EP. 109 | 🍦Clairmont The Second 🍦

Clairmont joins The Cool Table to discuss his first album since 2020, They Said It Would Rain... He gives us insight into his hiatus and a peek into the album's creation. He talks about authenticity in music and possibly adding more hip-hop charts to Billboard.

TIMECODES:
2:13 Listeners waiting for Clairmont
7:08 “I have so much art”
12:04 The unique sound of the new album
16:24  The creation is natural
18:05 Underrated as a lyricist
20:04 The meaning of the title
23:58 Life/work balance
28:55 Clairmont’s relationship with the industry
32:25 Rappers doing OnlyFans
41:42  Production is half of the song
43:55 Alternative Rap Charts
50:05 The value of a statistic
54:19 Artists you were not there for 
58:42 Its Not How it Sounds
1:00:22 The Toronto Sound
1:02:49 Ice Cream Check/ Wednesday Wisdom



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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Old man.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Soa hey everyone, this is no it's your boy, Funky,
the coolest teen rapper online. What's up? It's me Alfi.
You're listening to the Cool Table with.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
A listening to the You're listening to the Cool Table.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
You're listening to the Cool Table.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
And I'm not sure if you know this, but right
now you're in the cut with my man Adril Smile.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. Welcome
to the Cool Table. My name is Adril Smiley Akaagroosmiley
dot Com aka Adril Smiley Official aka the Godfather. Now
Here in the cut, we challenge our guest to finish
type of ice cream before the end of the conversation.

(00:39):
This is a return guest with some new heat. Welcome
to the show, Claremont the Second.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Thanks man, I appreciate it, Thanks for having me. Welcome back,
Welcome back.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Now tell everyone about the flavor that you chose and
how you feel about getting this done. Of course, we
want to give a big shout out to Eva's Original Chimneys.
They're ice cream sponsor for all of season three. It's
a little bit what do you call that soupy, smoothiest.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Fine this is. The texture is not It's just a
lot of ice cream. But you feel confident in getting
that done. No, I don't. I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
I got the apple pie and yeah, I never had
apple pie ice cream, so I think I'm just looking
forward to trying this.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
And it's nut free. Guys, I have an allergy.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
So yeah, all y'all with the nut allergies, all the
all the vegans, all the lactose in tolerant people, you've
Ha's got something for you.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
What's yeah, what's the verdict? Oh? Fire interesting? Yeah, that's proper. Okay.
It kind of like red apple pie almost. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
That was one of the flavors we had at our
first live show, and I just want to make sure
everyone wasn't lying to me and saying it was good.
So this is going to be the confirmation that I
actually was as good as they said it.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
It's just kind of strange to have apple pie, like
I mean, I eat apple pie with ice cream, yea.
To have it as ice cream was just it's almost
it's almost too realistic. It's an adjustment, for sure, but
your brain's gone for a loop right now. Yeah, this
is cool though, Okay, awesome, happy to hear it. I think,
you know, this is something that's been with you for

(02:14):
a long time. People like wanting you to drop music
that's like almost like it's its own storyline within itself.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
I you're listening party, I told you that I would.
I love the project, but I'm like, I'm happy that
it's actually dropping. Yeah, you made a joke that you're like,
I'm not going to go away for five years again,
and people are chirping like I believe it when I
see it. Yeah, yeah, how do you? How do you
feel about that kind of being part of your story
almost like a Frank Ocean in a sense where it's like,

(02:44):
you know, every time you come out, it's like, Okay,
we may never see him again type of ship.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Man. I Uh. I think that people have kind of gotten.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
If some if people have been with this career for
a while, like they caught they kind of got used
to it. And I think the difference though with this
is this is the longest I've taken not doing music.
The last album came out twenty twenty and like period
twenty twenty four, and like I've been not silent in between,
like twenty twenty two. I put out Full Circle and

(03:18):
that came with a short film, So like that took
a lot out of out of us. You know, I
did that with a couple of friends b shot it.
So shout out be and yeah, like that just took
so much strength to do in the midst of a
lot of things going on in life. So I was,

(03:39):
I was around, But I think that for those the
the two years to follow up until this point, it's
been pretty silent. I've dropped like a couple songs in between,
but it's been pretty silent, and so I don't know,
I feel like I actually don't go away for that
long as like I've I was. There used to be

(04:01):
a point where I was dropping an album every year.
Yeah I remember so, like it was twenty thirteen, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, nineteen,
twenty twenty. Yeah, So like this has just been the
longest break and I but it hasn't even been the
longest break since, Like I've dropped two products in between,
like the three Piece came out.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
So I don't know.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
I think it's just it's not the length of how
long I've been silent, but it's like how like deafening
the silence was I think it was just the most
silent I've.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
Been and I think it's almost a credit to your
artistry because I think it feels longer than it is,
and that makes any sense, Like people want to hear
from you, where it's like when you go away, it's
like they can feel it. Because I agree with you,
like the narrative of that, like Clamont be dipping away
and we don't see him is like, you know, it

(04:55):
just exists regardless of how long you actually take away.
So to me, it's more compliment of like, okay, like
you just want some new stuff.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, Like they actually do want to hear from you.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
And I think that, you know, you said it before,
like this is going to be almost you being more
consistent and dropping more often. What is kind of the
mentality with that, because I think people have wanted that
from you for a long long time.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
I think it's just the well first to piggyback off
what you were just saying. I think that it's like
me going away, it's important that I communicate with people
and with my you know, whether it's fans, friends, family,
that I'm also like a person too, Like I can't
just drop like once the music like the music world

(05:42):
and like all of that stuff is done and like
you know, you go home from an event or having
a show, like I have real stuff.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
To have life.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, and I think that like a lot of people
are a lot of artists are moving as machines.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
And you know, I appreciate hard work.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
I'm someone who's you know, done for a long time,
but I also appreciate like taking the time to yourself
and like just breathing. So I always want to make
sure that that comes through. So when I'm gone for
a while, it's like, yeah, like I know you guys
want new music, but like I have to do this
and I have to go here, and I have to
deal with this family thing and then to ask your question,

(06:19):
I think the mentality the reason why I want to
be more consistent now is not necessarily like that I
want to. I just feel like it's time to, Like
it's it's a little bit of you know, those years
that I was silent, I wasn't just silent doing nothing.
You know, I've been the world's been expanding, so it's
had to take longer. Like there's even videos that we wanted.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
To shoot where.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
I've had to like wait a whole year to shoot
just because of weather and like just like I need
specific things. So I've been, you know, crafting and building
an entire universe behind the scenes, and it's I just
laid it out in a way that like it's this
is coming this year, something's coming next, It's like ready

(07:07):
to go. So yeah, I think I'm just I'm just
in that kind of mode right now, like I have.
I have so much art and I think that like
archives are important. I think that preservation is really important,
and I want to be able to share all my
all my everything I've been working, like I just want

(07:28):
people to hear the stuff that you know, I feel
like they should hear, and there's a lot of it.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
I think it's also that balance of like the capacity
to deal with real life and put it into the music.
And I thought about this with your project in particular,
because I think on this project you have a few
moments where you like talk almost directly about stuff going
on in your life, where it's not like a bar
on the third verse and if you know, you know,

