T.I.

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Tank. And this is the R&B Money Podcast, the authority on all things. Let him know. R&B. Don't get caught in the trap. How did I get here? Because you never know who's in the trap. You don't know about the people in the trap. The takers. The guys from the bands, man. 24. 24's. Huh? Whatever you like. Whatever you like, you better live your mother fucking life. You better live your mother fucking life in the trap. I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on it because you don't waste a man's time of this stature and elevated existence. Come on with your big words. Okay. Yeah. We are not going to prolong the intro. The king is here. Yeah. T.I. and his mom. Yeah. Yeah. God damn it. What's up guys? The king. Man. Are you the first ever when you said I'm the king and nobody said nothing outside of yeah, the king. Nah, I mean, I would have first to say the king of the south. Yeah. I would have first to say the king of the south. I will say that was, you know, that was a bold statement to be made for someone introducing him first, his first album, introducing himself to the industry. There had been, you know, I guess some, some, some silent acknowledgments of who the king of the south or kings of the south, you know, should have been. Which, you know, which are agreed upon by myself even, you know, but, but much to the dismay of others who may disagree with my statement. I spoke to those people before I presented myself as the king of the south. Really? So I got, yeah, I got the blessings of the people who were honored with the silent acknowledgments before I even introduced myself to the, to the, to the industry as king of the south. Scarface, Alcaze, Goodymaw, eight ball, Mjg, UGK spoke to all of them before I introduced myself to the world. And why was that important to you? Respect. Respect, homage, consideration. I do agree, you know, that, you know, prior to me, that's, you know, that's, that's who I would have considered or who I considered to be, you know, the kings of the south. It was my time and I was, I was, I was, I was claiming it. So I think that's, you know what I'm saying? That would, that's what it was about for me. But I, I never wanted it to, to ever be considered or, or, or thought or believe that I was trying to diminish any contributions or doors that have been opened by them. No. Now here's the bigger question. If the conversation wasn't favorable, were you moving ahead as the king anyway? Oh, no. I didn't think that, I didn't think it that far through. I really, I was really interested in hearing how they felt about it, you know what I mean? And I was even more humbled and, and it felt more empowered by their support. Like we like to do here too. We like to go back to the beginning, man. Let's go back to back here. We like to go back to the beginning, to the inception of the thing, the very first thought, idea of this is a possibility. Okay. Where was that for you? For me, yeah, it was definitely, that would definitely bank it. It would definitely like, you know, West Side Atlanta, probably about seven, eight years old, watching my uncles and listening to what they were listening to. So that was a lot of LL Cool J, True Short, NWA. And I remember like the first thing that I could do that was perceived to be cool by my, my uncles and they homeboys was I used to rap, I'm bad by LL. You know what I'm saying? Didn't we all? Six, seven years old, I put on one of their cankos and then I, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, they let me stay up late, sip out their beers and shit, you know what I'm saying? And then one day in school, probably about three, third, third grade probably after I finished my work before the class and try and keep myself from getting in trouble. I challenged myself to write my own, you know what I'm saying? And I started, it started there. You remember your first rap? Nah, not really. I just remember, you know, it was, it was describing me, the kind of clothes I liked the way, the kind of girls I like, you know, how I wanted people to see me, you know, but it was heavy on me. It was real big. Raps is about you early. Yeah, I remember my first song. It was called That Was Cold. Remember I told you? Yeah. For real. That was cold. What you did to me, that was cold. You left me on my knees, that was cold. Wow. It's got a jingle. Young girl in the hood broke my heart. Yeah. Man, I was a little more self gratuitous. Yeah, this one. I can tell. He was already rapping, I'm bad. I mean, like, it fits. I wasn't going to waste that effort on talking about nobody else. