May 22, 2025 • 46 mins
In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Errol Eats, the rapper making waves with his classic sound and sharp lyricism. He opens up about his creative process and how his background shaped his music. Errol is carving out his own space in today’s rap landscape, and he shares the journey behind his standout style. We dive into his inspirations, his time in the corporate world and what he's working on next.
Timecodes
3:00 Upward Mobility in the Corporate World
7:30 Recording the Album
9:05 Errol’s Recording Process
11:52 Naming the songs
14:00 Knowledge of Self
17:47 Relationship with K-Riz
23:39 Staying True to Yourself
27:33 The Triumphant Nature of Jamaicans
33:46 His Alter Ego
40:10 Best Tiramisu in New York
43:40 Wednesday Wisdom
Timecodes
3:00 Upward Mobility in the Corporate World
7:30 Recording the Album
9:05 Errol’s Recording Process
11:52 Naming the songs
14:00 Knowledge of Self
17:47 Relationship with K-Riz
23:39 Staying True to Yourself
27:33 The Triumphant Nature of Jamaicans
33:46 His Alter Ego
40:10 Best Tiramisu in New York
43:40 Wednesday Wisdom
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Old man.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey everyone, this is Noo.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's your boy, Funky, the coolest teen rapper online. What's up.
It's me Alfie. You're listening to the Cool Table with
a listening 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.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. My
name is Adril Smiley aka Adrilsmiley dot Com aka Adril
Smiley Official aka the Godfather. Now in the cut, we
changed our guest to finish a cup of ice cream
before the end of the conversation. We're making history on
this episode, showing his face for the first time on camera.
(00:42):
Eryl eats everything. Thank them thoughts, Hell's everything. Man, it's
a pleasure to have you here. It's a pleasure to
be here. Na, I'm very excited for this one. Talk
about the ice cream flavor that you chose, and do
you feel like you got a chance and actually get
and it's done.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
No, I'm not gonna the flavor first term massou. Yeah,
that's because my wife and I tried ter massouse at
every single restaurant that would eat at if you eat out.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
That's my goal to and I'm mister go to.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
I don't try new new things with food, especially in
New York, because it varies.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Like crazy dangerous game.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah yeah, yeah, you have to stick to to old
faithful and termassou is old faithful.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Okay, Am I going to finish it? Highly unlikely? Yeah
I didn't. I didn't think so.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Before we started recording, you had an amazing patty from
a place we were not are not going to name.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
But after I saw you eating that, I was said.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I almost want to name it and disrespect your name it,
but it won't. You know, it was fire.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Listen, listen next time you come out, and hopefully they'll
they'll be sponsoring us.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
They will be after I. You should let me say
it and they will sponsor you. You know, we'll keep it,
we'll say, we'll say it, we'll save that.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah. Your ter massou for me is cheeros. Oh really,
chos is like that for me.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And when I was in New York a couple of
weeks ago, I probably spent eight hours in total looking
for chiros.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Them corners, little corner carts. Right.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I didn't want to go with one of them. I
wanted to find somewhere else, really horrible idea. I end
up getting churros in like some like mall or something.
I took one bite and throughout the whole bag, the
whole bag.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
So the other thing I ever go to is you
know those little mini doughnuts that they put the sugar and.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
The powdered doughnut.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, We're all raising everyone's blood.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Watching everybody's at home, Like, look how greedy this guy.
Imagine my ice ice cream bets. Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think I want to start actually before the album,
because I think that informs us to where we're going
to actually get into the project. Your background in entrepreneurship
and then kind of where that had you in a
mental space to start the project. Talk a little bit
about that. There's a moment that I think is you know,
you've mentioned it before interviews where you looked over for
(03:01):
h promotion. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, and you took it
to heart. Talk about that moment kind of like you know,
leading up after that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
So, I I've been an artist my whole life, but
I'm also had a conventional life of taking a corporate
ladder and all of that stuff. Correct, So my background
is like it, I'm pretty At one point I was
incredibly certified in regard to very certifications within it. And
(03:28):
then I, you know, I have my degrees or NBA
and all that stuff. So I was upwardly mobile. And
if you know me, I found out what my superpower was,
and that is persistence. And so I I wanted a
goal of leadership, and I I.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Have pushed and pushed and pushed.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
And and I got that leadership role, like I remember
my first director role and stuff like that. And how whoever,
I found upward mobility challenging. Yeah, and so it could
be many things. It could be your personality, could be
the fact that you're rather large black man. You know,
(04:12):
a lot of people are uncomfortable around you and whatever.
But what I noticed was I would get praised for
my work, but didn't get the compensation that that paralleled it. Yeah,
and I didn't get the upward mobility at a rate
that mediocrity around me got, you know. And so that
(04:35):
part my goal the majority of my life was to
be my own man. I know, I always wanted to
be my own man, and I knew that part of
that equation was failure, and even if you know that,
you kind of have to go through those things and
it still weighs heavy on you, you know. And then
eventually I found success and I launched a company on
(04:57):
March nineteenth, twenty twenty two days after COVID was declared uh,
and it went through the roof, and that allowed me
to be my own man. And it came right on time.
Doesn't come when you want, it comes right on time typically,
and then and so one day I just realized it
(05:19):
might have been in April. Actually, I realized I'm in
a position I always wanted to be in because as
an artist, typically you have a job and you're trying
to do every things to make your art come to life.
And I was like, man, I'm in the you know,
I'm in a position where I don't have to worry
about this upward mobility of my own man. And you
(05:39):
know what, this is where I always wanted to be.
And let me just try recording something that I recorded
the very first song the project that I didn't know
was going to be a project immediately, but that was
Era East everything, and you know, and so I'll say
this right away, the song is not true. I'm you
know I'm married, Yeah, clever, clever. My wife is right
there when I was recording it, you know. And you know,
(06:02):
as a matter of fact, if you listen carefully in
the album, I have kids as well. Uh, if you
listen carefully, you'll hear background noise sometimes, you know. And
you know a couple of songs you hear my boys.
And just because I know I will never have the
silence that I need and I love to be around
my family and the way I recording whatever. But anyways,
(06:25):
that moment was a moment of clarity for me.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And uh and and.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
The last gig that I had actually inspired the first
song cho in chronological order on the album, uh And,
and you know it, basically I got overlooked for a
promotion and uh the person that was there left, and
then everybody was like, what you know, logically that I
(06:51):
was going to be the next person. And some other
dude that was actually there longer than me but not
as qualified as me, got this desk and new office
and all this stuff, and I and something came across
my screen and said, I am less than I am
in your kingdom. And I wrote that down, I printed
it out, put in big bowl letters and pinned it up,
and then that ended up being the kind of hook
(07:13):
of Kingdom, which is the first song after the interlude
on the album as well.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
But what you were.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Addressing, I believe was me coming to the realization that
I was my own man, and then I put me
in a mind state to record the album of you know,
I don't really need to subject myself to all the
bales of the industry or whatever. I can just do
what I want at this point in time, and I
don't really have an agenda in regard to I'm going
(07:39):
to try to accomplish this, this and this.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
I could just do what you want to make.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, Yeah, because I always think about that in terms
of your story, because like, imagine you record the album
at a different time.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
I did record it at a different time than now.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Though definitely different time than now, but a different time
in your life. You know, you always have this you know,
idea in terms of knowledge yourself. But I think he's
talked about the time, and you're like, I'm my own
man right now, so I can do what I want,
and I think like recording the album in that time
is almost the power in itself.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. It was it
definitely I felt free in the process. I think it
took me like six weeks, yeah, and it just poured
out of me. Yeah, because of the mindset and I
was in at that particular time and coming to that realization.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So yeah, I would agree with you.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Talk about the recording process and you inferious going back
and forth because I think now a lot of people
when it comes to making a project, some people are
of the idea of the more time it takes, the
better it's going to be. And I think you know
you you're clearly an example that's not true. So talk
about your recording process and then for anyone who thinks
like that, any kind of advice for them.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
So I have a nomadic background, I have Canadian history,
I have a New York history, I have a Las
Vegas history behind me, and I have Texas that was
Texas history.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And basically.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
The processes as such where I well, I ran into
Clarence Joe and Furious Evans basically the Ballad of the
Brutes song Clarence Joe and Furious We're a group called
we are a group called a chapter based out of
Las Vegas. When I got to Vegas, I joined that group,
and that was the first time I was in a
(09:32):
scenario where people were checking us flying as I was, Oh,
my gosh, it's happening, you know what I'm saying. And
I have a rapport with Furious, so I know he's
the funniest guy on earth. And he's also we're so
similar mentally, you know that we don't have to communicate everything.
But on the recording process. He still lives in Vegas.
(09:55):
I live in New York City. I've been in New
York for a long time now. And he would just
send me the music and then basically it was pouring
out of me and he would just send it. I'd
send it back and and he you know, he didn't
really actually provide that much feedback because he was just like, oh,
this is dope, and then got onto it, you know.
(10:16):
But typically he'll send me a beat and I'll play
it over and over and over and then until it
comes to me and I kind of stream of thoughts.
I'll say what comes, then I'll add on to it,
so it's not like I'm spinning sixteen bars straight or
something like that. I approach it like a painting and
then and basically I'll send it to him. What I
(10:38):
do is I just get it out and I don't
block myself. I just get it out first because I
know I can refine it listen. Yeah, and then and
then I literally get the songs together. Yeah, and I'll
listen to it in my order, and then he'll be like, Okay,
let's start mixing or whatever, and I'll go through and
refine the song as I'm sending it over. Okay, let
(10:59):
me change things that I remember. Send it to him,
and then he molds it around my vocals. But it's
not overly produced on his part, which is the beauty
of his thing. His his thing is like percussion and
groove face heavy percussion, groove, and it's and groove driven.