(07:55):
like and sometimes it's the course. Yeah, And I think
that is I think for the listening they're going to
understand way more of kind of you put those two
together because I don't want to take shots anyone. I'm
not gonna name name, but there are artists who it's
like the music isn't really about anything particular, you know,
or their life. It's like I could wrap money clothes
of hose at any time, you know, and so it's

(08:17):
almost like a separate part of their life in a
sense where I think you actually put yourself into your music.
And so when you talk about you having to like
live life, I think about of the parts of your
life that are in the music that you kind of
have to live for them to even make it into
the music. So yeah, I totally understand like finding that balance,

(08:37):
and I think everyone's excited for that.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah, I think, you know I I I think that
I've been really disappointed in a lot of stuff coming up.
I don't want to be a hater, but a lot
of stuff coming out. I've been just very very disappointed
from new people to people that I've been fans of,
et cetera. And I think that a bit big part

(09:00):
of that. And like it's beyond music. It's just it's
like it's music, it's rollouts, it's artwork, it's things surrounding it.
I've just been very let down, very underwhelmed, And a
big part of that, and a big part of my
recent gripes have been like just not believing people, Like
I don't believe what you're talking about. I don't believe

(09:22):
that you even like this thing that you know you're
trying to emulate. I don't believe you like any like
you know that this works maybe for some people, but
it's not you and I could and I think that
a lot of people don't know how to articulate that.
But that's what's going on, Like there's a there's a
disconnect because you don't Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:40):
Because you don't. It's not coming from not real, it's
not real.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
And I think that, like, bro, Like that's the biggest
issue that I have, Like you could even be somebody
who wraps money, you know, just like well all of
that all the time. But if I see that and
I believe that, I'm probably gonna like that a lot
more than somebody who's like you hit it right.

Speaker 1 (09:59):
In the head, like I think a lot is wiz
Khalifa And I used to be like I used to
be a huge with Salifa fan, Like I used to
be I seen him a concent a couple of times,
like huge, and we spent the joke where like, is
it's ever gonna rap about something else? And someone said
to me, They're like, he keeps doing it because it
keeps being true, and it's like, once Wiz stops doing that,

(10:19):
then he'll stop rapping about it. And you talk about
like something being authentic is like, it's like if that's
what you're living, at least that, but if you're living
something else, and let's see something else. So I agree
with you, and I think there's almost a part where
authenticity is like coming back in terms of it standing.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
So tall and a little being into it. Trust.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
The two artists I think of this year and trust
authenticity being a huge part for them is one Larry June.
You know he's he's kind of I don't say taking Dom
Kennedy's host way because Dom gout the project, but anyone
who was there knows this is like, you know, listening
to Dom Kennedy like yesterday, Larry is a Dom disciple
for sure.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
You know that's yeah. I think that they would make
something crazy. Do you have anything?

Speaker 1 (11:04):
I don't think they I don't think they do. But
I feel like, you know when hip hop when someone says, y'all,
I like you, I can work together. Yeah, we don't
got no ghost face action Bronson. It's just one of
those things like the Pride and then Schoolboy Q. Yeah,
And I feel like the authenticity is coming back where
people can really feel it in the music and it's like, Okay,
I want this rather than this over here that I

(11:26):
don't feel is as real. You. You had a few
songs I got big reactions at your release party. Did
any of those surprise you of a certain song that
you're like, Oh, I didn't think the song would get
like a big pop No.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
I knew, Yeah, come on, you know, I've been working
on for five years. I have to write that's it.
I knew.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
I like every single part that people reacted to. Yeah,
I saw it, you knew it. Come in Yeah, and
like bro, I just put like so much into it,
Like I just to me, like there's elements of, you know,
familiar sounds on the project that people are familiar with
in regards to me, but in regards to just like

(12:09):
the world and music. But I don't think anything sounds
like the project itself, Like like I agree with that
when the songs kind of start to develop, like you know,
you hear the intro, you know, maybe some chords whatever
it is. Then the you know, the drums come in
maybe at the beginning or like near the end of
the song, and like it's the the construction of the

(12:31):
vocals to the you know, the sins and all of
that stuff. Like there's there's just nothing that sounds like it.
And I I it was a very personal project, but
I also knew that like people were just going to
be like confused, that's that's what's happening like this.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
Yeah, I think sonically there's just so many moments in
the project that I I how I describe it as
like if someone wasn't aware of you, they would not
think this it's all the same artists. I think that's
the best way to describe it. Like there's so many
parts of this project where it's like if you don't
know Clarmont, you're definitely being like this like a compilation
album or like it's like a mixtape with different people

(13:10):
and the second half of Born to be with that
like whole break the job, the jungle part. Yeah, that
I saw a lot of people getting excited that was
obviously like a huge deal. YEA, Like tell me the
idea of putting that kind of at the end of
the song, because I think that's a lot of people's
favorite part of that record, which is already a great record,
but it's kind of like I'm giving you another reason

(13:32):
to like it.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
I don't know, I just it just felt like it
made sense.

Speaker 3 (13:41):
Like that was actually one of the earlier, earlier songs
on the project I was done so in twenty nineteen.
That was like it wasn't finished. It wasn't complete because
it's been five years. I've done stuff to it, but yeah,
that whole thing was there, And I remember I had
a stream on Twitch like back then and I tease,

(14:02):
like what I was working on that was one of
the things, and like that was.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
That was a part where people were like, Yo, what
the heck?

Speaker 3 (14:09):
And I don't know, it just felt like it made
sense to go there. I didn't like, I didn't want
to put it throughout the whole song. I think that
a big issue with a lot of in my opinion,
with a lot of artists, they find something that works
for them or like maybe Gardner's a big reaction positive

(14:29):
or negative, and they're like, oh, this is like this
is a money bag right here. Yeah, let me keep
doing it, and then they play it out really what
and it just and then they just sound less good
every single time. And then that's not even only in music,
but that's like in that's like in technology, that's like

(14:50):
in rollouts. In every single thing, people are like, this
is good, Let's try to do it again and again
and again. It's like, that's not how you get things
that create those moments that you're looking for.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
Vincent repeat so.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
A lot, even throughout the whole project, there's a lot
of things that kind of come in and then go away,
and like like some of my favorite parts, like you'll
only hear maybe like twice on the on the throughout
the project, like or even sorry on a song. You know,
like I don't like to repeat too many of the
same parts just because, like dynamic is important, I think,

(15:26):
you know, when we look at some of the most
legendary songs like these, like back in the days, guys
didn't have drum machines and you know, sequencers.

Speaker 2 (15:33):
It was these guys had to actually play. I had
to practice, you know.

Speaker 3 (15:36):
So that's something that I've really really takes your like
take very serious.

Speaker 1 (15:42):
So the fact that you said dynamic, that's where I
was gonna go next, because I feel like a lot
of these songs have a dynamic quality to them, even
though there's like so many more of these like slower
like neo soulish records, and you find a way to
make a lot of those records diedynamic without bringing down
the energy of the project. Was that something you thought

(16:04):
about at all or because I think I think that
this project, especially because there's so many of those records,
I always think about like if someone's not gonna hear
the full project, this is a project that you need
to hear in full. Like that's what I think personally,
But I'm like, this is twenty twenty four. You know
there's a good shot someone's going to only hear one
of these records, two of these records. So did you

(16:25):
think about kind of how you can have these records
in here but not bringing down the energy of the
project as a whole.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
I think that, Man, when I work our music, it's
very like natural, So I don't really think much about
that stuff, like.

