#666 - Marlon Craft - "The Internet Killed The Neighborhood", On The Radar Cypher, Mamdani, NYC & More

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Bole Cat Podcast special guests in here my guy Marlon Kraft, Sir,
he is back.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good to see you man, you too, man, always good
to see you bro. Yes, the new album is out.
It's been crazy.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Shout out to Gabe and on the radar because it's
been interesting to see people treat you like you're like
a brand new artist that like just came out of
nowhere off that freestyle like yo, my got.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Low key like a young og. Now like you've been
putting it work. Donk you thank you. You're one of
the You're one of the few that know and that
have always been showing love. So it's it's it's a
cool dichotomy right now.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
It's got to be kind of cool though, like because
also like a lot of the people who are in
that cipher were also very like just super like you know,
I would say they're kind of like the new class
of like the underground, you know, dope shit. And then
then you're in the mix and you've been doing your thing.
I mean, you've got numbers on the bro, you got

(00:56):
you know, you've been doing.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
This, you know what I mean I mean that yeah, man,
it was it was actually really really cool because I
just realized, man, what a blessing it is to still
be up next this many years in and watching all
these people discover me, and then also watching my fans
be like you never heard of Marlin. Here's where you start.
I do da da da da da da, like you know,
and it's like that's really cool to see and just

(01:18):
getting put on like some of those guys I was
familiar with, but it was actually you could even feel
it in the cipher, like some of the guys been
like Yo, I've been waiting to wrap with you, or
like like yo, you're You're a legend, you know what
I mean. Like that was there was real respect. They've
been like watching my ship for a long time. And
I could tell some of the guys like never didn't
know me from a campaign and then you wrapped in

(01:38):
they were like oh shit, yeah yeah. So it was cool.
Like even within the group there was that dichotomy. It
was pretty much split down the middle. So I guess
that's kind of like the Marlin story. But it's cool.
We're at this point now where we're breaking through that
to like get that other fifty percent on board, you
know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:55):
For you, man, you've always had a level of political
awareness and political commentary in your music. This feels like
a very very specifically motivated project. I mean the theme
throughout the album I think is very like it's kind
of a sign of the times ran And by that,

(02:16):
I mean like there's like the polymarket caushi culture and
like this weird like microwavable culture where people don't really
have beliefs and they put monetary gain over their own
moral compass. And what would you for anybody who hasn't
heard the album, what would you say is like the
main inspiration behind the Internet killed the neighborhood, Man.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I mean, you're starting to lay it out pretty well
right there. I mean, yeah, I just feel like, obviously
there's this more specific interpretation of these tenets of community
and mentorship and camaraderie and sort of a village of
people where you know, our humanity is rooted and looking
out for one another on some basic level, and I

(03:01):
see that just eroding and deteriorating based off of social
media and the Internet and all this stuff. But then
there's also kind of like what does that mean at
large in the world, Like everything that's going on, you know,
on a global scale, and the times that we're in
even with the as we're just kind of at the
dawn of even more and more technology, like on the

(03:21):
precipice of in the next ten years, like what does
that mean for our collective humanity and what do we
care about? And in the album it was sort of
like there's this personal story of me coming of age,
like kind of really growing into a man, working on
this project over the course five six years and finding
out things about myself and shit. But then in that context,

(03:41):
so like looking out the window, everything that's going on,
where do I sit in it? You know, it's a lot.
So it's a pretty dense. It's a pretty dense record.
But yeah, yeah, do.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
You feel like cause you're from House Kitchen, right yeah,
which is turned into like a pretty viby neighborhood. You know,
it's like it's food there, there's like there's a lot
of gay shit going on hill. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, it's kind of like a new gay epicenter because
like Chelsea, which is directly self it's your areas right
there too, right off, bro, And like so a lot
of the gay population moved up from Chelsea, so that's
like a big, you know thing that people know and
understand as a culture appicenter for the neighborhood now and
it's just like a lot of restaurants, a lot of
it's great food over there. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
How do you how would you kind of you know,
based on how you grew up in that area to now,
what is I guess the negative drawbacks you feel like
of how the neighborhood is kind of I would I
don't know if it's been gentrified, but how it's kind
of evolved.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Yeah, I mean, man, bro, people just getting displaced like crazy.
I mean, my friends that aren't either in government housing
or won some type of lottery apartment in one of
these new fancy buildings, like most of them been displaced.
They're all on Jersey now or they're being you know,
moved out of the place where they grew up. Because
it's just people coming in and driving up price. But

(05:02):
that's also like culturally, that's kind of the whole city, right, Yeah,
And that's really the whole city. Like it's just emblematic
of the whole city. The places in the city where
it's really hit the most. I mean, I think it's
just like all these people that have come in. You
always had people moving to new York. But they were
moving to New York to try more often to try

(05:22):
to contribute to the fabric of like culture or the art.
So they came with like a dream to do something
right now. They come to like do finance and hang
out and do like year four through eight of their
college experience and just run around and they want the
cultural draw of New York. But then they simultaneously kind
of like evaporate it with their presence and they're not
really so that that's kind of you know, what happens

(05:43):
a lot. And yeah, it's sad. I think people that
are from there really feel like very castaway, disregarded, disenfranchised.
And yeah, but I see that happened in cities across
the world. Honestly.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, it's interesting too because if you think of like
I saw, there's like a serious amount of the higher
end real estate that is purchased in obviously that raises
the the overall cost of housing by people who don't
even like like who are barely even there, like a
lot of foreign nationals, a lot of billionaires, they just
got their pet house. Yeah, and it cranks up the

(06:22):
prices for everybody else, and like these motherfuckers aren't even around.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
It's such an expensive place to be now, Like I mean,
it's just crazy. It's And then you could say that
these cultural tenets of like the New York I grew
up in, are in some ways more prominent than ever,
right because everything's like a New York meme on the internet.
Everything's like, you know, Tim's dis and chop cheese that
and like, you know, everything that's going on. But it's

(06:50):
it's just kind of been co opted and commodified and
it just feels very like in weird tastes sometimes. So yeah,
I don't know that's.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
This was where how we feeling about Zorn. It's over
there showing motherfuckers how to govern.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
It looks like I'm fucking with dude. Man, I'm rocking
with dude.

Speaker 1 (07:06):
I'm just glad because you know, I'm a Bernie bruh.
You know, I've donated money to Bernie Sanders, I've volunteered
for him. But I've been extremely like disenfranchised by the
Democratic Party.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
For a very long time.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
Yeah, it's useless, to be honest, but to see democratic
socialism working in the biggest city in the world, I'm like, yo,
what do we do is look at He's balanced the
budget in like fucking six months.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
It's mad inspiring and it's and it's it's also just
kind of showing these moderate democrat uh absolutists that don't
want to move along, you can't really claim anymore that
sort of bullshit pragmatism that they would claim, where it
was like, no, we can't get so crazy with these

(07:54):
type of policies and these type of issues. We want
to do that, but we can't because we have to
just be would actually just hold on to a seat
in power, and yeah, we have to you know, appease
our donors, right special interest that backed us to get here.
But he's kind of proving that, actually, this is what
the future if you guys hope, because you guys have just

(08:14):
been getting smacked around taking l's for the last however
many years, leading us to where we've been now with
no backbone, and so like, actually, this is where the
future is if you want to have any future as
a party, Like, this is is where it lies. So definitely, no,
it's cool and it's funny being kid from Sick because
like one of my best friends went to high school
with him, Like I know a bunch of people that
that no, dude, because it's like New York's small like that,