(11:21):
His MANTRAA comes from James Brown really, and it's all
about the groove baby type of thing.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
And that's kind of the process.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I think that makes a lot of space for your
vocals because this is a project where what you're saying
actually is important. Now, like I review a ton of
albums where we're like, I can't understand what they're saying,
and even if I could, it doesn't really matter. I
think his production kind of makes a good marriage of
it could still hit, but there's enough space for you
(11:49):
to actually understand what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
There's another layer. Many of the songs are the titles
are actually what he.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Named the beat.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Oh that's pretty crazy, So I don't What I learned
is to get out of my way instead overthinking it
would be the deepest thing ever, you know. I was just
like whatever, Like automatic traumatic was what he named the
beatow beyond yonder was me. But Ballad of the Brooch
is what he named the beat. You know, So you're
just letting it like I'm just blacking out on his beats.
(12:19):
And then often time I'm just telling him, okay, you know,
he'll listen to the concept.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Oh yeah, he loves it.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Very rarely does he be like will he be like yeah,
I can tell when if he's not all over it,
I could tell, you know, And then and then it
just goes from there. It's like we have a beautiful
workflow worked out.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I think this is kind of crazy because artists are
notorious overthinkers. Yes, you know, and I think like what
you just said about like that's the name of the
other beat, That's what it is. Is I've seen some
of your comments sections where people are like having deep
conversations or deep feelings in the comments about you know,
your songs and what they're called, and I think, you know,
(13:03):
it's almost sometimes an artists think if I don't think
that deep, then they're not going to feel that deep.
So just to kind of see that relationship between.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You and they make things up all the time and
they provide their own barriers. So that mindset that I
have in regard to that came from entrepreneurship and my
e commerce stores and it just told me that.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Get out of your own way, right.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
And it also told me that people will tell you
what they want facts, right, they don't necessarily know what
they want, but when you give it to them, and
the comments will tell you what it is that's going on,
what it is that you want, and that's what you
provide to them. So that's what I want to provide
the next go around.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
We're not going to get to the next go around
just yet. We're getting there, understood.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Let's go back in time a bit more, take a
trip down memory lane to your relationship with in terms
of knowledge and stuff, because I think on this project
there's so much gems you have in there without being preached,
and the amount of I guess rappers in this day
and age who are able to give gems without being
preachy as a small list. And I think, like to
me from hearing it before knowing you is like, it's
(14:12):
clearly a part of who you are, instead of you,
you know, making an effort to say, I want to
teach them this and make sure they understand this. So
talk about your history in terms of knowledge yourself and
kind of your journey with that. You know.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
In some earlier interviews, I said it was because I
listened to this particular person at this time, But it
dawned on me.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
That's all alive. Actually, it dawned on me. I just
tell you the truth here. The truth is.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
That when I was about ten or twelve, ten to
twelve years old, a lady named Velma Nicholson would pick
up all the black kids in the neighborhood and put
a dozen of us in her car and take us
to a school jim.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
The majority of times.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
It was a school gym, sometimes it was a museum
or something, and teach us about our history. So I
learned about Leon team Price, about Langston Hughes and memorized
us old faster dreams. I learned about ball ropes, and
I learned about.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Slave history.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I learned about the various regions within Africa, the tall Ashanti,
all types of stuff, and she taught to us ten twelve.
And I was mad because we'd spend four or five
hours there and take this in and it was not
like when you were there, you were just in it,
you know. But when I get home and see all
the boys on the ball court, you know, putting up
(15:32):
shots and stuff, and just be mad, like, man, I'm
falling behind the ball now because of this, you know.
But in hindsight, it was almost like she prepped me
for this, and so I could speak a strenuously about
a lot of things based upon what she put in me.
She poured into me, and I'm pouring into the record,
you know. And so that's where I think the initial
(15:54):
catalyst for knowledge of self came.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And then another layer to that be.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
One day I was a guy named Professor Matthew at
I think he teachers at Union or Baroke or in Brooklyn.
Professor Edwin Matthew was putting me on another guy named Rob.
I think, okay, I can't forgive me, Rob, I forgot
(16:21):
your last name. But they were talking when I was enamored,
and I remember that they were having in depth conversations
and I was like, this is so deep. I don't
think i'd even contribute that valid valid points because I'm
just like.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
And then he put me onto a lot of things.
And then and then I came across this is years ago,
and I came across John Henry Clark, and then that
man spoke to my soul. When I was hearing, you know,
it's when you're hearing it's one thing to read a
master teacher. But when I went there, I came across
(16:57):
from the YouTube and you're hearing it from the order of.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
His mouth different.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
It hit me so hard. And then I went out,
I there's there may not be a video. I haven't
seen his, and there's a lot, a lot. And then
he led me down a rabbit hole, you know, Josef
ben Yak, and then I've in van Stle shake all
these things, and it's just like poor. It was like
(17:20):
a I just caught fire, and it was and then
you know, once you have acquired that knowledge, it is
like it's's on you to retain that knowledge and do
right by it, you know, and you kind of have
a responsibility to yourself at that point to do that.
(17:40):
It's like your duty. I was trying to say the
whole time, it wouldn't come to me.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Now you have to share the knowledge. Now when I
when I knew that we were gonna chat, you know,
I know someone who knows you, and I said, what
can you tell me about Arrow?
Speaker 1 (17:55):
You know?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
And I talked to your nephew k and you know,
did not know that you were his uncle. First of all,
that's that's news to me.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Changes diapers.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
What do you mean, man, crazy crazy mother is my sister.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah, that's absolutely insane. He's on he's on the record,
of course.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
But he talked about you being like an inspiration to
him as an MC and that you that you pushed
him a lot. So first talk about what you've seen
from from his growth, because you know, he's a legend
in his own right.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
So I was just being honest in his uncle, like
almost cool, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
You know, when.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Tells you your dad never tells you that's a good job.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
You could be better. You didn't did you know.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
It was like that, you know, it was cool. You know, well,
you need to work on this. I feel like this
is what I'm getting from this particular song.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Try this, try this.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Sometimes he listens, sometimes you don't, doesn't and then I
you know, I remember I recorded uh demos with Dark
back in the day Dart Malone, and he listened to it,
and he rented that tape over and over and over.
So I think I was his initial catalyst to jump
(19:13):
into rap or hip hop. All he knew about me
was that that in football, you know. And then and
and eventually he got nicer than me, you know, And
so that's a big claim.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
It's my nephew. I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
And then and then and then I was recording and
then I sent it to him. Two days later he
sent it back and then he's like, what about the hook?
And it's like, no, I have an idea that it
was just like two words. And then that's what it was.
And that really is a sleeper on the album. It's
really a super banger. That's when when you're listening to
(19:50):
the album, that's when you're just like, what is you
know what? It's still just was relentless just like yeah, yeah, yeah,
and then he did his thing on it like every word.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Is nice and too.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I think as well, because you're rapping on the album
so consistent that when you bring.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Someone else on the change of pace, right, you know.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
But also it's like someone who can hang I always
say this about Viola Davis as an actress.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
It's like when she's in a scene.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
If you don't have the chops, but have the best
scene of your life, it's gonna show, yes, you know.
So I think that's where it really stood out is
because it's like when you also get down the track,
it's like, okay, no one's really falling behind here. It's
a change of pace, but it's still at the level. Yeah.
When I said to him, sent it to him, I
was like, you think you can hang on that? And
(20:32):
it was and I was being sincere.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Actually I can tell the reactions like, well, boy.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
To back right, then you can hang on that as great. Yeah. Words,
he's super tealented.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
He could sing too, right, yeah, and his vibe is
more melodic melodic right yeah, And so that's why I
was sincere when I said that, like it's just something
you know, And he took a little bit offensives, like.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
What I took to that real quick? Yeah, I would
take I woul take a mess to it. I took
the fast forward. Matter of the fact that you even
said that. You said before that you make music for you,
that you're not thinking about the people listening or like
what they're going to think and making music for you.
Is there a song on this album that is more
for you than the other songs?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Yeah, it's my favorite song on the album Energy and
tell us why why that is? It's a complete I
was just vibing. Then the way it came out initially
touched touched, like the places that touched me and helped
hold me to shelling them out.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I addressed, you know, my mother dying. I addressed when
I was a child. It came to me right in
the middle of recording it that she'd always send us
to bed, all right, say your parsneaka my you know.
And and then I was like, I'm don't put it
in there. And then and I was kind of insecure
about it because I'm like, none of these people are
(21:58):
gonna even understand it. And then and then, uh, do
you know I r S the group from Toronto. They
were a group that were really good. They're on Old
Time killing okay, old Time, and so there's one guy
named black Cat irs right, and Cory is the other one.
(22:23):
I saw black Cat and then basicly I lost train
of thought.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Man talking about the energy.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Yeah, and then I and then I played it. He
was the first person I sent it to and his
reaction was like school, you know, but they were not mixed.
I was still working it out, but I was so
I was just like here, here, here, this is and
I thought, you know, and he was like, you know it.