Speaker 2 (16:42):
What's going to make the best song? To me?

Speaker 3 (16:44):
Then that's like kind of that's pretty much it, and
like it's I don't like it. It really work from
a place of just what I feel like, you know,
how does this feel like? If it like, how did
these chords together feel like this part? So it's just
really pretty much based on feelings good And like I

(17:08):
used to even get mad. I used to get annoyed
because people would always talk about my production or talk
about the fact that I did or I do a
bunch of things, like you know, I direct and edit
all this stuff, and but I'm like, yo, but actually,
like I rap very well too, guys, Like like I
have bars, like I and and I think that people

(17:29):
don't really.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
Do you still feel like your bars are getting slept on? Yeah?
I think so not.

Speaker 3 (17:33):
As of late, I put out a single at like
the top of summer it was leaving the world behind,
and then I put out another one called Almost Got Me,
and like those really got crazy.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
Definitely everyone's like.

Speaker 3 (17:47):
Yeah, because like I was, I'm annoyed because like I could,
I could rap.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
I don't know what's wrong with you, guys, It's crazy
you say that.

Speaker 1 (17:56):
And this is what I always think of is like
the artist is seeing differently from how we say on
the outside because I always thought of that first. I
think of him like I'm like, he's rapping well, but
also doing the rest of this, you know, so I
will look at it the other way around. But it
feels like you're from what you're saying, you're hearing kind
of it's like it's so impressive that he's doing all

(18:17):
these things, and I'm like, no.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
No, but he's rapping, Like yeah, but I'm good at
all these things too, like I could, but I could
also rap. And I think that like when it's a
conversation about rap itself, that's when I kind of like
I'm not as lyric like like lyricism, Like I think
that a lot of the lines that people react to

(18:39):
from me aren't even the craziest things that I've constructed.

Speaker 1 (18:42):
I think that's not important to you, because I think
you care more about the song itself, you know, Like
I think I think like you've created this in yourself,
like I care about the song being good. I don't
need y'all to see this one bar, you know, so
I think like that's part of it. I wish the
listener was mophisticated, but it is what it is because

(19:03):
I'm telling you like, I never would have thought that, Like,
if you said it, no, I appreciate it. If you said, agent,
what do you think is my most underrated skill? I
would have named off something before I said a rapping interesting.
So it's like to think that people are not catching
these there's because I've always been a lyrics person, just
because I didn't grow up with hip hop in that

(19:23):
same way. So when I got into hip hop, I
was like, okay, Like now I'm here to peep what's
going on. And because I'm a drummer, I always feel
like the music is set in the table for whatever
the lyrics is. You know, It's like you got one
person telling this story and it's for telling another story,
kind of like a TV show, you know, like in Sopranos,
you got Tony going through He's going through and it's

(19:43):
always going through something completely different, and it's two separate
stories that are intertwined. And so I feel like your
music is kind of setting the table for what you
have to say aboutely like I'm creating the mood the
room so that when I say what I got to say,
it can be felt before we actually get into the
album itself. I have some questions about the album. Let's
talk about the title. Talk about what that title means

(20:06):
and kind of like what that is connected to.

Speaker 3 (20:09):
They said it would rain. I think that I a
way I come up with titles is maybe a phrase
that I would say during a time period in my life.

(20:31):
And I've said this phrase because that's what's going on
in my life. So I actually didn't even think of
this title, Like this wasn't even when I first made
the first version of this project.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
This wasn't the title.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
And that title that I had for this will still
be used that so I've already I've already built the world.
But this wasn't even in the second title. There's remember
I said I wasn't going away for another five years,
so like I already have everything of and it was

(21:13):
the project after this one that I had first, and
this just made sense and for the other one. But
it also feels like like I didn't just choose it
because like it made sense with the other title, But
I had a few different names of like how I
wanted to phrase this title, but I think that this

(21:33):
one just sounded the best, and it.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
It just kind of.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
I just feel like over these past few years, there's
been a lot of crap just going on, a lot
of things happening, and just a lot of negativity, a
lot of doubt coming from outside, a lot of just
you know, whether it's regards to me or just the
world or anything.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Like, there's a lot of you know, low vibration. Yeah,
you know, a lot of a lot.

Speaker 3 (22:03):
Of stuff that could that people could think is gonna
go wrong or like you know, and I think for
me in like my career, like there's been so many
moments in the past few years specifically that like really,
you know, it was really a bad time, and even
in the midst of it looking like success, you know,
like it didn't feel like it because a lot of

(22:24):
stuff was going on behind the scenes.

Speaker 2 (22:26):
So yeah, they just they said.

Speaker 3 (22:29):
It would rain dot dot dot dot dot dot. There's
an ellipses there, So I mean that's also something to
think about. And then I think when you listen to
the project, I think when you use the project, the
name makes more sense.

Speaker 1 (22:41):
But when I think of when I hear the phrase
they said it would rain, it's because rain is used,
at least like in an English language, in that phrase
of like something negative, like when it rains a poor.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Exactly, you know.

Speaker 1 (22:54):
Originally like the idea of rain as a positive, like
you know, we need, we need, that's what we know,
you know. So to see it kind of flipped of
like they said it would rain is the idea of
like they said it was going to get crazy and
it did. And the song I think of a lot
is crash Site, And in there you have this probably

(23:14):
say my family been through too much. I like that
part so much because one it's like not just saying
what you've been through, is talking about the family as
a whole. And I feel like that's a specific choice
in terms of being like listen, I went through this,
like I'm the one hurting, but it's like no, like
my family is the one who went through this, So

(23:35):
talk about that choice. And then as well, like that
song in general, I think that a lot of when
I write, a lot of when I the reason I
make music like it the capacity that I do is
like a lot of it is family. It's forts for

(23:55):
the family. And I think that a lot has happened
in the past few years in regards to my career
in regards to like and it doesn't look all that,
but like behind the scenes stuff is happening, and I think.

Speaker 2 (24:13):
That like I got angry in a lot of ways, and.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
In that anger in all the things that were like
you know, in my opinion failures.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Or things that I seen at.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
First like oh this is like this is bad, like
this is a situation that's went wrong. I've seen how
God has kind of blessed me in a different way
where it's like, yeah, this didn't happen because of this,
and you didn't get this.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
Because of this.

Speaker 3 (24:47):
So when I started realizing that, like there's things that
I wanted to say, like even even writing this record,
I'm like or even writing almost got me that came
out and like very angry track, like I'm a getting
at everybody. And I only felt like I could do
that now because.

Speaker 2 (25:09):
Of a couple of things.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
And one is just like really tapping into my faith
and tapping into God and just like understanding that, like
all right, God's on my team, like I'm cool like
all this like worldly stuff, all this like you know
what people may assume or people's version of success, like
whether that's money or a placement, and like I don't

(25:31):
do music for these things. I will Money's gonna come. Placements,
I They're cool, but like I'm crafting something else over here. Yeah,
And like I know the power that I wield in
these courts. I know the power I will when I
write this and all this stuff, and so understanding that
and then family and just like understanding that it's bigger

(25:52):
than me.

Speaker 2 (25:53):
And I think that once you understand that.