(08:36):
we're like the same age, so it's very it's personally
inspiring to me to see the type of like conviction
that he's moved with and the authenticity that he's retained,
and most importantly, just the things that he's doing.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
You know, and a former MC I heard about that.
You didn't watch his music video.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
I didn't watch it because I was I didn't want
to be colored either way that ship you to be
like yeah that shit. Yeah, I just and you know,
it's all in good fun, but I'm just more it's
not bad. Yeah, it's fine. I didn't I just didn't
peep it because I was so excited at the time.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
He's in the Halal truck with no shirt on and
like the bib like making food and ship like rapping
about his grandma's It's not bad.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
That's it's a dope visual. I'll have to check it out.
I have to check it out. I didn't peep it
because I don't know. I was just like sometimes I
just be like, I'm good when.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
He re runs he should do it on the Radar
freestyle that would go crazy.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
But see that this is where like you got to
draw the line somewhere because that's like you see my
eyes light up. We work where we work, and we
always think like the marketing of something or whatever. Uh,
and that would be like a brilliant idea and it
would go crazy. But then at some point it's like
this is how I feel about the Internet right now,
and everything's like, guys, we gotta be serious. At some point,

(09:55):
we gotta No one's gonna draw the lines for us,
like your role is viral is the ultimate dogma right now.
So it was a certain point it's like Trump just
used Drake's album cover as a meme. This is what
I'm saying. You become unseerious.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
And we've also been desensitized to foolishness where it's like, yeah,
at what point in time is like if you're a professional,
like be a professional.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
I feel like that's my whole shit right now, to
be honest, and I feel like that maybe is why
things don't explode for me more like career wise, because
it's just like that's kind of the It's like I'm
a serious I'm the serious guy. Yeah, Like but actually
people that know me know I'm actually like funny and
I'll be fucking around people that are actually close to me,
and they're always telling me, like, you got to show
people more, you know what I mean, like this side

(10:37):
of yourself and whatever, blah blah, and I'm like, man,
I don't. I'm not thinking about what I got to
show people. I'm trying to like make art, be masterful
with what I do, keep growing at like, and I
feel like those are important things to represent in this
time because they're just like dying off. So I don't know,
I hate being that like guy though, Like that's like
I'm like the line in the sand guy. I'm like

(10:58):
reflecting right now with myself. All Right.

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Speaker 1 (12:30):
On your album, you had a line about nihilism and
how the check is good if you're a nihilist. Essentially,
have you gotten to a point where you like, what
is like a specific example, just because you've been in
the music industry for so long where you had maybe
the opportunity to maybe make a financially lucrative move or decision,
but it didn't sit well with your moral compass.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
Oh man, it's hard to think off the top of
something really specific, because I just feel like every day
I wake up and think about shit that could go viral,
Like a content idea that I feel like is a
little corny but I know it would go viral, or
just thinking about what my compass is when I'm creating,
Am I thinking about how to go viral? Or am

(13:15):
I thinking listening to what's in my soul and what
I'm trying to create and what I think it's important
to say. And living like that all the time is
really exhausting, And that's I guess where like it's hard
to stay in that, especially when there's this imperative to
like reach new audiences like whatever. So constantly I'm like, man,

(13:37):
I could do this, I could try, like you know,
like I'm a really good songwriter, Like I could do sessions.

Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, that shoulders record on your album is thank you Man,
Thank you Man.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
I wrote that the last time, the last time I
was here and I saw you like the day before.
But I could like be writing songs for other people
and like make my agenda as an artist more into
like a product manufacturing where I'm like trying to you know,
But it's just not how I view are And I'm
not necessarily judging anybody else that does that. There's it's
just it's just not me. Like, that's just not how

(14:08):
I roll. So I'm constantly like living in that. And yeah,
it's hard because I gotta I gotta make bread and
I gotta. But sometimes I have this like greater belief
that if I stay true to what it is that
I'm about, that I'll be rewarded better in the long
run then down the line. Yeah, that's what I tell myself.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
I mean, look, I think sometimes I that that can
I see people get rewarded like all the time. It
kind of just stay kind of ten toes down. But
at the same time, it's like like you said, it's
like I feel like you gotta find a balance because a.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
Guy like you know who prof is, Yeah, I've heard
of Prof. He's dope.

Speaker 1 (14:44):
He's from Minneapolis, underground rapper forever, and you just start
he's like a funny dude. Yeah, and he just started
kind of like leaning into his funniness to get people
to watch him rap. Yeah, and it like kind of
works because it's but it's his personality. Like if you
know Prof, you kind of know he's Like, I feel
like you're You're kind of perceived by your fans to
be a serious person. So if you started to kind

(15:05):
of do more comedically angled stuff, people be like, what
is Marlon doing? This isn't Marlon You like your your
core fans to be that, what the fuck are you doing?

Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yeah? I you know, like I don't know what that
looks like for me, and I don't know. I'm not
super familiar with Prop. So he's dope. He's done speaking
his things super but I think like with me, it's
just like I ain't trying to trick people. That's what's
so hard about this day and age. You know, It's
like I'm not I'm not trying to trick motherfuckers into

(15:34):
like listening to my shit. I'm not trying to bamboozle
you into like I'm so jealous of my favorite artists
that every time they post anything, like they don't got
to think about Kendrick Lamar or Asap Rock, you have
to think about the algorithm. They just make something that
they think is incredibly dope, and whatever they post, everyone's
like it's an event, right, and like the imperative to

(15:55):
figure out I mean, they don't even show your stuff
to your own fans, So you gotta figure out a
way that you could like hook people in and you
can what I make, So you got one of those groups.
It's like a community on Instagram where you like, yeah,
you could be in there. And I got I have
this community called the Center of like people that subscribe
to me, and we're gonna move it to Patreon shortly

(16:16):
and do the Patreon thing because I think, like, for me,
I'm trying to aggregate the people that fuck with me
as much as possible outside of the algorithm, so I
can have a direct line on them. And it's like, Yo,
here's like the stuff that's actually dope, here's the art,
here's the work, And I'm down to be more abundant,
like I'm down to if I know I'm serving people
that really like appreciate it and will take from it.

(16:39):
I'm down to be like, oh cool, I'll do one
freestyle a month for y'all. I'll do something like that,
But I'm not finna fucking drop four videos a week
maybe in my twenties, like you know, Like I mean,
I started with the craft styles, bro, Like that's how
I got on, and so back then it was like
once a month or whatever. But I kind of like,
I kind of low key was a big part of

(16:59):
this DIY era thing stuck in the beginning. And they
told me then like it was this whole stigma where
we had to get past it where it was like, yeah,
but you're not a real artist, you know what I mean,
Because you're just DIY in your room on your phone
and setting this up so you might have fans, Yeah,
you'd have people call you like a YouTube brat. That
was a thing. And I didn't double down on any

(17:21):
of that stuff then any like, because I was so
busy trying to like, no, I want people to take
my art seriously. I don't want to be seen as
like a whatever. And now everybody's a YouTube rapper, bro,
everyone's DIY. It's the world, man. You make something high
production value. It won't even no one will even see it.
But you do it on your phone. You're lit. No,
that's true.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
It's like the higher like if you have a Sony
red camera and you spend this time, you know, putting
all this effort individuals.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
And someone shoots some shit on their phone. That's what
I'm saying, bro, And that's the shit that I don't
know what it is.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
We're like I always I hear people saying all the time,
like the ROI on music video these days, it's like,
you'd rather take that money and shoot like thirty shorts
or reels or some shit to promote your song.