Eventually he understood me at a certain point. It's like,
you know, but when he heard the most surprising thing
(22:59):
was that part came money.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
He's like, you know that. It was mind blowing.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
To me, right, like, oh you do know that, you know,
like because I was second guessing my service, no one's
gonna know and that, and then he's like, you know,
that's prayer.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
And then he said it. I was like, wow, okay,
so you knew you're okay, there's something here.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
And then some people in the comments, my mom would
say that to me back and because a kid this
and this and this, it's like so it was like
this whole experience has been crazy just being true to
myself and what it's resulted in, and it's resulted in
so many unintentional things.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
It's just banas you know.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
I think what you're like, even highlighting unintentionally is every
time you're true to yourself, you know, it works out.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Follow How many times have you heard somebody say follow
your gut and all this stuff? And I really did,
even putting out the album, I followed my gut. It's
just like, h like I wasn't going to stop. And
then and then you know, I was just like, all right,
got least the way, you know, yeah, and I put
a heartfelt message and just here you go. And then
it felt like the things that have happened almost felt
(24:06):
like it this whole scenarios the line.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah, yeah, I feel like that's almost like the universe
and music together, because so many times when an artist
says like this one song on the project was like
more heartfelt than the rest, and that's a song that
blows up. I remembers at our album released party and
everyone was like kind of vibe in, but you know,
mostly just talking over the music, and this one song
(24:28):
came on and everyone was like, you'll play that back
and then I spoke to the artist after the fact
that he goes, that's the most heartfelt song. I almost
didn't put it on there. My mom didn't want me
to put it on there. So I feel like the
universe always rewards you when you have those moments where
it's like it's not logic here, it's just my gut
doing this.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
So there's another one.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
I had to hit up Furious and be like, nah,
I'll put this song on the album. I recorded seventeen
songs an all seventeen year old and the album now,
there's not an extra spirit anywhere we damn you know,
you know I put this one on there.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Though.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
There's one that was and it was round and round,
and that was one that bustled things for me, like
that's the Cray and I would have never thought that,
like next thing, I know, like you know, I think
Shady right was playing it and other expectations and round
them round like all you know what I'm saying. And
people love that song, and it was just like okay,
(25:20):
you know, and that's why I told you so the
Furious Yeah yeah, but yeah, so you have you have
a shout out to ajax On the on the album.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
I just want to shout out because big up, Big
up Ajax. But I want to talk a little bit
about this line you have on mind because mine is
one of those songs that I probably liked more my
second and third time listen. Now, I was like, okay,
like I think I'll sleep on this one. You have
probably said living life like a slave was too costly.
(25:49):
Talk about that, because that's one where like you can
take that anyway you want to take it as a listener.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
But I thought that that really really hit.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
So that's the very last line of mind in mind,
I think, right, I said something about the Maroons, uh,
don't run up to the Blue Mountains, known for coffee.
Living life of a slave was too costly, So rebelling
against slavery is why the Maroons ended up going to
the up in the mountains, Blue mountains, you know. And uh,
(26:20):
the rest of the rest of the song is more
on African history.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
But then.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Through the phonetics and rhyming and whatever it got there,
they got there. And then uh, you know, it was
kind of like a shout out to Jamaican history because
we have our Jamaican history.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
I'm Jamaican.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Uh, it has a it parallels a lot of West
West Africa, you know, and so it kind of just
transitioned there and and and I put that in there
because I knew that I was hoping a moment like
this would come where we could talk about that historical
element and the Maroons in Jamaica ringing up to the
mountains and escaping treachery, crazy and they would I'd rather
(27:00):
do that than live life as a slave, right, yes,
because living life is a slave is too costly.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
You know, they died, They.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Would choose death or the hard path and.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Len that slave.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
And I think why I like that line so much
is because, on itself, in a vacuum, it's common sense,
you know what I mean, Like, it's common sense, But
when you put the context that you're putting on it,
I think, you know, it feels a little heavier. And
I think, like I'm Jamaican tune, I was saying this,
and actually in an interview this morning, is that like
when you think of that Jamaicans initially were the rebellious slaves,
(27:38):
and obviously think of all we've accomplished now and who
we are as a nation in the present, but think
of the mindset of the people who are rebellious during slavery.
You know, some people are not even rebellious in mental slavery,
you know. So to think of the kind of people
that we were to be rebellious in slavery and where we
are now, it's.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Even in their personality, right. If you look at a
stereotypical Jamaican personality that somebody would think it would be
a loud and boyishous and the life of the party,
the you know. But people tend to love us. But
we're that, we're that, you know, And it kind of
parallels Nigerians. Yeah, Gudians are a little bit more subtle,
(28:21):
but West Africa, you know.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
And uh yeah, so I feel like, uh.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Jamaica, Jamaican upbringing is divine, man, It's beautiful. It's a
beautiful thing. Yeah, no, I agree.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I just obviously being born in Jamaica is almost like
you're born into royalty automatically.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Yes, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
It's there's such a parallel with our existence, like the
heavy manners. If you're if your family's involved in church
and this, you're guaranteed to be raised on the heavy manners.
You're guaranteed to have proper brought up scene. Yeah, you're
guaranteed to have a you know, a certain outlook, you know,
and whatnot, and there's going to be a resilience to you,
you know, immediately, and that's why. And so I'm gonna
(29:12):
digress and talk about something in that vein.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
So I've heard that, you know, the African slave trade,
Transatlantic slave trade and this and that, right, and everybody
talks about Now there's this new thing about foundational negroes
in America and stuff, right, which I don't necessarily align
with fully because they're the same people as those in
the Caribbean. It's the exact same lineage. But there was
(29:38):
free in rooming black men in America. And so if
you think about all the bad slaves are dropped off
in Jamaica, what were they doing there?
Speaker 1 (29:47):
To begin with? Why were they in Jamaica?
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Because if you think about the story and the amount
of slaves that were in America, at one point, there
was more slaves in Jamaica than in America, Okay, And
so if you think about all of that, and then
there's transatlantic story that they tell us, right, and how
many ships do you think that there were and how
rudimentary were that was the technology that they were using
that then for sailing. So how is it possible to
(30:10):
have a x amount of million slaves in this place
or transatlantic slaves trade. It's not even economically viable or.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
I guess almost logistical, logistical financial, it's not possible to
have those numbers like that, So, you know, and that
got me to think and that, you know, how is
that possible that were really lying to us?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Is this all a lie? Or is it there's more
to it? Like I know that there were free in
roaming black men in America before then. That was proven
by Avon van Sertimo read a book called they came
before we were here, before Columbus or they came before Columbus, right,
And then the truth is the Caribbean. They dropped off
rebellious ones in these areas, and there's slaves all over
(30:58):
the Caribbean and really, for lack of a better term,
there's that was like nigga farms for America.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Right.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
And so instead of making this Channels Atlantic story that
they're telling you, they did do that, but and they
went and dropped them off in the Caribbean islands and
really that was like breeding ground for them and this
a little quick journey to America literally and then Brazil,
you know. So that's just an alignment with saying that
they dropped off the rebellious slaves. You know, that's that's
(31:29):
our roots, man, and it's in who we are. We
look at what you.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Know, and I think the triumphant nature of us. I
always think about that of like how small the country is,
you know, and our impact around the world, Like.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Round the world I said the culture.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Like what I said this earlier, I'm like, you got
to understand, like dance hall and reggae is a country's music,
you know. But if you could hear this in any
country you go to, and think about how many countries
you've been to you don't know what their country's music sounds.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Like, Uh Island, they're playing reggae when you put up
at the hotel, they're playing reggae.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Japan, Hawaii, like everywhere. You know.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
I've been in many countries and reggae is played every
Caribbean island. It's reggae, even though you know the foundation
is not there for them, but it's it's everywhere.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And I think, like that's the thing I realized personally
over the past few years. I'd never thought of before,
because you need to grow up with the music. It's
just always there, you know, it's around you, hear that
barbecues at jams. It's always there. And then as I
got older, I said to myself, if I go to Albania,
I don't know what Albanian music sounds like, But an
(32:40):
Albanian person knows what Jamaican music sounds like, you know,
And I think like that's something that again, because it's
a part of the world at this point, we take
it for granted. But I think that's like a cultural
thing where for example, like hip hop is technically quote
unquote American music, now Jamaican we don't want to go
(33:01):
into more.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
How great Jamaica set off these foundational neros over there.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Let's leave it. Let's leave it.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
But I think that's something that, you know, we almost
take for granted because that's just been how things are.
But how many countries have, like again, a national sound
that has played all of the world. You you go to,
you know, resources in other countries, they're playing Jamaican music.
They're not playing a.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Country dominative particular sport over and over and over and
over being track and Field. Come on, come on, like
it's amazing what the accomplishments of that little place has done.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Its worth be a whole different podcast. Let's let's continue,
all right.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
I want to talk a bit about the visage and
and you know the little baby you have with the
chain the altar. Talk about that For someone who's unfamiliar,
they may have just seen that and then now they're
seeing you actually, you know, speak on camera. But you
know what was the idea behind that? Who created that?
Just kind of go through that a little bitfore us
I recorded the album. I didn't give the visuals any thought.
(34:06):
If I know myself, I wouldn't have put my face
on the cover of that album either. And so it
went and I just used I and I created this
figure and then and if you see it's a baby
with a chain gold teeth. Yeah, I always want to
go teeth.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
When I was coming up right, people who raised me
raised me on hip hop. I come from a divine
place called one eight two, and I was raised around
incredibly talented people and and.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Kids of all.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
People always talk about gold fronts and I always want
to go fronts and stuff like that, and never got them.