Speaker 3 (26:00):
Music and or like your you know, your art career
or whatever is bigger than just you. Like it's a
whole Like there's you know, there's there's your area, there's
your country, there's your family, there's friends, there's a whole
bunch of there's the planet, you know, like you have
a choice what you want to do with this thing.
And I think me kind of understanding that this is

(26:22):
just bigger than me kind of gave me the I guess,
the freedom and the strength and the power to do
what I'm doing now. But a lot that's rooted in
just like family really and just like it's it's about family.
It's not just me here, you know.

Speaker 1 (26:45):
I think that's a big realization that takes a lot
of people some time to get to of the idea
of it is not just you. I know what it's like,
we say it all the time, and it's something that
people always kind of mention in passing. Yeah, but I
do think actually properly understanding that is almost like reaching
to another level mentally. I thought about this the other

(27:05):
day Luca duncish one, I think it was the SP's
NBA Player of the Year, and they go speech, speech, speech,
and he waves them off, and before he sits down,
he goes, I couldn't done itim with any of you guys.

Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yeah, and that's all he said.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
Yeah, And it seemed like it's like, in passing, not
that serious, but for that to be the only thing
that he said, I thought that as an understanding of like, yes,
you are clearly the star here.

Speaker 2 (27:28):
Everything's in the cater to you, but it's not just you.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
Yeah, you know, how how you play, how the team plays,
is funding someone else's family, someone else's livelihood.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
And so I think that.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
On this project, there's it's almost like you're not by
yourself in the emic any sense. Like there's some records
where yeah, it might be just you rapping or you
doing like a mix of rapping and some singing and
some different voices, but you rapping from the perspective of
like no family behind me, Like sprint, like you know,
it's all us. I think crash Site is obviously the

(28:02):
most obvious one at all those, but you have a
couple of them. There's one song China. Yeah, and you
have this probably said my catalog is my catalog is
my leverage?

Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, pretty much.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
And this has been a theme for you talked about
this before, Like this is not new for you to
say this. I just want to know kind of where
you're at in that mindset, because I feel like you've
had your own relationship with the industry and behind the scenes,
and I think that that is part of why the
narrative around you going away exists, is because there are
artists who we see often who people probably don't think

(28:39):
are as talented as you are. And I think that
that's a big part of that narrative. So I guess
give us give everyone the update on kind of where
you're at now with that ladership with the industry, that
deal of my catalog is my leverage.

Speaker 2 (28:50):
Just give emone an update on that.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
There's a lot more than one industry, and I don't
think people.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
Know that.

Speaker 3 (29:06):
Over the past few years, I've had to decide on
what game I want to play and what I want
to be a part of everybody thinks, Yo, this is
the way you play the game. It's like, well, I
don't want to play that game. I'm going to play
a different one. And I think that even like in

(29:32):
a non disrespectful like respectfully, people are just kind of
they don't have that that that factor that has them
be like, you know what, I'm not not messing with
any of these guys, right, I'm not messing with anybody,
Like I'm not. I don't care to piss that person
off that like I like, I don't care, and people

(29:55):
just don't have that.

Speaker 2 (29:56):
And I think.

Speaker 3 (29:57):
That that's what separates really good artists from legends. And
every legend that I know that I look up to
has broken many rules and have restructured things and done
it in their own way. So my catalog is definitely

(30:18):
it's a heavy catalog. I have a lot of really
good stuff in terms of like my relationship with the industry.
Like I mean, I don't know like what industry, you know,
Like it's there's a few there's a few different ones.
And I think the trick is to make you think
that there's one way to do it. And I'm going

(30:39):
to keep championing that there's not one way to do it.
So like when everybody's trying to give me advice, it's like,
you need to ask yourself first of all. You need
to ask me what I want first, because you're going
to give me advice on how to get more followers
on this or more views on that.

Speaker 2 (30:53):
But like, did I tell you I had an issue
with that? Right now?

Speaker 3 (30:56):
Did I tell you what my actual issue like? If
we haven't had that conversation than what we're talking about.
So I think that, Yeah, that's I guess that's kind
of view.

Speaker 1 (31:09):
I think you're one of the people people look to
in terms of that path of doing things differently, and
I think you're right of a lot of people think
it is one way to do it.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
This is a way to go.

Speaker 1 (31:20):
But to me, that comes down to self perception and
do you think you're good enough to do it a
different way?

Speaker 2 (31:26):
Do you do you think you have the talent and skills?

Speaker 1 (31:29):
So I think that's the bigger part of it is
if you don't think you're good enough to do it
this way, maybe that's why you think this is a
way to go.

Speaker 2 (31:37):
And so this is my thing though.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
That's fine, but just say that if you're talking, if
you're talking like you're the best, now we're gonna have
to now now, now we have to have a different conversation.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
I agree with you, you know what I'm saying, But
no one's saying that that. Nobody saying, well, this is
the thing.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
I don't think people have to necessarily say that they're
not they don't feel confident in themselves. I think that
if you're talking crazy, you should live what you're talking.
If you think you're the best, if you think you're
the greatest to ever touch this, move accordingly.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
And that's that's my issue. No, No, I think.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
I think you're right because I feel like this is
such a crazy example. But I said this on another
pot last week, when the pandemic happened and you started
seeing like celebrities and rappers entertainers like starting having only fans,
I said, oh, so you're broke, Like that's the that's
the first first my mind, I get.

Speaker 3 (32:39):
That, Like I I don't. I didn't even I don't
necessarily have an opinion on it. But I'm also thinking
in my head like.

Speaker 2 (32:48):
Do you know? But but to me, I mean, if
you want to do that, then you're about your choice. Yeah,
that's cool. And that's what I think of what this is.

Speaker 1 (32:58):
To you, the your label, it's a way to go
because you have to do it this way because of
where you stand, where you see yourself, how you move,
you know.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
Even beyond like labels. It's like.

Speaker 3 (33:11):
It's it's it's like it's the ass kissing, like with
certain like it's.

Speaker 2 (33:15):
Just like it's labels, it's people everyone, it's everywhere.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
There's it's so much, but I think there's the ass
kissing to me is a reflection of how you feel
about your art. And I know it's not one plus
money equals too in that obviously there's a ton a
ton of context, a ton of different intersections. But that's
personally what I think when I when I see some
of that kind of over ass kissing, because if the
art is good enough, you don't got to kiss nothing,

(33:43):
you know, And that's.

Speaker 2 (33:44):
What I think.

Speaker 3 (33:47):
That's why I feel like sometimes it feels like I
just I don't have friends at times because like I'm
not trying to kiss ass and a lot of these
guys operate based off of that, like like there's it's
just like a it's a weird cult bro.

Speaker 2 (34:02):
I don't know how to explain it weird, you know.

Speaker 1 (34:05):
Like it's it's especially especially in Canada, I would say especially.

Speaker 2 (34:11):
It gets it gets strange.

Speaker 3 (34:12):
I've heard it's strange everywhere, but like obviously I don't
live everywhere, so yeah, it gets very strange. And I
think that, like it's even the thing of like, yo,
if you know for me, like I'm I'm cool with
people like and I respect a lot of people, and
I'll treat everybody with respect. I'm not going to do
the extras, you know, at the sake of like you

(34:34):
know what I'm able to do, like I'm not here
for you, like I'm still in the I'm an adult.
But when when it feels like you're trying to take advantage,
and then I'm like yo, nah, and then Mason will
call me weird. It's just like that doesn't make sense.
It's like I supposed to just be cool with that,
like and I wouldn't treat you like this, and also
you wouldn't treat somebody else you consider in a higher

(34:56):
position like this. Just because I don't have what followers
as like as many that doesn't come on because I
but a lot of people in my position are trying
to you know, land that placement, land that thing, which
is cool.

