September 30, 2024 • 30 mins
LL COOL J stopped by the Cruz Show to talk about his new Album FORCE. He told us stories about working with Q-Tip, Has & Eminem. Also why he won't smoke with Snoop and how Flava Flav surprised him while they were on tour. He also talk about making new fans + keeping old ones. LL also dropped some inspirational gems that you need to hear.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I don't believe you want to leave like this whispering
I love you when I'll always be here to us.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
No problemma to getti move to You can plend on
your dilemma. I gotta take it from your man. That's
my mission. If its love has really got the hand
of the competition. You're the type of girl, the kind of.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hollywood is he good, greatest of all time. Number One
priority self preservation that applies to the majority different situations.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
The hands got something that you can't quite handle.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Give it to your man, rough and anywhere that handcuffs.
I'm well from the black while we stand up. Candem, candem,
condemn candem. But let it breathe for a second. Hold on,
let that let that sit there for a second. Crazy
hell COOLJ is back on the cruise, cruising, cruising? What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Man, what's up?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Confused with that intro? Yeah, yeah it was with that night.
I was right, It's crazy. Was hot, Yeah, that was hot.
That was hot. We got to get you that. Different chambers,
different chambers, different change, different memories, different moments and time
and time errors. Eras for sure, you know what I'm saying.
Like the King of Eras, dog you know what I'm saying,
young legend, living legend al.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I'm thankful, man, I'm thankful. Yeah, yeah, I like to.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I just wanted to show people that we could keep going,
you know what I'm saying, Like hip hop, You know,
dreams don't have deadlines. Baby, At the end of the day,
it's about pressing play. That's a fact that I'm everything
all bets off. Press play. Let me press play on
that joy press play high feel right then?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Right?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, Now, when you describe it like making films making
albums right throughout the years, right, you have Steven Spielberg,
Martin Scors, these great filmmakers, so many more, right, and
then we have the old Cool Jays and so forth
right making great albums, it's the same vibe because, yeah,
because you want to just do things that I just
wanted to show people that was possible. I think that
hip hop had gotten to a place where we kind
(01:57):
of felt like you just have to trying to dismiss
anything that came before and time moves, and I just
don't agree with that concept because it's not about it's
about old and new, not old and young and so
and the new means the new idea it's so I
think people the reason why people get caught up in
the idea sometimes of rors and being able to continue
(02:21):
is because of where the new ideas come from. So
it's about like if you have a fresh idea, if
you have a new approach, if you have a new
take on how to make the music. Like when we were
talking about the song, the sound of the beat sound different,
Like if you have something new, you could keep going.
You know what I'm saying. It's about innovation, the force.
The force is out on all streaming platforms. Just crazy man,
(02:44):
you and Q tip Yeah, thankful man, god bless yeah man,
than's you crazy man? Just everything just sounds so well
put together right and of course you got legends on
the project. NOAs with a song with nas right, praise him?
Is that like to get him on the song? Is
that a text a call emails not a DM well
with nos no no no.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I text him. I text him and told him about
the song.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
And you know, I wanted to, you know cause I'm
like dabbling in supreme mathematics from when I was a
kid on that on that particular song.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So he came in.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I wanted him to paint a picture you know what
I'm saying to kind of take people transport him to
that time, because the things that I'm saying on that record,
particularly praise them, is very subtle. So if you don't
know the supreme mathematics, some of the things I'm saying
could go over your head. But if you if you
understand it, then it's like it's it's it's like coded.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So it's it's fun, you know in that regard.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
So like with him, I just hit him like yo,
we never did this and then and it was just
was time, you know what I'm saying. And I wanted
to rhyme and make songs with the guys that were
the most talented, but also people that fit the song
that I was working on.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
So like with Nas, that beat be just fit me
and Nas, and like the one with.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Em it fit me and m and like all of
the song like sweety it fit me and Sweetie, you
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
So that was the vibe, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Man on murder Gram, you Eminem did y'all thing I
mentioned this off the air, L was not about to
let Eminem get away with nothing on that song. Let
me tell you some man, Eminem is my man. He's
my friend, you know what I'm saying. And I look
at him as like, you know, like he's like having
a super talented younger brother who who's really dedicated. He's
(04:23):
like a scientist when it comes to em seeing and
I love that because I'm that way too. And so
it was just the perfect opportunity for us to rock together.
We had talked about it for many years and we had,
you know, kind of flirted with the idea, but we
never you know, got around to it. And it was like,
this made sense to me. Yeah, we got you know,
because I don't like the thing. My thing is like,
(04:45):
if you're gonna put different people on a song together,
it's not enough to just the idea of it. Can't
just be good. The execution got to be great. So
me and m you know, making a sting, right, Yeah,
it's got a sting, baby, And that's what we did. So, Yo,
we had a ball with that one. You know, you're
his favorite rapper, it's not one of his favorite rappers.
And he loves the fact that he gets to call
you Todd like that's I love.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
That he's welcome to call me Todd, no problem.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I've heard him in interviews like, yeah, he's my friend
Todd like yeah, no doubt. Right now, that's my friend Marshall,
a good friend of mine, my very talented friend, Marshal.
You know that's that's a TV show, tod At Marshall. Yeah,
it really is like an album title, right man, you
know Garcia, you know Jackie that's is actually a super fan.
We let him in the building, man, I I submitted.
(05:35):
Uh that's.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Why.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Look he's stopped many other artists, but not your here man,
welcome back.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
To the show.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
We are Thank you, Thank you man, thank you for sure.
The Force is out platforms. Can you talk to us
about the title and the artwork of the project. Yeah,
so the Force, you know, it's about that that in
the voice society you that like that encourages you to
inspire you to go after your dreams. Right, Like we're
all on this kind of big adventure, you know what
I'm saying, Like everybody's the hero of their own life movie.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You know what I'm saying. And where you go with
that is up to you. Me.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
You know, I choose to like follow my bliss and
follow that voice inside of me, so I make the music,
and I make hip hop because I love it, you
know what I'm saying, no other reason. It really is
about loving it, just the same way I loved it
when I first started. I did it because I loved it.
