INTERVIEW: Ja Rule Opens Up On The Passing Of Irv Gotti, Talks Murder Inc Legacy, Fatherhood, Whiskey + More

Today on The Breakfast Club, Ja Rule Opens Up On The Passing Of Irv Gotti, Talks Murder Inc Legacy, Fatherhood, Whiskey. Listen For More!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Breakfast Club Morning. Everybody is DJ en Vy, Jess Hilarious,
Charlamagne the guy. We are the Breakfast Club low on
the roster, feeling and for Jess, we got a special guest.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
In the building, the legendary job Roll.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
What our family, family, welcome back.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
You're feeling first and foremost, brother.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
Good man, I'm good. Good. You know, you know and
been in and out, but you know, for the most part,
I'm good. I'm good.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
What's aging better?

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Man?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
You your music? Are that whiskey that you've got now?

Speaker 3 (00:32):
That whiskey were the promote.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
We're talking about it the other day. We were saying,
you know, from from the artists from from our era
and even a couple of years before, the young music
still connects.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
To people aging well.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Ages won't care. Where are you at?

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Young? Restaurant, elevators, medium, you know.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Clubs, festivals, it aged well. Was that the intention when
you made those records or just happened?

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Definitely not, you know, just in there being creative and
you know, trying to do something a little different. You know,
everybody was kind of tackling this or that, you know,
we was in an era you know, did He was
dead doing, bad Boy he was doing and then you know,
you had Rockefeller and you had rough Riders, So it
was like it was it was a space that needed

(01:23):
to be filled, and I think that was the space
I feel. You know, Jadam had the ultimate floss and
fly and flashy shit going on, and exit in was
the streets, and you know, did He you know, and
and bad Boy was bad Boy and what they were
doing with their movement. So you know, I kind of
just feel the void of those female records that was
kind of missing in the industry at the moment.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
I want to if you don't mind, I want I
want to go back a little bit. I've known you
for a long time, known of you for a long time,
but I don't think a lot of people know the
true story of Joe Rule and how you got signed
and your deal and everything. With the recent passing the Earth,
I just wanted you to talk about that.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
A little bit.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
We need to crack some whiskey for that.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Story. So talk about the first time you met IRV
and how that was and why you didn't sign the
tv T at the time.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well I did, actually shinned to, So I'll tell the
story a little bit. So my man Chris Black, big
shot to my brother Black. You know, we was we
was hustling on two fifth and Hollis, you know, doing
what young hungry black men do and dug some drugs,
you know. And he used to go to the studio

(02:38):
with with with IRV and Mike Dronimo. He used come
back to the block was mixtapes, like it was a
mixtape at the time. It was just like a little
taste that they was making basically, you know what I'm saying.
So you know, I'm like, yo, what's up? Like I
want to go rhyme with with IRV and and and
and Mike Dranma at the time he was DJ. So yeah,
I want to go go wrap with them too, you know,
because we had like a little group kind of thing

(03:00):
we was kind of doing, but not really. I was
kind of like more or less the wrap out of
the crew, me me and my my other homeboy. And
so when I when I said that, the Black He's like, yo,
I'll bring you up there. So he brought me up
there and that's when I met her and her was like, yeah, yeah,
he think he think he nice He's like, all right,
go ahead, put it, get in the booth, let me

(03:21):
see what you see what you do. And for me,
that was a okay, this is my naked or break
it moment, Like this is my moment moment Like this
dude right here is the the guy that's helping motherfuckers
get record deals in the neighborhood. So I didn't leave

(03:42):
a booth. I wouldn't leave the booth. I just rhyme
after rhyme after rhyme and kept going. And I at
the time, you know, I had an arsenal rhyme. So
I was like, yeah, this this this nigga got it.
So that's how relationship started.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
And he brought you to tv T was the label
at the time, right.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
Forught us to tv T. You know, I was young,
I was like seventeen eighteen. I really didn't I really
didn't care how it was gonna play out. At the moment.
I was just like, let's get this record deal. Let's
do what we're doing, and you know, you know, try
to try to make this movement reality. You know, before that,
it was just like you know, SIT was doing in school,

(04:24):
beating on the tables and nunch rooms. You know, I
be in the hood with the homies. You know, rapping
wasn't really like a real It wasn't a dream yet,
is what I'm is what I'm saying, you know, until
that moment, you know what I mean, Then it really
became real to me, like, yeah, we could get a
record deal. We could you know, we could put out
some records. Maybe we could go go and that was

(04:45):
the that was the goal that back then as the
go go. So yeah, so we signed the tv T.
He had Mike Ronald there first and then we signed
with them. Interesting story about TVT. I tell you our
real interesting story about tv because TVT could have been
the biggest label or one of the biggest labels, because
Erv brought Steve got Leave Jay, he brought him x

(05:09):
uh Dre brought him the chronic what I swear, he
had all these projects and he didn't he didn't he
didn't know. I guess he didn't know how to capitalize
on what was happening with the movement of hip hop
at the moment and how it was shifting and changing
or whatever. And he just kept saying no to everything
that came asway and.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
How did so how did it go from there because
you know, when MYONMO came out, Ships Real was was
the record. It wasn't a huge successful recommend it was
it was it was.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
It was enough.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
It was enough, especially for queens. What made y'all say
this is not the place and we need to leave?
And did you think it was just that he.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Didn't sign that Jacob, we just might not be the spot.
He may not know what he's doing over here, you
know what I'm saying now, But big shot that Steve
got leave. You know, he was you know, it's crazy
when you making a lot of money doing something, it's
kind of hard if it ain't broke, don't fix it
type type, you know. Deal. So he was making a
lot of money with TV tunes, which was like doing

(06:11):
like little you know, like like uh uh, what do
you what do you call them? Like jingles like jabox,
like ship you know from from from what he's doing
on the show, Like he was making a lot of
those twis for like different you know, shows and commercials
and stuff. He was making a lot of money doing
that ship. So when the hip hop shit came his way,
he really didn't know how to just jump on it

(06:32):
and move and he was you know, carrying his feet
and he probably could have had it all if he'd
have moved on. So he got the death gym so
got so that, you know, it all just happened so crazy,
so fast, you know, like we realized tv T wasn't
the situation. And I was on hiatus for a long
time after that, for like three years because uh my

(06:56):
man Black was part of the group. He went to jail,
so he did five years in prison, and so they
black child and just another noan Chris Black Okay Christmas.
So that kind of you know, threw everything off with
the group, and so we was I was basically in
hiatus for three years. I didn't you know, no where
I was gonna end up. It was. It was just

(07:16):
in limbo. Thank you, thank you Lord. That good that
that that good cheer so much love, appreciate good. Yes,
that's you know, cheke you out.

Speaker 4 (07:37):
And you're a whiskey drinker.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
I'm not a whiskey drinker.

Speaker 4 (07:40):
I thought you tried.

Speaker 5 (07:41):
I did when when I saw Fong getting the Uncle ners,
I tried it then, Beyonce, of course that is.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Very very smooth, very serious. I'm not I'm not this.