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. At what stage do you get to the studio though? Man, this was probably. Man, it might have been like sixth grade. OK. Studio in sixth grade. Yeah, by sixth grade, I got to the studio. I actually, I heard about so one of my partners. Who, something, sixth grade, Woodland Middle School, my next don't able. He he had walked me. A few apartments over. So I stayed at this time. Me and my mama, we stayed on Camp Creek. This apartment's on Camp Creek by the airport. And it's like a row apartments. And then, you know, you can walk up the Washington road. It's another row apartments. So we cut through a few paths, do a few apartments, get the wash to roll to another set apartments and he points to a door and he like, it's a studio in there. Right. And so, you know, we just sit there scoping out, you know, eating a bag of chook, passing a bag of food, we scoping out, coming in and out. So what's some young cats, you know, I knew some young dudes, young dudes dressed like Onyx, all bald head, like, you know, black, core heart gear. Yeah. Coming out of the studio. I mean, coming out of the apartment. So finally, man, by time to go, I was like, man, I'm going to go up there. He was like, what? He was, you know, he was he was a little less enthused about making making the walk up there. So I walked up there, knocked on the door and beat dude open the door. He said, what's up? I say, it's a studio in there. And so he looked at me and started laughing. He was like, man, why you want to know? I say, because I rep. And, you know, he let me in and he had like a it was like a three bedroom apartment, one of the bedrooms was, you know, turnt it to, you know, he had like, you know, a turntable, a keyboard, a drum machine, full track, you know, full track recorder, microphone and, you know, a little make sure studio. And, you know, he let me he let me get in his name with Kanye. Kanye with the first person ever kind of like put me in a studio on tape where I could hear myself. And. And Kanye, you know, he told me I could come back. And that was kind of the, you know, the guy who kind of killed he, you know, was my mama find that that while I was going, she went over there. He starts talking to her. She started telling him like how I'm doing in school and all that old shit. Yeah. So then it was like, if I'm doing right in school, then I can come to the studio. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So Kanye did it. Kanye. And that's how it was a Kanye. Yeah. It's Kanye like that. Yeah. Only a Kanye. Kanye passed, man. He passed not too long ago, but later on in my story, Kanye also became like he, he, he, he ran. Uh, uh, a number of strip clubs in the city. So at this time, I might be 12, 13 when I first meet Kanye, I move and, you know, my, I, I, I journeys would take us different, different directions. But we bought his again when I'm about 17. And, uh, at this time he's, um, he's, he's managing a strip club called Goosebumps. Come on now. Come on, Goosebumps. Yeah. He's managing a strip club called Goosebumps. And, uh, and, and, uh, and if I'm not mistaken, man, he, he, he, he got me on stage, let me in there. I had, it was, it was a young lady that was also, I was, you know, involved with, that was also, you know, got me in. But once I got in, I found out that he was in, he kind of, you know, pulled the strings to let me perform at 17 on the stage at Goosebumps. And then after that, he ended up at a spot called Jazzy T's on the East side. So of course I went out there, did my thing, Jazzy T. Uh, and then by then, you know, I kind of start, you know, meeting people and catching, catching waves myself. So what point does discovery kick in? Because now you, you got cognac letting you get your, get your, get your reps in. Yeah. Well, you know, even though I got my, you know, yeah, I did get on stage and do my thing, but, you know, it didn't, it didn't ripple as much as I had hoped. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Uh, it was kind of like a big buildup to the night and the night what happened. And, you know, it wasn't like nobody was like waiting to, to sign you when I got out stage and that like that. And I was a part of a group too. It was the PSC. It was me and the PSC. Me, my partner, Cap, Doug, C-Rod, Matt Boni, uh, AK, Big Country. It was like, it was like a Wu Tang. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So it wasn't like just me, just tip on stage by himself. It was like a group of six, seven guys on stage and I'm one of them. Yeah. Are you, are you identified as like the best guy at one point and somebody's like, yeah, I mean, well, I was, I was the, um, I was the standout member simply because I was the smallest and like the look, the youngest, you know, so I looked probably like 13 while we were like 18, like 17, 18 and, uh, cats, um, cats, you know, kind of like, what that little guy doing with all the rest of them guys? Can't tell you shit. But I was the one doing the beats at the time. And, you know, appreciate it. All right. Yeah. I was the one doing the beat. It's a child. I take guys. Yeah. Hope you didn't have a glass of chocolate milk. Nothing. Nothing. You