So the lover is first. That's so that's what the
Force is about. The forces about tapping into what's inside
(06:33):
of you and getting that out and really you.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Know, taking that to the next level. If that makes sense,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
In terms of the artwork, Q Tip actually Drew did
the artwork on the cover, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
What I'm saying. Like he had showed me a sketch.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
He was messing around with sketches and all that, and
he sent the sketch to me. I was like, Yo,
this is it. I said, this is crazy. We need
to use this for the album cover. So I combine
that with you know, with the shoot and and you know,
the Force cover was born.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
So I really, you know, worked on this.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
It was very collaborative in terms of you know, the
people and the you know, just the approach.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
You know. I didn't want to like, I just didn't
want to do nothing boring man.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
You know, saying like my dudes, like it's nothing worse
than you know, your heroes like half stepping, you know,
late in the game.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You know it's like, don't do that, bro, Like.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, yeah, album just to put out. I don't slip
on a banana peal, you know, slip on a banana
appeal with your album, because that's what you know people
be expecting.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Here we go, I'm done, Here we go, Here we go,
Little Ellie, I know what he goes.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I know what you're gonna do.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I know you're gonna try to sound like somebody.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
That's very true, very true, and you had a lot
of fun and you got to work.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, you gotta listen. Man, if you really love something,
you gotta put your heart and soul in tweet. You
gotta be passionate about the songs you rapping like the
rands do. I'm like, y'all, you know, actually.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I'm written like I love it.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You know what I'm saying, Like, you know, I know
what you're saying, Like I started out, You're doing this
because I love it. So as long as you maintained
that love for it and that passion for it, you're
gonna go hard. Man. You know what I'm saying, Like
you gotta want it, Like I was telling somebody earlier,
like if they shoved your head in a barrel of water,
you gotta want it like you would want air.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
You know what I'm saying. You gotta be hungry for that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You know, there's an artist that that that are hip hop. Right,
you gave us hip hop, You gave you continue its
a lot of ways, in a lot in a lot
of ways, no matter what you did too, whether it
was on the screen or coming out them speakers. Yeah, yeah, nah,
it's look, man, I'm just happy that I've been able
to make, you know, a contribution, you know, to the world,
and have the impact that I've had. You know, you
(08:47):
just never know, man, it just kind of worked out
that way. I when I fell in love with the game,
I didn't know that, you know, I was gonna grab
so much of it, you know, and influence so much
of it. I just did it from pure passion, like
a little kid staring at the vinyl, going in a circle,
imagining myself inside the record, like wondering what it was
like when I heard these voices coming out of the song.
(09:08):
You know what I'm saying, Because it's like, you know,
as a little kid. I just wanted to feel that
empowered feeling, feel powerful. You know sometimes you know you
ca catch a whooping from your step pops or something,
and you know you go to your room and you like, yo.
You know that that music it.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Serves a purpose. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
It like made me feel hold again. So I was like, yo, Yo,
Now I'm gonna whoop some I'm gonna whoop some.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Man some cakes. You know I'm gonna tap you know
what I mean?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Something, what do you think you're stronger for us?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Love or hate? Love?
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, because the love can stop hate, but hate can't
stop love. Say that one more time. I said love
is stronger because love can stop hate, but hay can't
stop love. Okay, you know what I'm saying. So it's
like I give you an example. It's like if you're
in a dark room and I like a match, that
one little that one little light, that one little source
(10:03):
of light illuminates the whole room. Darkness doesn't come from anywhere,
It just is what it is. You know what I'm saying.
So it's like, now, now mind you, Now here's the
flip side of what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Now, if you ask me.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Can can can traumatic experiences or can you hate some
hating somebody fuel you to go do things? That's a
different conversation. Yes, it can, absolutely the motive. But that's
but you gotta remember what you're doing, though, is you're
you're taking that heat, that hate and you're transforming it
into your love for something else.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
So you're still flipping the script. Yep. Ultimately, even though
the hate of.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
You know, this person beat me or this person did
this to me, and that may be the thing that
moves you to do a certain thing, my big brother,
you know, you know, whatever it is, it's still that
you're gonna channel that. You're still transmuting that into something
else to take your life to the next level. You
feel men with podcast? Yeah, real qui we need.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
It's called the Force.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
You've shown you tip a lot of love since you've
been in the interview, the artwork and the production. Do
you recall the first time you ever heard a tripe
called quest and what did you think of them?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yeah, I mean just hearing you know, I left my
wile in El Segundo and then you know, seeing them
do a video in my neighborhood. On top of the cleaners,
like you know, you know when they did that video
on top of the cleaners back in the days, like
you know, that was like incredible to me. It was
amazing to me. It was like dudes from my hood,
like you know, made it. I couldn't have been happier.
(11:39):
Like it was just an incredible feeling because I know,
like my neighborhood is filled with so many different artists
that have come from there, so from even from back
in the days, from like run.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
DMC, and then you got ll Cool J.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And then you got a tribe called Quest, and then
you got you know, in other parts of town, Mob Deep,
and then you got Fifties and then you got job Rule,
and then you have like all of these various artists
all come from around there. You had James Brown who
lived around there, Count Basie who lived around there, and
you know Louis Armstrong who lived around there. And I
mean it's just a very it's a lot. It's a
(12:13):
lot of music and a lot of vibes. So see
a tribe. They were unbelievable, man, And then just what
they did, how they did it, it was crazy crazy,
you know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, super dope it
was a different sound, super dope and sophisticated.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
I was, you know, very sophisticated. You know me, I've
always been like a little bit of a savage man,
like a lot of savage baby, a lot of savageness
going on. Yeah. They was very sophisticated, a little bit
a little bit more well read, so to speak. You
know what I mean. Yeah, yeah, savage man, no shirt man,
(12:47):
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
You know a lot of artists come in here and
they're very like flashy with Julie. I want to point
out because I haven't been able to keep my eyes
off it.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Your friend.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, oh yeah, so so you were fifty alt lt
A cool t. This is now you know what little kids,
little kids give I did like some in stores right
sign in vinyl and like there'll be like ten year
olds and eight year olds that may come with their
parents and stuff, and they made these for me. And
(13:21):
the reason why I put it on is because it
just shows you how your music can keep, you know,
impacting people. Like for a lot there's little kids right
now that are ten, twelve years old and murder Graham
is the first time they heard lf.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
They don't even know about the love songs that people know.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
They don't know the other old the harder songs like
el Bomb, they don't know Rock.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
The Bells, they don't know none of that.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Like murder Graham is the first time they ever heard
of ll cooj So, but then you got people who
love you better was the first time they heard me
and you got people doing it was. But then you
got people back in the days going back to Cali
and all these other Mama said nak So it's like
it's like to me, you know, for them little kids
to take the time and to do that, you know,
the force and to make me these little bracelest. I mean,
(14:04):
it was just like a reminder that I'm touching all
kinds of audiences, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Like that's that's trippy to me.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You know, that's kind of like that's you know, it's trippy,
like you know, but but it's also.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Like it's it's how it should be. Na man.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You know, my son he's seven, he's a fan of
the Beastie Boys because one of their songs was in Trolls.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
You see so here you go.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
He loves brass monkey see, there you go, there you go,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
That's my point.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
That's my point.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So you know, for me, man like with this album,
it's like it's just an opportunity to get new fans
and to give the day one fans something that they
haven't had in a long time, and to have fun
doing it, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Yes, So that being said, performing at the VMAs for
like forty years of him, like, how does that even
like because you said, you know, you touched so many
different audiences, how do you even pick what am I
gonna do?