Speaker 2 (35:09):
That's fine if that's what you want to do. That's
not what I'm hating on. The word that.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
I'm avoiding us using because there's someone watching this right
now who it applies to, who is hurt by just
like saying what we're saying. And what I'm avoiding is
integrity because I think that trying to be successful is
not like a disingenuous thing today. You know, if you
want to be successful, let these placements, like you should
not be basted for that. So absolutely not I'm avoiding

(35:37):
that word. But I think there's a part of it
where how much game do you want to play?

Speaker 3 (35:44):
Then you know, like at the end of the day,
anybody can make any decision. I don't even have an
issue with the decisions or people's opinions. It's more so
if it feels like they're folding on themselves and I
could see that that's my issue. It's it's it's it's
the non real factor and yourself.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
And it's like, how do you feel aboutause? I think
that's the biggest thing, and it's crazy. I'm about quote Kanye,
but Kanye said that client said this this is the
best and it was him defending Bruce Jenner, and he said,
the worst thing you can be is not be able
to be yourself. And it's like having success doesn't change that.
Even with success, you want to feel like you can
be yourself. And I think that that feeling of like

(36:28):
being yourself an authentic and true to yourself, some people
don't associate that with success, and I think that's kind
of where the real divide is is, like in there
have to like be successful. I've already accepted I'm gonna
have to change who I am, be different.

Speaker 3 (36:43):
Yeah, everybody has a different success For Rubric, and like
you know, for some people, it's really just it's just funds.

Speaker 2 (36:49):
It's just money.

Speaker 3 (36:50):
And I can't even like hate on that, Like if
that's what you're going for it, then I can't say
you're doing.

Speaker 2 (36:55):
Anything like no, that what that's true?

Speaker 3 (36:57):
If it comes down to a thing of like Okay,
that's your version of success, but now you're going to
try and either stop or invade my world of success
that then say okay, like you could do that over there,
but now in this vicinity, this is.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Not what we do. I don't have to follow your rules. Yeah, yeah,
but like.

Speaker 3 (37:22):
That's just kind of like an idea to like obviously
a whole heap of conversations. But I my issues is
not even with the actual thing so much. Well sometimes
it is, of course, but it's mainly like, if I
don't believe, I don't believe you, you have an issue.
There's a disconnect. I don't believe you. I don't believe

(37:42):
what you're saying. I don't believe how your offers. I
don't believe you. You're not telling the truth. And I
can see it, you.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
Know, you know it's I think, being in this position,
I'm kind of privileged in a sense where I see
a lot of artists in different scenarios, you know, not
just in the video shoot, not just how they show
themselves online. And I'm saying this for a long time.
Is I met a few artists, like in the early
early days of the radio show, and they were money
cards and hosts, those those type of artists. And Homeboy

(38:11):
showed up with his girlfriend in like seven years and
also you know you're allowed to yeah, of course, you know,
but I said, you got like forty songs out and
not nowhere could I tell that you're in this like
you know, committed relationship, you know, and that's that happens
pretty often, you know, like you know, that's just part

(38:33):
of it. But the part that really got me was
this guy was doing this, like you know, freestyle video
we were doing, and he needed a couple of extra takes,
and of course in the room, you kind of keep
that energy up, like no, you got this, you got this,
and it became almost like past the point where we
stopped seeing you got this, and his girl was like

(38:53):
kind of hyping him up, and he took some time,
and his girl like gave him a pep talk, and
I said, like, she didn't make it to no records,
Like she's holding you that she's making it to no records.
And that's what we talk about, Like it being real
is like that's your life, you know, your life is
like this person is kind of holding up your career
and like propelling you and pushing you and motivating you.
And when you get into the booth, you rap about

(39:16):
all the stuff that's not even happening.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
Yeah, And so when we talk about like is it real?
Do I believe it?

Speaker 1 (39:20):
It's like I don't need you to rap about putting
your kids to bed that we don't need.

Speaker 3 (39:24):
We don't need that, but you know what, what if
we do need that song? Because you know, I actually,
I actually think that we need more of those songs.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
I'm being dead at like.

Speaker 3 (39:35):
Y I talk to it, talk to my brother a lot,
and like he's a father and I'm like, yo, just
she got to be a dad.

Speaker 2 (39:42):
Yo. I think that like more fold and close more when.
And I don't think.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
It's like as you know, players like actually putting like
you know, but I think it's funny because I also
saw Andre talk about undred thousand You're saying, how like
what people want to hear me rap about gonna get
check ups at the doctors and stuff.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
And it's like, yeah, maybe, like we don't know.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
And I think you're right, right, And I think the
honesty is what makes the best records because like even
even on a you know, if we're thinking about.

Speaker 2 (40:16):
Like the best albums to.

Speaker 3 (40:17):
Me have have a a range of like you know,
styles and s something, but also yeah, like there's it's
a balance, like even with the News Project, Like the
best way I could describe it is duality and balance.
Like there's times where I feel like you know, if
I say, like every time I have faith in the hood,

(40:38):
all my hood, He's end up with a face like
I feel like that sometimes you know what I mean,
But it's not all the time. And I think that,
like people just need to talk about how they feel
like at all times, you know, And I think the
balance is good. I need to I need like, yeah,
like yo, this guy's talking about you know, going there's
anybody who's good enough at writing songs can talk about

(41:00):
putting their kids to bed in it being beautiful. But
also what people don't do anymore is they don't know
how to choose the right sonics for the song. So
like if you're trying to rap over a beat that
sounds like I don't know.

Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah, it sounds like rack city. We don't want to
talk about the kids a.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
Rack city beat like that doesn't that doesn't make sense.
But like, you know, maybe it's time for you to
like tap into some jazz. Maybe it's time for you
to tap into some some soul music or like something else.
And I think that's one thing that I will gas
myself up for. It's like I really pay attention to
what I'm writing and how it feels lyrically in context

(41:43):
of the music, and I think that people forget that
songs are fifty percent is the beat and fifty percent
is the vocals on it, and you got you can't
have that lacking, Like even like there is cases where
the beat saves the verses, and there's even rare cases
where the verses save the beat. Yeah, But I think
that the meticulousness and the crafting of those two things

(42:06):
has been overlooked in the past few years.

Speaker 1 (42:08):
I think overlooked, especially a lot of hip hop. Like
I think outside of hip hop that's way more prevalent. Yeah,
but I think in hip hop it's not looked at
as the same because I think.

Speaker 2 (42:17):
That's why these albums fail all the time and we're
in the loop era.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
Because how I say it is this is, can I
know what the tone of the song is without the lyrics?

Speaker 2 (42:27):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (42:28):
Like they say this in reality TV, where it's like
if I put the TV on pause, can I tell
the story of what just happened? Or sorry, pause on mute?
Like if it's on mute and I just show the faces,
do I know what happened? I feel like that's how
the music should be, is if there's no lyrics here,
I just hear the songs of the song, can I
kind of figure out what direction we're headed in the
clone of the song is. And I feel like a
lot of hip hop doesn't have that quality where it's

(42:50):
like just no lyrics.