Speaker 2 (18:06):
But we gotta exactly but this is the battle that
you we talked about with the question you asked me before,
is like I run my whole shit and I see
the game like everybody else, So I know what would
be the most economically efficient and what would be the
quote unquote like smartest. You know what I'm saying, but
what I but I got to sit there and think
about how to distribute my funds and what I really

(18:28):
want to make and what I want people to feel
and whatever, and then balance that with like, okay, about
how many, you know, things do we need to have?
So that's that's the trying, because it would be so
much easier. My goal is just get bigger anyway anyhow.
I feel like that's how stuff is designed in media
right now and in most of just American capitalism is

(18:49):
get bigger, get more by any means necessary, don't evaluate
like what it's doing to the integrity of anything. And
if that was my agenda, we be out of here, cav,
we'd be out of here. It just feels like that
would be so so much easier, Like I could get it.
I could wrap five times a week on it. This
is what I do, right, you know, But it's just

(19:11):
I just don't feel connected to that, Like, you know,
how are you feeling.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
I haven't been this excited for playoffs since the Sun's
are in the finals. I'm a Suns fan, but we
got the Calves in the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
It just feels real like nineteen ninety five ish, like on,
even though the Calves back then were that great, but
these are, like, you know, it's kind of crazy to
see the Nicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm gonna

(19:38):
give all credit to WW wrestler Dan Housen, who uncursed
you guys.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
But uh, how are you feeling? Man?

Speaker 1 (19:43):
As a Knicks fan, You've been banging the set forever, man,
so I can only imagine it's like, finally.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
Yeah, I've banged the set forever, and I'm I'm feeling
really good. The only reason I'm not wearing a Nex
jersey it's literally in the car. But I just like,
I've been doing all these interviews and I keep wearing
Knicks gear because it's what I and I'm just like, yeah,
I can't be in the next thing in every single one,
So I literally but I'm I'm, I'm here. I'm hyped.
It feels good because I mean, I'm almost getting that

(20:11):
to that point of like cautious optimism right now because
we're rested. We look like we've really figured something out
with you know, taking Cat and putting him on the
nail and letting him operate from there. Offensively. He's back
playing really good defense now the defense is locked in.
If OG's hamstring holds up, I just feel good about
us against anybody. I just feel like the West, those

(20:35):
two teams, they're tough. No, did you watch the game
last night? I was on the plane. It was going
in and out. I was watching the Monstars play.

Speaker 1 (20:41):
Dude, yeah, Victor Woman Yan is like a fucking I
feel like we're cooked for the NBA is cooked for
the next eight years because it's going to be the
Spurs and the Thunder.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
These motherfuckers are all twelve years old. That's how the
way I felt watching it was like, Yo, the thought
I actually had, Bros. I was like, we better get
this shit. Dylan Harper's a rookie. I get this shoot
because because after that, like Wemby, Wemby is gonna be
like as long unless it's like a couple of years
he gets.

Speaker 1 (21:07):
I mean, it's crazy, bro, No, it's wild. And then
the Thunder have all those picks still pressed. These Jesus
like it's like every time they hit the apron, they'll
just trade. All right, lou Dort, your time to go.
We're just gonna draft someone else. It's gonna be.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
It's we don't match up terrible with the Thunder though,
like I mean, sorry with the with the Spurs, like
they're their matches. They have no one for Wemby. I
mean like it's it's but we I mean, I know
regular season doesn't mean ship. But we matched up well
with the Spurs in the regular season when we played
who was gardening Mitch? You have Mitch, but he's but
you can't keep him in the fourth quarter. You have

(21:42):
Mitch but but but Og is one of those guys
that can give trouble to like do what they're trying
to do with Caruso. But actually that's what I'm saying.
I mean, I mean, he's still put up forty two points. Yeah,
we have we have we have uh, Mitch, we have
O g and hold his own and then if if
Kat is playing defensive way he's been playing the last

(22:02):
few weeks, I mean, I worry about foul trouble. I
worry about that with the Cavs, with their two big guys.
You know, I'm always worried about foul trouble. Do you
feel like because.

Speaker 1 (22:13):
You were I don't know how much of a fan
you were of Tibbs, but I feel like it was
kind of a you know, it probably deserved it to stay.
But I mean, you guys are in the Eastern Conference finals,
so something obviously Mike Brown is you know, also a
well traveled guy.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
My opinion, well, it's funny. It's like I've watched a
lot of times this year and I'll be like, damn, TIBs,
all you had to do was put Landry Shaman in
the rotation and you'd be here. Like I think he
did it. I think everyone was pretty pleased with him.
But he just really wouldn't budge on the rotation issue
of like playing the same six guys seven guys so.

Speaker 1 (22:48):
Much like fucking thirty six minutes, forty minutes forever.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
And we'll see what happens obviously this year. But I
will say, we're in the conference finals and we're rested,
and we've been resting for a week. When we got
to the conference finals last year, we were destroyed. So
I mean that to me, that was this It was
like a single issue thing. But I got love for
TIBs and what he did for us. I think he's
a great coach, but it was like he was dogmatic
about that one thing.

Speaker 1 (23:13):
So yeah, very I feel like he's a polarizing guy
because you see some players be like like I remember
when Michael Bridges complained yea, and I was like that guy,
if iron Man's.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
Complaining about how much he has to play, I never
missed the game, you know what I mean. So I
don't know. It's hard to say. I mean, I think
he's a great coach, but I also think it worked out. Yeah, yeah,
you know we're gonna well, we're gonna sae.

Speaker 1 (23:34):
Mark Jackson was a great coach, and then Steve Kirk
came in, you know what I mean. So it's like
that's I'm hoping that's the trajectory that we're on. Man,
I'm getting nervous now, you're making me nervous, but I'm
I'm I'm excited.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
I love the next bro. And also like I I'm
talking next with you because because we always talked basketball
and whatever. But it's like I'm not even gonna talk
next with certin people more because people are so dogmatic,
Like I've had too many bad experiences where like, you know,
I bleed this shit right it means it matters like
so much to me, and like the internet be I

(24:08):
don't want to be fodder for like people to talk
about the Knicks and my fan be testing me and
all this bullshit. It's like, bro, I really do this,
Like I don't. I don't want to hear about it.
So I'm like even lately, I'm like people like, let's
talk about the Knicks.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
I'm like, are you gonna spend your own hard earned
dollars to go to a finals game if they make it?

Speaker 2 (24:27):
Well, first of all, you know what's fucked up. One
of my best friends hit me this morning. He called
me twice and then he hit me like what are
you doing tonight? What's up? Where are we at? And
I call him back.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
He's like, bro, I got Game one tickets, I got
the suite from my job.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
Let's go. We're going to the game. I'm like, bro,
I'm in fucking la. Now you wouldn't you want to
go to the finals? But I the finals. I think
my dad was like talking about it and he was like,
I'm already like seeing what the deal is. I'm thinking
about it. I think, especially if it was me and
my dad, you gotta stay because my dad, you know,
like he's been a fan since sixty nine, in seventy

(25:00):
seventy two. So last night they were like, he's indoctrinated
me into this, and it's always been something that we've
shared that's really special, you know, to us in our relationship.
So for us to go like if you know, but
I you know, I'm trying to get my money back
off of this album. You know what I'm saying. I
put a lot into it. I don't have the worst
thing that could ever happen.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
I spent good money to see the Suns in the
finals because I was like, I gotta go to one
of these games.