Speaker 1 (15:01):
You know, when when ll Coolja is performing, you're gonna
get ll Coolja. So you're gonna get, you know, stuff
that if you're depending on your age and when you
when you got into LL or whether even then if
even if you never did, and this is your first time,
you're gonna hear a cross section of things. You're gonna
hear things from the early days, and you're gonna hear
things brand new. I'm like, you know, it's a it's
(15:23):
kind of a weird kind of thing for me because
I have like so many different entry points, right like,
you got people that know me for hosting Grammys and
people that know me for doing television shows, and you know,
so it's it is.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
It does get weird, but you know what I'm saying,
get awkward. I love that, Sam Hannah. It does get awkward.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
But you know what, I just I just make the
music and just pick what makes sense to me, and
I go by my gut because the one thing that's
important with all of this is taste and instincts, you
know what I'm saying. So you know, it's just like
anything else.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
It's like, it's just like boxing, right, it's science, of course,
but then this instinct and you know it's that combination, right, sir, Yes, sir,
Spirit of Syrus with Snoop. How did that come together?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
So Spirit of Cyrus.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I got a call from a high level person in
law enforcement and they was telling me, yo, you need
to stay in the house.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I'm like, why do I need to stay in the house.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
They was like, well, there's a man hunt out for
this guy named Christopher Donna, and you look exactly like him.
And then I went on the internet and I'm looking
at this guy and it's like, I see his face
and he looks just like me coming out my note.
He's bald, he looks just like me, and nay. On
top of that, On top of that, people are like
making jokes and memes, so they're putting us together on
(16:39):
the joint. So I'm like, yo, yo, you guys are
real funny. You trying to get me smashed. So and
then the talk came like you should play him in
the movie. Well, there was that kind of talk, and
so I went down the rabbit hole. And when I
went down the rabbit hole, I read his manifesto. I
read different things that he had said, and I saw
the things that he was talking about in terms of
the issues he was having with the department, and the
black verse is Blue and his like everything he was
(17:02):
going through, it looked it was like a metaphor or
an analogy for what was going on in America. And
so I just decided to write the song. I was
inspired to write the song from a true place, and
it just tell it how it went. And then when
we when we had the sonics and everything, it was
just like when I came up with that, don't try
to apprehend me a black and Blue, I said, Yo,
Snooper sound crazy, saying that. I was like, Yo, Snooper,
(17:23):
sound perfect on that, because you know, think about murder
was a case back in the day Snoop's early music.
It's like them dangerous, rough, raw sounding records, and that's
how spirited Sirrus sounded to me.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So I caught Snoop up. He came down to the studio.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I said, Yo, let's do it. He came down, We
did it, and there it is.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
You smoke with Snooper. No, no, I ain't trying to
Smoke't gonna have me in an emergency room.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Mess around with Snooper. You know what I'm saying, mess
srout with Snoopy. Snoop. Man, I ain't.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Built for that, baby, No, I ain't ready for that.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah, I ain't ready for that. I ain't ready for that. Man.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Now for the Spirit of Cyrus. It did come off
like a script.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Nah.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
It felt like oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. Visually yeah,
because I just because I can see it in my mind.
I can see it in my mind. This is my manifesto,
the reason why I did it. The presser called me evil,
label me a menace. Don't let the lives deceive you.
They pushed me to my limit. Racisms of disease. It's
only right. I kill it, black blood you quit that. Yeah,
it just it just felt like you know, and as
(18:20):
you go down that that rabbit hole and you One
thing I did with this record that was important to
me is no censorship and other And when I say censorship,
what I mean is censoring my inspiration. I'm not told
my cousin every you know people, whatever it is, what
it is, I'm talking about censoring the inspiration. So I
was inspired. No, you know, whatever I'm inspired to write
(18:42):
is what I'm gonna write, and let the chips forward
they may.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I'm not trying to be.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Divisive or volatile or provocative. I'm just gonna let the
inspiration take me where it takes me. You know what
I'm saying, like a hot date be you know what
I'm saying, You can let you know what I mean,
take me. It takes me right to this back seat.
(19:09):
When you're talking about the VA performance as well, the
V yeah VM, my performance was crazy man. The death
Jamn yeah yeah, shout out to death jam and it
was fun, you know what I'm saying, Just getting up
there and again prime example.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
So you got all these kids.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
You know, they twenty nineteen eighteen, and you know, and
they rocket to the music, you know, but some of
them they know proclivities were for word doing it. They're like, okay,
but they know proclivities were for word. It's like it's
a very yo.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It's dope. It's dope. Though it was fun, no question,
no question. Ain't that right? M J deaf Jam bred
in the building.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
He speaking of death Jam. Those tours back in the
day were legendary. I mean pup again, I mean the
Beastie Boys and so on and so forth, and I
mean you got a good story, a good nugget you
could share backstage.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
On man I so many man I used to I
had a tour where I used to come out of
the radio and Flavor Flavor.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
I get up in the radio. He's in there waiting,
you know.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, boy, you know, I'm like, I got a.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Middle of my intro. I'm like, I'm in my set
on my problem, Like, Yo, Flave, what are you doing?
Speaker 1 (20:10):
B He's like, yo, al Man, I said, just come
out with me, and he comes out the radio. Women
it's just like yo yo. So many different things we
went through so many yo bro like yo, and then
there's some things that probably would you better shed off air.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Yeah, inspiration, that's all it is.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
I was thinking about it, like, what is a line
that you've written that makes you laugh that you're like,
I can't believe I said that.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Oh no, no, I believe I said everything. I believe I
said all of it. I in fact, it's the whole
point is when it makes me laugh, I want to
use it like like it's somebod that stuff is like
it is the ridiculousness of it that makes it. I
don't know, It's just so many songs I've written, you
(21:06):
know what I'm saying. Uh, I mean so many songs
about women are always great, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
That's funny.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I mean even header Sprung fool, you know, sexy and
you know you're just you're laying it.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I like the wild Out. I like the wild Out,
Like Headsprung was silly. Headsprung was silly, but I wrote Headsprung.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
It's like it's kind of like, you know how Robert
de Niro would do analyze this right, like sometimes he
would do the you know he would do you know,
Godfather too or heat, but then he'll do analy well,
Headsprung was the equivalent of a actor doing a comedy, okay, right,
so so so when you think about, like the opening
lines of it, when I say they call me big
(21:43):
Ellie a bit silly, big money big really like it's
just ridiculous, But that was the whole point. Works, yes,
because of that, right so like so so a lot
of things I write, it depends on the song, you
know what I'm saying. But but when I get a
chuckle out of myself, that's usually a good son, you know,
because if I if I yeah, if you know.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
If I'm feeling that we're in the right zone, in
the right zone.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Yeah, you mentioned heads frong because the New York Liberty
use your song.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, big Ellie, Yeah yeah, yeah Ellie it's crazy. That's nuts,
that's nuts, right, Yeah, it's cool. Not it's cool, it's great.
Who knew? Boy is crazy? Thank you man? Man? Yeah yeah,
it's just come on man, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Bosco energy,
(22:38):
it's like a visit on my neck and snowing on
my wrists. You want to teach them how to hustle.