Speaker 5 (07:53):
I'm not even gonna say any everybody else's whiskey saying
I've never drink whiskey and not made that face like.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
This is very smooth.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
We'll get into that in a minute, you know, because
we wanted to really create this for the whiskeys, you
know that for that reaction of the first time, you know,
not the first time, but a person who's maybe not
a whiskey drinker. Per set you wanted you wanted to
you know, you.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
Said brings you to death Jam, and so many artists
are death Jam. Did you feel like that wasn't jungle.
Did you feel like it was going to be a fight.
Did you feel like they were going to use you
the proper way, because at first I felt like they didn't.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
You know what, when I got to death Jam, it
was a dream come true. Death Jam was like motown
for any rapper, if you you know, especially if you
from Queens you know, Russell Simmons, you know, but they
weren't you know, running gym C wasn't on Death Jam, Busy.
You always felt like they were, you know what I mean,
because because of the affiliation. But you know, ll you know,

(08:50):
you go list on. But if you wasn't on Death Jam.
He was managed by Rush Management, so it was like
being on Death Jam was everything. And so having that
deal and having the you know, see what what people
don't understand is I had, you know, Leo's back. Leo

(09:11):
had my back from day one, from you know, from
from when when it all started. He he wanted to
sign me first, but I couldn't get out of my
deal with TVT. So in the meantime, God, he was like,
I got somebody else that you're like, he brought a Max.
So you know, they didn't understand X at first, you know,

(09:33):
so that was that tug of war going on, but
then they finally you know, made the move if you
convinced him to make the move, and X became what
he became. And then I, you know, rest in peace
to X as well. And then I came after right
after that. But I always had, you know, I always
knew that Leo wanted me as an artist on Death Jamming.

(09:53):
So what that was, that was great. And I don't
want the earth too, because that's how he kind of
sought out to find me in that way, jam Master
Jay rest in peace, and so you know, legendarily, you know,
there's this meeting going on in Death Jam and me
and HERV used to we used to do this shit.
We used to go jack the box. So every time
we see meth and Red's video coming, I mean meth

(10:14):
and Mary's you're all I need video, come on, we
order our video right after it, you know, hope we
get the trickle down effect. So, you know, depth Jam,
They're having this big meeting up there, and the legend
of the story is they're, you know, gloating over there
methan Mary beautiful, you know, amazing work. And then this

(10:35):
little grainy black and white video comes on and it's
you know, me at seventeen eighteen, just rhyming with the
big voice and Jay jam Master J stood up in
the meeting. He said that little nigga right there is
gonna be a star. Wow. And Leo said, we'll find
them for me. And that's how that kind of just started,

(10:58):
you know, and you know, the rest kind of just
just in spiraled into what it was.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
How did that feel when you first came DMX came
before you commercialized.

Speaker 4 (11:08):
Wasn't it like y'all were like a year apart?

Speaker 2 (11:10):
Right like he came, Well, Jo actually came first.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
I was no I didn't come first. Excess music and
records and everything came first. But you know, like I said,
my situation with death Jam was already it was already
making game.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
And then everybody compared you to him, right, and everything
that you did was he's trying to be like DMX.
How did that affect you during that time?

Speaker 3 (11:34):
You know, of course it's going to affect affect you.
You know, and I'm young too, you know, you know,
I got a chip on my shoulder, and I'm like, nah,
I'm not trying to be like no, but I'm me,
you know, And and you know, me and the dog,
we we definitely you know, had our bouts, so a
little stupid shit like that. But so what I did,
and and I took an extreme gamble. You know, my

(11:56):
first album was very successful. Then you gotta beacha. Yeah,
you know, I sold you know, close to two million
records on my debut album, and then those things started happening.
He's trying to be like at He's trying to be
like you know, so I said, you know what, I

(12:17):
got something, I'm gonna switch it all up. Went out
to La, got me a big ass fucking mansion, out
and out in Hollywood Hills. First time I ever had
anything like this in my life. And it was like
the most ghetto fucking mansion you ever want to see
in your life. We had like renaiscent of furniture and
it was crazy, you're saying. We had a room that

(12:38):
we called the dorm and just ten niggas slept in there,
you know what I'm saying. So it was a wild,
a wild time. But I wanted the music to reflect
new times in my life, you know, things that I
was doing now, things I was seeing now, experiencing now,
you know. And so I went completely left, grew my
hair out so they can't say, look like Axa Park.

(13:02):
Them niggas never had braids. I grew my hair out,
got braids, you know, was wearing it wild. Jimmy Hendrix,
you know Dan, Dan just looking just just being me,
you know, and and and the music started to reflect
those moments.

Speaker 1 (13:18):
So it was all your idea to change the image
in the music.

Speaker 3 (13:21):
Yeah, it was. I mean, you know, God, he just
kind of flowed with whatever I wanted to do, but
he always, you know, would circle back to you gotta
keep it, you know what I'm saying. Don't go too far,
this way bru, you know, saying you gotta have your
street element. You gotta keep it. You know, you got
to keep it street. And so you know, because I'm
an artist, a creator first at heart, so you know,
I wanted to do wild, crazy shit. You know what

(13:42):
I'm saying, everybody, nigga. You know it was kind of
like back a little bit.

Speaker 1 (13:46):
It was kind of like reverse Jodasy. And what I
mean by that.

Speaker 5 (13:50):
Remember they always tell a story about how they dressed
Jodasy like hip hop, but they did the R and
B record, but you.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
You still had the streech it in you, but you
were still doing R and B records, but you were
still rapped in a hard on the R and B record.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
You know, It's crazy. I listened to like records like
Always on Time, like the Dirty Versions and Ship and
I'm like, funny, story was just in in Africa. I
was over the building my new school, and so they're
playing like the dirty versions of these records the kids
out there, and I'm like, God, like yo, they telling
them they got to change the hooks singing ain't saying

(14:25):
what he's saying, you know what I'm saying. So, yeah,
I used to you know, I used to say what
I wanted and do what I wanted on the verses,
but then the hooks were so pretty that it kind
of just cleaned it all up.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
Did they give you a push back because of that?
Because God is soling, God will wrap all the time,
like everything in Street with Gotty. But then you went
left a little bit and started catering to women and
making those type of songs. Was there any pushback at all?

Speaker 3 (14:50):
Not from God? Because gott He, you know, God, he's
all about what's hot. God, he was like, the music
sounded right, it's hot. It's the one time we you know,
I think I think got He got a little bit nervous,
was put it on me. Everybody knew it was a
big record, but everybody was like, this is like different,
like this is like but I didn't feel it was.

(15:12):
I felt like I was already stepping in that arena.
I was already doing you know, the records that had
had that feel, and maybe I was taking a little
step further or whatever, But I felt like I was
already in that lane. So it didn't matter. But you know,
long Bawl, you know, we put it out and it
became the record. It was, but you know, me and
Gotdy were very fearless in that. We we understood that

(15:33):
this was a this was gonna be a make or
break situation. You know, a lot of artists go through
what they called a sophomore jinx, and here I am
taking the biggest game where you could take with a
sophomore album.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
It was like a new debut though in a lot
of ways that's how I felt.

Speaker 3 (15:52):
I felt like, this is like new job rule, This
is like something I ain't feel before. This is completely
it's me, but it's it's it's like me, and it
would have would have with a different you know look
to it, you know, feel to it. And and you
know they didn't They didn't really like that. Def jam
didn't love it. They didn't love the album. They didn't

(16:12):
love you know where I was going visually with it.
They didn't love it. Really after doing two million records,
they broke. Don't fix it, like four or five, I know,
but you can't call that you know beforehand, right, And
like it's like like I said, you know, it was
going through a time where a lot of artists going
through sophomore janks. You put out that sophomore album and
didn't do. You know, it's as good as the first album.

