they like to
really live. So I just like, come over to my
crib man, we just hang out, you know what. I'm
saying it's dope though.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
It like is it all rapid?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
No?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
No, No, it was like no, it was like you
play everything.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, house music, old school. Yeah, it's vibe. You know
what I'm saying. Yeah, I got so, I got a
little soap. Yeah, I got a little something. You should
come nick safe.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
You know, I'm you're gonna tell about everybody in the house.
Whoever in the house, I tell you d everybody. Twenty
year anniversary and one of the greatest hip hop albums, Yes, yes, yes.
What does it feel like mentally to have to revisit
that era?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
To be honest with you, it feels like that album
was supposed to happen, uh, and even twenty years later,
just the obstacles that I had to go through to,
you know, get this tour going and everything, it just
feels like deja vu. But the but the consequences are
(02:46):
not dire. They just real life things and you got
to show your adversity. And it feels like I was
just talking to somebody about the other day. It's just like, now,
Soul Survivor really resonates with me. It makes sense, you
know what I'm saying, Because I'm a soul surviving and
I'm listening to the word, I'm like, oh, this is me,
this is who I am. You know when I wrote it,
it was a record. Now this is my life and
it's just like to be twenty because you got to think,
(03:07):
like you think about Park and Big you know, what
would they what would they have done twenty years in
the game. You know what I'm saying, You celebrating all
eyes on me life after death twenty years later. You know,
I don't know. Park might have been DJ in his basement.
I don't know what I'm saying, but I'm living life
and I'm going through you know, one of those stages
(03:30):
where you know, you get to watch the game line
wash the streets. You know what I'm saying. I'm in
this world, but I'm not of it, you know what
I'm saying. So I get to watch it. But at
the same time, I already put my work in so
I get to sit back. But I'm dealing with real
stuff now, running companies and doing deals and and you know,
empowering other people. So it's now I got to really
(03:50):
practice my skills of leadership, but with my catalog behind me,
because I can stand on that because it's solid. You
know what I'm saying. So I'm not you know what,
I'm fraid, you're barely amazed. I could keep going if
I wanted to, but I got to.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You have survivors remorse at all because I used to.
You have so many people that you ran.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yeah, I used to. But everybody know me. They know
what I'm solid. You know what I'm saying. But at
the same time, my life is about peace, join freedom,
and I ain't e I'm saying that to say a
lot of people don't survive the war. Baby, you know
what I'm saying. It's like I ain't got no reason
to go back and then to approved. You know what
I'm saying. I'm just trying to live my life, make
sure my people straight, you know, put me into people
as I could put on and keep you know, just
(04:31):
you know, just inspiring and involving my culture, which is
why I'm even doing this symphony tour, which is crazy
because I think I'm the first one to ever take
a symphony around the world to do a tour. You
know what I mean to celebrate, you know, my first
debut album, which is about three four times platinum. I
ain't checked last.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Time, but I can't.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Motivation one. Yeah, and it's crazy because it's like, you know,
the only time I remember putting on the suit is
for a funeral or adding. It's a celebration and it's
not just about It's not just about you know, the music,
It's about everybody who came along with his journey with me.
That will celebrate. Think about where you was twenty years ago,
you know what I'm saying, Where you were twenty years ago,
(05:17):
and where y'all at now. This is a celebration of
that because that music reminds you of that time you
was out there grinding. But look what you grind it too.
So this is a reason for everybody put on a
suit in a nice black dress and come out and celebrate.
And I do want to say this, this is not
this is not the opera. You know what I'm saying.
You're not gonna sit down and cross your legs. This
is a party, you know what I'm saying. At the
(05:37):
same time, you know, shout out to Adam Blackstone. You know,
he helped me produce it. De Hodges, he wrote the music.
He's actually conducting it. Those brothers are crazy about DJ
drama with me. So you know, it's a part that
got dj A's with me. It's a celebration.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
I'm saying, when you were making this album twenty years ago, right,
were you just making songs or were you thinking the future?
Were you thinking because you look at a lot of
people in the industry and the catalog is not strong,
right that first album, the catalog's not strong, they can't
go on tour.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Were you thinking about that.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
When you're writing this first album or was it just
I'm just trying to get out the hood.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'm just I was just trying to still alive and free,
and I just wanted to be heard. And the reason
why that album is so solid is because I put
everything in that. You know, I didn't have another shot,
you know what I'm saying. It wasn't like no label
was looking for me. You know what I'm saying. I
had spent all these all these all this money to
build this buzz and I had this one opportunity. And
(06:32):
you gotta think, like I lost my voice, I tore
my vocal cords, you know, I had Bell's part. Like
all these things happened at one time, and I'm just
like I was humbled and the album got leaked four
weeks before it came out. Think about that. I was
up against all that and I'm still like praying, you
know what I'm saying, And it happened. So when I
(06:53):
look back twenty years ago, like I didn't realize what
I was doing, but I know to change the trajectory
my family and our generational wealth and getting my family
in a better place that this is all I had,
you know what I'm saying. So I put everything in
that trapa dye in this. Yeah, everything, by the way,
I probably you know it was riding around. You're still
(07:15):
getting it. The Statute of limitations or put that out there.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
You know, it's interesting what you said about the record
Soul Survivor, because at that point in your life you
had survived to a certain extent, but you didn't you
didn't feel that way.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
No, I mean you got to think about it. I
didn't really even start celebrating life until the recession. Wow, yeah,
I was. I was out of it, bro I was drinking, smoking, living.