mean? Sugar, sugar, nothing. You can wet, nothing. Yeah. It's a child. I take. Private barista in the back. Brought me a child. I take from the trap to the barista. Man. You know, listen to me. Child. I take it. It's called evolution. Elevation and elevation. And I always rest at that time. You too. You too. Can enjoy a private barista and your own child. I take it. It can happen to you. Yes. It can happen to me. It can happen to me. It can happen to people. How long? How long is your process to getting you to the point where it's like, OK, this is a real thing for me. Man, that took, so that happened, I think, that's 1999. I was 18 years old. And let me see. OK, so the process is all of those. OK, so I met Kanye. Then I ran into my sister and her husband started managing me. That's kind of where a lot of my artist development stuff. OK. Where I started, like, you know, jogging and reciting my raps, doing talent shows, going to studios, doing a demo. That's like 13, 14. Start shopping myself around, sending my stuff to New York. Nobody wanted to sign a young tip. So then I jumped in the streets probably right 15, 15, 16, 17. So then, you know, I was introduced to the likes of Master P, TRU, you know what I'm saying? Learned a whole lot about, you know, selling selling your shit. Trump. Yeah. Yeah. So then I started putting that money together, going to the studio. We'll trap out through the week and take Sundays off, go to the studio on Sundays and we'll record what we were considering a PSC album. And we were going to get it pressed up ourselves and, you know, sell them out to Trump. Now, during the time of all of this, this is like 97, 98. So like 98, one of my cousins who, you know, happened to be real heavy in the dope game. You know, it's like a cousin that you hear is your cousin, but y'all ain't met. Yeah, I got hella down. Yeah. So I heard that he was my cousin and I heard that he was on, but I didn't really have. I was like just waiting to run into him at the house. Yeah. Because he was my my granddad and his grandma were cousins. That's shit. Mm hmm. So I was like waiting to run into him. Never did. Because I was going to definitely ask him to put me on. I wanted some weight. That's what I was looking for. Yeah, I get it. I was getting up, you know, got about four and a half trying to get to a quarter key. I figured he'll give me a key or two. You give me a key or two. And, you know, because I could get I could move it. I got it. But I just, you know, had to work my way up to getting the capital. So. Oh, one of my the sip of the chai latte in this story is just. It's important. It's important. It's important. It's essential. It's essential. So. And wait a minute. Yeah. Yeah. He did. He did. Yeah. So one of my sad is, you know, I'm on cameras a roll, you know, doing my thing and a little car man, a little Honda pull over and he pulled over, hop out and he said, Hey, man. You tree son. I'm like, how you know my mama, man? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And then he was like, yeah, your uncle, Quinn, huh? Your granddad and Robbo Morgan. I was like, yeah, he said, man, you my cousin, man. I'm Tremere. I'm too. I was like, nigga, I've been looking for you. I've been looking for you. Yeah. And he was like, what's up? I was like, come here, man. You know, I'm gonna start trying to talk quiet. Like, come here, man. Hey, man, watch me. You know what I'm saying? Put me on, man. Get me, you know, give me something I can work with. Say, nigga, I ain't finna get you. No motherfucking dope. Quint would kill me, man. I'm like, man, you tripping, bro. He's like, man, don't you rap? I say, yeah, yeah, man, but that ain't that shit ain't paying. I'm trying to, you know, I'm trying to handle some business. He like, so he told me to get in the car with him. We roll around. He probably took me to he had some beauties, beauty salons and barbershops and shit like that. So he trying to throw me out. He's like, man, I don't do no shit. What I do right now is you talking to me. He's like, man, this is what I do. And so he only had cash business. And so he started talking to me about, you know, like, man, I help you do what you want to do if you really want to do music. I help you do that. And he was like, do you know, you know, Nooney? Nooney time, Nooney. I say, nah, I don't know him. And he say, well, you know, toon, you know, DJ toon. Say, nah, I don't know him either. So he took me one or two far from where I was trapping, man. On the other side of the Camelot Road and been here. He took me to a middle class neighborhood, to a driveway. Nice house, nice, you know, flat level, nice residential house and honk the horn and ball head, light skinned dude come outside. And he said, man, it's toon, man, toon in my cousin's tip. And I had never seen toon. Heard toon didn't know who toon boy. I'm like, man, what's up, bro? How you doing? So I'm like, you know, you think everybody wasting your time at this point? I mean, I need to some work either to death jam. I mean, we know what is this, you know? And so toon come outside and you know what I'm saying? And I'm playing the demo with the songs that me and my homies had been hustling going to the studio every Sunday to record. And we had by cellmates on. And so I'm playing that. And every time we playing for toon, every time my part, come on, he's like, who that? No, like, that's me, you know, okay, okay. Who are that? That's me. OK. And so toon was like, man, I think he got some. We just want to hear him on some better beats. I was like, well, thank you. I did the beats. I appreciate that. Those are my beats. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. I'm like, yeah, man, we just want to hear him on some better beats. So, you know, and so, you know, that's when toon and we met and. Me and toon, toon, Tremel, my goodness. So it's toon and toon. Yeah. Yeah. Not to be confused. So they grew up together, man. They kind of like, you know, rose school bus type shit, lay around the corner from each other. So they knew each other from sandbox type shit. So me, toon and toon, you know, kind of said that we were going. We were going to work together and get in the studio, put me on some of DJ toon beats, yada, yada, yada. You know, that that that took a while to formulate. In the meantime, me and toon, he was. Determined to keep me from trapping. Like he wanted to get me out the street, keep me trapped. Toon was into a plethora of things. Had a gang of shit going on. He was so he would, you know, before they called the bus and cars and doing it, he was doing shit like that way before. And here go get a stack of papers with some account numbers on them and shit. And here take them account numbers. There'll be landscaping companies, plumbing companies and all that shit. Here take that shit into Home Depot, fill up a whole bunch of shit on Home Depot and give them this account number right here. And he'll got them like if you had a house you working on and you gave them a list of shit you needed to get all that shit by $20,000 worth of shit, bring it outside, roll it right after you and get $10,000 for you and go by that business. And so he's he starts showing me how to do shit like that. And then he also had connections where he had partners who had, you know, I get a droid trucks or whatever. Sometimes, man, you know, one of the truck containers just came up missing. They just happened to have truckload of gap, conanero, public, you know, all that type shit. And then he'll have a house full of this shit that now we got to sell, you know. So he got me into other shit outside of just, you know, the dope game. Diversifying your portfolio. Yeah. So. And, you know, another big thing with him was like, you know, flying below the radar. Like you said, he pulled up in the house. He put up in a little bit of Honda Civic. Yeah. Not even the new one. Like, you know, there were what, what were we, 97, 98? He probably had a 94. Yeah. With a pocket full of money. Pocket full of money, man. Pocket full of money. And so so that's that's that's our relationship. And he also got me in the cutting hair. He got me. He told me, you know, so he was like, and if you go and do the shit, man, don't be standing outside in an apartment where everybody can see what you're doing. You know what I'm saying? Had you something where did look halfway professional. Yeah. So, you know what I'm saying? I we opened up a barbershop. I'm standing up fucking four heads up. I'm fucking four heads up. Why do you turn your head like that? I'm fucking four heads up. I'm sorry. Because I had no train. So was you the first chair? He didn't you walk into the barbershop? He didn't show me how to. It was. But. What man? He is this or that? How you want it? How you want it? I mean, because because it was. So he had, you know, I'm saying, so I would really just dare to see my weed. Bro. I was really just there. So I call myself, you know, I call myself like slowing down, you know, I didn't say a crack no more. I only saw weed. So we, you know, I had some weed. I said, so I would really just dare to see a weed if somebody sat in my chair. I'm like, really? All right. Let's do this. Here we go. Here we go. Oh, my bad. Take this. That's me cutting my son. His best friend here during the pandemic. I ordered the motherfucking clippers on Amazon. Damn, man. I fucking do some head and I'm. No, no, no. It's cool. It's cool. It's like a couple dollars. You can. Don't worry about it. Amen. I'm going to pay you. Oh, man. But that was that was a good time, though. We had a good time. You were killing me. We had a good time. We had a good time. Every. It was a good fight. But it was smart. Yeah. Hey, didn't go to jail one time. Never went to jail. Boy, that's a big cut. I didn't see the police, man. You know, police never assumed to running