And then big fat chain never. I could get it
if I want to, but I'm not a flashy dude.
And then New York is not the type of place
you want to walk around with your chain on all
the time untucked. Absolutely not, because everybody plays this bad
Boys stuff. It's like they're a batman and all this stuff.
(34:59):
Any body can get it, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
And so the name of that baby arrow is ego.
I'm his alter ego.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
Each everything is egos alter ego, right, and so he's
my favorite flave. The street element, yeah, right, That street
element has brought in youth, women of all ages, fathers, grandfathers.
So many comments has been like you brought the families together,
like fathers and their kids are watching this and it's
(35:33):
still hip hop on top of it and this and
that completely unintended consequence of what I was doing. But
that that that little thing that you saw I made,
and then that led to, uh, you know, a conversation
with Click, and that led to the idea of, hey,
let's do these visuals and put a team together and
(35:53):
then execute it, you know, and people. It really resonated
with people. And then another on the tending consequence on
that is like this was like MF doom because nobody
knew what I looked like, right mm hmm and uh
and and so it's been it. When you align with
the truth, your truth, the universe conspires in your favor.
(36:17):
All of this happened because of that little moment where
it took to make the you know album called temp
albut album cover that turned out.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
To be the album cover.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
And I think ego is ultimately a blessing because I
think if someone were to make a visual of what
the album sounds like, ego probably does not it, you know,
and so so it's not it. I don't think. I
don't think people want to make that cover. The elements
are like the background and the fists and stuff. But yes, no,
but if it's not that you see them together because
no one is being like But I think if someone
(36:46):
heard the music first instead make a cover off this music,
they probably don't make it.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
They made something way different than that. Also, but I've
seen that cover has drawn people to what the hell
is it? I'm want to listen to it unintended consequence
of just truth, you know.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
And that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
I think ego is a blessing in that way, because
you're I think the album itself needs to be listened
to as a full album.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Of course, it's one's like round and around and everything
I've ever heard. Of course, it needs to be listening
to as full. I think it does. So it's like
you have to see that drop people in.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
But I think the entry point of what the hell
is this, it's like, hey, I gotta really hear what
this is all about. So I do think it works
in that way. Before we start wrapping up, you said
you're working on, you know, another project. What can you
tell us about what you got coming up? Sensatively called
Blame Furious Evans? All right, And it is in the
(37:40):
same vein of what I do, you know, I'm just
I'm not putting any timetable or anything on it, but
the truth does a tend to record fast, and the
song's are coming fast anyways. And then after Blame Furious Evans,
we're going to do another project called Suffuration, okay, And
(38:03):
then I thought of another concept after that that would
be called the Negro Problem. And so we're on the way,
you know, we're just the new album.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
It's gonna you know, there's some surprises from this current
album that will haven't come out, and it's gonna I
think that people will be very surprised, like what you know.
But I don't have anything as far as features planned yet.
I don't work that way, but there will be a
feature for two and uh it's better than this album. Wow,
(38:40):
wow same writing. The album is not done. That's that's
big praise. I know it is.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Okay, I'm excited people got to hear that because I
think everyone as much as this album is, you know,
kind of filling people, they are like, okay, is there
going to be more? What's what's happening? So I'm excited
for that. This this is a question. I I really
want to hear what you have to say. We asked
everyone on the show this question. Okay, So when someone
gets one hundred million dollars, they usually get an exotic animal.
(39:07):
I don't make the rules, ask just how it goes.
Justin Bieber with his monkey, Mike Tyson with his tiger,
Michael Jackson with his monkey. So when you get one
hundred million dollars, is there an animal that you're going
to bring into your life?
Speaker 1 (39:19):
I have that animal already.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
His name is Rufus, a black lab it's fourteen years old.
But if I did not have an animal, it would
be a budgie.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
What is a budgie? A bird? I had one, We
had one.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
This is the one consistent thing I'm noticing my family
that everyone has this budgy bird and then would probably
be that bird just because it's who I am.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
I don't need to get anything crazy. Yeah, that's why
what you're gonna say. I'm like, how crazy is you
gonna go?
Speaker 1 (39:54):
Chris?
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Is he the first person to say a bird? But
that definitely first budge? But does anyone else have a bird?
And I can't think of Oh someone did say penguin? Okay, yeah, okay,
that counts. Okay, so that's that's that's a new one.
Let's take a look at where you're at with the
ice cream. I saw you got a couple of scoops,
but it's pretty much a third. Yeah, let's let's point
(40:15):
towards the camera here. Okay, a third of the way done.
It's basically a milkshake right now. Yeah, tear Mossieux milkshake though, that's.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
A move. I drink a lot of coffee.
Speaker 3 (40:26):
I'm sorry to hear that. Sorry, Yeah, I drink Blue
Mountain Coffee.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Fair.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Okay, I can't. I can't hate on the Blue Mountain Coffee. Yeah,
that's the only coffee that's going to be allowed. I mean,
I'm a tea drinker over here, really, yeah, but you.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
Hold your stuff like this. I do not, but I
can if you're not doing that.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Yeah, I gotta have Pinky's up. Always pinkis up. But
you you might have converted me to to hop on
the tear Massioux wave. Honestly, business, I've had a couple
of times. I'm not a big tear massoux person. In
My partner recently made tier Missus brownies. It's on a
whim and I was like, okay, was in the brownies
just terribuit as far as I know, as far as
(41:10):
I know, But it's a lot of terra Missu happening, yeah,
in my life at once. So maybe this is a
sign I gotta get a Tearmsou milkshake or something.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
There's a place on Second Avenue and maybe eighty fourth
called Terra Massou the bank the second most banging termsuit.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
I used to say it was.
Speaker 3 (41:29):
The most banging termotus who ever had. But then there's
a little place called eighteen around the corner and they
outdid them.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Is it's the business, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Okay, listen when I when I get back, I gotta
I gotta saw both those spots because the churros were
not hit.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
There weren't.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
No, you can't you can't go in a malliget churros
the little carts on the corner.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
I was trying to be different. I said, I had
the carts of the corner already. Let me try something different. Horrible, horrible,
horrible idea.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Do you know? So?
Speaker 3 (41:57):
I want to tell you effect you can try a
different restaurant in New York every single day. Yeah, and
you your life is not long enough for you to
finish that list.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
I believe that because I tried different when I was there,
I tried a different restaurant every day.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
The only double up I had was the deli.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
Yeah you have to go hit your hockey style whatever.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, we got we got chopped cheese,
a little steak and cheese.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
I'm so ill with it that I don't even order
my food. If my man is not back there, if
it's the next guy he's office shift, I'm not doing it.
Because this dude makes my sandwich perfect.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
Nah, I gotta respect that, gotta respect that. It's like
a barber. He's my personal you.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Know, bodega man. But I do have one beef foot
in New York before we get out of here. One
beef what's that? So one day or two days in there,
we bought we bought blunts, and they charged us at
an outrageous price.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Yeah, if you buy in the city.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
Now there's an ordnance now where I want to say,
eighteen twenty. But like some ridiculous I thought it was
a joke or I thought, you like black people, you're sore,
you know, like what. And then and somebody's telling me, no,
you can't buy tobacco. It's in a certain you know,
you have to go to the howder Borroughs to get them.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Now, we were in Queens. That's what made it. Words.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
We were in Queens. So we go back, maybe two
three days later, buy another pack nine dollars. This guy
tells me something happened with two days ago. You were
a tourists. Now you've been here long enough, you get
the real price. I said, the disrespect, the disrespect, So
that was.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
My that was my honesty. No for at least. He
told me that was my only problem with New York
was the way that they did me. Yeah. God, notice
how you get got literally?
Speaker 2 (43:33):
That was me literally. So I want to thank everyone
for to get to the end of this podcast. But
before we go, we have the second on the radio
show called Wednesday Wisdom. Ask a motivational quote or say
either you remind yourself of or the people around you. So,
what's that quote for you that's always kind of running
through your mind?
Speaker 1 (43:50):
A quote?
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Yeah, motivational quote. It can be an original or something
you read her life Mm hmm. What's the ass kicking start? Okay,
they never stop. The ass kickings never stop. So I
tell my children this, if they never stop, what has
(44:12):
to change is that you must adjust to that ass
kicking that's never going to stop. You can make it
break you, or you adjust to and adapt to that
current situation and keep it moving. You have to learn
how to deal with those persistent ass kickings and still
keep it moving because if I drop the ball, they
don't have what they have.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Right. That's a serious one.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
I have a similar quote that's maybe less aggressive, but
I like, how y'all you put out the ass kicking
It's like life doesn't get easier, you get stronger, you know,
similar to when you lift weights, it's like the weights
don't actually get lighter, you actually just get stronger.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
The pain is weakened leaving your body.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Yeah, but the ass kicking, I think is a good
way to put it as well. When life starts kicking
your ass, it never stops, It doesn't stop.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
Just enjoy it until the ass kick can start, and
then understand when it starts never going to.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
Start, you know.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, that's an interesting message, interesting message. If you took
anything away from this podcast, ask kicking never stops.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
That's how I follow my pur superpower persistence. No, and
I think that's something that everyone can kind of follow. Try.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
I want to thank you for joining us, honestly, thank you.