I'm just holding on, you know what I'm saying, because
I didn't know then I woke up one day It's like, damn,
I'm still free.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
You know, you know at any moment it could go yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
And ain't nothing like that. That's some type of stress
you don't even want, you know what I'm saying, because
it's just it's every day, it never stops, and you're
always on edge. You're living from uh you know, you're
living from a survival mindset. You know I'm saying. And
you know when I woke up on that day when
I started to work on the Recession, That's when I
realized what abundance was. You know what I'm saying. I'm
(08:09):
saying because now I'm like, I'm a superstar. You know,
I was telling them the other day. Man, I got
in the gym, got myself together. My first show in
Boston for the Recession tour. You know, I get the
stage and I'm telling the security guard, Hey, yo, they
throwing stuff at me. We got to get out here
and get down. He's like, sir, No, their panties.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Down like this.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
You know what I'm saying, objects, you know, bros and stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And I'm like, Yo, this is this is different because
you got to think when I was doing shows, when
Doug Motivation came out, all the gangsters in the front.
You know what I'm saying all the all the hustlers.
It wasn't no women. I didn't have any women fans,
you know, shout out to the women fans out there.
You know what I'm saying. Yeah, I didn't have that.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
So when you put that record, the record with Tree
songs on the album, that was them trying to tell you, Jesus,
you got to make something.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
For the lead. That was me trying to do a
record with Trey. Oh okay, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
you ever hung out with Trigger Drey? Yes? Yeah, it
makes you want to do records like this. I need that.
I need that about life. You know what I'm saying. Emotionally?
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Do you ever get triggered when you're on stage performing
some of those records though?
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Yeah? Yeah, I mean, especially like lately, because I'm so
seasoned with it that, you know, everything is like a
sermon to me. You know what I'm saying. I don't
take dislikely. I don't. I'm in a space where I'm
I'm I'm you know, I'm definitely I'm blessed and I'm
grateful to still have people that understand what my mission
(09:39):
is because it's my purpose, it's who I am like,
you know a lot of people do this because it
has money or some type of you know, some some
type of something behind it. But this is who I
am every day, Like this is my life. Like when
I walk out of here and I go walk downstairs
and I see somebody, they ain't talking about the song.
They talking about me, like we like, I keep doing
what you're doing because we live in through you. So
(10:01):
for me, it's just like some of those songs, especially
like twenty years later to see it, because I'm gonna
be honest, like Soul Survivor hits so different. It hits
so different, like because back then it was a great song.
You know, shout out this kid Stewart, you know, Rescipeace.
He made me put that on the album. You know
what I'm saying. But my whole thing was like I
want to go trap or die, you know. And imagine
(10:23):
if I would have listened to that myself and stayed
on that trajectory and then where is that now? Because
when I'm doing this Soul Surviving arenas and I'm looking
at these kids, I'm looking at these people, I'm like
I want to do they realize like this is who
I am. You know what I'm saying, and this is
me living my dream being on the stage. I'm still
getting standing ovations twenty years later, you know what I'm saying.
(10:44):
So I don't know nobody else that can say that
they're soul survivor and mean it like that. So yeah,
that record means a lot to me and even Trapper Die.
You know what I'm saying. It's just like that's real.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
But you're not sitting on the block with your thank
God no more.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Nah, we'll talk about that offline, but.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I was gonna ask, does the street mentality actually leave? Right?
Speaker 1 (11:07):
So if you see I.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Mean, and you've been around Jay and you're seeing his
evolution of being always looking over his shoulder to now,
but when I see him walking in the buildings, it's
like free, I don't have to worry about that.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
When I see fifty more, yeah, he feels more free.
Do you feel that way?
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Yeah, Like there's always I mean, but I still got
it because I'm not exempt, but I understand what it is.
But you know, I carry myself with a level of integrity.
So it's just like, as long as I feel like
it's mutual respect, I don't feel like the need to
even have to watch the room. But I will tell
you this, I've been on a journey for about like
(11:44):
almost eight nine years now, you know what I'm saying.
But I can tell you at this point of my
life like I'm really at peace, Like I don't worry
about the things that I can't control, and that is
including people, you know what I'm saying. So for me,
it's just like I don't you know, everybody know me.
I float around myl with any city.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Though, because it took you a long time to get there.
What got you there?
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Work therapy, therapy, work, h journal and meditating all that,
you know what I'm saying, Like I'm not even gonna
hold you like it's real. And when you wake up
and you start to realize like okay, and you can
emotionally regulate and you and you know who you are,
you have nothing to prove. There's no better feeling, you
know what I'm saying, because I don't got to prove anything.