(16:34):
So I was taking a big risk and doing it.
They wanted me to go change the album. God he
came and it's like your rule, this is what they say.
And I told them go fuck theyself, you know, but
it's ultimately your decision, you know what you want to do.
And I'm like, I'm not changing ship. I'm like, I'm
this is you know. We just we're just gonna have to,

(16:54):
you know, fight, fight for what we believe in. And
we did and and and it was it turned out
to be a great decision on that side.

Speaker 6 (17:01):
I was going to ask you in those moments like
we're conversations with you God, it because I've never met
him before. But his energy seems so short all the time.
But that's a lot of pressure when you you know
what I mean, Like y'all are in it, like this
is the big moment and you got to say, go
fuck yourself. But at the same time, it's like, but
you know.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
God, he had a different way of speaking and handling
you know, things I've heard. I'm more a little more diplomatic,
you know. But but but it's cool. You know, sometimes
in life you need both sides. You need Malcolm and
you need Mane, you know what I'm saying. So you
need somebody to be like, we're gonna we're gonna talk
to Martin right now. We don't want to talk to
Malcolm at the moment, you know. So it works.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
You know, you think there's a lot of herbs.

Speaker 5 (17:43):
I call it passion, but I think a lot of
the rah rah came from the frustration of being a
visionary and knowing you're right, and knowing that these motherfuckers
do not see the vision. But you can see it
so clear. I can see what Jah is so clear.
I can see what X is so clear. I can
see what Obe is so clear. How don't y'all see it?
That would be frustrating, too, especially when you see how
everything played.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
Out, Very very frustrated. But that's that's the struggle, you
know that, that's the pushing pull between creatives and and
and you know the suits suits. It's always going to
be the fight, you know. But now that I'm on
both sides of it, I get it. I fight myself
because I want to just be creative. But then I'm like,
of course much Sometimes you think that before.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
He passed it. I know you guys had a lot
of conversations. Do you does he think he got the
credit he deserved because when he passed, you heard every
last little thing, every record, every record that he's produced,
all the behind the scenes stuff from the making the
belly to everything.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
It's so crazy. It's as much as you know Irvs,
you know, loud and outspoken, he wasn't about those things
like he he he would know, you know, he I
produced this, and I produced it. You know, he he
did a lot of outside records outside of Murriay Aint
that he never really you know, goten interviews and spoke
about or anything. You know, he just kind of just

(19:06):
talked about what he did with me X and Jay,
you know, because because you know, we were his favorites.
But you know, he did do a lot, you know,
with a lot of other artists and and you know,
big records and records that you know should be definitely
you know, contributed to his legacy.

Speaker 5 (19:23):
You know, I'm sitting here with you and I'm thinking
to myself, how do you even talk to job about her?
Because you and EARV clearly loved each other out loud,
and people asked questions like, how did his passing make
you feel it's like, I don't even know if those
are appropriate questions.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
Yeah, like I said, I go in and now, like
you know, I be I'm very understanding of what life
and death is. You know, we were all born to
die at some point that that that's gonna happen, you know.
You know one of the earth things you always used
to say is you know that that is our destiny.

(19:59):
But then mirror of that we live, you know, JR.
Rest in peace to JR. As well. You know John
Lauren and he always used to say live the dash,
you know, because that's what your teams do nineteen whatever
or whatever to you know whatever. So he alway used
to say, live the dash. That's just what it is,
you know. So I know that my brother lived, He

(20:23):
lived to dash, you know what I'm saying. He lived
his life, and so I can be happy in knowing that.
But I'm still hurt, you know, by the way it all,
you know just kind of happened so fast.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
Do you regret it at all? You regret not talking
to your brother and being hard on your brother. Like
I was listening to Chris Irv's brother doing the conversation
and he was like it was the lifestyle. And I
tried to talk to him, but he was like just
irved it. Listen, do you wish you would have been
more like, Yo, bro, you gotta do this. You gotta
go to the doctor.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
Bro, you gotta do that about earth. Yeah you can't.
You're not telling her that, you now know, whatever got
his money, he wants something. He's gonna be that got
the record that he ain't gonna stop. And he's the
same way with how he wanted to live his life.
You're like, well, I think the last time he was
here he you know, oh no, no, I'm sorry it
was it was maybe drinking and he talking about He's like,

(21:12):
you know, was like, are you taking cares? He's like
not all the time, but that's what I used to
you know. Like one of my last put my last
text to him was Yo, how you doing? You're taking
care of yourself? How your health? You know what I mean?
How you feeling? You know what I mean? I mean
spoken you know a couple of weeks or whatever. Yeah, yeah,

(21:34):
so you know you know that that's that's her, you know,
and I'm happy to know that that he lived his
life the way he did Frank Sinatra. I did it
my way, So I'm happy and knowing that, you know,
but I am a little disappointed because I feel he
could still be it.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
What does that mean when you say it happened so fast?

Speaker 3 (21:53):
Like I you know, so of course I'm behind the
scenes internally, I'm dealing with this in private. You know,
it's it's not a public knowledge. And so, you know,
I felt he was getting better and then it was one,

(22:13):
you know, you know, something happened. I think he had
like a mini stroggle. He went back to see the doctor,
and then it just kind of his health just started
to kind of the deterior range, and it just kind
of happened fast, you know, and I'm like, god, damn.
But again, it puts things in perspective for his life
and perspective absolute health, and perspective his money and perspective,

(22:37):
like you know, we all out hit chasing it, you know,
the money to this, to that, But you know, it
ain't it ain't. It ain't. And I know it's sounds
like appliche ship or whatever, but it money ain't nothing.
If your health ain't good, if you can't enjoy it,
you know what, what what's the money? You know, your
family get enjoyed. You know, that's that's whine you you

(23:00):
you die, you know, I guess you know you get
along knowing that you know what I'm saying, but you
can't you can't enjoy it, you know, if you're not
if you're not in good health.

Speaker 6 (23:13):
So if you don't mind me asking, if it's too personal,
you can say you don't want to answer. Have you
had those moments now after everything where like you wake
up and you know, maybe it's like a dream happens
and you're like, okay, like I hear you, or like
I feel you, or like you know, something like that
where it's like a comforting feeling.

Speaker 3 (23:29):
Nah, you know, I'm not gonna sit here and I'm
saying you're having like out about the experiences and ship,
you know. I just like I said, I'm seen a
lot of death in my life and so boys dealt
with it very well. This is the first one that
that somebody has died. That's very that's disclose to me.

(23:55):
You know that we've built so much, we've done so
much together, and so it's a little different. But yeah,
it's it's it's yeah, it's tough, but yeah, I can't
say that I've you know, experienced those type of joyce.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
I would have loved to see the gang back together
just and maybe they were just you know, the whole
murder Ink family back and because you guys grinded from
the bottom, like you believers out of people that weren't
you know what I mean, whether it was yourself, R
and B. I mean, IRV did a chanty and Lloyd,
you know what I mean? And I would just wish
the gang would have got was there was there any

(24:33):
chance of that?