Speaker 2 (25:25):
Yeah, and we got fucking smoked.

Speaker 1 (25:27):
And I was like, if there's the worst the worst
feeling in the world is paying good money to go
watch your team and they get fucking molly wopped, or
even if they lose a close one, it just it
just suck.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
That's how I always feel. And it's so fun to
like watch at home or watch with people that I'm
always like, but I want to fill that energy one
time for sure. It's it's it's it is, It's there.
But if if you spend im, you spend like a
thousand dollars and then they get clapped by.

Speaker 1 (25:55):
People start losing by the third quarter or some shit,
You're like, why what the fuck?

Speaker 2 (25:58):
You know you write down, but I'm down. I gotta
see what the money looking like. But we'll see.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
Yeah, you're You're like, are you a football fan too?
Are you strictly basketball? Like, what's your fandom with other sports?
Is it just Knicks or I'm a Jets fan.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
But I'll be I'll be totally honest with you, like
being a Knicks fan took all my emotional capacity.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
As I said, you ever get to the point because
I'm an Arizona sports fan. So I am a Cardinal
fan and a Suns fan. Yeah, and so I don't
know how many offseasons me and my best friends have
the conversation like why do we do this?

Speaker 2 (26:34):
We don't owe the team. This ship will suck the
life out of me for like a week.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, I'm so emotionally invested in some ship that I
can't even fucking control.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
And every year I'm like, what should stop watching? That's
how yo. There was a lot of years like that
with the Knicks, you know, like that's how you know,
But that's how I am with the Jets. I'll be honest, like,
I don't really because I just don't. I'm busy guy, bro,
And then the Knicks game are enough. I'm Aankee fan
every year though, I'm like, I'm gonna really tap in
with the Yankees this year, and then I'm always just

(27:04):
like super busy. But I grew up when they were
winning all those chips in the nineties, in the last nineties,
so you know, I'm a Yankee, I'm I'm Nick's Yankees Jets.
But yeah, if I'm being honest, I'm really just tapped
in with the Knicks.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
Have you thought about doing a home court Advantage three
and what would be the basketball flip for the cover
because you had the Slam magazine, Yeah, the NBA Street Yeah.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
I don't know. I thought I've you know, to be honest,
those were so fun. But I also think part of
what this album was for me is me. You know.
I did all those side projects, experimenting with these different
parts of my sound and who I am, and I
feel like on this project it represents kind of me

(27:49):
stepping into my own sonically and who I am and graduation.
It's a graduation and I'm like, Yo, this is kind
of where I am now. I feel grown up, and
I feel like I just want to keep pushing myself
musically and creatively further and further. So I don't know
that it doesn't mean I'm never gonna like bar out
on some straight rap shit.

Speaker 1 (28:08):
No, I mean I feel like the song making on
the New album is the best you've ever had it
like dialed in melodically, You're dialed in on a new level.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
Like, thank you man, the production is crazy.

Speaker 1 (28:19):
Shout out to Raffi Law Group our family. Yes, it's
been so dope to partner with. You know, such a
name and brand and somebody who I actually am a
customer of. Shout out to Raffi Law Group, man Arizona's
premier personal injury law firm. And I don't just put
my name on anybody when we do this stuff on
the Bootleg cap podcast and you see it's partner with brands.

(28:40):
We're very selective about who we connect with. And Raffi
is someone who's actually helped my family, helped my wife
get a settlement, all right, has helped over seventy thousand
people in Arizona. No matter what happens, Man, car accident, crash, injury,
you maybe get a bit by a dog, I don't know,
whatever it is. Raffi Law makes the process less stressful.

(29:02):
They put money in your pocket. Yes, the name you
can trust, you already know Man, Raffie Law Group. Save
the number just in case, because hey, you get into
a car accident tomorrow, you gotta call Raffi six' two
three three eight eight four three three three and want
to wish a big happy birthday To raffi's just celebrated
his fortieth. Birthday we had a good time In. Vegas

(29:22):
fifty cent was, There pauly d was, there Mad rich was.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
There e C rock was.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
There it was a movie all, Right secretary Of state was.
There we were just hanging, Out man. Show look shout
out To Brandon. Raffi don't Forget Raffi Law. Group the
only calling you to. Make if you're AN az and
you get into an accident or you get into any
sort of injury, situation they'll take care you immediately Call.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
Raffi. Baby let's get back to the. Podcast how much.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
Of the album did you actually produce? Yourself SO i
gave myself executive producer.

Speaker 2 (29:52):
CREDIT i was in every, session working with the, musicians
deciding to bring in certain, musicians sometimes comping out stuff
or WHATEVER i don't. PLAY i don't like you very.
Much Like, YEAH i was like old School capitol p
producer on a lot of stuff and almost all of.
It BUT i give so much credit to first of,
All Dan, edinburgh my big, homie who's playing bass almost the,

(30:14):
records but also produce like eight of them and really
help me like mold everything. Sonically he's an incredible. Musician
my big Homie sly Fifth av who's incredible horn. Player
he used to play With prince and all this crazy,
shit and he did all the horn, arrangements the flute.
Arrangements so you, KNOW i had some incredible people THAT
i worked with on this, project and a ton of,

(30:36):
musicians BUT i was very hands on with. Everything, yeah
hours and hours and. Hours AND i realized THAT i
have to say that, Now LIKE i used to be more, like,
hey if it's got The marlocraft name on, IT i
really want everyone else to just shine and the produce.
Whatever BUT i started to get older and realized that
people would sometimes ask me questions that would show like

(30:57):
they would ask me things, like, oh do you do
the track listing? Yourself like do you pick? Where And
i'm like the track list, Shit i'm, like, Bro i'm
like secrets in the whole Time i'm in every, Session
i'm really like Con i'm like, so and then your
artist doesn't do, that by the, WAY i don't.

Speaker 1 (31:10):
KNOW i want to know the rapper that just you,
know the label, says, hey by the, way here's the
order of your.

Speaker 2 (31:16):
Song, YEAH i don't, know BUT i realized. Too. Man
it's Like i'm starting to get. Older you talked about
this woman WHEN i came. In You you're wearing so many,
hats doing so much, shit AND i, realized, like, hey, man,
like hopefully you know your career in this thing is.
LONG i might want to do some of these things
for other people at some, point like executive producing someone else's.
Ship i'll be, Here So i'm, LIKE i got to
give myself my credits WHEN i when they're, deserved so

(31:38):
THAT i can show what my resume really.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
Is you, know if you could executive produce another MC's
album within, reason obviously you obviously Say JAY z or.
OBVIOUSLY i, Mean i'm not to say that that's not
within reason for, you but just like you, know at
this very, moment that's a realistic.

Speaker 2 (31:53):
Goal who you think would be dope you could just
just just lock in. With it would be somebody really,
Young like it would be something THAT i really felt
LIKE i could, contribute because you, Know i'm really tapped
in with a lot of the young MC's In New.
York and especially for this live band Residency i've been

(32:14):
doing WHERE i bring a lot of them out to
spit as guests and everything like, that and So i'm you,
know getting more tapped in AND i try to be
a mentor WHERE i can and just be. Around But
i'd be seeing shit And i'm, like, ah, man LIKE
i could hear them on. THIS i could if, like
IF i could executive produce an, ALBUM i THINK i
could get the music to a higher. Level i'm not

(32:35):
exactly sure like who, specifically BUT i would want to
do it in a way that gives back THAT i
could really help somebody level up rather than, like obviously
it would be fun for me to do for Like
jay Or knives Or kendrick or, somebody but they don't
really need. Me i'd rather contribute to somebody coming.