And by the way you can see, you can tell
(12:24):
because people are attracted to that, because they can tell
that that's how you feel. Piece attracts peace, Chaos attracts chaos.
Anyway around that. You know what I'm saying, If you
if you got nervous energy, you're gonna tract nervous people.
I ain't invite no nervous people to my house. Watch
me DJ. You know that Yan to go back.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Do you remember the moment when jay Z told you
that album was a classic?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I remember reading that and maybe double.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
He said to me. He said to me, you you
got a brand? He texts me. He was like, you
got a brand. And I didn't know what that meant
at first, but you know, twenty year years later, I
can see that what he meant, like you actually stand
for something and people understand what that is. Right, So
it's almost like your bread could be anything. But my
(13:12):
brain has always been motivation, you know what I'm saying.
But if you coming out with your first album, it's
hard to tell people you're motivating people. But twenty years later,
that's what it is. I'm still doing what I know
how to do best, and that's what he was trying
to get me to see, Like stay there. You know
what I'm saying, because you know music was changing. You know,
we all want to be hot, but it's like when
you when you when you're on fire in the inside.
You don't need to be on fireside. You know what
(13:33):
I'm saying. I ain't got to chase nothing. But then
I would have you know what I'm saying. You know,
like you it was snap music, it was crunk music.
I had to figure it out. You know, I'm rapping
it and I'm making songs that are the temple, you know,
seventy two. You know, you think about knock if you buck.
You know that was up there. So I'm in the
club competing with that, thinking, man, maybe I should, you know.
(13:54):
But he was more saying like stay there, you're good.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Yeah, but didn't he tell you that that album was
a classic?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah he did. He did. He hit me up.
He was just like yo, I think when he heard
it for the first time because I played it for him,
you know what I'm saying. And yeah, he definitely told me.
He was like, Yo, this this one here gonna live
with you. And you know me, I was already on
to the next one. I was like, well'm well do
for the next album, because you know how it is
(14:19):
you living from you know, you're living from that place
to survivor You're like, man, if this worked. I gotta
be ready to go in because that's a lot of pressure,
you know what I'm saying. I don't know if that
helped me when he told me it was a classic,
because you know, back then, you know, I was a
little wild, So that got to you know that that definitely, uh,
you know, made my head a little bigger. So that definitely,
you know, like that to my ego. Did you ask
(14:39):
him to get on Dope Boys Go Crazy?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Absolutely, I remember playing it. So first of all, that
record was a record that I heard when I was
over somebody else's trap house and they was playing this
Tip mixtape. I think it was Down with the King
and I was just over there and I was kicking
and it was playing it. They asked me that I
hear it, and I heard that I heard him rapping
over to go Crazy, and I'm like damn, I said,
(15:01):
who made the beat? There was like Don Cannon. So
I left and I called Don Cannon. I was like, yo,
I need a beat like that, And then he said
why not use that beat? And I said, okay, what
you mean and he said tipped and by the beat
he just rapped over. I was like, bet where you at?
And pull up on you now. You know what I'm
saying right now. I got the I got the record.
I had a meeting in Death Jam, so I flew in.
(15:25):
Me and coach K flew into UH to New York.
That morning, he picked me up from the studio. We
flew in. We flew back that same night. On the
way back, I wrote go crazy on the plane. You
know what I'm saying flying back to Atlanta. Recorded that night,
I had three verses. Death Jam came about two weeks later,
and it was all in patchworks and I played the
whole album and when I got to that song, it
(15:47):
was all clapping when it was done, and I was like, Yo,
by the way, I'm putting jay Z on the song.
I said, y'all need to work that out. So La
read that yet speak of the existence. And one day
for the BT Awards, I was out in LA and
who called me to his hotel. He's like, YO, come by,
to come by the hotel. So we sit upstairs and
(16:08):
this suite outside on the patio, smoking cigars, just talking
because we never talked about music. We always talk about life.
And then he was like, Uh, what verse you're gonna
take off? And I was like, we mean, and then
he was talking about go Craze. I had three verses
and then he said, uh, I'm doing it, by the way,
and I was like, take it. You can take them
(16:29):
all off. That's what you want to do. I still
on the hook, and I remember I never forget it.
We was at kDa in New York. I mean, I'm
sorry in LA and Coach K walk in like we're
doing an interview like this. Coach K walk in. He
was like I got it, and I'm like what he's like,
I got the jay Z verse med interview. I told
the guy, I think it's Julio. I said, Julio, you
(16:50):
got We stopped the interview. I was like, you got
hold up and I go outside and I told him
to come in the hallway. Coach played press play and
I heard that verse more than a hustle on the
death cover. I was happy at first, but then I
started thinking.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
That it's okay, that record's best ever.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah, I was. I was. I was like, damn, okay,
how did this work? You know? I think I got
him back on seeing it all.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Though, I think, so yeah, oh yeah, motivation one on one.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Is there a record that didn't make the album because
of clearance or for whatever reason that you said, Damn,
I wish that one made that album.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yeah, it was a bunch of like mixtape stuff that
didn't make it. And the thing about it is like
the album really got pressured out. You know what I'm saying.