Speaker 3 (24:35):
I think that ship said, I think that ship sailed,
but not. You know what's so crazy? You ain't gotta
used to always talk about this and I you know,
it's the old it's the old Motown story. Smokey Robinson,
Berry Gordon, you know Berry Gordy wasn't gonna come to

(24:56):
the twenty five year anniversary because he felt like Mike
and Diana and they traded, they left them and you
know when when the things was, I guess he felt
the highest and you know they just went with the
money and you know, left the situation or whatever. And
you know, Smokey sat him down. They say it's not

(25:17):
about who leaves, about who comes back. And I felt
that and I'd always say that to her. I said,
things happen, people grow, you grow apart. I said, it's
not about who leaves. Said at the end of the day,
it's about who comes back. I said, because that shows

(25:37):
the respect and the love was always there. And I
think that's important, you know.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
I think the problem is, though people wait to come
back at the funeral. Yeah, so you say the ship
is sailed.

Speaker 5 (25:51):
Then we're seeing you know, Shan speak on it and
you know, seeing her post about it, so clearly they
were still loved there.

Speaker 3 (25:57):
It's always been there, you know, it's always been there.
You know, I've tried to clean it up many times,
but I got to a point where I was, you know, like,
just let it be. It is what it is. But
as long as everybody's called you, I.

Speaker 6 (26:11):
Think publicly we knew that you were kind of like
in the middle trying to figure everything out. And then
when everything happened, and like she posted, and you know,
she talked to Martinez about, you know, how she was feeling.
I know that you guys probably had conversations after and like,
you know what, because now it's different because he's not
here anymore. What was that like for you because you're
kind of still in the middle, but he's not here anymore,
and like, you know what is I mean, we you know, it's.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
Crazy because we had conversations prior, right, you know, about
you know, them patching things up, and I've had conversations
got about them passing it up, and it's always been
on the table with just never happen because.

Speaker 4 (26:46):
She says she through the olive branch.

Speaker 3 (26:48):
Prior to yes, and you know, there's been moments when
it's just been stuck in his ways and just.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
He's a cancer like me.

Speaker 3 (26:58):
So so it's been hard to catched that up. But
I know you know that that he did love her,
you know that I did know that I do know,
and so that's why I always tried to patch it
up because I know both sides of the story. I
know both of them, and I know you know that
they that they shared something and and you know that

(27:19):
that's whatever, but it's it's it's just one of those things.
But I feel that now that you know in passing,
I feel like everybody will come back and we can
do some things together as a as a game for
the group. Whatever, Lord and the rest of the food

(27:39):
that they've always been on board.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
So how what Irvin felt seeing over at the funeral?

Speaker 3 (27:44):
You know, I spoke about that at the funeral and
I I spoke to that and I told hop, I said, Hue,
I know that for a fact, So I let him
know that for me. That's all right.

Speaker 2 (28:00):
Well, now let's move on's.

Speaker 1 (28:02):
Talk about the school in Ghana.

Speaker 2 (28:03):
Man I was talking about his daughter getting married. Which
way you want to go?

Speaker 1 (28:09):
Is scary? I told you, whiskey scared.

Speaker 3 (28:12):
Man.

Speaker 5 (28:13):
I'm gonna tell you why it's scared, because it's really
really good and it's very smooth.

Speaker 2 (28:17):
You feel a little soft and the first sip.

Speaker 3 (28:20):
Is warn we have got uh what do you call it? Uh? End?

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Very very Now your daughter is getting married? Yes, Now,
did the the young man come to you and ask you?
And how was that conversation?

Speaker 3 (28:38):
Y know he did. He's he's a really great dude, man,
my dude tapping man. He's a good Guy's Jamaican, you know,
you know, so they have that respect.

Speaker 7 (28:47):
You know, he laughed for you said go ahead because
they have a culture, you know, in a way you
know that that US African Americans don't.

Speaker 3 (29:02):
You know what I'm saying, so it's you know, it's
very respectful. You know, he did it the traditional way.
It was cool, you know what I mean. And of course,
you know, please take it.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
Do you pay for the wedding?

Speaker 3 (29:15):
Of course? Okay, I said, that's the part of the tradition.
It needs to change, girl, because your.

Speaker 4 (29:23):
Son is graduating from college in the same that same month.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
Yeah. Yeah, it's my youngest son, Jordan. He's graduating from.

Speaker 4 (29:30):
And you're gonna need a nice gift, and then you
gotta pay for the wedding.

Speaker 3 (29:32):
Yeah, so they tap him up pocket.

Speaker 5 (29:35):
Yeah, that's the beauty of life though, right, Like when
you think about John twenty years ago, did you realize,
like I'm gonna be a father, you know, like this
is the difference.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
Well, yeah, I was the father twenty years Like, did
you see my grand father and kids will graduate?

Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah? You know when I was locked up, right, this
old head, oh geez to always say only thing worse
than getting old is not not getting old. He used
to say that to me all the time. And now
that I'm getting old, I finally appreciate that statement, you
know what I mean, because I used to it was

(30:11):
a dumb young knucklehead I think I wasn't gonna live
to be twenty five and all this other goofy shit.
But you know, long bowl, here I am, you know,
forty nine, looking at my kids, you know, you know,
graduating from college and you know, and getting married. So
it's it's it's a blessing when you.

Speaker 5 (30:30):
See how many people who have not you know, survived
in hipp does it give you more of an appreciation
of life?

Speaker 3 (30:37):
Of course? You know it's a dirty game. Man. It
feels like only hip hop goes through that, you know,
seeing so many young brothers die a young age, it's
kind of crazy, you know, knowing that that's how I
thought when I was young, and it I you know,
so it's kind of it's kind of weird to just

(30:57):
kind of seeing it all old and that's how these
young brothers you know, also think. And it's like, you know,
we got to break that that that's like.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
So, how do you tell folks it gets greater later?
Are you just show them?

Speaker 3 (31:10):
I think they're starting to see it, okay, you know
what I mean. You know, they have great examples out there,
you know, you whole and big and married kids doing
well in life. You know, there's other great examples like
l and his wife and Mathing his wife, and Me
and my wife, and you know, you mentioned a lot.
So so you see the growth in hip hop. You know,

(31:31):
he's starting to see a lot of of artists that
you may not even know was married for a very
very long time. You Cube and his wife, you know.
So there's a lot of us out there that just
kind of really embodied with love and hip fathers about
I feel.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
Like after COVID too, I feel like the hip hop
and his wife, you know what I'm saying. I feel
like the world had a different respect for nineties and
two thousand music.

Speaker 3 (31:55):
Do you feel that as well?

Speaker 2 (31:56):
Like it was a shift with when.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
To bumped in my my royalty? Why do you think
that is?

Speaker 2 (32:01):
Because I mean I seen the time where tours were scattered,
but now I see like a much more love and
respect for that era of artists.