Speaker 1 (32:52):
Up The Analog man record is special. Joint obviously it
was the lead the lead single for the, album right,
YEAH i think we just showed first and Then Analog
Analog man record is, Incredible thank you.

Speaker 2 (33:04):
Man how do you get The havoc? Beat? Like what
is how does? That do you pick from a? Pack do? You? Guys?

Speaker 1 (33:08):
Like what is he does he pull up you guys
work on it, Together, like what's what's the process like?

Speaker 2 (33:13):
Working we Have so he's only ever sent me two.
Beats we have two, Songs Hans zimmer and Analog. Man
for Analog, MAN i had been connected WITH Methi, man
so we were gonna try to do the record that
we ended up, doing The Muggsy bogues, record BUT i
had Hit he was, like let's do. SOMETHING i want

(33:33):
to do, something And i'm like, Cool SO i hit
have AND i was, like, yo me And meth want
to do. Something could you cook up for us? Whatever
and he was like, Bad i'm gonna cook. Up so
he sent me that beat the next day and that
was like this is like twenty three maybe or twenty
four and then AND i was, like, yo this is.
Crazy and THEN i started writing to. It and then

(33:55):
the next day he hit me up and was, Like,
yo did you send it To meth? Yet AND i
was like, nah and he was LIKE i think you.
SHOULD i think you should carry that one, Yourself LIKE
i think you should just keep that record for. Yourself
so that's what happened with, that and it was just
the loop and Then i've then we added all the
instrumentation all the other ship and he always like in
both of those, instances he sent me the stems and,

(34:16):
like let me do my, thing which is really. Cool so,
yeah it just but it's definitely not a pack like
it's very like intentional in one. Offee i've met him
in person only one, time but, yeah so that's. Fire
what what for?

Speaker 1 (34:32):
You do you feel like there's there's been a point
in the last five or six years where you've just
kind of felt like society has kind of broken, Itself
like you had that line about like people like you
could be on the rocket ship With elon and you're, good, like,
YEAH i feel LIKE i don't know where it. HAPPENED
i don't know if it was DURING, COVID i don't

(34:53):
know if it was. Before it just feels like there's
like a certain point in time where just we've we've
kind of broken as a. Society AND i don't know
if it's THE ai, shit, yea you, know there's so
much things you could point. To is there anything for
you personally where you were just, like, yeah what the
fuck is going on right?

Speaker 2 (35:11):
NOW i feel that, Way LIKE i resonate with that really.
DEEPLY i feel an immense loneliness and, solitude and solitude
in my complete disconnection principally from where we're headed as
a society and the shit that we seem to. Value

(35:33):
and the hardest part about it, IS i think a
lot of. People that's not in judgment of a lot of,
people BECAUSE i think a lot of people are adhering
to some shit that's not truly who they are or
even who they feel they, are because we're just, adapting,
yeah like they have, to you, Know, Yeah AND i
feel that way about, myself even LIKE i feel a
lot of shame in HOW i watch myself engage with

(35:54):
social media and stuff like that While i'm levying these
critiques against it and just operating in a way THAT
i feel like is beneath the standard THAT i want for.
Myself but it's just so hard with all these addictive
things going, on and then when you stop for a
moment to be, present to not fall into the pit of.
Despair you think you want to be an educated, person
you want to be up on, Things it's, like all,

(36:15):
right we'll try reading the paper every day and see
how that does for your. Psyche because what's going on
is in the world it's just. Brutal BUT i think
that the things that we seem to value there seems
you talk about a breaking.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
Point there seems to be this allegiance to just bigness
without the value that that bigness, espouses like.

Speaker 2 (36:38):
Fame and solubility or like making, money just validate, everything
it seems to me in everybody's, Eyes and you can't
even have a conversation now where in so many rooms
and places THAT i want to be where you're talking about, like,
yeah but that's not dope because the shit that it.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
Stands for is fucked, up or because the artistic integrity
of it isn't up to a, standard or because it's
just clearly a.

Speaker 2 (37:06):
Grift you. Know it's like grift has become so normalized
because our presidents the ultimate, grifter the.

Speaker 1 (37:13):
Biggest SO i feel, hustler. CAN'T i, mean, look he's
like an old school LIKE i feel, Like i'm.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Sure in the seventies and eighties there was just a
whole city full of. Motherfuckers it was just hitting lits
To New york and he just did. It he's such
an archetype of a certain of exactly what you just.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
Said everyone he read out of The bible the other
day and like could barely get through it because he's
not A, christian he's not religious at.

Speaker 2 (37:35):
All, yeah but it's a. Grift, yeah it works for.
Him so he's, like, yeah it's the funniest shit to.
Me AND i just feel many, days, bro LIKE i
just don't know what to. Do AND i do believe in,
Art LIKE i believe that WHAT i do is like you,
know is has whatever the appropriate amount of relative, importance
you know What i'm. Saying, LIKE i think it resonates with,
people helps them understand maybe their relation to themselves, better

(37:58):
helps them express or get in touch with, emotions helps
them feel, represented helps them understand things a little. Better
BUT i also just feel a real weird like despair
and helplessness about the state of things and my place in.
Them especially the older THAT i, get you start to
lose the excitement, around you. KNOW i was talking to my,

(38:20):
Friend i've been doing some of these interviews and getting
some of these, looks and he was, like, man like
eight years, ago nine years, ago, bro everything you're doing,
now we would have been like freaking. Out we would
have felt like we were just on top of the
world because in your, twenties you just feel like everything's
ahead of, you you know WHAT i, Mean it's all
this ambitious, energy and then you start to see the

(38:41):
world and how it really. Operates And i'm not Saying
i'm not excited And i'm not, grateful But i'm also just, like,
damn what's really? Important what DO i really care? About
and what DO i? Do like how DO i contribute
in a way that that my nervous system can also?
Handle SO i feel, LIKE i, mean this is a

(39:04):
long tangential rent to your question about a broken system and,
whatever BUT i feel a lot of resonance with.

Speaker 1 (39:10):
That, yeah it's like almost like everything you, know there's
we're obviously a capitalistic, society but everything is so hyper
focused On, yeah but you know it's better for you,
know you heard what was that bitch's Named Pam bondy
when she when she brought up in the, thing she was,

(39:31):
like but the Dal jones is, over you, know whatever the?
Fuck AND i think about just like it's kind of,
TRANSLATED i guess kind of LIKE i don't know if
it's A trump, thing but all of that kind of
approach to like the world when it comes.

Speaker 2 (39:45):
TO, ai like we KNOW ai is bad for.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
Society and totality because it's gonna displace people's. Jobs you,
know it's gonna increase the like like super poverty is
gonna be. Crazy you know a lot of these rich
motherfuckers really just want us to sit at home and
live in a virtual world and eat their fucking bug
protein and just be. Consumers but it even like bleeds

(40:09):
over to like the content, side because like it's now
it's like you gotta do like irl streaming to like
really resonate.

Speaker 2 (40:16):
In the new era of.

Speaker 1 (40:17):
Content but at what point in time is it like
too much to like live your life for like. Strangers
it's already too. Much it's way too, much. Bro it's like,
okay sorry With, instagram but it's like now you actually
have to have like a dude running around with you
with a backpack on fucking streaming you the whole fucking.

Speaker 2 (40:34):
Time, yeah and now you're living your life for moments
that will get.