Because one of the interns who was up there, who
was trying to get his beats on the album, we'll
get a beat on the album. You know, I never
did anything on his records, and I left my drives
(17:54):
at Patchworks, so I guess he got mad and leaked
the album four weeks before it came out. So now
Bell's palsy, uh my vocal cords, all these things happening
at once, and now the album's leaked. So now I'm
sitting there and I'm like, what am I gonna do?
(18:18):
Because now I got to think of the next plan.
So I can't go back to the streets. You know
what I'm saying, Because now I'm like, damn, like this
is it. And I'll never forget I went to pass Works.
You know, I caught a lawsuit. I'll say that, you
know what I'm saying, because I had to bring the
books right and and uh, you know. Actually it helped me,
(18:38):
you know what I'm saying. So you know what they say,
no no weapon, you know, in form against me. So
prosible help me because it went to all the bootlegs
and it spread it everywhere. And the thing that I
had the most anxiety about out of every thing was
I had to pick a single right and on mixtapes
they try to put that they pick it for you.
So by the time he leaked it and it was
already going, I didn't know what I was going. And
(19:00):
I was still pushing Trapade the song and the label
called me and Secure called me. He's like yo, He's like, yeah,
you can shoot trapa dive. That's what you want to do.
We're shooting Soul Surviva. How do you want to shoot
the video? Came to Brooklyn, shot the video. Everybody showed up, Hold,
Jim Jones, Cameron, you name it. It was crazy. It was
it was festive and the video you know, we did
(19:21):
it like paid him full. It was crazy. It was
probably one of the most memorable moments of my career,
you know what I'm saying, Because you know, you always
heard stories about Brooklyn, like, ain't nobody come to Brooklyn.
They're like, Jesus, we love you. Like I'm I'm out
in Brooklyn shooting the video and everybody from the blocks
coming out, and the whole label was there. A lot
of guys from Atlanta came in like it was. It was,
(19:43):
it was ill and when the video came out, it
was gone. And I didn't really and I told I
was telling somebody that I knew Akon from being around
the way because it was like him and Boo. I
couldn't tell him apart, right, you know what I'm saying.
So I didn't realize he was that big oversea and
I didn't. And then this is the first collaboration that
I've ever done, so I didn't realize doing a record
(20:05):
with somebody that you can actually tap into their fan
base too, on a national level or a global level, right,
And I ain't know that. So it went from me
being able to walk through the airport, you know what
I'm saying, seven a m. To catch my flight to
like now I'm walking through the airport. Everybody, Hey, con
you like where you from? Brother Africa? Man? We love you.
I'm like, oh man, you know what I'm saying. So
it was love and it was just like one thing
(20:27):
I say about the boy Khin, He's different, you know
what I'm saying, because he's over there, you know, and
they love him. You know. I shows with him in
Africa and I'm like, okay, like what is going on?
Nobody knows who I am, but know who you are.
And he was like, you got to be over here
a little bit more. And I love that, you know
what I'm saying. And we over the years hit me up.
(20:47):
You know, over the years we always stayed locked in.
Hit me up. The other day, I was like, yo,
we number one on TikTok. I don't even know what
that means, but I'm like, yeah, really flippered to the judge.
Yeah he did. Yeah right, way got them ten. I'm
(21:07):
trying to get him off for about phone and a half,
but yeah, yeah, shout out to ma'a man.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
I'm shocked that you didn't know that you were such
a saxaple. I'm really sitting here like you how.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Did you not?
Speaker 1 (21:17):
I mean, you know, like in the you know, like
I didn't know that then, you know what I'm saying,
cause you gotta think like back then when I was
doing you know, I was I'm five eight. I was
two sixty skin bad. I want drinking water. My dad
was waffle House and Crystal. You know what I'm saying.
I'm partying all day because I didn't know if I
was going to be home for real. Yeah I was
(21:41):
big now, Oh yeah yeah yeah, not get it now.
I mean even on the intellectual level, like I know
that I can sit down smart with the best of them.
I know that for a fact.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
We saw you with Neil.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Yeah shot, and then I.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
Said, I was even saying a lot of women in
the commons saying, oh after the divorce, man, he looked
even better.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Oh wow, I received that.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
But I know that that was like an intense time.
You know, last year, you're going through all of that,
even with you know, the custody battle she did win
and everything. Where are things with you on your ex?
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Now?
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Peace? Yeah? Peace? Man. I just I'm I'm all about understanding.
I'm all about what's best for everybody, the greater you know,
the greater good. And it's just like I'm just telling you,
Like my life, I tell myself this every day, like, man,
this is amazing. I don't got no enemies, I ain't
got no issues. I don't want no enemies. I don't
(22:33):
want no issues. I just want peace. I just want joy,
and I just want freedom. I love my freedom. You
know what I'm saying, Like I love it, Like you
just talk about I came up here independently. I just
call like I'm coming to the breakfast club. You know
what I'm saying, Like I ain't got to check in,
I ain't gotta you know, I ain't got to talk
to no label, I ain't got to do nothing to
shout out to depth jam. I love y'all. But it's
just like freedom and ownership is everything. You know what
(22:57):
I'm saying, Especially when you're talking art, you're talking culture,
talking to your mind. You know what I'm saying, Like
I've worked hard my whole life. This is like this
this is the season of me. You know what I'm saying.