Speaker 3 (32:10):
You know, it's hard to put your finger on it,
because I feel like every era had great artists. I
just feel like our era was the biggest in sales,
and so you know that that takes on a different
animal when when when you know, when people get to
you know, buy your CD and put your post on

(32:30):
their wall, and you know, it's a different connection. And
I think we kind of just our era, you know,
we you know, we we we we benefited the most
from that in hip hop. You know these you know
new artists. Yeah, they got the streaming and era and
there you know, making a lot of money and be

(32:51):
independent and go do shows and all the other stuff.
But I think the longevity aspect of it and how
people kind of fell in love with us as artists,
I think that aspect of it. It's kind of like, uh,
it's kind of coming on, you know. But but but
if you catch them and you got them, you know,
because now you have them as followers on your on
your gramm, and that people just don't really follow you,

(33:13):
they follow kind of like you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (33:16):
So that that that's the have a plus and we
need age appropriate tours like you know, when you forty
five plus, you want to go somewhere and still vibe
to what you came up on in a safe environment.

Speaker 1 (33:28):
Like who says that we don't still want to go
out the concerts and stuff.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
We're party a tour this summer going and see us
man were putting it down the right way. This summer.

Speaker 4 (33:35):
But I've seen you.

Speaker 6 (33:36):
I've seen you in concert and it's a lot of
young people there, like a lot like yeah, it's not
you would go there and be like, what is happening?

Speaker 1 (33:43):
That's the old school and it feels crazy for us.

Speaker 6 (33:47):
Because if I'm thinking about that, I'm like, if I
saw you at the Joys, I'd be like, why is Charlotte.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Mane here at a job?

Speaker 6 (33:53):
Because we For us, it's like we go because it's
nostalgic and it's fun and it's like whatever, but it's.

Speaker 1 (33:58):
Your enjoying younger what you're organ.

Speaker 3 (34:04):
I get it.

Speaker 6 (34:05):
I feel like it's like y'all are ours now? Like
back up ahead, nothing, that's my daughter so young, so young.

Speaker 2 (34:14):
That music. She feels like that's her music, Like she
loves that music. But she doesn't look at age. She's
just like, that's my song.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
It feels good, Like that's how it feels.

Speaker 6 (34:22):
You put on y'all songs and it's like a good
summertime day, like you know, if you feel it, it's different.
But for sure, when I went I forget, I think
I was in La when I seen you, it was
very it was younger than me.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
I was like oh wow, I got a good you know,
generational push because you know, that's what their mothers were
listening to and stuff like that. I asked them sometimes
you know, they be twenty five and I'm like, what
you know about I liked them, and they like my
mom was just all my big sister. I was like, okay,

(34:52):
I got I.

Speaker 2 (34:53):
Do you want better? My daughter and ran into so
many times yah. I had no idea that j'all sing
no songs.

Speaker 3 (34:57):
I was.

Speaker 2 (34:59):
So come on and she'd be singing. I'll be like,
you know who that is?

Speaker 3 (35:03):
Right?

Speaker 2 (35:03):
She's like no, I'm like, you know, I forget it.
But she had no idea. She said hello and she
you know whatever, she's seen you at the ball and
she had no idea you saying no song. She was
like really, I'm like yeah, but she's twenty three years old.
Had no clue.

Speaker 6 (35:15):
But I think now with like the bridging of the
gay with like social media, it's like you kind of
because a lot of times too, like I know my niece,
she will play certain songs and I'd be like, how
did you even know that song? It's TikTok And she'll
literally say, oh, it's TikTok and she might not know
who you are, but she can sing the song word
for word.

Speaker 1 (35:29):
Your rule created the whole genre of music.

Speaker 3 (35:32):
I feel the same way. I don't know some of
the new kids, so I know the.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
Song, So y'all, rule was Drake before Drake.

Speaker 4 (35:40):
You're yelling at singing.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 4 (35:46):
From because I'm getting high, but don't be yelling at me.

Speaker 1 (35:58):
The whole singing rapping high. Yeah, that was that was Joah.

Speaker 3 (36:02):
Literally, I definitely on that space for a minute. You know,
I'm not the first start ast to sing it rap, obviously,
but you know, I like to think that I was,
or like to say or own the fact that I
was the first art to really create duets hip hop duets,
like you know, you you don't know if I'm real

(36:23):
as my record or j Loo's record, or you don't
know if mesmerizes my record or Shanty record, because the
way I wrote them is I'm so infused in the record,
I'm on the hook with them. She got a verse,
I got a verse. You know, it sounds like you
know what what Tammy and and and Marvel would do
back in the day as an R and B record,
you know, so that that dynamic really didn't exist in

(36:44):
hip hop until I started doing it because I had
the deliberty, the liberty of writing those records, and so
at the time I didn't know what I was doing.
I just kind of wanted to be on the record
and be on it as much as possible. I'm like, shit,
I'm writing the record for Jennifer Lopez. I need to
be on the record, like really on the record, you know.
So I'm on the hook, I'm on the verses, but

(37:05):
I'm in the first verse, you know, and she comes
in and I got my own second burst and she
comes back on the you know. I wrote it that
way so it can be a back and forth kind
of thing. And I think I started that.

Speaker 6 (37:16):
I saw you said you wish the internet was around
during the time of like you and fifties, back and forth.
But listening to you tell that story, I'm like, don't
you like, aren't you happy that it wasn't because getting
enjoyed that without social media, without feel like you had
to post it and tag it and talk about it,
because you.

Speaker 3 (37:32):
Know, sometimes you got to show certain elements of certain things.
Social media was good for that. Social media's good to
show certain things. That's all I just said, got you
to it.

Speaker 5 (37:45):
What similarities did you see in this situation between Kendrick
and Drake and you and fifty And I'm just talking
about as far as how you know, the public turned
on consumers.

Speaker 3 (37:58):
You know, man, you know fans are fickle. You know
I knew that. You know, That's what made me kind
of transition how I look at, you know, how I
make my money. You know, it was kind of like, Okay,
I can't put all my eggs in this basket. I
kind of kind of diversified in a lot of different
ways because if these niggas flip on me for whatever reason,

(38:21):
I ain't like the way I fucking wore my hat
saying another day or whatever. And you know it's that,
you know, music is. It's a crazy thing, you know,
but I do I do see certain things that are
similar and just the way, you know, public perception, you know,

(38:41):
how people can kind of, you know, turn that back
on you because you're winning so much. I think I
think that's what you know, people really, I think that's
the issue people really have with You're just fucking too hot,
you know, saying the boy don't lose, and people wanted
to see them get a little bit of dat in
his armor. That's all what that man is. Fine, Like,

(39:04):
you know, the crazy thing is and the crazy thing
peop don't understand my beavn. I'm looking at the same
thing with Drake. I'm like, he's rich. He's chilling me.
I'm like, I'm rich.

Speaker 4 (39:13):
You feel like that now though, but in the moment
you probably was pissed off like yo, I was.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
But but the end of the day, the crazy thing is,
things can look so much bigger and deeper in our
small bubble. But I go places and I feel that it.
You know, for a minute, I had the energy was there,
don't get me wrong, and you know, we was fighting

(39:37):
up buckers and you know, it was what it was.
But after a time, it's not that and the energy's gone,
and people was like, yo, ruh, I love his music.
I'm going to his shows. So it wasn't it was
never that, you know, where it was like, okay, I'm
suffering in my financial state. So yes, I had to
suck up some things that I was feeling from from

(40:00):
a fans point of view. But at the end of
the day, I can hang my hat on what I
came to do. I accomplished. My family's good, I'm good,
my money's right. Fuck it, I got some haters. If
you don't have haters, then you ain't doing something right,
you know what I'm saying. And you and you move
on with it. So I always looked at it like,
you know, people, you know, the fans and the people

(40:22):
around it. It's like, oh, Drake, Drake can be fine.
I'm still here twenty five years later doing what I do,
getting six figures a show. It's like, it's like, I don't.
I don't want people to to ever think that, you know,
a rap beef is that that important to the grand
scheme of things? Like, you know, people are not you know,

(40:45):
Drake's investors and people that do business business what I mean,
because it's doing that's not happening, you know. So it's
a there's a lot of aspects to it that people
don't understand.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
You ever stop to think to yourself. You know, all
those years ago.