We made some history today, so I really really appreciate it. Yes, yes,
of course. If you want to find us on YouTube,
make sure you subscribe to us like this video, leave
us a comment. The Cool Table Live on YouTube, The
Cool Table Live on Instagram. If you want to hear
the radio show every Wednesday eleven am Eastern twelve eight
(45:37):
am in Toronto, Instagram and YouTube at erro each Everything
e r O l each everything.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
If you did not know that by this time, I'm
not even gonna say nothing to you, but Arrow eats
everything everywhere. And if you guys have it already, listen
to the album please and thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
You'll know it and until next time, know yourself. Know
you're worth
Old man.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey everyone, this is Noo.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's your boy, Funky, the coolest teen rapper online. What's up.
It's me Alfie. You're listening to the Cool Table with
a listening 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.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. My
name is Adril Smiley aka Adrilsmiley dot Com aka Adril
Smiley Official aka the Godfather. Now in the cut, we
changed our guest to finish a cup of ice cream
before the end of the conversation. We're making history on
this episode, showing his face for the first time on camera.
(00:42):
Eryl eats everything. Thank them thoughts, Hell's everything. Man, it's
a pleasure to have you here. It's a pleasure to
be here. Na, I'm very excited for this one. Talk
about the ice cream flavor that you chose, and do
you feel like you got a chance and actually get
and it's done.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
No, I'm not gonna the flavor first term massou. Yeah,
that's because my wife and I tried ter massouse at
every single restaurant that would eat at if you eat out.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
That's my goal to and I'm mister go to.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
I don't try new new things with food, especially in
New York, because it varies.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Like crazy dangerous game.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah yeah, yeah, you have to stick to to old
faithful and termassou is old faithful.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Okay, Am I going to finish it? Highly unlikely? Yeah
I didn't. I didn't think so.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Before we started recording, you had an amazing patty from
a place we were not are not going to name.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
But after I saw you eating that, I was said.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I almost want to name it and disrespect your name it,
but it won't. You know, it was fire.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Listen, listen next time you come out, and hopefully they'll
they'll be sponsoring us.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
They will be after I. You should let me say
it and they will sponsor you. You know, we'll keep it,
we'll say, we'll say it, we'll save that.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah. Your ter massou for me is cheeros. Oh really,
chos is like that for me.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And when I was in New York a couple of
weeks ago, I probably spent eight hours in total looking
for chiros.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Them corners, little corner carts. Right.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I didn't want to go with one of them. I
wanted to find somewhere else, really horrible idea. I end
up getting churros in like some like mall or something.
I took one bite and throughout the whole bag, the
whole bag.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
So the other thing I ever go to is you
know those little mini doughnuts that they put the sugar and.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
The powdered doughnut.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, We're all raising everyone's blood.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Watching everybody's at home, Like, look how greedy this guy.
Imagine my ice ice cream bets. Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I think I want to start actually before the album,
because I think that informs us to where we're going
to actually get into the project. Your background in entrepreneurship
and then kind of where that had you in a
mental space to start the project. Talk a little bit
about that. There's a moment that I think is you know,
you've mentioned it before interviews where you looked over for
(03:01):
h promotion. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, and you took it
to heart. Talk about that moment kind of like you know,
leading up after that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
So, I I've been an artist my whole life, but
I'm also had a conventional life of taking a corporate
ladder and all of that stuff. Correct, So my background
is like it, I'm pretty At one point I was
incredibly certified in regard to very certifications within it. And
(03:28):
then I, you know, I have my degrees or NBA
and all that stuff. So I was upwardly mobile. And
if you know me, I found out what my superpower was,
and that is persistence. And so I I wanted a
goal of leadership, and I I.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Have pushed and pushed and pushed.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
And and I got that leadership role, like I remember
my first director role and stuff like that. And how whoever,
I found upward mobility challenging. Yeah, and so it could
be many things. It could be your personality, could be
the fact that you're rather large black man. You know,
(04:12):
a lot of people are uncomfortable around you and whatever.
But what I noticed was I would get praised for
my work, but didn't get the compensation that that paralleled it. Yeah,
and I didn't get the upward mobility at a rate
that mediocrity around me got, you know. And so that
(04:35):
part my goal the majority of my life was to
be my own man. I know, I always wanted to
be my own man, and I knew that part of
that equation was failure, and even if you know that,
you kind of have to go through those things and
it still weighs heavy on you, you know. And then
eventually I found success and I launched a company on
(04:57):
March nineteenth, twenty twenty two days after COVID was declared uh,
and it went through the roof, and that allowed me
to be my own man. And it came right on time.
Doesn't come when you want, it comes right on time typically,
and then and so one day I just realized it
(05:19):
might have been in April. Actually, I realized I'm in
a position I always wanted to be in because as
an artist, typically you have a job and you're trying
to do every things to make your art come to life.
And I was like, man, I'm in the you know,
I'm in a position where I don't have to worry
about this upward mobility of my own man. And you
(05:39):
know what, this is where I always wanted to be.
And let me just try recording something that I recorded
the very first song the project that I didn't know
was going to be a project immediately, but that was
Era East everything, and you know, and so I'll say
this right away, the song is not true. I'm you
know I'm married, Yeah, clever, clever. My wife is right
there when I was recording it, you know. And you know,
(06:02):
as a matter of fact, if you listen carefully in
the album, I have kids as well. Uh, if you
listen carefully, you'll hear background noise sometimes, you know. And
you know a couple of songs you hear my boys.
And just because I know I will never have the
silence that I need and I love to be around
my family and the way I recording whatever. But anyways,
(06:25):
that moment was a moment of clarity for me.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And uh and and.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
The last gig that I had actually inspired the first
song cho in chronological order on the album, uh And,
and you know it, basically I got overlooked for a
promotion and uh the person that was there left, and
then everybody was like, what you know, logically that I
(06:51):
was going to be the next person. And some other
dude that was actually there longer than me but not
as qualified as me, got this desk and new office
and all this stuff, and I and something came across
my screen and said, I am less than I am
in your kingdom. And I wrote that down, I printed
it out, put in big bowl letters and pinned it up,
and then that ended up being the kind of hook
(07:13):
of Kingdom, which is the first song after the interlude
on the album as well.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
But what you were.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Addressing, I believe was me coming to the realization that
I was my own man, and then I put me
in a mind state to record the album of you know,
I don't really need to subject myself to all the
bales of the industry or whatever. I can just do
what I want at this point in time, and I
don't really have an agenda in regard to I'm going
(07:39):
to try to accomplish this, this and this.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
I could just do what you want to make.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, Yeah, because I always think about that in terms
of your story, because like, imagine you record the album
at a different time.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
I did record it at a different time than now.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Though definitely different time than now, but a different time
in your life. You know, you always have this you know,
idea in terms of knowledge yourself. But I think he's
talked about the time, and you're like, I'm my own
man right now, so I can do what I want,
and I think like recording the album in that time
is almost the power in itself.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. It was it
definitely I felt free in the process. I think it
took me like six weeks, yeah, and it just poured
out of me. Yeah, because of the mindset and I
was in at that particular time and coming to that realization.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So yeah, I would agree with you.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Talk about the recording process and you inferious going back
and forth because I think now a lot of people
when it comes to making a project, some people are
of the idea of the more time it takes, the
better it's going to be. And I think you know
you you're clearly an example that's not true. So talk
about your recording process and then for anyone who thinks
like that, any kind of advice for them.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
So I have a nomadic background, I have Canadian history,
I have a New York history, I have a Las
Vegas history behind me, and I have Texas that was
Texas history.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And basically.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
The processes as such where I well, I ran into
Clarence Joe and Furious Evans basically the Ballad of the
Brutes song Clarence Joe and Furious We're a group called
we are a group called a chapter based out of
Las Vegas. When I got to Vegas, I joined that group,
and that was the first time I was in a
(09:32):
scenario where people were checking us flying as I was, Oh,
my gosh, it's happening, you know what I'm saying. And
I have a rapport with Furious, so I know he's
the funniest guy on earth. And he's also we're so
similar mentally, you know that we don't have to communicate everything.
But on the recording process. He still lives in Vegas.
(09:55):
I live in New York City. I've been in New
York for a long time now. And he would just
send me the music and then basically it was pouring
out of me and he would just send it. I'd
send it back and and he you know, he didn't
really actually provide that much feedback because he was just like, oh,
this is dope, and then got onto it, you know.
(10:16):
But typically he'll send me a beat and I'll play
it over and over and over and then until it
comes to me and I kind of stream of thoughts.
I'll say what comes, then I'll add on to it,
so it's not like I'm spinning sixteen bars straight or
something like that. I approach it like a painting and
then and basically I'll send it to him. What I
(10:38):
do is I just get it out and I don't
block myself. I just get it out first because I
know I can refine it listen. Yeah, and then and
then I literally get the songs together. Yeah, and I'll
listen to it in my order, and then he'll be like, Okay,
let's start mixing or whatever, and I'll go through and
refine the song as I'm sending it over. Okay, let
(10:59):
me change things that I remember. Send it to him,
and then he molds it around my vocals. But it's
not overly produced on his part, which is the beauty
of his thing. His his thing is like percussion and
groove face heavy percussion, groove, and it's and groove driven.