I'm putting myself first. It all costs, you know what
I'm saying, And it's just like my piece is everything.
Like everybody didn't know me. Know that. You know what
I'm saying. They calm and be like, yeah, bro, like
I love you, but don't call me nothing crazy. You
(23:17):
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I want to ask you know, how was that because
you're very private, very private person, but that was so
public did not irk you at all, like everybody in
your business talking about you.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Well, I had to come to the realization that I
know who I am and that nobody else can't tell
me different. So as long as I stayed on the
path of integrity and staying true to myself, it wasn't
nothing really to worry about because anybody didn't know me,
Like I mean, I even heard y'all was up here,
like now, I know, I know Jezu you know that,
But that's that's because my reputation exceeds me. I'm like,
(23:50):
I ain't. I ain't on nothing, you know what I'm saying.
That's I need to be you know what I'm saying,
And I'm not. So it's just like it comes with
the territory, you know what I'm saying, he where as
the crown. It's just like you know, people talked about Jesus,
you know what I'm saying, They're gonna talk about everybody.
Everybody's not gonna like you. Now, if I'm a good
person to you and you don't like me, then there's
(24:10):
a problem. But if you don't like me because of
what you heard or what you think, then I ain't
none of my spiritual business. I can't do nothing about that.
You know what I'm saying. I can't even convince you
because your mind has made up. However, if you know
me and we had some type of interaction and action,
I haven't done anything wrong to you, then that says
more about you than me, because now you judge and
(24:30):
now you judge me. There's no judgment here because I'm
not perfect by far. But if I haven't done anything
to you, then you can't take that position because you know,
the people around me got real love for me and
my friends in my circle, like I never felt any
type of just but the people who wasn't for me
of course, and that I mean that did me a solid.
(24:52):
Now I ain't got to even worry about cutting you off.
You know what I'm saying, would get married again yet
me up, I'm gonna be all the way on. I
love my freedom and that has nothing to do and
has nothing to do with anything in the past. I
just love my freedom. You know what I'm saying, Like
I love it. You know, I think like partners are amazing.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
You know I would think, so, how did you feel
when the Internet said you were you were trying to
holler me along by any means necessarily.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
They wasn't lying, It was not lying. But I was real. Men,
I never cheated like that. No, I don't cheat me
like that. I'm saying, like, that's a little hanging fruit.
If I'm locked in, I'm like, then we got to
(25:41):
be married. Like, I'm just not a cheater. That's like,
I'm not gonna cheat my friends. You know what I'm saying.
I'm not. I'm not. That ain't in my blood. But
but but you said I was trying to holler, Yeah,
I was, you know, but I had to be respectful
because I was still you know, finalizing, you know what
I'm saying. So it was hard.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
It was tough saying focus, they're gonna link you with
everybody now, they're gonna link you everybody.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Ability the other day when you did that, they.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Wouldn't do that. They would do We love Cynthia. Man
shout out to Cynthia. That's a home. You know what
I'm saying. Now.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Now the other one, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
I just said on that real quick.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
On the other one, oh, absolutely everything is smilized.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Park.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I'm gonna hit the Park. But I'm not gonna play
about that.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
So you said you might see her at some of
these shows.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I mean, listen, she's invited. I know she has a
beautiful black dress. He's definitely invited.
Speaker 4 (26:43):
I do want to know what what inspired you to
re reimagine the album in this way though, because I'm
sitting I'm like your symphony orchestra, black tie, twist your
fingers up bag.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
But when we did it with the we did it
in Atlanta was the first one. There was no feeling
like that because there was a lot of people that
I saw and by the way, I've been trying to
do this for you know, at least five years. But
it was like so many people that I saw in
the crowd that I knew personally that I was just
proud of where they was at because they're successful this,
(27:15):
that that, But they don't want to come to a
show where they feel I want to bring my woman out,
I want to get you. I want to go to
dinner before and hit the spot after. This is a celebration.
This isn't a show a concert. This is a one
night you know, one man. One might think, and it's
just like, why not celebrate the evolution of it. And
also I would like to add that I feel like
(27:37):
it's my moral obligation because I was the one that
told these kids that trapide. I feel like it's my
moral obligation to show them evolution in this and that
you don't have to change to evolve, you know what
I'm saying. It's like, if you make art, it should
grow with you, right, it shouldn't. You shouldn't have to
be a different person, because I think that's what they
run into the roadblocks. It's just like I gotta be
(27:59):
thugged forever, you know what I'm saying. And that's if
that's how you feel, that's how you feel, But I don't.