Speaker 5 (40:57):
You put out the clap back record, right, and you
put it out. Everybody was like, what is John doing?
But now twenty five years later, not only is the
record dope, everybody uses the terms clip back.

Speaker 8 (41:10):
Mine.

Speaker 3 (41:12):
I'm like, it's still hurt going back. But yeah, you know,
I laugh at stuff like that. You know, I even
laughed at moments of certain records that came out that
didn't really translate as well as they should have, I

(41:33):
felt at the time. But I played them now that
shows and people singing worth for worse. I'm like, I
was listening, you know what I'm sa saying. I was
paying attention to these records, you know, like like like wonderful.

Speaker 1 (41:48):
Oh, wonderful fight.

Speaker 3 (41:49):
Yeah, but it was. It was my first number one
record in the UK, you do know what I'm saying. So, yeah,
it was. It was. It was dope, but it was
popping over there, you know what I'm saying. It wasn't
you know, it wasn't kicking it with the way it
should have. I felt over here, you know. But you
know it's so certain things like that I feel now.
And then clapback is another one. You know, when I
do it, it's like, oh, now everybody knows the words

(42:11):
the clapback. Okay, I get it, I got it. It's cool.
But but you know, you know, music is subjectives. Man.
People like artists, they don't like artists. You don't gotta
like job rule that's cool, you know what I'm saying.
People that vibe with me, fu, we came, fuck with me.
That's what it is. People who don't, it's cool. I

(42:33):
don't know you anyway, It really doesn't bother.

Speaker 5 (42:36):
It's also it's also interesting to me that you are
fifty have not outgrown each other. And what I mean
by that is if you're talking to fifty, job gonna
come up. If you're talking to job, fifty gonna come up.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
I mean, I don't. I don't bring him up to
say at all. We do, yeah, the media media, but
you know, but because I think that's because he's you know, roll,
and he.

Speaker 4 (43:00):
Keeps it going, and you've been doing jazz and throwing
them back, but.

Speaker 3 (43:04):
You be you know, I'll I'll go to the circus
once in a while, you know what I mean. But
I really like to stay clear of that ship.

Speaker 4 (43:13):
Yeah, because when the residency stuff happened, I was like, oh,
you know, I.

Speaker 3 (43:18):
Like to have fun. Sometimes I poke jazz at him too,
But that's all it really is. It's like it's and
and to me, it's like it's silly. You know, we're
both successful black men. I think the focus should be
on you know, continuing to make sure that we pay
it forward, push forward, make sure the coach keeps going forward.
I think that's more important. You know. I see some

(43:38):
of the things that he gets involved in, this fuse
on something like crow rob my nigga. You know what
I'm saying. You know, that's what I be thinking to myself,
you know. And so when I see the things that
he does, and you know, he did the Earth, I'm like,
how do you feel about that? So of course nobody
likes all his goofy ship, but it's goofy ship, you
know what I'm saying. So I'm like, I'm not I'm

(44:01):
you know, Prime said it best. You know. I spoke
to Premium other day. He's you know, PREMI has always
got the right words and ship in the right word
things to say. Because I was hot, you know what
I'm saying. I was. I was I was ready to
go nuclear and ship. But you know, I say, you know,
so I spoke to Anyway and Prince said, yo, he
said that. He said, you know, he said, here's you

(44:22):
gotta understand about who we are and what we are said,
we are masters of self defense. And I said, I
love that. I said because I'm not. I'm I'm I
don't want to start trouble and make trouble with people.
I'm you know, but if we got to get into
it and make it, oh, I'll fucking ended. I'll put

(44:44):
it to it. I'll take it to the next you know.
So that's why I'm like, you know what, that is
the best description of what I am and who I
am as a man that I could ever think about,
you know what I'm saying, Because that that's who we
are as men here to protect our family, check our homes,
defend our honor, our names, our reputation. That's weird. I'm

(45:08):
not here to be a bully and bother people. I'm not.
That's not That's not what I'm. I'm I'm here to
do you know what I'm saying. But I am a master.

Speaker 5 (45:20):
But in a way, you do have to understand why
fulfilled the way he feels when you think about.

Speaker 1 (45:25):
Everything that y'all been through. I really don't really fighting
the shooting, the stabbing, shooting.

Speaker 3 (45:33):
We ain't got nothing to do with that. People like
I got to do with us. You know what I'm saying.
I know the reality of it all. You know what
I'm saying and that shiit ain't gonna do with us.
But I guess it's good for you know, people to
play that when they want to play that, and they

(45:53):
play victim when they want to play victor. You know.
So you know, like I said, I leave it all alone.
I live a really really cool life. I'm in a
good space. So I'm like, you know, if you sometimes
you just got to remove yourself from the circuit. And
that's what I've chosen to do it. So that's why
I've been being quiet, cool, enjoying my time. You know.

(46:17):
It's funny because you know, like you know, I'll get
d m s and shipped from you know, other enemies.
You know what they say, a friend of uh, a
friend of enemy and my friend. I got a lot
of I got a lot of those.

Speaker 6 (46:35):
You know what I'm saying, my enemy my friend responding
because you probably don't got down with that, right, Like no, no, no,
But it'd be like people y'all know very well.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
I mean, it would be like.

Speaker 7 (46:46):
Y'a.

Speaker 5 (46:47):
You know, it's so crazy because we say that all
the time. When Jahr was going through a situation, y'all
got jumped. That's why I don't really like to compare
to drink.

Speaker 3 (46:54):
This is true.

Speaker 1 (46:54):
Everything that you got jumped. So all of those relationships
you never made him into.

Speaker 3 (47:00):
Yeah, me and Game is cool, you know it was bud. Yeah,
me and me and Axis across cool. But the rest
yeah nah, they're all on that side. Okay, So I
don't pump.

Speaker 1 (47:16):
With them niggas like that, even all these years later, you.

Speaker 3 (47:18):
Just you know, it's it's like, you know, Charla Mane,
It's like it's like anything else, like the Cold War.
Man like, we we can exist without having to coexist.
That's cool.

Speaker 2 (47:30):
Now, I gotta ask you know, what was your mind framing?
What were your thoughts when they said that they were
bringing the fire Festival back. I'm glad.

Speaker 3 (47:39):
I'm glad you brought that up.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
Mister.

Speaker 3 (47:42):
What was I'm glad you brought that up?

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Remember when was when I was here around.

Speaker 3 (47:49):
That time and and my good brother Andy was like, joh,
how how could you have a partner the ship?

Speaker 4 (48:06):
Whatday is Wesday?

Speaker 2 (48:09):
Wednesday?

Speaker 4 (48:15):
Now he's just showing me, shouting, shouting me. That's a cocking.
That's how you clock that clock?