Take a pick of me and show him this. Yeah,
that doing is crazy the bos energy. I shot a
video for that. I actually got a visual for that,
and that song is really what. The thing that inspired
that song is a movie called Downtown eighty one and
it was a semi auto auto biographical film about Jean
(22:59):
Michelle Boskia, the artist. And in the in the movie,
he did this funny dance, him and fab fab five
Freddy in this little spot and he starts doing this
little ridiculous, like little silly dance. And when he did that,
me and Tim was looking at We just started laughing.
I'm like, yo, look at this dance. And we ended
up making the song over that wow and taking off
(23:19):
the dance. Yeah, because yeah, yeah, so there's actually a
dance that goes with boskiot energy.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
There's a dance.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Yeah, And talk were coming from and I ain't Chris
Brown bro like, so if I could do it, you
know what I mean, if I could do it, I'm
not Todd Brown bro.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
It ain't t Brown over, so I could do it.
That's right, Yo, that's right. We're in good space, you
know what I'm saying. Good Darston Fat Joe Saturday Night Special. Yes,
it's not about a gun. Well that I mean you.
That was obviously one of the plays on the words,
but it's really about because your decisions are like a gun, right.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
It kind of goes back to like remember.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
The godfeather too, he said, I think it was a
golf He was godfather too, he said.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
He said, I don't know anything about you know, politics?
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He said, well, you understand guns, he said, yeah, he said, well,
he said, money is a gun, and politics is known
when to pull a trigger. Right. So it's like, but
the song itself is about integrity. Always keep your word,
always paying back. The one thing you learn moving around
any street, any hood in the world in general, don't
try to be a tough guy, have manners, respect people's mothers, girls, sisters.
(24:33):
No one is shut up, you know what I'm saying.
Know how to play your position and keep your work.
You do these things, you got a better chance, you know,
getting out of there with a sandwich in your life, right,
Like you want to go get a sandwich and have
your life and enjoy your life, right, So these are
things that will help that. So Saturday Night Special is
(24:55):
really a song about integrity and the idea that yo,
if I tell you I'm gonna do something I do it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
You know, I'm saying, if I tell you I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Bringing four sodas over the mar I'm bringing four sodas
over the mar period.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So and that goes for every area of life. Whether
you're in the street.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I just we just put in a street metaphor, but
that if you're going to do hair, if you're going
to med school, if you're going to be a lawyer,
if you're a mechanic, if the mechanic says to you,
your car is gonna be ready Thursday, Joe, you said Thursday,
I'm in next third.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Don't play, man, don't play.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
You said Thursday. Yeah, you're funny guy. It's every mechanic, man,
you feel me. So that's the thinking behind Saturday Night Special.
That's the whole idea of keeping your word and not
you don't got to be perfect, but that moral integrity.
You know, what I'm saying is doing what you say
you're gonna do. Yes, sir, your force is out on
all streaming platforms. A question, cool j Man. Yeah, the
(25:46):
youngest legend alive. Yeah, I appreciate that. Look at you, man,
You know, I feel good now you should thankful, you know,
and and and you feel good. You take care of yourself.
You have. You know, we got a lot of hip
hop legends going early. When I say early in they fifty. Yeah, no, raizy,
that's scary.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah. You gotta exercise, man, you gotta you gotta look.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Are you telling me that or all of us?
Speaker 3 (26:05):
All of us?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
I'm telling all of us that I do.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Ye. Yeah, that has you got? Now you're good. My
son the other.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Day said dak can I my desert back?
Speaker 1 (26:13):
I was like, fuck, yeah, that's a problem. That's a problem.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Now you gotta look when your elbow bend. If your
elbow ben and you're getting tired, that's an issue.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
That's an issue.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
You know what I'm saying, Like you know, you know
you got twenty two year olds walking up says like young,
you're supposed to what's doing out of breath? Man, it's
supposed to be yo yo crazy. So, like being in
shape is a big part of this because it's good
for your mind too.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
You know what I'm saying, what's your what's your day
to day?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Like, what's your So it depends, but I work on
endurance and stamming up primarily. Primarily everything I do is
to be able to go to distance. You know what
I'm saying. It's it's less about trying to be muscle
man and seeing how heavy I can lift. I'm not
trying to be hercules. I'm just I just want to
have good stamina and be strong, you know what I'm saying.
So I do a lot of things like into training
and a lot of you know, cardio and a lot
(27:02):
of stuff that keeps my heart rate elevated. And then
of course I lift weights and all that too. But
it's a combination of those things, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Yeah, yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Do you remember the first time you performed? Where was it?
What happened publicly?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
You mean professionally or as an amateur?
Speaker 1 (27:15):
As an amateur? Oh man, the first time I performed, well,
it started off in the room, so that don't count.
But outside it was the basement of a church, and
a girl came up to me and said, boy, you
can't wrap and goes back to your thing about the
you know, the hate and the living. Yeah, go get it,
(27:35):
you gotta if you strong enough to transform. And so
she said that to me, and that kind of was
good inspiration, you know what I'm saying. Professionally, professionally, Manhattan
Center High School.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Now it was a high school.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
They pushed the lunch room table well, actually no, the
first time was at my high school, you know, like
ninth grade. I went to the shop class. I performed
in the shop class. That gave me an opportunity to
do that. My man bim me set it up.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I did that. I never came back to school. That
was over with. I had five thousand dollars in my
dresser draw. I was happy at over. Grandma was kicking me.
I ain't trying to hear that.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Man, I got hey, yeah, I got five thousand. Say
that like, I ain't.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Going back to school. But then, but.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yo yo, it takes something, yo yo yo yo five
thousand and your draw felt like that was like.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
Yo, bro, I felt like Caesar, like Caesar. I felt
like Caesar, Hell Caesar. So then nobody nothing nothing.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So then professionally, outside of that, when I got Book
four show it was Manhattan Center High School, they push
the lunch room tables together. And I remember like after
we finished performing, you know, a couple of the kids
was like, yo, sign this for mean I was signed
or grass. I looked at my man cut created I'm
like yo. I was like.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
He was like, I was like, yo, I like this.
He was like I like this. He was like yeah,
I like this too, you know, saying that.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
We was just signing and actually a little side note,
my first show ever, did my man's car broke down?
The axle broke on his car. Yeah, So we had
to walk like twenty blocks to the show. He was like, Yo,
but they're gonna they're gonna strip my car.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I'm like, man, fuck that car. Man, let him strip it.
You know what I'm saying, let him strip that joint.
We gotta go.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
So we left the car in the middle of the street,
walk like, just walk like twenty blocks and get to
the show. I wasn't missing that show no matter what,
you know what I'm saying, because you gotta want it.
So we went to the show and do what we
had to do, and you know, rest is history and
car Yeah, I don't even know. I was so excited.