I ain't gonna gotta be on the block with my
you know what I'm saying. Like now, I'm in the boardrooms,
right and that's okay. And my thing is my is
my mind because I know I'm a lot of water
dos and I don't been through enough to know that
if the press is on, I'm not worried about losing
my job. They may be. I'm gonna make sound decisions
(28:21):
because I've been through it before. So that's my gift.
But for the culture, it hurts me to know these
young men and to see them in these situations. I care,
bro Like, I don't care what nobody These are my
These are like my little brothers, and I know I
can't change them, right, so I can't judge them. The
only thing I could do is what I saw, like
(28:43):
hold them do for me. Just leave by example. You
know what I'm meaning, Just do your thing and just
leave the door open or the back door at least,
because it's not easy, like to even get to this
point and all the turmoil and those that got closed
on me just to even do this this project, you
know what I'm saying. I had to really really realize,
like okay, you still you. So you gotta really, you know,
(29:04):
do this the right way and it's on your own.
But you gotta realize they ain't gonna let just let
you in this door like that. But so I got
to make sure I leave the door open for the kids.
It's coming up at the generation behind him, because if
you really look at it, when Trappa Daye dropped up
motivation all this, if you've seen the influx of street
cats that got into music because they was like, man,
I saw Jesus, I know people that he actually was
(29:30):
affiliated with, got down with whatever cities he been to, whatever,
So I know, if he can do it, I can
do it. The only problem is the rules are different
because ain't nobody, ain't no big homies, So it's like
the wild wild West, you know what I'm saying. It's
probably why I'm listening to the house music these days,
you know what I'm saying, Because it's like I love
the music, but it's a different vibration, so I don't
need that all day. I can listen to it in
(29:50):
the gym, right, but I'm not gonna listen to it,
you know when I get up in the morning to
go do what I gotta do, because I want to
keep it, you know. But at the same time, I
feel like it's my more gatson, like in my heart,
you know what I'm saying, Like that's my purpose to
inspire and to help culture evolve, Like that's that's my purpose.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Do you have conversations with the younger artists?
Speaker 3 (30:11):
And the reason I ask is yeah, it's like you said,
you know, we talk about it all the time. We
did a lot of super stuff back then, but there
was none of this. There was no internet, right, They
weren't telling on themselves, but now it just seems like
it's the cool thing to tell everybody what you did,
rather hate it illegal or not, which is the wow.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Crazy because there's no integrity and there's nobody to follow,
which is why I don't do a lot of interviews.
You know what I'm saying. I come talk to y'all.
We don't kick it, but I don't got nothing to
say to somebody who's looking for ignorance. For me, you
know what I'm saying, I'm not. I'm still operating by
the cold, you know what I'm saying. These people are
moving the goalposts. I don't like that. I don't want
to play in that game. You know what I'm saying.
(30:47):
Every time it's something different. Why is it something different
for them and not me, you know what I'm saying,
or us? So for me, I feel for them because
they don't got nobody to follow, you know what I'm saying.
And there's nothing like giving somebody this because you got
to think about it, like WEE got the type of
money he got, but he ain't get Lebron money for playing.
So they're giving them a different type of money, and
they're using the money. They still got trauma, they still
(31:08):
got things going on that's so important to them that
they feel like they got to deal with. But now
you're giving them money to few the war man.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
I seen this kid on TikTok a Couples goingmembery showing
you that video. The dude was literally in his room
crying to his girlfriend because his object came up on
some money, right, and the way he was serious, he
was like, man like, man, they're gonna have all the
type of choppers and switching's actually ain't fair.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I'm like, yeah, first of all, why you're recording this
number one? He's probably trying to get a safe haven
to me. You know who it is. I don't respect it.
You know, I said I wasn't gonna talk about it
when I came up here because I feel like, ain't
none of my spiritual business. But as somebody who's been
in the game, a part of the game and in
this world or not of it, I just don't respect it.
Ain't no integrity. Like everybody getting up here, they talking
(31:51):
too much. They're saying too many things, and if that's okay,
then the next generation gonna do the same thing and
even worse. It even worse. And I'm only concerned about
the culture because at some point, when nobody respects it
no more, they're not going to respect the art form.
It don't even matter what you say. It'll be like
we'll be obsolete, you know what I'm saying, because ain't nothing,
ain't no, There ain't no integrity behind what we're doing
(32:13):
or saying, because we're doing anything, and it looks like
we're doing anything for money, right And I don't like
that because I'm not doing anything for money. You know
what I'm saying. I probably turned down more than I
accept because it got to be in line with my purpose.
And that's just me. I'm not asking nobody else to
be that way. But when you speak of a culture,
you can see why people kind of stay away from
it because they're kind of like, I don't know if
(32:33):
I want to be affiliated with that, you know what
I'm saying, because I don't. I don't, you know, And
if all my kids are going to think is that
you know that I was an artist, and that's it.
I'm a father first, I'm a man first. You know
what I'm saying. I'm a CEO first. You know what
I'm saying. I'm a big brother first, you know what
I'm saying. I'm all the things. I'm a son, you know,
(32:55):
So we can't just get categorized and boxed into what
we are as far as coach and go live that out,
because then if something happened to your kids, are the
ones and suffering, you know, ain't nothing like having a
daddy that was rich and now we ain't got nothing
because he made a decision for what he thought was right.