Speaker 2 (42:51):
This could be a song about anything. Yeah, And I
think I think that's a cool way to look at it.

Speaker 3 (42:58):
But I also will say that it's sometimes juxtaposition is cool.
So like, even if it is a rack CDB and
you talk about your kids, how do you make how
do you make it make sense?

Speaker 1 (43:09):
How do you that's part of that, That's part of
the magic, because I think we do. We talk a
lot about this in the Mode podcast, where a song
will be upbeat, but if you hear what they're saying,
they're not happy right now, you know. And the king
of this was Juice World, where everyone's dancing and shaking
ass to his records and that boy is depressed, and
it's like that kind of makes the record special in

(43:32):
its own way. But I think there's an intentionality to
that of like, Okay, you did that on purpose.

Speaker 2 (43:37):
Yeah, we see how that works. Yeah, I think it worked.

Speaker 3 (43:40):
I think I think the thing to understand is that
there's just so many options.

Speaker 2 (43:48):
There's so many others to be one way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (43:51):
A lot of options, and like there's there could be
so many outcomes.

Speaker 1 (43:55):
So yeah, before we start to wrack up, I can
run something by you. We're talking about this behind the scenes,
and I feel like you are probably the perfect person
to talk about this with.

Speaker 2 (44:04):
Oh, So, we've been.

Speaker 1 (44:06):
Talking about having additional hip hop charts and hip hop.
We have the one hip hop and R and B chart,
and we recently split the hip hop and R and
B chart, but for the longest time they were on
the same chart. But in other genres use rock as one,
alternative rock, indie rock, metal all have their own chart.
Now hip hop hasn't had that, but I think that

(44:29):
that would be something that hip hop could use to
kind of tell the better story of what the culture
has been. So with that in mind, are there any
kind of charts in particular that you think that would
would be useful for this era? Like I thought of
like an electronic hip hop chart that's for the like
the Yeats, the playber CARDI, Kenny Mason, that kind of style.

(44:51):
The contemporary hip hop chart, which would be the older
rappers styles, Pe, Freddy Gibbs, the Old Heads, Yeah, yeah,
the over forty group, the kind of trap chart which
is your gunna as your little babies, anything you would
add to that of like charts that you think hip
hop kadad.

Speaker 2 (45:12):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (45:13):
I'm a chart hater, bro yeah out because I think
that I do think that there should be more charts,
like if we're gonna have them. But I also think
that there's like a lot of I think there's too
much value placing charts.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
I think that.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
A song or even an album that everybody hates can
go platinum facts, And I think once you know that,
to me, it kind of it doesn't really Well, That's
why I want these other charts. I thought of someone
like Freddy Gibbs. I'm not the biggest Freddie Gibbs fan,
but you know, this past six seven years, he's clearly

(45:58):
come into his own and had huge resurgence. Yeah, and
he's never going number one on the Billboard charts. That's
just not happening, you know, And.

Speaker 2 (46:05):
I think people need to be okay with that.

Speaker 1 (46:08):
But how do we kind of contextualize and tell the
story of his run without just saying you had to
be there? I think there's an old head chart, and
he goes number one on the old head chart six times,
then it's like he has that kind of stat that
can measure what it is. But I feel like there's
so much that you have to be in the moment
to know. And I guess that part bothers me because

(46:30):
I have two younger brothers who it's like trying to
explain to them. You know, I have a brother who's
twenty years old and his only country album he really
knows is missed him around the Big Steppers. Yeah, that's crazy,
you know, Like he knows about the kid Mad City,
but he obviously wasn't there for it. I'm actually a
fan of you had to be there.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
I think that. Okay, let's hear that. I think that, like.

Speaker 3 (46:50):
Certain things, like what makes those moments special is the
fact that not everybody's there. And I think right now,
everybody's trying to be there and everybody's trying to be
in everything, And what that's doing is it's blurring the
lines of like who people are, Like there's no like
nobody's themselves like a lot of people, everybody's trying to
apply the same, the same thing to the same thing

(47:12):
and try to do it the same way and at
some point, like no one's going to be themselves. Like
I went to a concert and like I'm not saying
you have to be one way to go to concert
or like different music, but it was so hard for
me to identify what people are even really into, just
because like you would you would see it. You would
see on the way somebody dresses, you would see it
in the way like somebody walks. Like I think that
just made everything so cool and like it's it's not

(47:35):
even it's not even to put people in a box
but it's kind of to do the opposite with like
the world, Like I think that we need the variation,
we need more individuality, absolutely, and so like with like
you had to be their moments. I think there's something
so special about you know, telling somebody why they should
have been there and then now you can tell the

(47:57):
story your brother's yo, listen yo. In twenty twelve, Kendrick
put out you know, good kid, Mass City and like
this is what was going on at the time, and
like we did and like I actually enjoyed putting on
you know, uh like new, Like a lot of these
guys are new, Like a lot of these artists that
like that we know now they're in the scene post
twenty twenty, right, I'm one of the few guys who

(48:19):
was here prior to that in like a pretty like
you know, like in a in a way yeah, without
like trying to gass it up too much, like you know, guy,
I was around, so like I remember what it was
like ten years ago, and I enjoyed talking to like
these like yo, bro, we had KJK to June and
we had Matthew Progress, Shy Wisdom, Brendan Philip, like like

(48:43):
these these are the guys spec one, Like all of
these guys like You's Gouya taught me how to be black,
you know, if I'm being honest, like they know. But
like these guys like these these are like they were
all like around my brother's age, you know what I mean,
and they showed me you know, was a group at
the time of fortunately not a group anymore. And like

(49:04):
they they all kind of that come up in twenty
fourteen those times was real sick and like people weren't
there for that.

Speaker 2 (49:10):
I'm half with you, yeah, but I think.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
My issue is it depends on the level I think
I have an issue with this like that ten years
ago Toronto in particular, and it not being known more
because I just think it needed to be bigger. But
in regards to somebody like Freddie Gibbs or somebody at
that level, he is famous enough where like a documentary
can still be made, it could still be talked about

(49:35):
in the streets. And quite frankly, the numbers are half
the story, especially when you have labels whying numbers, you
have the lines or is such because.

Speaker 1 (49:45):
I want something that's not number, And I guess why,
I'm like the separate charts is like on the old
head chart, you don't you can go number one selling
thirty k, you know. So it's like I don't just
have crazy numbers. Yeah, for you could still see okay
Benny was number one. Yeah, whatever it is. But why
I think think of like I want to find a
way to show it.

Speaker 2 (50:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (50:03):
I think we just need to not to cut you
off by I feel like we just need to change
the value of what it means to to to like
what a statistic is. Like I think everybody influences that,
you know what I mean, And I think everybody jumps
to billboard first, or like these charts first. But I
think we just need to change the mindset of like yo.

(50:25):
But like but even though that song was number one
in my area or like even in the streets, this
is the song that was being played in the cars
every time you this is the song, and I think
that that's going to be different everywhere. And like it's
too it looks big, like the stats look big.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
But I like, in my opinion, like.

Speaker 3 (50:48):
It's also like a part of the world, like it's
only a piece. It's actually not as big as it's
not what I to me what the most important stories are,
the most important artists, Like there's always like a documentary,
there's always like and it's always something that sometimes doesn't
hit right away. People don't find out the magnitude or something.