I didn't even get back to that. I wasn't even
I wasn't even thinking about that shit. Yo, he had
(29:42):
to go deal with that. Push my part before me.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I'm good.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
I'm Gucci. I'm Gucci man. We were doing this the
forest Man, The Forest Man. Listen to a vibe to
it is crazy man. Yeah. The music once again from
Oh Cool Jay. Thank you, appreciate you, thank you. Cruising Baby,
Let's get it man. Cruise show really, no question, all day,
I don't believe you want to leave like this whispering
I love you when I'll always be here to us.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
No problemma to getti move to You can plend on
your dilemma. I gotta take it from your man. That's
my mission. If its love has really got the hand
of the competition. You're the type of girl, the kind of.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hollywood is he good, greatest of all time. Number One
priority self preservation that applies to the majority different situations.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
The hands got something that you can't quite handle.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Give it to your man, rough and anywhere that handcuffs.
I'm well from the black while we stand up. Candem, candem,
condemn candem. But let it breathe for a second. Hold on,
let that let that sit there for a second. Crazy
hell COOLJ is back on the cruise, cruising, cruising? What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Man, what's up?
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Confused with that intro? Yeah, yeah it was with that night.
I was right, It's crazy. Was hot, Yeah, that was hot.
That was hot. We got to get you that. Different chambers,
different chambers, different change, different memories, different moments and time
and time errors. Eras for sure, you know what I'm saying.
Like the King of Eras, dog you know what I'm saying,
young legend, living legend al.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
I'm thankful, man, I'm thankful. Yeah, yeah, I like to.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I just wanted to show people that we could keep going,
you know what I'm saying, Like hip hop, You know,
dreams don't have deadlines. Baby, At the end of the day,
it's about pressing play. That's a fact that I'm everything
all bets off. Press play. Let me press play on
that joy press play high feel right then?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Right?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, Now, when you describe it like making films making
albums right throughout the years, right, you have Steven Spielberg,
Martin Scors, these great filmmakers, so many more, right, and
then we have the old Cool Jays and so forth
right making great albums, it's the same vibe because, yeah,
because you want to just do things that I just
wanted to show people that was possible. I think that
hip hop had gotten to a place where we kind
(01:57):
of felt like you just have to trying to dismiss
anything that came before and time moves, and I just
don't agree with that concept because it's not about it's
about old and new, not old and young and so
and the new means the new idea it's so I
think people the reason why people get caught up in
the idea sometimes of rors and being able to continue
(02:21):
is because of where the new ideas come from. So
it's about like if you have a fresh idea, if
you have a new approach, if you have a new
take on how to make the music. Like when we were
talking about the song, the sound of the beat sound different,
Like if you have something new, you could keep going.
You know what I'm saying. It's about innovation, the force.
The force is out on all streaming platforms. Just crazy man,
(02:44):
you and Q tip Yeah, thankful man, god bless yeah man,
than's you crazy man? Just everything just sounds so well
put together right and of course you got legends on
the project. NOAs with a song with nas right, praise him?
Is that like to get him on the song? Is
that a text a call emails not a DM well
with nos no no no.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I text him. I text him and told him about
the song.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
And you know, I wanted to, you know cause I'm
like dabbling in supreme mathematics from when I was a
kid on that on that particular song.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So he came in.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I wanted him to paint a picture you know what
I'm saying to kind of take people transport him to
that time, because the things that I'm saying on that record,
particularly praise them, is very subtle. So if you don't
know the supreme mathematics, some of the things I'm saying
could go over your head. But if you if you
understand it, then it's like it's it's it's like coded.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So it's it's fun, you know in that regard.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
So like with him, I just hit him like yo,
we never did this and then and it was just
was time, you know what I'm saying. And I wanted
to rhyme and make songs with the guys that were
the most talented, but also people that fit the song
that I was working on.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
So like with Nas, that beat be just fit me
and Nas, and like the one with.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Em it fit me and m and like all of
the song like sweety it fit me and Sweetie, you
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
So that was the vibe, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Man on murder Gram, you Eminem did y'all thing I
mentioned this off the air, L was not about to
let Eminem get away with nothing on that song. Let
me tell you some man, Eminem is my man. He's
my friend, you know what I'm saying. And I look
at him as like, you know, like he's like having
a super talented younger brother who who's really dedicated. He's
(04:23):
like a scientist when it comes to em seeing and
I love that because I'm that way too. And so
it was just the perfect opportunity for us to rock together.
We had talked about it for many years and we had,
you know, kind of flirted with the idea, but we
never you know, got around to it. And it was like,
this made sense to me. Yeah, we got you know,
because I don't like the thing. My thing is like,
(04:45):
if you're gonna put different people on a song together,
it's not enough to just the idea of it. Can't
just be good. The execution got to be great. So
me and m you know, making a sting, right, Yeah,
it's got a sting, baby, And that's what we did. So, Yo,
we had a ball with that one. You know, you're
his favorite rapper, it's not one of his favorite rappers.
And he loves the fact that he gets to call
you Todd like that's I love.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
That he's welcome to call me Todd, no problem.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I've heard him in interviews like, yeah, he's my friend
Todd like yeah, no doubt. Right now, that's my friend Marshall,
a good friend of mine, my very talented friend, Marshal.
You know that's that's a TV show, tod At Marshall. Yeah,
it really is like an album title, right man, you
know Garcia, you know Jackie that's is actually a super fan.
We let him in the building, man, I I submitted.
(05:35):
Uh that's.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Why.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Look he's stopped many other artists, but not your here man,
welcome back.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
To the show.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
We are Thank you, Thank you man, thank you for sure.
The Force is out platforms. Can you talk to us
about the title and the artwork of the project. Yeah,
so the Force, you know, it's about that that in
the voice society you that like that encourages you to
inspire you to go after your dreams. Right, Like we're
all on this kind of big adventure, you know what
I'm saying, Like everybody's the hero of their own life movie.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You know what I'm saying. And where you go with
that is up to you. Me.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
You know, I choose to like follow my bliss and
follow that voice inside of me, so I make the music,
and I make hip hop because I love it, you
know what I'm saying, no other reason. It really is
about loving it, just the same way I loved it
when I first started. I did it because I loved it.