They had nothing to do with anybody. And you asked
me earlier, And I ain't calling no names because I
(33:17):
ain't trying to call nobody out because I love them. Bro,
I don't want to set on these catch beds in
their house and they room like, hey man, we got
to talk, bro. Like I'm a call like, hey man,
what you got going?
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Like, come pull up on me. Let's talk about this. Man.
I'm did it so many times. And I think that
the disconnect is when they when these labels are giving
these kids these type of money, money equals respect to them.
So it's like, I'm not listening to you because you
ain't doing nothing for me. And I got this, which
is fine now, sustaining it is a whole different conversation,
(33:50):
but even keeping you because now you got the change
to change generational wealth, you know what I'm saying, or
either put those kids in. It's a difference between your
kids going to to public school and private school or
having those type of friends when they grow up, because
that's what it's about, like their relationships and who they're
gonna meet and grow up with and go to college
with and all that, because it ain't about you. It's
about your kids, right, But just imagine that everything's going great,
(34:16):
everybody's loving this new life we got, and then you
just make a decision. It's purely based on the motions
and ego. And I tell everybody, man, a bad day
for the ego is a great day for the soul.
You know what I'm saying, Because I've had to make
so many unpopular decisions, but it all worked out for
me because I'm in peace right and I ain't gotta play,
you know what I'm saying. It's like I don't got
(34:37):
to play the game because if you come over here,
you know what I'm saying, We're gonna be in the right.
It's not even it ain't even about being gangs. It's
about being a man. It's just like I don't want
to be nothwhere around it. I love y'all. You can
come one on, you know, one on one, but don't
bring all your partners. I don't want to be bought
of that, you know what I'm saying. But I feel
for them because you know, it's a lot of web
pinles in that penitentium. Man, you know what I'm saying.
(35:00):
There's a lot I do want to say.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
In regard to the music you used to make twenty
years ago, you can't beat yourself up about that because
you was doing the best you could with the information
you had at the time. And when I listened to
Third Motivation one on one that don't just a hustle
is a hustle, I don't mean that leaving me.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
To no, no. And I don't want you to think
that I'm tripping. I'm saying because I always knew it
was a position of leadership. I always understood that now
what I was going through. When I was going through,
I just wised up over time and started listening to
the people who's really trying to help me, right, because
they really were, and they were people that I wouldn't
expect you know what I'm saying. There were people that
(35:37):
was reaching out having these conversations, but I took hey,
and I was just like, Okay, tell me about that.
And you gotta stay curious, you know, you got to
ask the questions. And then when you start seeing what's
happening around you, it goes back to the streets. Like
I knew what not to do based off behind all
these people getting into trouble. So I'm like, I don't
want to do that. I ain't the jail type. I'm
gonna tell you right now. I can't see sitting nowhere
(35:59):
and not being product. So I don't want to even
put myself in a position like that without me having
to you know what I'm saying. But I don't regret anything.
I don't regret my hard times. I don't regret my lows.
I don't regret my highs. I don't regret my run ins.
I don't regret anything because it all taught me a lesson.
You know what I'm saying, And I stand that now
and I can say that whole hardly. So when somebody
comes and talk to me, I can say, bro, look,
(36:21):
I can't tell you what to do but I'm gonna
tell you, like, I don't know how that's gonna work out,
because this is what happened over here. This is what
I've seen happen with this person. Now, you could take
that data and that information, you could do whatever you
want with it, but I can assure you that if
you do that, there's gonna be some type of consequence.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
So when you when you go on a journey like this,
you know, for your your twenty years of thumb motivation
one on one, does it make you like does it
make you reach out to like older people you came
up with?
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Like, have you smoke in the big meat?
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Yes? Solid? Solid? Okay, yeah, everybody solid? Bro. I'm just
peace man. Welcome home is love, baby. You know what
I'm saying for me, it's you know, I'm like I said, man,
it's all good me bro, you know what I'm saying?
All good?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
What's the deep album cut that you really enjoy performing
off Doug Motivation on one man?
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I mean listen, bro, I can't get past intro, you
know what I'm saying. And you gotta you gotta wait
till you hear this with the with the symphony, you
know what I'm saying with the symphony, and I need
everybody know I'm coming through your city. I'm coming through
your town. It's gonna be amazing one night only, and
you gotta pull up. And going back to your other
(37:28):
question about me reaching back out, I think it's more
important for me to reach forward. So shout out the LISK,
who I just partner with for my nonprofit space, and
shout out to the Urban League of Atlanta, who I
reached out with for my Young CEO program.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Because it's like, what is list I know you do
that with the Screen Dreams Foundation.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
Yeah, list is is. So we got to two things
going right now. We definitely got the prostate cancer campaign
going on because I had a couple of friends that
go through that, so we were locked in there. But
it's definitely entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs, you know tech spaces just
you have it like we're showing them how to set
up their lives so that they can win. And same
(38:10):
thing with the Urban League of Atlanta. Same thing. We
got the Young CEO program. You can go on my
Instagram check it out. You know, anybody from the ages,
what's the agent seventeen to twenty four and we send
it up. We're putting them with mentors all that. And
by the way, like this is who I am. Like,
I love this. And somebody asked me, how do you
(38:32):
do both? They're all the same, you know what I'm saying.