Speaker 8 (48:24):
That Okay, you think that don't understanding?

Speaker 4 (48:34):
Maybe we gotta cheer some neutral because that's just South school.

Speaker 1 (48:38):
Working for that word.

Speaker 8 (48:42):
Let me let him Jos listen.

Speaker 1 (48:48):
I just want to jo so many times holding that.

Speaker 8 (48:57):
Because it's possible, right, maybe just be doing fun ship
behind your back.

Speaker 1 (49:08):
Yeah, you cognizant of that. Now who you attach your
brand to?

Speaker 3 (49:12):
I'm sure, yeah, for sure, And you know what's crazy
and you can probably test it this like yes again,
the beauty of oh, you know, you don't want to
go through nothing like you know, those type of situations.
But the beauty of it is now when I vet
a situation, people don't get mad at all. Like when

(49:34):
I'm when I'm like, ain't about like no, no, no,
I don't know. Let me just check a little bit more,
see what this is about. They do not like it's
no sweat that like I get it, Joah, I get it,
I get it, you know what I'm saying. So that,
I guess is a plus for things where people are
very you know, forgiving when it comes to how hard

(49:56):
I'm vetting the next situation you have to you have.

Speaker 6 (49:59):
To with Amber Opel speaking of bedding, I was watching
an interview where you talked about and we had tried
this before.

Speaker 4 (50:06):
We were talking about the tasting and stuff. And I honestly,
amber is the whiskey that that you.

Speaker 1 (50:13):
I'm not even really good.

Speaker 3 (50:17):
Man.

Speaker 5 (50:18):
This is the first whisky I've ever tasted. I'm like, yo,
this ship is actually really good.

Speaker 3 (50:28):
You could do it.

Speaker 4 (50:29):
I feel like that in the morning. You could do
this in like a good coffee.

Speaker 1 (50:33):
It tastes like an old fashioned already.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
Yeah, I c yeah.

Speaker 4 (50:38):
What do you smell?

Speaker 3 (50:38):
Smells to tow up online because I poured a fucking
ship over ice and called it meat. Motherfucker's mad at me.

Speaker 4 (50:50):
But you did a good job with this. What do
you smell when you smell it?

Speaker 1 (50:53):
It's like sweet and smoky at the same time.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
That's smoky taste that you that you that you taste
that smoke finished. That is a Chinese tea, Chinese black
tea that we use called Lapsung soup chunk. You see,
you see my black brother back there. I'm I'm gotta
give him all the props because he's the whiskey enthusiast
out of the crew. And so this blend he was sweating,
you know what I'm saying. You see the ball to

(51:17):
So he's back there sweat and getting putting this blend
together the right way, and he and he did the
damn thing with it. And and you know, I was
the guy that was tasting it. That was you that
I'm not really a whiskey drinker, but tasting it was
like I could drink. So I was important to the
to the you know, to the to the tasting. When
I thought I wasn't, you know, I was sitting there like, now,

(51:37):
I don't know what I'm tasting. I don't know if this,
you know whatever, and they're like, just taste it. Take
I'm drinking a B C D. I'm like, they all
kind of taste to say, just tell me which one
you like, you know what I'm saying. And and so
that that that's important, and we we wanted to really
nail that for the whiskey curious, you know what I mean,
people who are maybe first time whiskey drinkers are not
really you know, whiskey enthusiasts.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
Why whiskey for you?

Speaker 3 (52:00):
Well, it's started as a business mention, I'm not gonna lie,
you know. During COVID. You know, I'm with a really
really great investment group and we were doing a lot
of crazy investments. So we got into like Web three
stuff and stuff. You know, it was doing that stuff.
It was like it was fun investing during its like
gaming investing. Damn there and COVID. So one of the
things that came across our desk was a whiskey Dave.

(52:24):
And a DOW is a decentralized organized atonomous autonomous organization
to centralized autonomous organization is what a DOW is. So
so it's basically like a group of people get together
and we're all on the board and we all get
the vote and make decisions and how to you know,
company rolls blah blah blah. So you know, we did this,
and what it was is we bought a whole fucking

(52:47):
warehouse full of whiskey out in Niowa and we were
gonna wait till the whiskey age to hit a seven
year mark when it became like a premium bourbon, and
just flip it. So that was the plan. But as
we got hit our seven year mark, some of the
guys in our group started busting open the bottle the
barrels and making personal bottles for home and ship, and so,

(53:07):
you know, me and Herb decided, let's let's let's start
something really, really dope, and so we did that. So
but what happened was he he found a distillery out
in Baltimore. So this is where this batch is actually made.
Because they told us don't use those barrels because that
premium bourbon and if we infuse it with the honey
is gonna dilute the aging. And so we decided, well

(53:31):
we didn't actually decide they they recommended that we by
their three year old two year old barrels and and
and make and make our you know, blend. And so
that's what we did and and amazing partnership thus far.
You know, the blend is amazing, as Charlamagne, you know,
has has said several times.

Speaker 2 (53:50):
How difficult does it get into these stores? You know,
that's been the hardest part.

Speaker 3 (53:56):
It's been. It's been a little bit challenging. But you know,
we we were we were able to get into a
really dope diversity program before they stopped the.

Speaker 4 (54:09):
Distributors.

Speaker 3 (54:10):
So we're we're with we're with Park Streets and they
distribute us through California and Florida. But you know, we're
looking to do a major distribution. So we'll probably signed
with R and d C really really soon. They have
a national footprint, so we'll deal basically with them. But
you know, we we we're doing great. We we do

(54:31):
our diversity program that we were able to get into
and you know, people don't like to talk about it,
but I think it's important that you do talk about
these these programs because they do help us as as
as as a as a as a as a black
culture of black people. And then I think, you know,
we should look into it or whatever. They're gone now

(54:52):
so it doesn't matter. But while they were here, people
weren't talking about it enough. And and and and these
are some of the great programs that were out there,
and so we got into it. And we were able
to get into one hundred and two doors at total
wanes and in ten cities, like you know, right off
the back. That's a new company, so that was a plus.
And then of course we have distribution online as well.

(55:15):
You can get us at a sealed box, dot com
and a reserve bar as well.

Speaker 2 (55:20):
So do you change the do you try to change
the landscape? And the reason I asked, right, you coming
out of as an artist, right, you remember the drink
at the time was Hennessy, then it changed the vodka. Yeah,
and it chased the tequila. Do you try to change
the landscape of the clubs or you say, now we're
not taking the club.

Speaker 3 (55:37):
No, no, yeah, we definitely club We're in eleven, We
were in Dre's. You know, we definitely new places.

Speaker 6 (55:42):
Where people kind of swords would understand that. That makes sense, okay,
marketing ones, that makes sense absolutely.

Speaker 3 (55:47):
And you know, you know, I want to do something
really really cool. You know, I'm looking into it how
we can make it happen. But you know how they
have bottle service and they bring the bottle service. I
want to do a little something different. When you order
a bottle amber and Ople, you'll get your own you know,
uh mixologists and they'll come with a you know, a
menu or drinks that you can actually make and they'll

(56:08):
make you right there at the moment. Yeah, you know,
it's a little little different twists on when we're doing
bottle service, but it's still bottle service. Instead of just
making a silly car and all of you know, somebody,
you can actually sit there and learn about the making drinks.