So the lover is first. That's so that's what the
Force is about. The forces about tapping into what's inside
(06:33):
of you and getting that out and really you.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Know, taking that to the next level. If that makes sense,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
In terms of the artwork, Q Tip actually Drew did
the artwork on the cover, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
What I'm saying. Like he had showed me a sketch.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
He was messing around with sketches and all that, and
he sent the sketch to me. I was like, Yo,
this is it. I said, this is crazy. We need
to use this for the album cover. So I combine
that with you know, with the shoot and and you know,
the Force cover was born.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
So I really, you know, worked on this.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
It was very collaborative in terms of you know, the
people and the you know, just the approach.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
You know. I didn't want to like, I just didn't
want to do nothing boring man.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
You know, saying like my dudes, like it's nothing worse
than you know, your heroes like half stepping, you know,
late in the game.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You know it's like, don't do that, bro, Like.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, yeah, album just to put out. I don't slip
on a banana peal, you know, slip on a banana
appeal with your album, because that's what you know people
be expecting.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Here we go, I'm done, Here we go, Here we go,
Little Ellie, I know what he goes.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
I know what you're gonna do.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
I know you're gonna try to sound like somebody.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
That's very true, very true, and you had a lot
of fun and you got to work.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, you gotta listen. Man, if you really love something,
you gotta put your heart and soul in tweet. You
gotta be passionate about the songs you rapping like the
rands do. I'm like, y'all, you know, actually.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I'm written like I love it.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You know what I'm saying, Like, you know, I know
what you're saying, Like I started out, You're doing this
because I love it. So as long as you maintained
that love for it and that passion for it, you're
gonna go hard. Man. You know what I'm saying, Like
you gotta want it, Like I was telling somebody earlier,
like if they shoved your head in a barrel of water,
you gotta want it like you would want air.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
You know what I'm saying. You gotta be hungry for that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You know, there's an artist that that that are hip hop. Right,
you gave us hip hop, You gave you continue its
a lot of ways, in a lot in a lot
of ways, no matter what you did too, whether it
was on the screen or coming out them speakers. Yeah, yeah, nah,
it's look, man, I'm just happy that I've been able
to make, you know, a contribution, you know, to the world,
and have the impact that I've had. You know, you
(08:47):
just never know, man, it just kind of worked out
that way. I when I fell in love with the game,
I didn't know that, you know, I was gonna grab
so much of it, you know, and influence so much
of it. I just did it from pure passion, like
a little kid staring at the vinyl, going in a circle,
imagining myself inside the record, like wondering what it was
like when I heard these voices coming out of the song.
(09:08):
You know what I'm saying, Because it's like, you know,
as a little kid. I just wanted to feel that
empowered feeling, feel powerful. You know sometimes you know you
ca catch a whooping from your step pops or something,
and you know you go to your room and you like, yo.
You know that that music it.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Serves a purpose. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
It like made me feel hold again. So I was like, yo, Yo,
Now I'm gonna whoop some I'm gonna whoop some.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Man some cakes. You know I'm gonna tap you know
what I mean?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Something, what do you think you're stronger for us?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Love or hate? Love?
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, because the love can stop hate, but hate can't
stop love. Say that one more time. I said love
is stronger because love can stop hate, but hay can't
stop love. Okay, you know what I'm saying. So it's
like I give you an example. It's like if you're
in a dark room and I like a match, that
one little that one little light, that one little source
(10:03):
of light illuminates the whole room. Darkness doesn't come from anywhere,
It just is what it is. You know what I'm saying.
So it's like, now, now mind you, Now here's the
flip side of what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Now, if you ask me.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Can can can traumatic experiences or can you hate some
hating somebody fuel you to go do things? That's a
different conversation. Yes, it can, absolutely the motive. But that's
but you gotta remember what you're doing, though, is you're
you're taking that heat, that hate and you're transforming it
into your love for something else.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
So you're still flipping the script. Yep. Ultimately, even though
the hate of.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
You know, this person beat me or this person did
this to me, and that may be the thing that
moves you to do a certain thing, my big brother,
you know, you know, whatever it is, it's still that
you're gonna channel that. You're still transmuting that into something
else to take your life to the next level. You
feel men with podcast? Yeah, real qui we need.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
It's called the Force.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
You've shown you tip a lot of love since you've
been in the interview, the artwork and the production. Do
you recall the first time you ever heard a tripe
called quest and what did you think of them?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yeah, I mean just hearing you know, I left my
wile in El Segundo and then you know, seeing them
do a video in my neighborhood. On top of the cleaners,
like you know, you know when they did that video
on top of the cleaners back in the days, like
you know, that was like incredible to me. It was
amazing to me. It was like dudes from my hood,
like you know, made it. I couldn't have been happier.
(11:39):
Like it was just an incredible feeling because I know,
like my neighborhood is filled with so many different artists
that have come from there, so from even from back
in the days, from like run.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
DMC, and then you got ll Cool J.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And then you got a tribe called Quest, and then
you got you know, in other parts of town, Mob Deep,
and then you got Fifties and then you got job Rule,
and then you have like all of these various artists
all come from around there. You had James Brown who
lived around there, Count Basie who lived around there, and
you know Louis Armstrong who lived around there. And I
mean it's just a very it's a lot. It's a
(12:13):
lot of music and a lot of vibes. So see
a tribe. They were unbelievable, man, And then just what
they did, how they did it, it was crazy crazy,
you know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, super dope it
was a different sound, super dope and sophisticated.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
I was, you know, very sophisticated. You know me, I've
always been like a little bit of a savage man,
like a lot of savage baby, a lot of savageness
going on. Yeah. They was very sophisticated, a little bit
a little bit more well read, so to speak. You
know what I mean. Yeah, yeah, savage man, no shirt man,
(12:47):
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Let's get to it.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
You know a lot of artists come in here and
they're very like flashy with Julie. I want to point
out because I haven't been able to keep my eyes
off it.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Your friend.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, oh yeah, so so you were fifty alt lt
A cool t. This is now you know what little kids,
little kids give I did like some in stores right
sign in vinyl and like there'll be like ten year
olds and eight year olds that may come with their
parents and stuff, and they made these for me. And
(13:21):
the reason why I put it on is because it
just shows you how your music can keep, you know,
impacting people. Like for a lot there's little kids right
now that are ten, twelve years old and murder Graham
is the first time they heard lf.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
They don't even know about the love songs that people know.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
They don't know the other old the harder songs like
el Bomb, they don't know Rock.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
The Bells, they don't know none of that.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Like murder Graham is the first time they ever heard
of ll cooj So, but then you got people who
love you better was the first time they heard me
and you got people doing it was. But then you
got people back in the days going back to Cali
and all these other Mama said nak So it's like
it's like to me, you know, for them little kids
to take the time and to do that, you know,
the force and to make me these little bracelest. I mean,
(14:04):
it was just like a reminder that I'm touching all
kinds of audiences, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Like that's that's trippy to me.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You know, that's kind of like that's you know, it's trippy,
like you know, but but it's also.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Like it's it's how it should be. Na man.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You know, my son he's seven, he's a fan of
the Beastie Boys because one of their songs was in Trolls.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
You see so here you go.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
He loves brass monkey see, there you go, there you go,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
That's my point.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
That's my point.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So you know, for me, man like with this album,
it's like it's just an opportunity to get new fans
and to give the day one fans something that they
haven't had in a long time, and to have fun
doing it, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Yes, So that being said, performing at the VMAs for
like forty years of him, like, how does that even
like because you said, you know, you touched so many
different audiences, how do you even pick what am I
gonna do?