We still motivating. It's all the same to me. You know,
it's just we get to jump on the stage, but
then we get to go help some people with prostate
against We get to jump on the stage and we
get to go help mentor some kids. You know. I
love it.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
And you're saving people, you know, and people can live
a much longer life if they just go.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
And I know I said this last time, but I
got to say it again because you saved me. Brother.
Shout out to Charlemagne for my New York Time best
selling book Adversity for Sale, because I ran into a
situation where I had an issue with a publishing company
and I called charlemagne'e like, who published your book? And
he put me with somebody and we went on to
(39:09):
sell a New York Times bestseller.
Speaker 4 (39:12):
Yeah, so thank you, thank you, brother, Thank you for
all the years of motivation with the music. My last question,
if you could go back and tell two thousand and
five GZ one thing before TM one or one drop,
what would it be?
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Go order? Because I was a little reluctant because you know,
I was scared of failure, you know what I mean,
because I had so much on the line. So it
was like real pressure. You know, it ain't nothing like
everybody looking at you like a way out, you know
what I'm saying. That pressure is on your shoulder. But
(39:44):
then you're also looking at yourself like if because it's
different if a record labels inquiring you and you hide
in the streets and on your like they're they're pushing
this issue like this is your money, this is your time,
this is your energy. So if it doesn't work, you know,
nine times out of ten, you don't spend all. You
don't spend all your bread and now you got to
(40:04):
figure something else out and you don't turn your back
on everything you knew as far as like the streets,
to take this chance. So I always said it go
harder because there was a lot of times where I
was like I was sitting back not being the star
that I could have been, because I was having what
did it called the impostra sycally, you know, because I
was in these rooms with these guys that was really
(40:25):
writing and really like this is what they been doing
their whole life, and I kind of just stumbled into
this and it wasn't until I just realized that, like,
but you but you're real though, you are who you
say you are, and you don't have to be as witty.
You can be realer. And that was my thing. So
when I was saying if it's taken too long to
lock up, I was talking to the people who knew
what I was talking about, So everybody wasn't gonna get there.
(40:46):
And that's the that's the that's what I had over
everybody else. I knew how to talk to the people
that mattered to me. And uh, it wasn't until I
really figured that out is when I was like, okay,
I could live in and like I said, it was
it was. I was three hours in before I woke up,
and I was just like I took that book bag
with all those not bricks, I mean like waiting it
(41:08):
because it was heavy, and I just took it off
and through it and I was like, I'm going to
be a star. I'm going to be a star man,
you know. So thug motivation to me was a blur
because it was like it could have happened. It might
not happened, but everything I went through I'm grateful for
even right now to this day, because there's nothing that
(41:28):
I go up against that I don't go What would
I have done in two thousand and five? You know
what I'm saying, how would I've worked around this? And
I love it because when people put me into you know,
like if I get in situations with business and I
called back and I called my team the next thing
and be like, Yo, we're gonna do this, they'd be like, oh, man,
I knew it. We got them, you know what I'm saying,
because they tried to box me in. I figured it out.
Speaker 4 (41:50):
So yeah, answer in a lot of ways just towards
like you being able to relive that time but actually
enjoy the moment.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Enjoy the moment, man, I do, and I want people
to enjoy with me. And I'm gonna say this, like
this is for us. You know, put your put your
black suito. If you don't got a bow tie, put
your black dress on. Let's have a good time. Let's celebrate.
Let's celebrate you know, evolution, Let's celebrate life, Let's celebrate
our wins, our losses and everything, like, let's have a
good time because I don't want to keep coming and
(42:18):
we're doing like, you know, you could do a show,
but I want an experience. You know what I'm saying.
I want you to see what I'm trying to say.
And again, this is a party. This is not uh,
you know, you just come and sitting down. You know,
this is not the opera. Shout out to the opera.
But it's not the opera, gotch. We appreciate you for joinings.
I appreciate you guys and tickets. Oh you go to
gez It's TM one on one.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Live one dot com. Sir, we appreciate you for joining us.
Let's definitely pulling.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Oh yeah, and I want to say this before I leave.
New York is gonna be lit because I'm actually officially
closing down the Apollo. I'm doing the last show there
until they do the renovation, so they're gonna sit down
for the rest of the year. So I will be
having an official last show with them. It's gonna be crazy.
Look on the website to find out when I'm coming
through your city. Shout out to the Breakfast Club, Shout
out to you. Out. Yeah, well there you have it. Yes, sir,
(43:09):
it's Jeezy.
Speaker 2 (43:10):
It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Wake that ass up here in the morning. The Breakfast
Club
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