Speaker 1 (40:40):
Clipped, wow there are people at home depressed watching you
live your life in real.

Speaker 2 (40:46):
Time, yeah it's so. Crazy real life is becoming novelty
and it's just becoming like a commodity to be sold
instead of to be lived and it's becoming so. Normalized,
man just depresses the shit out of. Me AND i
Don't i'm. Older you think about it too, much it'll
fuck with, you. Bro i'm old enough to remember how

(41:07):
the air smelled before fucking social, media before when you
would just walk across the block and your peoples was just,
outside or they was at the park and you stopped
in to see if they were. There you didn't know
because it wasn't fucking posted. Everywhere there wasn't a group,
chat and it was, like oh, man and you were
present for a few, hours or you played, ball or
you did whatever you. Did and also you had an

(41:31):
aspiration to achieve things inside of your, community make people
in your community proud and build those, bonds as opposed
to going online every day and seeing all the things
you're not, doing all the things that people have every
bit you're not fucking you know What i'm saying metaphorically and,
Literally and it's just like you, Know SO i don't

(41:52):
want to be trite about the shit or be like sounding,
mad unk or old or, whatever BUT i JUST i just,
think like we have it's reached a point, where like you,
said the people that control capital and that are in
power are incentivized to keep, marginalizing you, know people to
more and more poverty and dependence on shit that they.

(42:14):
Control and if we don't draw some lines in the
sand and, actively you, know fight against these, things it
can't just be, like, well this is just how it is,
now you, know this is just what's. Next it's, like
well you Gotta.

Speaker 1 (42:27):
Yeah that's why that's WHY i fuck with The zoron Bro,
man Because i'm, like if this ship works In New,
york you, KNOW i.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
Hope somebody Like Ao seeker run for.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
President AND i don't even know if she's the, person
BUT i, MEAN i, mean you, know BUT i don't
know who The zoron because unfortunately he was born In,
uganda so he can't be.

Speaker 2 (42:43):
President. Mother that's.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
CRAZY i, know it sucks Because i'm, like he'll, cook but,
YEAH i JUST i mean not to say that, anybody
like you can't blame who the president is for any
one thing too.

Speaker 2 (42:56):
Much you, know you gotta have some self.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
Accountability but it just feels like the world is like
and then like we're in this dystopian place where like
there's just so much fucked up shit going on at
once that like the outrage about like what's happening In
gaza And lebanon and Like, congo like it kind of
comes and, goes, yeah the wow shit.

Speaker 2 (43:15):
Comes, Well SO i was that's something that was hard
for me. Too SO i, like when, uh the stuff
In gaza was really prominent, online you, know like and
it's still.

Speaker 1 (43:26):
Happening, yeah but but but all of the, algorithms algorithms
have been fixed, exactly so TikTok has been, acquired, Right
and so in the very beginning of, that you, know
after the attack and every AND i was deep in
a mode of Like i'm working on my project And
i'm away from kind of away from social media right.

Speaker 2 (43:43):
Now AND i was also in a places like you,
Said i've done a lot of political work throughout my.
Career people know WHERE i stand on certain. Things BUT
i also realized like this idea of the, ACCOUNTABILITY i
did a lot of thinking, about like what's the accountability
of me the artists to be like posting the what
is performative versus actually contributing who is it? For asking

(44:07):
myself a lot IF i had an urge to post
something like who's this? For is it? For is it for?
Me is it for? You do you? Like because everyone's
not even gonna see what you post. Anyway you, know
like you couldn't check the box for. Everybody and if
you're doing it to check a, box then who are
you doing it? For you're doing it for, yourself.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
Right and then thinking about a lot of, people like
the structures of. Power you know a lot of people
making a lot of noise online about certain things going.
On and when you follow the money of who these
people are work for hire signed to as corporations and
you follow the, MONEY i mean this is WHERE i
should stop, talking honestly before shout out to our brothers
a Hard dean Man ott's. Family of, course they've been

(44:43):
sponsoring the podcast for years. Now you've been seeing the
mic flag for years. Now want to give a shout
out to our. BROTHERS i just was In. VEGAS i
had to pull up all. Right, look it's the number
one dispensary in the. World WHEN i tell, you walk
in that thing and THE butd tenders are.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
Great they take care of you. Immediately the selection is.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Great so when you go To, vegas you get into that,
cab you get into that uber, immediately say take me To.
Harding don't know what they're, doing all, right they go
get you, right all, right the number one premium cannabis
dispensary in the. World they just got me. RIGHT i
was just in town For raffi's. Birthday had to pull
up get right this nice little one to One hardeing.
Jersey these are not, available all? Right shot to them,

(45:21):
man all, right salute to the. Family follow him On.
Instagram Harding Underscore Las. Vegas, sorry let's get back to the. Podcast,
so like you, know so, no it's kind of crazy
the last three, years like the veil has been pulled
back about how shit really. Operates and the problem is
like it's never gonna get like an UNSEEN i guess.
Yeah but at the same, time it's, like at what

(45:43):
point in time do people like like you said, earlier
like it just.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
Is the way it. Is they just accept it and they're,
like this is just how it. Is, well so that's the.
THING i wrestled a lot with it during that time
and just thinking about like HOW i move and operate
from a place of, integrity AND i think it's, like,
YEAH i have to represent things and speak on things,
thematically like in my WORK i think it comes down,
to like what DO i represent in my? Work because

(46:10):
people can say all this stuff and post a bunch
and do, Whatever but what makes it not performative is
how you live in your day to day and who
you know work. For AND i think you know it's a.
Lot it's actually pretty easy now to make a post
in support of something or against. Something it's really hard
to like stand in the truth in how you make

(46:33):
your money in this world and how you show up
every day to that job where maybe you don't love
who you work, for but you're going to control what
you can control and try to operate from. Integrity you're
going to try to contribute some of your ethos and
principles into what you're. Doing you're gonna say no to
a job that pays a little more money to take
a job that you feel like contributes to the. World
like that's really hard to, do, Actually and SO i,

(46:56):
realize like it doesn't mean that you got to go
make six songs like about, this, that and, that or
your whole life has to become one big giant post
about everything that's going wrong so you can show people
what you. Think but LIKE i had this conversation with,
myself AND i was, like you got to hold yourself.
Accountable how do you operate in the space that you find.

(47:17):
Yourself you're a, rapper you make, music you're an. Artist you, know,
like do you feel like the way you operate inter
personally with people and the way you operate with big
money with respect to the big money and the powers
that be in your, industry do you feel like you
operate in integrity with regard to those? Things AND i
ask myself those questions every day and some DAYS i

(47:37):
don't love the, answers and that shit. Hurts but that
is the work of like what it means to try
to have, integrity and that is a lot harder than
getting online and like posting about some shit Over. YEAH
i think when.

Speaker 1 (47:48):
There's like a certain level of artists where you know,
it it might cost them opportunities to speak, Out, yeah
and they don't because they're worried about the bottom. Line,
yeah which is why LIKE i fuck with The, Weekend
and you, know there's there's certain artists that like are

(48:10):
very like they put, like you, KNOW i think The
weekend has donated millions of dollars to what's going on
in gaza to help and displace families And. Gayza now
obviously who knows where the fuck that money, goes because
that whole charity ecosystem is its own level of.

Speaker 2 (48:24):
Corruption but, yeah.

Speaker 1 (48:26):
But you, KNOW i THINK i just think it's interesting
because you'll see artists who should be saying something right
not say anything. Right and it's literally because they're worried
about their.