(51:11):
Sometimes it takes time and unfortunately that's what it's like,
and the part of you had to be there and
like yo, like yo, this is what it was at
this time. Like I think everybody's trying to do everything
and have everything and like, but some things need to
be like gate kept, because like gate kept to an extent,
you know, like this is where you lose skill, This

(51:33):
is where you lose the sharpness. This is like all
these things need like certain things need to be protected
and be passed down.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
Way to put it, this is why we ask you
this question. Of all people, this is this is why
we asked you. But the person is a group I
think of all the time with this a little brother, Yo,
I'm like, I'm like, how do you explain to someone
what little brother was in that moment? Because that version
of the innet doesn't even exist anymore. Like when I

(52:02):
talk to Matthew Progress, we talked about him like getting
into rapping from a Wu Tang chat room. There's not
even chat rooms anymore like that.

Speaker 3 (52:10):
You know, And I think that, like, bro, Like I'm
born ninety seven, so I'm young and old right now,
and like we got the tail end.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
Of like the blog internet era, yo, but even.

Speaker 3 (52:25):
I also got to experience Internet in the early days too,
like you know, like early two thousands, and well, bro,
I remember you can find so much cool things on
the Internet. Now now you strich something up, there's like
four websites that are going to every single time. And
I feel like that, like is so disheartening. Before, like
there were so many creative sites, there were so many
creative things to do, and all these different things that

(52:48):
have like made people what they were and made things
cool and legendary.

Speaker 2 (52:52):
All all came from people being themselves. You know.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
It definitely came from that individuality. And I think maybe
you're the answer that you gave without realizing it's like
the documentary part of it and things take time, because
I think that is one thing that I really really
struggle with in terms of putting people onto new music
or like showing like the younger people like what was
cool back in the day.

Speaker 2 (53:14):
So me too, I agree with you.

Speaker 3 (53:16):
I also have that issue too, like I want people
to know now, but like I think it's a career
I've had. Like I'm kind of like also in that
world of like yo, like as soon as somebody here
is it and I but disheartening you you're.

Speaker 2 (53:30):
A part of it where your music can stand alone.

Speaker 1 (53:32):
Where if someone is like trying to explain yo, if
you guys knew well Claire Man in twenty fifteen, you know,
but they'll hear it and they'll be like, oh, I
could understand, because that's what usually gets it for me.
Like I remember showing my brother to Zion by Lauren
Hill for the first time. Okay, he's born in two
thousand and four. He don't know nothing about none of that.
By two thousand and four, Lauren Hill is, you know, yeah,
but he has an album on vinyl now, you know,

(53:55):
just him hearing the record, he was like, Okay, I
could I understand why everyone loves her?

Speaker 2 (54:00):
Is enough?

Speaker 1 (54:01):
You know, so for some people that's what it is,
But why talk about all the brother is. I was
not even aware of their Spotify SI's something like that.
You go to there, you go to their page, they
maybe have one song over like three million plays, And
in my mind, I'm like, how is this?

Speaker 3 (54:16):
Yeah, I'm even I still even like there's still even
so much, so much more studying that I have to do.
Like there's things that I just wasn't even there for,
and there was things that I was alive for but
wasn't there for exactly, and like some people are alive but.

Speaker 2 (54:30):
Just not in the same spot.

Speaker 3 (54:31):
So like yeah, like I'm I can't lie, Like I'm
kind of like I want my favorite stuff to go
number one, that'll be really sick. But I also understand
what the world is and so I place my value
somewhere else.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
The revenants, too, I think has been because it's kind
of like.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
As a musician, who the musicians respect may not be
who the people respect. And I think that is what
bothers me the most, where it's like he's a little
brothers an example everyone from that era, it's never talking
down a little brother. You know, Ninth is still obviously
not from not in the group anymore, but you know
he's still well respected.

Speaker 2 (55:06):
You know, Fonte bringing like rapping and singing kind of
to the forefront.

Speaker 1 (55:11):
So it's like other musicians will give them their respect,
and I think that I want the kind of audience
to match that, but maybe it's maybe I'm asking too much.

Speaker 3 (55:19):
I also agree with that, and I think that the
most that I can do right now is.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
Its champion those guys and champion.

Speaker 3 (55:34):
Not only that, but the mindset of like, yo, bro,
why can't you played DeAngelo in the club like this?
You don't got to tell me why, Like what happened
to like playing a bunch of like fire tracks that
nobody's heard and everybody's like, yo, what is this? People
don't even do that anymore. Like there was a time
where I was going out and it was fun. It's

(55:54):
really fun, But then after a while, I like I'm like, yo,
I kind of want to listen to this though, like
in this slap right now, and it's not even a
thing at DJ's like I know what, like they're doing
their thing like and but it's more so like I
think there should be more options, Like there should be
more things where like we go to dance and it's
like it doesn't have to be a themed night.

Speaker 2 (56:15):
Yeah you know what a different record.

Speaker 1 (56:17):
Yeah, And I think what you're saying is why I
don't get the OX nowhere. I used to be the
ox of God, like it's three scrolls on my phone
and everybody's OX.

Speaker 2 (56:26):
I don't do that no more.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
Yeah, because whatever I'm tuned into that week, that month,
I'm playing that. So if you guys are playing Gunna
at the party and I'm listening past a Shirley Season
when I'm at home, yo' season.

Speaker 3 (56:39):
Even at the listening session, bro, like I I I
knew that, like I knew what music I wanted to
play coming in. I'm like definitely gonna play like a
lot of these like like some nineties R and B
records that like even some that people probably don't know.
And then like I'm gonna play gospel music. Yeah, I
played a few gospel tras and like.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
You know, I was here for it, you know what
I'm saying, And I was here.

Speaker 3 (57:03):
For like I think, I'm not saying you have to
play gospel at the club, but I am saying that
there should just kind of be the opts of that,
like if Bro. The first what changed my mind is
there was a DJ, like like a long time, I
think maybe twenty fifteen sixteen, I went to a party.
It was a it was called Hashtag that this DJ

(57:26):
Flex of all trades, like he he's he used to
be my DJ. He's like my brother's friends and stuff
like that. So he had this party. He had another
DJ there and this guy was DJing. It was one
Sunday and he mixed Stomp into the into the set,
and Bro, I that changed my wholee like, like that
day is so clear, like this guy playing stomp right
now and that I think I think it was DJ

(57:50):
Dark Knight.

Speaker 2 (57:50):
Yeah yeah, but I was young and like and you're like, yo,
he's doing this right now. I'm like, this is this
is crazy.

Speaker 3 (57:55):
So like ever since then, I've always kind of had
that thing in my mind, and as of recent it's
just been like, yo, like I this will slap in
at a party, or like people could dance to this,
but like I don't even know if people are really
dancing anymore, just bouncing, or like I can't really.

Speaker 1 (58:11):
You know what's funny you say that, because that was
what made me stop getting on the oscar, because I
was like, you guys are not dancing in the first place,
so you guys can't complain about whatever I'm playing. Yeah,
if I hop on the OX and I start playing Maxwell,
if you're not dancing in the first place, what are
you complaining about?

Speaker 3 (58:26):
You know, like and maybe you don't even have to
dance maybe sometimes just vibe. Yeah, Like there's just so
much good music, And I think the most I could
do is to champion the idea of like, yo, maybe
we just need to change what we think is a hit,
because hits could be anything. I when I made It's
not how it sounds, I knew, I'm like, yo, dream

(58:50):
there's going to.