(11:21):
His MANTRAA comes from James Brown really, and it's all
about the groove baby type of thing.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
And that's kind of the process.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I think that makes a lot of space for your
vocals because this is a project where what you're saying
actually is important. Now, like I review a ton of
albums where we're like, I can't understand what they're saying,
and even if I could, it doesn't really matter. I
think his production kind of makes a good marriage of
it could still hit, but there's enough space for you
(11:49):
to actually understand what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
There's another layer. Many of the songs are the titles
are actually what he.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Named the beat.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Oh that's pretty crazy, So I don't What I learned
is to get out of my way instead overthinking it
would be the deepest thing ever, you know. I was just
like whatever, Like automatic traumatic was what he named the
beatow beyond yonder was me. But Ballad of the Brooch
is what he named the beat. You know, So you're
just letting it like I'm just blacking out on his beats.
(12:19):
And then often time I'm just telling him, okay, you know,
he'll listen to the concept.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Oh yeah, he loves it.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Very rarely does he be like will he be like yeah,
I can tell when if he's not all over it,
I could tell, you know, And then and then it
just goes from there. It's like we have a beautiful
workflow worked out.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I think this is kind of crazy because artists are
notorious overthinkers. Yes, you know, and I think like what
you just said about like that's the name of the
other beat, That's what it is. Is I've seen some
of your comments sections where people are like having deep
conversations or deep feelings in the comments about you know,
your songs and what they're called, and I think, you know,
(13:03):
it's almost sometimes an artists think if I don't think
that deep, then they're not going to feel that deep.
So just to kind of see that relationship between.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
You and they make things up all the time and
they provide their own barriers. So that mindset that I
have in regard to that came from entrepreneurship and my
e commerce stores and it just told me that.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Get out of your own way, right.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
And it also told me that people will tell you
what they want facts, right, they don't necessarily know what
they want, but when you give it to them, and
the comments will tell you what it is that's going on,
what it is that you want, and that's what you
provide to them. So that's what I want to provide
the next go around.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
We're not going to get to the next go around
just yet. We're getting there, understood.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Let's go back in time a bit more, take a
trip down memory lane to your relationship with in terms
of knowledge and stuff, because I think on this project
there's so much gems you have in there without being preached,
and the amount of I guess rappers in this day
and age who are able to give gems without being
preachy as a small list. And I think, like to
me from hearing it before knowing you is like, it's
(14:12):
clearly a part of who you are, instead of you,
you know, making an effort to say, I want to
teach them this and make sure they understand this. So
talk about your history in terms of knowledge yourself and
kind of your journey with that. You know.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
In some earlier interviews, I said it was because I
listened to this particular person at this time, But it
dawned on me.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
That's all alive. Actually, it dawned on me. I just
tell you the truth here. The truth is.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
That when I was about ten or twelve, ten to
twelve years old, a lady named Velma Nicholson would pick
up all the black kids in the neighborhood and put
a dozen of us in her car and take us
to a school jim.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
The majority of times.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
It was a school gym, sometimes it was a museum
or something, and teach us about our history. So I
learned about Leon team Price, about Langston Hughes and memorized
us old faster dreams. I learned about ball ropes, and
I learned about.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Slave history.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I learned about the various regions within Africa, the tall Ashanti,
all types of stuff, and she taught to us ten twelve.
And I was mad because we'd spend four or five
hours there and take this in and it was not
like when you were there, you were just in it,
you know. But when I get home and see all
the boys on the ball court, you know, putting up
(15:32):
shots and stuff, and just be mad, like, man, I'm
falling behind the ball now because of this, you know.
But in hindsight, it was almost like she prepped me
for this, and so I could speak a strenuously about
a lot of things based upon what she put in me.
She poured into me, and I'm pouring into the record,
you know. And so that's where I think the initial
(15:54):
catalyst for knowledge of self came.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And then another layer to that be.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
One day I was a guy named Professor Matthew at
I think he teachers at Union or Baroke or in Brooklyn.
Professor Edwin Matthew was putting me on another guy named Rob.
I think, okay, I can't forgive me, Rob, I forgot
(16:21):
your last name. But they were talking when I was enamored,
and I remember that they were having in depth conversations
and I was like, this is so deep. I don't
think i'd even contribute that valid valid points because I'm
just like.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
And then he put me onto a lot of things.
And then and then I came across this is years ago,
and I came across John Henry Clark, and then that
man spoke to my soul. When I was hearing, you know,
it's when you're hearing it's one thing to read a
master teacher. But when I went there, I came across
(16:57):
from the YouTube and you're hearing it from the order of.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
His mouth different.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
It hit me so hard. And then I went out,
I there's there may not be a video. I haven't
seen his, and there's a lot, a lot. And then
he led me down a rabbit hole, you know, Josef
ben Yak, and then I've in van Stle shake all
these things, and it's just like poor. It was like
(17:20):
a I just caught fire, and it was and then
you know, once you have acquired that knowledge, it is
like it's's on you to retain that knowledge and do
right by it, you know, and you kind of have
a responsibility to yourself at that point to do that.
(17:40):
It's like your duty. I was trying to say the
whole time, it wouldn't come to me.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Now you have to share the knowledge. Now when I
when I knew that we were gonna chat, you know,
I know someone who knows you, and I said, what
can you tell me about Arrow?
Speaker 1 (17:55):
You know?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
And I talked to your nephew k and you know,
did not know that you were his uncle. First of all,
that's that's news to me.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Changes diapers.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
What do you mean, man, crazy crazy mother is my sister.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah, that's absolutely insane. He's on he's on the record,
of course.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
But he talked about you being like an inspiration to
him as an MC and that you that you pushed
him a lot. So first talk about what you've seen
from from his growth, because you know, he's a legend
in his own right.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
So I was just being honest in his uncle, like
almost cool, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
You know, when.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Tells you your dad never tells you that's a good job.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
You could be better. You didn't did you know.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
It was like that, you know, it was cool. You know, well,
you need to work on this. I feel like this
is what I'm getting from this particular song.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Try this, try this.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Sometimes he listens, sometimes you don't, doesn't and then I
you know, I remember I recorded uh demos with Dark
back in the day Dart Malone, and he listened to it,
and he rented that tape over and over and over.
So I think I was his initial catalyst to jump
(19:13):
into rap or hip hop. All he knew about me
was that that in football, you know. And then and
and eventually he got nicer than me, you know, And
so that's a big claim.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
It's my nephew. I appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
And then and then and then I was recording and
then I sent it to him. Two days later he
sent it back and then he's like, what about the hook?
And it's like, no, I have an idea that it
was just like two words. And then that's what it was.
And that really is a sleeper on the album. It's
really a super banger. That's when when you're listening to
(19:50):
the album, that's when you're just like, what is you
know what? It's still just was relentless just like yeah, yeah, yeah,
and then he did his thing on it like every word.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Is nice and too.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
I think as well, because you're rapping on the album
so consistent that when you bring.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Someone else on the change of pace, right, you know.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
But also it's like someone who can hang I always
say this about Viola Davis as an actress.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
It's like when she's in a scene.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
If you don't have the chops, but have the best
scene of your life, it's gonna show, yes, you know.
So I think that's where it really stood out is
because it's like when you also get down the track,
it's like, okay, no one's really falling behind here. It's
a change of pace, but it's still at the level. Yeah.
When I said to him, sent it to him, I
was like, you think you can hang on that? And
(20:32):
it was and I was being sincere.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Actually I can tell the reactions like, well, boy.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
To back right, then you can hang on that as great. Yeah. Words,
he's super tealented.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
He could sing too, right, yeah, and his vibe is
more melodic melodic right yeah, And so that's why I
was sincere when I said that, like it's just something
you know, And he took a little bit offensives, like.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
What I took to that real quick? Yeah, I would
take I woul take a mess to it. I took
the fast forward. Matter of the fact that you even
said that. You said before that you make music for you,
that you're not thinking about the people listening or like
what they're going to think and making music for you.
Is there a song on this album that is more
for you than the other songs?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Yeah, it's my favorite song on the album Energy and
tell us why why that is? It's a complete I
was just vibing. Then the way it came out initially
touched touched, like the places that touched me and helped
hold me to shelling them out.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I addressed, you know, my mother dying. I addressed when
I was a child. It came to me right in
the middle of recording it that she'd always send us
to bed, all right, say your parsneaka my you know.
And and then I was like, I'm don't put it
in there. And then and I was kind of insecure
about it because I'm like, none of these people are
(21:58):
gonna even understand it. And then and then, uh, do
you know I r S the group from Toronto. They
were a group that were really good. They're on Old
Time killing okay, old Time, and so there's one guy
named black Cat irs right, and Cory is the other one.
(22:23):
I saw black Cat and then basicly I lost train
of thought.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Man talking about the energy.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
Yeah, and then I and then I played it. He
was the first person I sent it to and his
reaction was like school, you know, but they were not mixed.
I was still working it out, but I was so
I was just like here, here, here, this is and
I thought, you know, and he was like, you know it.