Speaker 2 (48:36):
Pockets, no it's, gross, man and it's it's. Nasty and
we see this shit across culture and it's like we
also have to stop doing the thing of like when
we talk about these people that have certain people that
have so much, money, celebrities, right so much, money and we're, like,
man they're risking losing. Opportunities it's, like so what are they?

(48:56):
Risking like they might make ten million this year instead
of twenty because there's a there's a there's a, person
there's a woman who's like speaking out at a school
board meeting who might lose might lose her, livelihood who
might lose her, livelihood who might ostracize herself in her
community and create make shit weird for her, kids who
might do all this. Shit and Then i'm supposed to

(49:18):
clap for some like corporate juggernaut motherfucker disguised as an
artist who's, like, OH i might not get to go
work the Like Wells fargo benefit In dubai or whatever
the fuck these motherfuckers do for their extra bag on the.
Weekend you know What i'm, Saying fuck that, shit, Bro
like this the bar is so, low like And i'm
Just i'm Just i'm just over. That, like have you

(49:38):
listened To? ICEMAN i have. Not it's not. Bad i've.

Speaker 1 (49:43):
Listened i've been known to be A drake hater in my.
Life Did drake bots have me on their? BLACKLIST i
don't hate. It it's not.

Speaker 2 (49:51):
BAD i think it's the.

Speaker 1 (49:52):
BEST i think it's the best bars he's EVER i think,
lyrically it's the sharpest he's ever.

Speaker 2 (49:56):
Been here's the, THING keV come to you here feeling
like a real, rapper Like i'm somebody LIKE i feel
like with this, ALBUM i feel like it's at a
certain level regardless of where my stature is in the,
game and so being at that level THAT i feel
Like i'm. At you're not gonna get me to talk

(50:18):
About drake like a fan Because i'm not gonna get in.

Speaker 1 (50:21):
Trouble IT'S i just wondered because you're you're a STELLAR
mc AND i Thought.

Speaker 2 (50:27):
DRAKE i Thought drake was getting his. SHIT i was very.
Not i'm JUST i JUST i HAVEN'T i haven't heard.
It but that is an interesting. Point you. Know it's
like that in this podcast, generation, Right it's Like i'll
see guys talking about like and obviously like, Bro, like
no one's gonna confuse me for being on the Level
Drake hendre that these are goats that obviously we talked,
about but it is something to think. ABOUT i don't
know if you ever think about, that like with respect to,

(50:48):
artists BECAUSE i think about it AND i Want i've
never talked to any of my rapper friends about, this
but it's LIKE i do be feeling like that sometimes
Because i'm, Like i'm not going to talk about this man's.
Album like it's like a it's like asking Like Jalen
brunson to like critique Uh sja's game or.

Speaker 1 (51:03):
Something, WELL i think it'd be like, this right if
there's a press conference tonight after The Knicks caves. Game, yeah,
okay right, now the biggest topic in hip hop is Ice. Man,
yeah there's someone's gonna Ask Jalen brunson what he thought
Of wenby shot last? Night did you See wenby hit
that three last? Night it's gonna come up somebody on
The knicks Or caves is going to get that ask

(51:25):
that question because it's the story of.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
The, yeah but it's, like but but What jayalen brun
is not gonna? SAY i thought it? WAS i thought it,
sucked like you know WHAT i, Mean, like let's, see, like,
NO i, yeah, no for.

Speaker 1 (51:37):
SURE i MEAN I i don't think The drake album.
Sucks SO i wasn't trying to bait you to say it.

Speaker 2 (51:40):
Sucks, No i'm not saying that at. All i'm only
only like being this meta because you're my Man's BUT, i,
LIKE i do think it's just Something i've never. Articulated
LIKE i think about that all the. Time where it's
like BECAUSE i see a lot of rappers because everything
is like talk, media, dude it's, crazy like everyone's got a,
show so everyone's like you're talking about somebody else's out
them that's like kind of your peer in contemporary and

(52:02):
it's like even if you, write it's like there are
PEOPLE i see in the fabric of this people THAT
i really respect as like cultural or musical journalists or
ambassadors of culture whose job it is to like critique the. Work.
Yeah now it's now they've signed up for that position
in the. Country my job is to make the. Work
LIKE i don't you don't have a, PODCAST i don't

(52:22):
want to critique the.

Speaker 1 (52:23):
Work, yeah like because because you, know, no it's, like,
uh Like joe And. Jada, now, yeah while THEY'RE i
mean in the trenches is artists Still, yeah they also
have one of the most prolific podcasts Out, yeah so.

Speaker 2 (52:38):
They're going to tell people what they think about. Music
it's kind of what yeh comes with, it you. Know,
yeah but they're, old they're they're they're. Older well they're
just they're. Older they're like, established so they talk they're, like,
yeah they talk about younger people's. WORK i would, like you,
know feel more comfortable with. THAT i don't, Know i'm just.

Speaker 1 (52:54):
By the, way the funniest SHOW i don't know if
you if you haven't seen The joe And Jada, show
they just did an episode With Bill Bill burr that
is one of the funniest fucking episodes of podcasting EVER i.
Saw was one of the most ridiculously hilarious motherfuckers of all.

Speaker 2 (53:09):
Time, Yeah fajo reminds me of like Every Puerto rican
og THAT i knew growing up In New york that
would just like tell us stories on the block and
we're just like all, years you, know and it's like mad.
Entertaining so, yeah he's. Incredible do you still hoop like
in your free? Time i'm trying to get it. Back
i'm trying to get it. Back we might, hoop we
might hoop on him out. HERE i just hooped for

(53:31):
the first time AND i got super album mode AND
i didn't hoop for eight. Months THEN i ran like
seven folds like a week or two, ago AND i was, like,
YO i gotta get, back. Dude it's the best free.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
Cart LIKE i feel like if you like, basketball, yeah
you like you look Like i've you burned these. Calories
you didn't eve realize you burned fucking twelve hundred. Calories it's the, best,
Bro but there's nothing like. It like getting back in.
Shape for it is tough because for, Sure i've been
running a little. Bit jogging is nothing like. Hooper like
when you, hoop it's just like. Muscles you haven't worked in.

Speaker 2 (53:58):
Forever and it's a lot of like you, know maximum
effort plays and stuff where you're just like the next
DAY i, WAS i was hung over for like three
days off of that. Game But i'm getting back to it.
Now i'm definitely getting back to. It I'm i'm committed
to BECAUSE i only got so many more more years
left to be? Good are you or would you ever

(54:18):
rather consider Leaving New York? City? Relocating me and my
me and my lady talk about this a. LOT i,
MEAN i want to experiment with living somewhere else for
a longer period of. Time, yeah maybe for a, summer
for a, summer you know WHAT i, Mean or for
for for a winter to escape the cold Of oh,

(54:39):
yeah for, sure the winters when you got to do.
IT i talk about that a, lot LIKE i can't
do These New york winners no. More lord that this
last winter was fucking. Crazy but it's just like it's
just hard when like it's just, home you know WHAT i.
Mean it's hard for me to, imagine But i'm. Open
i'm trying to be more open to, things and DEFINITELY
i WOULD i want to spend some. TIME i want

(55:00):
wanna spend some like real time In. EUROPE i would
like to spend like some some actual time.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
Somewhere are you gonna bring the residency thing back at
all or?