Speaker 1 (15:01):
You know, when when ll Coolja is performing, you're gonna
get ll Coolja. So you're gonna get, you know, stuff
that if you're depending on your age and when you
when you got into LL or whether even then if
even if you never did, and this is your first time,
you're gonna hear a cross section of things. You're gonna
hear things from the early days, and you're gonna hear
things brand new. I'm like, you know, it's a it's
(15:23):
kind of a weird kind of thing for me because
I have like so many different entry points, right like,
you got people that know me for hosting Grammys and
people that know me for doing television shows, and you know,
so it's it is.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
It does get weird, but you know what I'm saying,
get awkward. I love that, Sam Hannah. It does get awkward.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
But you know what, I just I just make the
music and just pick what makes sense to me, and
I go by my gut because the one thing that's
important with all of this is taste and instincts, you
know what I'm saying. So you know, it's just like
anything else.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
It's like, it's just like boxing, right, it's science, of course,
but then this instinct and you know it's that combination, right, sir, Yes, sir,
Spirit of Syrus with Snoop. How did that come together?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
So Spirit of Cyrus.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I got a call from a high level person in
law enforcement and they was telling me, yo, you need
to stay in the house.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I'm like, why do I need to stay in the house.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
They was like, well, there's a man hunt out for
this guy named Christopher Donna, and you look exactly like him.
And then I went on the internet and I'm looking
at this guy and it's like, I see his face
and he looks just like me coming out my note.
He's bald, he looks just like me, and nay. On
top of that, On top of that, people are like
making jokes and memes, so they're putting us together on
(16:39):
the joint. So I'm like, yo, yo, you guys are
real funny. You trying to get me smashed. So and
then the talk came like you should play him in
the movie. Well, there was that kind of talk, and
so I went down the rabbit hole. And when I
went down the rabbit hole, I read his manifesto. I
read different things that he had said, and I saw
the things that he was talking about in terms of
the issues he was having with the department, and the
black verse is Blue and his like everything he was
(17:02):
going through, it looked it was like a metaphor or
an analogy for what was going on in America. And
so I just decided to write the song. I was
inspired to write the song from a true place, and
it just tell it how it went. And then when
we when we had the sonics and everything, it was
just like when I came up with that, don't try
to apprehend me a black and Blue, I said, Yo,
Snooper sound crazy, saying that. I was like, Yo, Snooper,
(17:23):
sound perfect on that, because you know, think about murder
was a case back in the day Snoop's early music.
It's like them dangerous, rough, raw sounding records, and that's
how spirited Sirrus sounded to me.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So I caught Snoop up. He came down to the studio.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (17:37):
I said, Yo, let's do it. He came down, We
did it, and there it is.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
You smoke with Snooper. No, no, I ain't trying to
Smoke't gonna have me in an emergency room.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Mess around with Snooper. You know what I'm saying, mess
srout with Snoopy. Snoop. Man, I ain't.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Built for that, baby, No, I ain't ready for that.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah, I ain't ready for that. I ain't ready for that. Man.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Now for the Spirit of Cyrus. It did come off
like a script.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Nah.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
It felt like oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. Visually yeah,
because I just because I can see it in my mind.
I can see it in my mind. This is my manifesto,
the reason why I did it. The presser called me evil,
label me a menace. Don't let the lives deceive you.
They pushed me to my limit. Racisms of disease. It's
only right. I kill it, black blood you quit that. Yeah,
it just it just felt like you know, and as
(18:20):
you go down that that rabbit hole and you One
thing I did with this record that was important to
me is no censorship and other And when I say censorship,
what I mean is censoring my inspiration. I'm not told
my cousin every you know people, whatever it is, what
it is, I'm talking about censoring the inspiration. So I
was inspired. No, you know, whatever I'm inspired to write
(18:42):
is what I'm gonna write, and let the chips forward
they may.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I'm not trying to be.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Divisive or volatile or provocative. I'm just gonna let the
inspiration take me where it takes me. You know what
I'm saying, like a hot date be you know what
I'm saying, You can let you know what I mean,
take me. It takes me right to this back seat.
(19:09):
When you're talking about the VA performance as well, the
V yeah VM, my performance was crazy man. The death
Jamn yeah yeah, shout out to death jam and it
was fun, you know what I'm saying, Just getting up
there and again prime example.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
So you got all these kids.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
You know, they twenty nineteen eighteen, and you know, and
they rocket to the music, you know, but some of
them they know proclivities were for word doing it. They're like, okay,
but they know proclivities were for word. It's like it's
a very yo.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
It's dope. It's dope. Though it was fun, no question,
no question. Ain't that right? M J deaf Jam bred
in the building.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
He speaking of death Jam. Those tours back in the
day were legendary. I mean pup again, I mean the
Beastie Boys and so on and so forth, and I
mean you got a good story, a good nugget you
could share backstage.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
On man I so many man I used to I
had a tour where I used to come out of
the radio and Flavor Flavor.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
I get up in the radio. He's in there waiting,
you know.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, boy, you know, I'm like, I got a.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Middle of my intro. I'm like, I'm in my set
on my problem, Like, Yo, Flave, what are you doing?
Speaker 1 (20:10):
B He's like, yo, al Man, I said, just come
out with me, and he comes out the radio. Women
it's just like yo yo. So many different things we
went through so many yo bro like yo, and then
there's some things that probably would you better shed off air.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Yeah, inspiration, that's all it is.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
I was thinking about it, like, what is a line
that you've written that makes you laugh that you're like,
I can't believe I said that.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Oh no, no, I believe I said everything. I believe I
said all of it. I in fact, it's the whole
point is when it makes me laugh, I want to
use it like like it's somebod that stuff is like
it is the ridiculousness of it that makes it. I
don't know, It's just so many songs I've written, you
(21:06):
know what I'm saying. Uh, I mean so many songs
about women are always great, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
That's funny.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I mean even header Sprung fool, you know, sexy and
you know you're just you're laying it.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I like the wild Out. I like the wild Out,
Like Headsprung was silly. Headsprung was silly, but I wrote Headsprung.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
It's like it's kind of like, you know how Robert
de Niro would do analyze this right, like sometimes he
would do the you know he would do you know,
Godfather too or heat, but then he'll do analy well,
Headsprung was the equivalent of a actor doing a comedy, okay, right,
so so so when you think about, like the opening
lines of it, when I say they call me big
(21:43):
Ellie a bit silly, big money big really like it's
just ridiculous, But that was the whole point. Works, yes,
because of that, right so like so so a lot
of things I write, it depends on the song, you
know what I'm saying. But but when I get a
chuckle out of myself, that's usually a good son, you know,
because if I if I yeah, if you know.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
If I'm feeling that we're in the right zone, in
the right zone.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Yeah, you mentioned heads frong because the New York Liberty
use your song.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, big Ellie, Yeah yeah, yeah Ellie it's crazy. That's nuts,
that's nuts, right, Yeah, it's cool. Not it's cool, it's great.
Who knew? Boy is crazy? Thank you man? Man? Yeah yeah,
it's just come on man, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Bosco energy,
(22:38):
it's like a visit on my neck and snowing on
my wrists. You want to teach them how to hustle.
Take a pick of me and show him this. Yeah,
that doing is crazy the bos energy. I shot a
video for that. I actually got a visual for that,
and that song is really what. The thing that inspired
that song is a movie called Downtown eighty one and
it was a semi auto auto biographical film about Jean
(22:59):
Michelle Boskia, the artist. And in the in the movie,
he did this funny dance, him and fab fab five
Freddy in this little spot and he starts doing this
little ridiculous, like little silly dance. And when he did that,
me and Tim was looking at We just started laughing.