Speaker 6 (56:22):
A lot of times when celebrities do alcohol brands, it's
like everything's already done in the brand comes you're like, hey,
put your face on the sitt next to it.

Speaker 4 (56:28):
I know that that this was the complete opposite for you.

Speaker 6 (56:31):
What have you learned business wise that like you thought
you already knew, but being in Spirits, you were like, oh, okay, you.

Speaker 3 (56:38):
Know it's crazy. I knew that. You know this was
gonna happen. What's happening to us right now? You know,
because it happened to us when we was in the
clothing business when I had IRV and Jeffrey me and
Earth had that company. And the more doors we got into,
the more closed we had to actually make. So we
didn't have the white label deal, and so it was
all coming out of our pocket. And so what you

(56:59):
start to realize is the hotter you get, the more
product you have to actually make. Now in the clothing
industry is a little bit tougher because you're dealing with seasons,
and so if you don't sell it in that season,
last year's thing or last season's thing, and now you're
out into the bargain stores and you're losing you know,
profit on your on your on your retail sales. But

(57:21):
what's good about you know, alcohol is is alcohol. So
they consider on the shelves for a while, but you
still want it to move. You don't want it to
be sitting too long and they feel it's not moving,
you know. So it's a little catch twenty two on
how you got to kind of, you know, get people
to sample the product, you know, before they go into
a store and buy a seventy dollars bottle of ambernova
with sixty nine ninety nine as a you know, retail price.

(57:43):
But you know, how do you do that? Well, one
of the ways we're trying to, you know, do that
is going to the dope you know restaurants and the
dope night spaces, and so people could say, all right,
let meet a cocktail of that, or if there's a
bat at the table, they could taste it off. There
the restaurant that can get a cocktail you know, that's
a lot cheaper than seventy dollars, and they could taste

(58:04):
it and say, I like that, I will buy that,
you know. So it's one of those things you just
gotta kind of keep keep keep keep keep grinding it
and sauce from it out.

Speaker 1 (58:11):
Why the name and Opal my.

Speaker 3 (58:14):
Brother came up with the name. But I love I
love where he went with it. You know, my my
my thing about names, and I saw. I told him
he's like the rulers, you know, I come up with
the name, I said, I said, hurt, and tell you
something about name. My name is the names and name
product has to be right. So he came up with
a beautiful name, and the product is right. And so

(58:36):
this is amber and ople. The Ambers obviously is the
hue of you know what we're looking at and the
color of the you know, but the opal is it's
a it's a precious stone and it's the only precious
stone that comes in multiple colors brown, white, you know, black,
you know, tan, and so that we wanted that to

(58:58):
be encompassing a message inclusive. You know, we are black
owned brand. We're not a black brand. I want everybody
to enjoy. So you know that that that's kind of where.

Speaker 5 (59:13):
The name that's crazy, as you say, the name is
just a name, because it's not just it's not you
can have a great name, but you can also have
a terrible name.

Speaker 3 (59:21):
But if your product is great, you.

Speaker 1 (59:24):
Can ever it becomes to Twitter, you know, or you
can have a name like murder. Ain't you gotta change?

Speaker 3 (59:32):
But the name worked because the product was great too,
and so we had to change it for you know,
other reasons. You know, still call us down, but people
are never gonna stop calling name. But but I say
that because I've come up with so many names of things,
and that's what I've learned along the way. Like, you know,
we can come up with an amazing name, but if
the product is not dope, nobody remember the name, you

(59:54):
know what I mean. Or you can have the worst
name in the world the product is amazing. 'ober you
know what I'm saying. You know whatever, these crazy names
that people come up with, you know, yes, you down.

Speaker 1 (01:00:06):
I guess this is my last question. I guess we
got to go to Ghana.

Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
To the school and Ghana, so we'll talk about the
school and Ghana that that you built.

Speaker 3 (01:00:13):
Yeah. So I just got back from Ghana yesterday last night.
I built a sixth classroom block and uh Naasu Ghana.
Amazing feeling, you know, uh, probably the most important thing
that I've done, wow, in my career. That's you know.

(01:00:36):
I say that because this is something that's on a
little way beyond me. You know, all the thousands of
kids that get to go to this school and learn
English and learn math and you know, science and history
and all those great things. It's really really you know special,
And what people have to understand is, you know, we're

(01:00:57):
not in opera, you know what I'm saying where you know,
I land in opera in Ghana, that's the capital, but
not We drive two and a half hours outside of
opera too, in Washington where it's like really really really small,
you know, villages of people and and and they don't

(01:01:20):
have much of anything. They don't have, you know, really
a lot of fresh water, you know, they don't have,
you know, so we had to build the bathrooms there
so they can you know, have sanitary places. You know,
they're still teaching the girls how to you know, you know,
be sanitary with themselves, washing the things of that nature
and and you know, with their menstrual cycles and stuff

(01:01:40):
like that. You know. We we was at a tribe
out there just now where they still believe that the
blood from the women's menstrual cycle is evil and so
the women have to go into an outhouse for seven
days and why they're doing that. So so it's it's

(01:02:04):
also a learning experience that you know, we're offering out
there too. I did this through pencils and promise, you know,
Andy and school the Bronze, Uh, you know foundation really
they do really really great work man. So I've been
working with them for the last few years. And you know,

(01:02:25):
I you know, broke brown on the school last year
and this year, you know, we're here opening the school,
cutting the ribon and the kids.

Speaker 1 (01:02:32):
Amazing, congratulations, amazing.

Speaker 5 (01:02:37):
It was just about you know, when you spoke about
changing the name, you know for the FEDS, and you
know you talked about pasting earlier and how you felt
like it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:43):
It happened so fast.

Speaker 5 (01:02:45):
Does it ever make you feel like, damn, we survived
so much that you didn't think it would end.

Speaker 1 (01:02:53):
The way it ended.

Speaker 3 (01:02:55):
Yeah, you never really think about the ending m hm
plays out. I don't think anybody really has that scripted in.
It's just it's just it's just one of those things
that I'm I'm blessed to know that I'm here, and

(01:03:18):
I want to keep it alive as long as I'm here.
It's just it's just tough, man. It's a tough one,
really tough one.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
We appreciate you for joining us absolutely out and about
pick up the new whiskey and but open isn't total.

Speaker 3 (01:03:38):
Yeah, we we know we're going in the other spaces to.

Speaker 1 (01:03:44):
Really good I love that, man, it's really good.

Speaker 6 (01:03:47):
No, but that was how we when we first tried
the last time. You were not up here for any
but we just ran into you.

Speaker 4 (01:03:53):
I was like, this is whiskey. It's no way.

Speaker 3 (01:03:57):
She definitely gave it the stamp of approval.

Speaker 2 (01:03:59):
Yeah, drunk, so she said you are drunk.

Speaker 1 (01:04:02):
Not I'm sorry. She does a lot of taste.

Speaker 6 (01:04:07):
What she does well, Actually, I used to work in
the spirit's industry, so you know period.

Speaker 4 (01:04:12):
That's how I knew to tell you to smell it.
But that big nose over there, I'm about to come
across this table.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, is job. Good morning? Wake that
ass up in the morning.

Speaker 1 (01:04:25):
The Breakfast Club