Speaker 2 (58:51):
Be one of the singles. Yeah, it's the it's.

Speaker 3 (58:53):
The only like slow soul song on the record, and
like very influenced by gospel and I'm like this and
it was the biggest song on the because I just
like the music.

Speaker 2 (59:05):
Is good, people are going to be a certain bp.

Speaker 3 (59:08):
Yeah, it could just be there's just there's just too
many And like because of that song, that's how I
ended up kind of being, you know, like discovered to
work on bigger projects.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
You know.

Speaker 3 (59:18):
So people just gotta just do what they feel, not
do it like someone's like this one's gonna hit though,
like because of this and this, It's like, Yo, what
do you feel like needs to come first?

Speaker 1 (59:29):
I think you are one of the artists that helps
with my show starting out the radio show really because
first of all this equality of music.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
But I would play songs on my show.

Speaker 1 (59:42):
I don't see you don't work in the Canadian can
con so you know, at least half the songs gotta
be Canadian and.

Speaker 2 (59:48):
People would hit me and say like Yo, what was that?
Who is that?

Speaker 1 (59:52):
And the idea was like Canadian music sounded a certain way,
you know, And I would play songs from people like
you or Patrick Kabang even Sean Leone at the time,
and it fit right in to the like the set
where it was like I might play you right beside
Brent Fayaz, Yeah, and.

Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
It's not like, oh the Canadian records sounds like it, yo,
and that's it, bro listen. That's the thing.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
I think, big conversation is the reason has been like
the sound of here, and like there is a sound here,
But I also think that there's a lot of sounds here,
and there's a lot of like dynamic sounds here, and
then I think that needs to be be looked at
more than even having the conversation or trying to prove
to other people if we have a sound or not.

(01:00:42):
I don't think that matters because even what our regional
sound is is not my sound.

Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
But I'm from here and and.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
There's so many people who are from here making different
sounds that sound good.

Speaker 3 (01:00:53):
And I'm like, bro, like, we're also from here, we're
born here, like, but we don't sound like so like
who let's not argue about that right now. It's not
the important thing. The important thing is like, yo, champion,
who you think is fire? Like, there's so much stuff
and like, bro, listen, man, it's just it's been a headache.

Speaker 2 (01:01:09):
Just it's been a headache.

Speaker 3 (01:01:11):
I'm not even gonna lie like it's there's there's just.

Speaker 1 (01:01:16):
Too I think it's a little too much confusion and
I think too, it's like the understanding of the artist
you may not have heard of because they're music an
artist you have heard of. And I think like that
is changing. We are getting growing into like a new
music culture where people do want to learn he means.
I think TikTok really helped with that of like finding
new records, finding new artists. But I do think there

(01:01:37):
is still that connotation of like if I heard of
this person, how good could their music be?

Speaker 2 (01:01:41):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:01:41):
And I think that's a big thing, and like that's
what's kind of like it's I can't lie. It's almost
stopped me in ways where like there's certain things maybe
I wouldn't do or wouldn't want to kind of you know,
say or because like people are gonna be like, yo,
but who is this guy?

Speaker 2 (01:01:59):
But if we want to do.

Speaker 3 (01:02:02):
That, like if we want to do that, but like
I think, uh, yeah, that mentality has to stop.

Speaker 1 (01:02:10):
Like it's no, it's there, it exists, And I think
I think it's slowly changing. Yeah, you know, I do
think like TikTok is helping with that, but I think
there are still people who it's.

Speaker 3 (01:02:18):
Like if I ever heard them, how good they I
think people need to open, you know, allow some new
like be the first to like somebody, you know what
I mean. Like that was a big issue for me
coming up, Like just nobody wanted to be first.

Speaker 1 (01:02:32):
Which is crazy, Like I think, just be first, bro,
I love if I have a great track record. So
many of the artists I was like first on have
becoming huge stars. So I'm listening, I'm I'm here all
the time. Let's see what you got with ice cream? So,
like you're pretty much done. Okay, that's basically finished. Yeayeah,
I don't want to I think this would just be too.

Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
Yeah, like just for myself, I don't I don't know
if we're trying to that.

Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
That's basically done.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
So before we got here, we have the segment on
the radio show we call Wednesday wisdom from motivational quote
or saying either you remind yourself of or the people
around you.

Speaker 2 (01:03:09):
So what is that quote for you?

Speaker 3 (01:03:13):
Cool question before I said the last time we did
the interview, did you ask me that I did?

Speaker 2 (01:03:20):
Do you remember what I said? I don't remember what
you said. That was a long time ago.

Speaker 3 (01:03:23):
Because I feel like it's the same thing that I'm
about to say right now. I was just listening to
it could be the same thing. I just feel like
I said it. But anyways, I was just listening to
Kirk Franklin on the way here, and he'll never put
more on me than I can. I can very and

(01:03:44):
like I that's something that I every time I guess
too difficult, like that kind of.

Speaker 2 (01:03:53):
Gives me like, Okay, I'm still alive, Like do something.

Speaker 3 (01:03:57):
Yeah, yeah, you might be one of the first person
nicoll a song for Wednesday Wisdom also huge tune.

Speaker 2 (01:04:04):
If you don't know what song you're talking about, please.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
Oh yeah, huge huge track. Yeah, that's that's a good one.
I think like that. I'll see it's gospels. What's different.
But I think of that song of like what people
say in their lyrics and how lyrics have power yea,
And oftentimes a lot of you know, music fans, music
listeners don't always catch the lyrics of a song. That's

(01:04:31):
why I talked about having the story being told without
the lyrics. And why I think lyrics are important is
because it's something you're repeating over and over again, like
you're saying, this is something that you're speaking into your world,
whether you like it or not. So if you want
to speak rack City into your world. Of course, I
hope that goes well for you. But I think a

(01:04:52):
message like this speaking into your world has a lot
of power. So I love that this is where we're ending. Listen,
the album's coming out. What's what's the day you have?
October thirty first? Oh my god, that's just around the dad. Actually,
it's crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:05:04):
It's October thirty first, and yesterday it was hot as
hell outside. Yo, it's actually hot. No, no, it was
actually hot. I want to walk with my friend and
we're talking. We're like, global warming is kicking our as yo. Listen, Brose,
you do want to say it, but yeah, it's crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:05:19):
All these flowers are in bloom in ways that we've
never seen before.

Speaker 2 (01:05:23):
Like if you guys go home with and you're gonna
see some flowers in blue, You're like, this is insane,
you know what? The thing? It was hot and then
I go saw it last night and the bare.

Speaker 3 (01:05:34):
Leaves on the ground, like half the leaves, and it's
like in ten minutes though, So I don't know what's
going on.

Speaker 1 (01:05:40):
No, it's very picturesque. I know someone's kill us some
crazy photo shoots right now. Yeah, because the leaves on
the ground is a big mood and the trees tinge
of color is a big mood. I want like everyone
for joining us today on the Cool Table. You want
to listen to the radio show, you can hear us
every Wednesday at eleven am twelve in torontomet Radio dot ca. Online,

(01:06:02):
you can find us on the interwebs at the Cool
Table Live on Instagram, at the Cool Table on YouTube.
You can find me on TikTok at adrismile dot com.
And until next time, know yourself, know your worth.