Eventually he understood me at a certain point. It's like,
you know, but when he heard the most surprising thing
(22:59):
was that part came money.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
He's like, you know that. It was mind blowing.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
To me, right, like, oh you do know that, you know,
like because I was second guessing my service, no one's
gonna know and that, and then he's like, you know,
that's prayer.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
And then he said it. I was like, wow, okay,
so you knew you're okay, there's something here.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
And then some people in the comments, my mom would
say that to me back and because a kid this
and this and this, it's like so it was like
this whole experience has been crazy just being true to
myself and what it's resulted in, and it's resulted in
so many unintentional things.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
It's just banas you know.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
I think what you're like, even highlighting unintentionally is every
time you're true to yourself, you know, it works out.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Follow How many times have you heard somebody say follow
your gut and all this stuff? And I really did,
even putting out the album, I followed my gut. It's
just like, h like I wasn't going to stop. And
then and then you know, I was just like, all right,
got least the way, you know, yeah, and I put
a heartfelt message and just here you go. And then
it felt like the things that have happened almost felt
(24:06):
like it this whole scenarios the line.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah, yeah, I feel like that's almost like the universe
and music together, because so many times when an artist
says like this one song on the project was like
more heartfelt than the rest, and that's a song that
blows up. I remembers at our album released party and
everyone was like kind of vibe in, but you know,
mostly just talking over the music, and this one song
(24:28):
came on and everyone was like, you'll play that back
and then I spoke to the artist after the fact
that he goes, that's the most heartfelt song. I almost
didn't put it on there. My mom didn't want me
to put it on there. So I feel like the
universe always rewards you when you have those moments where
it's like it's not logic here, it's just my gut
doing this.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
So there's another one.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
I had to hit up Furious and be like, nah,
I'll put this song on the album. I recorded seventeen
songs an all seventeen year old and the album now,
there's not an extra spirit anywhere we damn you know,
you know I put this one on there.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Though.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
There's one that was and it was round and round,
and that was one that bustled things for me, like
that's the Cray and I would have never thought that,
like next thing, I know, like you know, I think
Shady right was playing it and other expectations and round
them round like all you know what I'm saying. And
people love that song, and it was just like okay,
(25:20):
you know, and that's why I told you so the
Furious Yeah yeah, but yeah, so you have you have
a shout out to ajax On the on the album.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
I just want to shout out because big up, Big
up Ajax. But I want to talk a little bit
about this line you have on mind because mine is
one of those songs that I probably liked more my
second and third time listen. Now, I was like, okay,
like I think I'll sleep on this one. You have
probably said living life like a slave was too costly.
(25:49):
Talk about that, because that's one where like you can
take that anyway you want to take it as a listener.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
But I thought that that really really hit.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
So that's the very last line of mind in mind,
I think, right, I said something about the Maroons, uh,
don't run up to the Blue Mountains, known for coffee.
Living life of a slave was too costly, So rebelling
against slavery is why the Maroons ended up going to
the up in the mountains, Blue mountains, you know. And uh,
(26:20):
the rest of the rest of the song is more
on African history.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
But then.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Through the phonetics and rhyming and whatever it got there,
they got there. And then uh, you know, it was
kind of like a shout out to Jamaican history because
we have our Jamaican history.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
I'm Jamaican.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Uh, it has a it parallels a lot of West
West Africa, you know, and so it kind of just
transitioned there and and and I put that in there
because I knew that I was hoping a moment like
this would come where we could talk about that historical
element and the Maroons in Jamaica ringing up to the
mountains and escaping treachery, crazy and they would I'd rather
(27:00):
do that than live life as a slave, right, yes,
because living life is a slave is too costly.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
You know, they died, They.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Would choose death or the hard path and.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Len that slave.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
And I think why I like that line so much
is because, on itself, in a vacuum, it's common sense,
you know what I mean, Like, it's common sense, But
when you put the context that you're putting on it,
I think, you know, it feels a little heavier. And
I think, like I'm Jamaican tune, I was saying this,
and actually in an interview this morning, is that like
when you think of that Jamaicans initially were the rebellious slaves,
(27:38):
and obviously think of all we've accomplished now and who
we are as a nation in the present, but think
of the mindset of the people who are rebellious during slavery.
You know, some people are not even rebellious in mental slavery,
you know. So to think of the kind of people
that we were to be rebellious in slavery and where we
are now, it's.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Even in their personality, right. If you look at a
stereotypical Jamaican personality that somebody would think it would be
a loud and boyishous and the life of the party,
the you know. But people tend to love us. But
we're that, we're that, you know, And it kind of
parallels Nigerians. Yeah, Gudians are a little bit more subtle,
(28:21):
but West Africa, you know.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
And uh yeah, so I feel like, uh.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Jamaica, Jamaican upbringing is divine, man, It's beautiful. It's a
beautiful thing. Yeah, no, I agree.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I just obviously being born in Jamaica is almost like
you're born into royalty automatically.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Yes, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
It's there's such a parallel with our existence, like the
heavy manners. If you're if your family's involved in church
and this, you're guaranteed to be raised on the heavy manners.
You're guaranteed to have proper brought up scene. Yeah, you're
guaranteed to have a you know, a certain outlook, you know,
and whatnot, and there's going to be a resilience to you,
you know, immediately, and that's why. And so I'm gonna
(29:12):
digress and talk about something in that vein.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
So I've heard that, you know, the African slave trade,
Transatlantic slave trade and this and that, right, and everybody
talks about Now there's this new thing about foundational negroes
in America and stuff, right, which I don't necessarily align
with fully because they're the same people as those in
the Caribbean. It's the exact same lineage. But there was
(29:38):
free in rooming black men in America. And so if
you think about all the bad slaves are dropped off
in Jamaica, what were they doing there?
Speaker 1 (29:47):
To begin with? Why were they in Jamaica?
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Because if you think about the story and the amount
of slaves that were in America, at one point, there
was more slaves in Jamaica than in America, Okay, And
so if you think about all of that, and then
there's transatlantic story that they tell us, right, and how
many ships do you think that there were and how
rudimentary were that was the technology that they were using
that then for sailing. So how is it possible to
(30:10):
have a x amount of million slaves in this place
or transatlantic slaves trade. It's not even economically viable or.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
I guess almost logistical, logistical financial, it's not possible to
have those numbers like that, So, you know, and that
got me to think and that, you know, how is
that possible that were really lying to us?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Is this all a lie? Or is it there's more
to it? Like I know that there were free in
roaming black men in America before then. That was proven
by Avon van Sertimo read a book called they came
before we were here, before Columbus or they came before Columbus, right,
And then the truth is the Caribbean. They dropped off
rebellious ones in these areas, and there's slaves all over
(30:58):
the Caribbean and really, for lack of a better term,
there's that was like nigga farms for America.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Right.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
And so instead of making this Channels Atlantic story that
they're telling you, they did do that, but and they
went and dropped them off in the Caribbean islands and
really that was like breeding ground for them and this
a little quick journey to America literally and then Brazil,
you know. So that's just an alignment with saying that
they dropped off the rebellious slaves. You know, that's that's
(31:29):
our roots, man, and it's in who we are. We
look at what you.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Know, and I think the triumphant nature of us. I
always think about that of like how small the country is,
you know, and our impact around the world, Like.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Round the world I said the culture.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Like what I said this earlier, I'm like, you got
to understand, like dance hall and reggae is a country's music,
you know. But if you could hear this in any
country you go to, and think about how many countries
you've been to you don't know what their country's music sounds.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
Like, Uh Island, they're playing reggae when you put up
at the hotel, they're playing reggae.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Japan, Hawaii, like everywhere. You know.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
I've been in many countries and reggae is played every
Caribbean island. It's reggae, even though you know the foundation
is not there for them, but it's it's everywhere.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And I think, like that's the thing I realized personally
over the past few years. I'd never thought of before,
because you need to grow up with the music. It's
just always there, you know, it's around you, hear that
barbecues at jams. It's always there. And then as I
got older, I said to myself, if I go to Albania,
I don't know what Albanian music sounds like, But an
(32:40):
Albanian person knows what Jamaican music sounds like, you know,
And I think like that's something that again, because it's
a part of the world at this point, we take
it for granted. But I think that's like a cultural
thing where for example, like hip hop is technically quote
unquote American music, now Jamaican we don't want to go
(33:01):
into more.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
How great Jamaica set off these foundational neros over there.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Let's leave it. Let's leave it.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
But I think that's something that, you know, we almost
take for granted because that's just been how things are.
But how many countries have, like again, a national sound
that has played all of the world. You you go to,
you know, resources in other countries, they're playing Jamaican music.
They're not playing a.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Country dominative particular sport over and over and over and
over being track and Field. Come on, come on, like
it's amazing what the accomplishments of that little place has done.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Its worth be a whole different podcast. Let's let's continue,
all right.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
I want to talk a bit about the visage and
and you know the little baby you have with the
chain the altar. Talk about that For someone who's unfamiliar,
they may have just seen that and then now they're
seeing you actually, you know, speak on camera. But you
know what was the idea behind that? Who created that?
Just kind of go through that a little bitfore us
I recorded the album. I didn't give the visuals any thought.
(34:06):
If I know myself, I wouldn't have put my face
on the cover of that album either. And so it
went and I just used I and I created this
figure and then and if you see it's a baby
with a chain gold teeth. Yeah, I always want to
go teeth.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
When I was coming up right, people who raised me
raised me on hip hop. I come from a divine
place called one eight two, and I was raised around
incredibly talented people and and.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Kids of all.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
People always talk about gold fronts and I always want
to go fronts and stuff like that, and never got them.
And then big fat chain never. I could get it
if I want to, but I'm not a flashy dude.
And then New York is not the type of place
you want to walk around with your chain on all
the time untucked. Absolutely not, because everybody plays this bad
Boys stuff. It's like they're a batman and all this stuff.
(34:59):
Any body can get it, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
And so the name of that baby arrow is ego.
I'm his alter ego.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
Each everything is egos alter ego, right, and so he's
my favorite flave. The street element, yeah, right, That street
element has brought in youth, women of all ages, fathers, grandfathers.