Speaker 2 (55:08):
What? Sir, Yeah so we're About we're about to announce
these summer dates for The New york for The Live banded,
residency and we're also about to announce we're bringing the
band to a couple other cities. Too so we're gonna
announce that at the top Of. June just locking everything and,
now well, listen the album is. Out are vinyls out? Yet?
Yeah the vinyl sold out online with. Quickness But we're

(55:29):
gonna restock that ship And i'm gonna pop out actually
tonight IN la and just give some whoever shows. Up
i'm a. SAW i got a couple more.

Speaker 1 (55:36):
Left so are you doing the tape? THING a lot
of people have tapes, now you could get like the
vintage you. KNOW i feel like people are making their
albums like on. Cassette oh, yeah, yeah the cassettes on
the way we got, CDs i. DO i think it's
crazy as the analog, MAN i think because of how
cooked we are in, society you, know moving towards Like
wally becoming like a real thing there is like a real.

(56:00):
SURGENTS i feel like that the analog shit's going to
MAKE i. AGREE i mean it's gonna be like, VINTAGE i,
hope so like iPods right.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
Now by the, way it's crazy That iPod's vintage is still.

Speaker 1 (56:10):
Digital, yeah but, bro those like giant iPods that we
used to, Have, yeah the bitches are reselling for like
four hundred.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
Dollars that's what the kids. WANT i remember my man
almost got robbed for his iPods shuffle. Recently, no, no
this was, like oh.

Speaker 1 (56:26):
Yeah but back in the, day that little iPod shuffle
was the Motherfucking.

Speaker 2 (56:30):
YEAH i had a hundred songs on it and you
and it had no screen so it was all a
little white a little white bar so you just like
it just, shuffled that was all it. Did but he
got pressed for that. Shit.

Speaker 1 (56:40):
YEAH i feel, like, man people ARE i feel like
CDs like CDs people want to buy. Again and it's
weird to like talk to like my son's twenty and
my other son's, twelve but it's like That i'd just
be forgetting they have the absolutely zero concept of like physical. Media, yeah, yeah,
yeah my kid my son has like you, know we
grew up with like blue Blue bluetooth and blue Rays.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
Bluetooth the fuck.

Speaker 1 (57:03):
Yeah but it's like there's a whole generation they're gonna
go back and they be, like wait a, minute you
could own something and hold.

Speaker 2 (57:09):
It i'm really into vinyl right, now you, know like
the biggest it's ever.

Speaker 1 (57:12):
Been.

Speaker 2 (57:13):
It LIKE i go to the two dollars bins AND
i discover Because i'm really into like all this like
old soul and all this shit That i've dug deeper
and deeper into from working with the musicians THAT i,
Have and, Yeah i'm super into it now And i'm
in my early. THIRTIES i, MEAN i THINK i had
a theory That i'm almost like A i. SHOULD i
feel like the danger of it is there could be

(57:36):
someone that, says twenty years from, now, like oh, No
i'm really into human. Music like that's a. Niche like
that's a niche where it's like if you're kind of,
indie you're, Like i'm into you, KNOW i like it
when humans do the music and not the. Robot, Yeah
i'm into human, Music like that's my. THING i think that's.
Coming SO i think these, things BUT i feel like
that just tripped me. Out, yeah that's gonna. Happen And

(57:56):
i'll say. This you know we talked. Earlier you were
like and so, No, yeah that's What i'm. Saying BUT
i THINK i don't. KNOW i don't know if like
me doing things the way THAT i just continue to do,
them whether it pays out in the long. Run you,
KNOW i talked about having that, belief BUT i do
think there is a feeling THAT i have That i'm

(58:17):
positioned well for if the shit goes left with THIS ai,
SHIT i feel like there's enough people that respect and
care about WHAT i do and the AUTHENTICITY i do
it with that will be hungry for the antithesis of
whatever the Bullshit like it's never it's not gonna replace.
Me it's going to replace top forty or it's gonna replace.
Whatever SO i feel pretty well positioned for that and

(58:38):
feel like the people THAT i fuck will still allow
me to make a. LIVING i, hope. Please you, Know
i'm so tired and a. Flyers i'll be.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
Scrolling i'm, like come, on, man yeah, man it's, like
did you have to dump your photo into CHED gpt
with some fun say make like this is IT'S.

Speaker 2 (58:55):
I don't even really know that much Because i've never
really engaged With have you used? Ai? Nah we made
like a funny picture of my homie and chat gpt
because we that's always. Fun we like crafted him into
some fucked up ship that Oh i've done the same.
Thing but other than, that like that's the only ship
THAT i ever.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
DID i chat Gpt'ed Freddy gibbs holding two dicks by
my birthday.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
Party we took a.

Speaker 1 (59:19):
Picture freddy's like. THIS i used rock for that. One that's,
like what make this bald man hold? Dicks it should
be for like like funny goof. Ship, yeah like you,
know like or or? Not what it should be for
is it should be for.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
Like curing the problems of climate change and disease and.

Speaker 1 (59:38):
Right but it's adding to it because these data centers
are fucked up.

Speaker 2 (59:41):
Man yeah yeah crazy but.

Speaker 1 (59:43):
NOT i Just i've been using CHAT gpt for little
shit like tracking my calories.

Speaker 2 (59:48):
And ship yeah yeah yeah, yeah or.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
Like you, Know i'll just ask you some random ass
ship like, yo find me the cheapest flat online to
go from here to? Here give me like ten. Options.

Speaker 2 (59:59):
YEAH i haven't really dabbled with it, yet but mostly
Because i'm just a creature, habit SO i just when
the sh it is new AND i don't know how
to use, It i'm just.

Speaker 1 (01:00:08):
Like, well, listen the album is, out, man go support. It,
uh you're gonna be announcing the. Residence you're gonna be
doing anything national tour.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Wise we're gonna we're gonna start bringing the band to
do some spot dates in places THAT i KNOW i
can bring it because it's just HOW i really want
to represent my. MUSIC i want to bring the residency
experience to these other, places and it's really expensive to
do like a proper. Tour they got a blue note In.
La they got a Blue note In. La they got
a bunch Of so you know we're gonna Be we're
gonna be back In. La we did three nights At

(01:00:35):
Gold diggers with the band not too long. Ago we're
gonna come back TO la for. Sure we're gonna hit The,
West so bear with me for. Now you, know it's
like if you build, it they will. Come like you,
know hopefully people will travel to these cities where we're
getting it. Started what is your biggest market outside Of New?

Speaker 1 (01:00:50):
York Probably? London shout out TO. Uk, yeah you're gonna
go over. There, yeah we're working on. It the flights
is crazy for the. BANK i want to bring my. Band, yeah,
YO uk, vibe, man BUT i feel like it's so
expensive right now to get.

Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
Anywhere dogs fucking fuels cracking. Right, yeah that's the. Thing
it's the. Fuel, like Because i've Been i've been there
twice and those shows were, LIKE i was really, like.

Speaker 1 (01:01:09):
Damn i'm a, Rapper Like i'm a Fucking i'm a.
Professional people know, me like they singing the. Words, yeah
like it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
WAS i thought the first TIME i went, THERE i was,
LIKE i THINK i might be bigger here Than New.
York possibly that's how it. Felt but uh, yeah, NO
i love mad love For london in THE. Uk London
london is probably the biggest and then Like La chicago
and shit like.

Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
That but we'll appreciate you pulling, up, Man go support
the Album Marlon kraft always a, pleasure my, brother one
of the best albums of twenty twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:01:35):
Six, Man thank, you, bro my. Dog appreciate. You. Man what?
Up y'all were here at?

Speaker 1 (01:01:39):
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Speaker 2 (01:01:57):
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