I'm like, yo, look at this dance. And we ended
up making the song over that wow and taking off
(23:19):
the dance. Yeah, because yeah, yeah, so there's actually a
dance that goes with boskiot energy.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
There's a dance.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Yeah, And talk were coming from and I ain't Chris
Brown bro like, so if I could do it, you
know what I mean, if I could do it, I'm
not Todd Brown bro.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
It ain't t Brown over, so I could do it.
That's right, Yo, that's right. We're in good space, you
know what I'm saying. Good Darston Fat Joe Saturday Night Special. Yes,
it's not about a gun. Well that I mean you.
That was obviously one of the plays on the words,
but it's really about because your decisions are like a gun, right.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
It kind of goes back to like remember.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
The godfeather too, he said, I think it was a
golf He was godfather too, he said.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
He said, I don't know anything about you know, politics?
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He said, well, you understand guns, he said, yeah, he said, well,
he said, money is a gun, and politics is known
when to pull a trigger. Right. So it's like, but
the song itself is about integrity. Always keep your word,
always paying back. The one thing you learn moving around
any street, any hood in the world in general, don't
try to be a tough guy, have manners, respect people's mothers, girls, sisters.
(24:33):
No one is shut up, you know what I'm saying.
Know how to play your position and keep your work.
You do these things, you got a better chance, you know,
getting out of there with a sandwich in your life, right,
Like you want to go get a sandwich and have
your life and enjoy your life, right, So these are
things that will help that. So Saturday Night Special is
(24:55):
really a song about integrity and the idea that yo,
if I tell you I'm gonna do something I do it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
You know, I'm saying, if I tell you I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Bringing four sodas over the mar I'm bringing four sodas
over the mar period.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So and that goes for every area of life. Whether
you're in the street.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I just we just put in a street metaphor, but
that if you're going to do hair, if you're going
to med school, if you're going to be a lawyer,
if you're a mechanic, if the mechanic says to you,
your car is gonna be ready Thursday, Joe, you said Thursday,
I'm in next third.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Don't play, man, don't play.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
You said Thursday. Yeah, you're funny guy. It's every mechanic, man,
you feel me. So that's the thinking behind Saturday Night Special.
That's the whole idea of keeping your word and not
you don't got to be perfect, but that moral integrity.
You know, what I'm saying is doing what you say
you're gonna do. Yes, sir, your force is out on
all streaming platforms. A question, cool j Man. Yeah, the
(25:46):
youngest legend alive. Yeah, I appreciate that. Look at you, man,
You know, I feel good now you should thankful, you know,
and and and you feel good. You take care of yourself.
You have. You know, we got a lot of hip
hop legends going early. When I say early in they fifty. Yeah, no, raizy,
that's scary.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah. You gotta exercise, man, you gotta you gotta look.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Are you telling me that or all of us?
Speaker 3 (26:05):
All of us?
Speaker 2 (26:05):
I'm telling all of us that I do.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Ye. Yeah, that has you got? Now you're good. My
son the other.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Day said dak can I my desert back?
Speaker 1 (26:13):
I was like, fuck, yeah, that's a problem. That's a problem.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Now you gotta look when your elbow bend. If your
elbow ben and you're getting tired, that's an issue.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
That's an issue.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
You know what I'm saying, Like you know, you know
you got twenty two year olds walking up says like young,
you're supposed to what's doing out of breath? Man, it's
supposed to be yo yo crazy. So, like being in
shape is a big part of this because it's good
for your mind too.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
You know what I'm saying, what's your what's your day
to day?
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Like, what's your So it depends, but I work on
endurance and stamming up primarily. Primarily everything I do is
to be able to go to distance. You know what
I'm saying. It's it's less about trying to be muscle
man and seeing how heavy I can lift. I'm not
trying to be hercules. I'm just I just want to
have good stamina and be strong, you know what I'm saying.
So I do a lot of things like into training
and a lot of you know, cardio and a lot
(27:02):
of stuff that keeps my heart rate elevated. And then
of course I lift weights and all that too. But
it's a combination of those things, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Yeah, yes, sir.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Do you remember the first time you performed? Where was it?
What happened publicly?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
You mean professionally or as an amateur?
Speaker 1 (27:15):
As an amateur? Oh man, the first time I performed, well,
it started off in the room, so that don't count.
But outside it was the basement of a church, and
a girl came up to me and said, boy, you
can't wrap and goes back to your thing about the
you know, the hate and the living. Yeah, go get it,
(27:35):
you gotta if you strong enough to transform. And so
she said that to me, and that kind of was
good inspiration, you know what I'm saying. Professionally, professionally, Manhattan
Center High School.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Now it was a high school.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
They pushed the lunch room table well, actually no, the
first time was at my high school, you know, like
ninth grade. I went to the shop class. I performed
in the shop class. That gave me an opportunity to
do that. My man bim me set it up.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I did that. I never came back to school. That
was over with. I had five thousand dollars in my
dresser draw. I was happy at over. Grandma was kicking me.
I ain't trying to hear that.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Man, I got hey, yeah, I got five thousand. Say
that like, I ain't.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Going back to school. But then, but.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yo yo, it takes something, yo yo yo yo five
thousand and your draw felt like that was like.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
Yo, bro, I felt like Caesar, like Caesar. I felt
like Caesar, Hell Caesar. So then nobody nothing nothing.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So then professionally, outside of that, when I got Book
four show it was Manhattan Center High School, they push
the lunch room tables together. And I remember like after
we finished performing, you know, a couple of the kids
was like, yo, sign this for mean I was signed
or grass. I looked at my man cut created I'm
like yo. I was like.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
He was like, I was like, yo, I like this.
He was like I like this. He was like yeah,
I like this too, you know, saying that.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
We was just signing and actually a little side note,
my first show ever, did my man's car broke down?
The axle broke on his car. Yeah, So we had
to walk like twenty blocks to the show. He was like, Yo,
but they're gonna they're gonna strip my car.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I'm like, man, fuck that car. Man, let him strip it.
You know what I'm saying, let him strip that joint.
We gotta go.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
So we left the car in the middle of the street,
walk like, just walk like twenty blocks and get to
the show. I wasn't missing that show no matter what,
you know what I'm saying, because you gotta want it.
So we went to the show and do what we
had to do, and you know, rest is history and
car Yeah, I don't even know. I was so excited.
I didn't even get back to that. I wasn't even
I wasn't even thinking about that shit. Yo, he had
(29:42):
to go deal with that. Push my part before me.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I'm good.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
I'm Gucci. I'm Gucci man. We were doing this the
forest Man, The Forest Man. Listen to a vibe to
it is crazy man. Yeah. The music once again from
Oh Cool Jay. Thank you, appreciate you, thank you. Cruising Baby,
Let's get it man. Cruise show really, no question, all day,
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