So many comments has been like you brought the families together,
like fathers and their kids are watching this and it's
(35:33):
still hip hop on top of it and this and
that completely unintended consequence of what I was doing. But
that that that little thing that you saw I made,
and then that led to, uh, you know, a conversation
with Click, and that led to the idea of, hey,
let's do these visuals and put a team together and
(35:53):
then execute it, you know, and people. It really resonated
with people. And then another on the tending consequence on
that is like this was like MF doom because nobody
knew what I looked like, right mm hmm and uh
and and so it's been it. When you align with
the truth, your truth, the universe conspires in your favor.
(36:17):
All of this happened because of that little moment where
it took to make the you know album called temp
albut album cover that turned out.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
To be the album cover.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
And I think ego is ultimately a blessing because I
think if someone were to make a visual of what
the album sounds like, ego probably does not it, you know,
and so so it's not it. I don't think. I
don't think people want to make that cover. The elements
are like the background and the fists and stuff. But yes, no,
but if it's not that you see them together because
no one is being like But I think if someone
(36:46):
heard the music first instead make a cover off this music,
they probably don't make it.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
They made something way different than that. Also, but I've
seen that cover has drawn people to what the hell
is it? I'm want to listen to it unintended consequence
of just truth, you know.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
And that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
I think ego is a blessing in that way, because
you're I think the album itself needs to be listened
to as a full album.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Of course, it's one's like round and around and everything
I've ever heard. Of course, it needs to be listening
to as full. I think it does. So it's like
you have to see that drop people in.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
But I think the entry point of what the hell
is this, it's like, hey, I gotta really hear what
this is all about. So I do think it works
in that way. Before we start wrapping up, you said
you're working on, you know, another project. What can you
tell us about what you got coming up? Sensatively called
Blame Furious Evans? All right, And it is in the
(37:40):
same vein of what I do, you know, I'm just
I'm not putting any timetable or anything on it, but
the truth does a tend to record fast, and the
song's are coming fast anyways. And then after Blame Furious Evans,
we're going to do another project called Suffuration, okay, And
(38:03):
then I thought of another concept after that that would
be called the Negro Problem. And so we're on the way,
you know, we're just the new album.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
It's gonna you know, there's some surprises from this current
album that will haven't come out, and it's gonna I
think that people will be very surprised, like what you know.
But I don't have anything as far as features planned yet.
I don't work that way, but there will be a
feature for two and uh it's better than this album. Wow,
(38:40):
wow same writing. The album is not done. That's that's
big praise. I know it is.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Okay, I'm excited people got to hear that because I
think everyone as much as this album is, you know,
kind of filling people, they are like, okay, is there
going to be more? What's what's happening? So I'm excited
for that. This this is a question. I I really
want to hear what you have to say. We asked
everyone on the show this question. Okay, So when someone
gets one hundred million dollars, they usually get an exotic animal.
(39:07):
I don't make the rules, ask just how it goes.
Justin Bieber with his monkey, Mike Tyson with his tiger,
Michael Jackson with his monkey. So when you get one
hundred million dollars, is there an animal that you're going
to bring into your life?
Speaker 1 (39:19):
I have that animal already.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
His name is Rufus, a black lab it's fourteen years old.
But if I did not have an animal, it would
be a budgie.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
What is a budgie? A bird? I had one, We
had one.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
This is the one consistent thing I'm noticing my family
that everyone has this budgy bird and then would probably
be that bird just because it's who I am.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
I don't need to get anything crazy. Yeah, that's why
what you're gonna say. I'm like, how crazy is you
gonna go?
Speaker 1 (39:54):
Chris?
Speaker 2 (39:54):
Is he the first person to say a bird? But
that definitely first budge? But does anyone else have a bird?
And I can't think of Oh someone did say penguin? Okay, yeah, okay,
that counts. Okay, so that's that's that's a new one.
Let's take a look at where you're at with the
ice cream. I saw you got a couple of scoops,
but it's pretty much a third. Yeah, let's let's point
(40:15):
towards the camera here. Okay, a third of the way done.
It's basically a milkshake right now. Yeah, tear Mossieux milkshake though, that's.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
A move. I drink a lot of coffee.
Speaker 3 (40:26):
I'm sorry to hear that. Sorry, Yeah, I drink Blue
Mountain Coffee.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Fair.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Okay, I can't. I can't hate on the Blue Mountain Coffee. Yeah,
that's the only coffee that's going to be allowed. I mean,
I'm a tea drinker over here, really, yeah, but you.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
Hold your stuff like this. I do not, but I
can if you're not doing that.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Yeah, I gotta have Pinky's up. Always pinkis up. But
you you might have converted me to to hop on
the tear Massioux wave. Honestly, business, I've had a couple
of times. I'm not a big tear massoux person. In
My partner recently made tier Missus brownies. It's on a
whim and I was like, okay, was in the brownies
just terribuit as far as I know, as far as
(41:10):
I know, But it's a lot of terra Missu happening, yeah,
in my life at once. So maybe this is a
sign I gotta get a Tearmsou milkshake or something.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
There's a place on Second Avenue and maybe eighty fourth
called Terra Massou the bank the second most banging termsuit.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
I used to say it was.
Speaker 3 (41:29):
The most banging termotus who ever had. But then there's
a little place called eighteen around the corner and they
outdid them.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Is it's the business, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Okay, listen when I when I get back, I gotta
I gotta saw both those spots because the churros were
not hit.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
There weren't.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
No, you can't you can't go in a malliget churros
the little carts on the corner.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
I was trying to be different. I said, I had
the carts of the corner already. Let me try something different. Horrible, horrible,
horrible idea.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Do you know? So?
Speaker 3 (41:57):
I want to tell you effect you can try a
different restaurant in New York every single day. Yeah, and
you your life is not long enough for you to
finish that list.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
I believe that because I tried different when I was there,
I tried a different restaurant every day.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
The only double up I had was the deli.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
Yeah you have to go hit your hockey style whatever.
Speaker 2 (42:16):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, we got we got chopped cheese,
a little steak and cheese.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
I'm so ill with it that I don't even order
my food. If my man is not back there, if
it's the next guy he's office shift, I'm not doing it.
Because this dude makes my sandwich perfect.
Speaker 1 (42:28):
Nah, I gotta respect that, gotta respect that. It's like
a barber. He's my personal you.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Know, bodega man. But I do have one beef foot
in New York before we get out of here. One
beef what's that? So one day or two days in there,
we bought we bought blunts, and they charged us at
an outrageous price.
Speaker 1 (42:46):
Yeah, if you buy in the city.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
Now there's an ordnance now where I want to say,
eighteen twenty. But like some ridiculous I thought it was
a joke or I thought, you like black people, you're sore,
you know, like what. And then and somebody's telling me, no,
you can't buy tobacco. It's in a certain you know,
you have to go to the howder Borroughs to get them.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Now, we were in Queens. That's what made it. Words.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
We were in Queens. So we go back, maybe two
three days later, buy another pack nine dollars. This guy
tells me something happened with two days ago. You were
a tourists. Now you've been here long enough, you get
the real price. I said, the disrespect, the disrespect, So
that was.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
My that was my honesty. No for at least. He
told me that was my only problem with New York
was the way that they did me. Yeah. God, notice
how you get got literally?
Speaker 2 (43:33):
That was me literally. So I want to thank everyone
for to get to the end of this podcast. But
before we go, we have the second on the radio
show called Wednesday Wisdom. Ask a motivational quote or say
either you remind yourself of or the people around you. So,
what's that quote for you that's always kind of running
through your mind?
Speaker 1 (43:50):
A quote?
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Yeah, motivational quote. It can be an original or something
you read her life Mm hmm. What's the ass kicking start? Okay,
they never stop. The ass kickings never stop. So I
tell my children this, if they never stop, what has
(44:12):
to change is that you must adjust to that ass
kicking that's never going to stop. You can make it
break you, or you adjust to and adapt to that
current situation and keep it moving. You have to learn
how to deal with those persistent ass kickings and still
keep it moving because if I drop the ball, they
don't have what they have.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Right. That's a serious one.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
I have a similar quote that's maybe less aggressive, but
I like, how y'all you put out the ass kicking
It's like life doesn't get easier, you get stronger, you know,
similar to when you lift weights, it's like the weights
don't actually get lighter, you actually just get stronger.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
The pain is weakened leaving your body.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Yeah, but the ass kicking, I think is a good
way to put it as well. When life starts kicking
your ass, it never stops, It doesn't stop.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
Just enjoy it until the ass kick can start, and
then understand when it starts never going to.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
Start, you know.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, that's an interesting message, interesting message. If you took
anything away from this podcast, ask kicking never stops.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
That's how I follow my pur superpower persistence. No, and
I think that's something that everyone can kind of follow. Try.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
I want to thank you for joining us, honestly, thank you.
We made some history today, so I really really appreciate it. Yes, yes,
of course. If you want to find us on YouTube,
make sure you subscribe to us like this video, leave
us a comment. The Cool Table Live on YouTube, The
Cool Table Live on Instagram. If you want to hear
the radio show every Wednesday eleven am Eastern twelve eight
(45:37):
am in Toronto, Instagram and YouTube at erro each Everything
e r O l each everything.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
If you did not know that by this time, I'm
not even gonna say nothing to you, but Arrow eats
everything everywhere. And if you guys have it already, listen
to the album please and thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
You'll know it and until next time, know yourself. Know
you're worth
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