here and disturbed my business. You know, yeah. Only some unsuspecting people that need to be here. I couldn't and thought that I was the chair to sit in. But so I so from there. I see Tump again. He walks in, I guess Tump, it called to say he wanted to introduce us to someone. So on a Friday night after we finished, but he finished, could not finish her and we had us. We used to get like a 12 pack of coronas and, you know, watched the game just to, you know, I'm saying after after we shut the barbershop down. So Tump comes in and introduces us to Jason Jeter. And Tump says, yeah, so this is this is my partner, J. I met him. He's, you know, a up and coming music executive. He got he got he got great ideas and, you know, just a phenomenal approach to the business. And so we sat in there drinking, talking, smoking a joint, you know, just talking and then probably about, I don't know, maybe an hour and a half into the conversation, we probably had to finish the 12 pack going back to the liquor store and and J look up, look around, say, so where's the rapper? And I'm like, I just passed you the joint three times. I passed you the joint three times and pop show and pop show down Corona. And he's like, oh, man, you for real. And I don't know, maybe because, you know, I guess my face, I was unassuming. You know what I mean? And and so then I guess the conversation changed. So at that point, by the time we left there, it was the four of us, me, Tump, Tuped and J. And so that's when J actually, I mean, I think that after after J came on, that's when we really started like going to the studio and and recording. We got up to about three, four songs and. Some happened. Oh, I found out I was having a final. That was my my son's mom. She came and told me she was pregnant. So that that that kind of a little different file under me. So I jumped back into the trap and start, you know, I start trapping again. I figured I had eight, nine months to stack me up by 25,000, you know, stuff I needed for myself and my child and couldn't have one going to do it. You know, not to use. I don't think they know what turn comes. Baby going to wait like a brother. It could be some hungry babies. You know, we know me to bring some money home from a bubble shop. So I jumped back into the game and. And I was, you know, I'm real tenacious in anything I do. I'm either all the way in or all the way out. So it was times where they wouldn't even see me because I'm on my bike up and down, back here, you know, doing my little shit. And they had somewhat of an intervention. They called me over to the tube house and I get over there and they are all sitting, you know, like I walk in and they are already sitting down. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, come on, sit down. So I sit there like, amen. We have a plan here and we've already, you know, kind of formulated a professional relationship. We are investing in ourselves, our resources, our everything in the U. And I was on probation. I forgot to tell you I was on probation for a dope case already. And it was like, man, you jeopardize and I invest me because if you get caught one time, you going down the road and everything just, you know, is up in smoke. So, you know, I'm like, man, I got a kid on the way. I start kicking that real like grown man shit. Man, I got bills to pay. And how old are you? I was 18. OK. I got bills to pay. I got stuff to handle. I got a baby. I got a mouth. I got mouth to feed, man. Unless you take me somewhere where this can pay off now, I'm going to keep hustling. But if you take me somewhere where this can pay off, I quit. And so, you know, everybody does look at me like toon and toon looked at me like, man, that's unreasonable. Why would you? How are we going to take you somewhere today? That don't even make sense. And Jason Jason was like, I know a place. And that's when I found out Jason was an intern or he worked. He worked at Patchwork. That's what I said. So he worked at Patchwork and he just happened to know that a group called PA was working on an album. And that group, PA, was looking for young undiscovered talent for that album. Kind of sort of like they were comparing it to how Dr. Dre did the chronic. Yeah. He just kind of introduced the world to a bunch of undiscovered people from LA. I so so so he took me there. And for one, I'm already perturbed because of how they handed me. Yeah, you know, you didn't like the intervention. No, no, no, no. Most people don't. I didn't want to make my business for one. Like, who told you? They might have seen you right. They don't need to be over there. I'm like that. You know what I'm saying? So we walk in and, you know, and it's a real studio. Like, it's my first time in a studio of that magnitude. And I hadn't. And I had been like I used to look for like where studios were. Never could find one. Never could. And this motherfucker was like. Probably three miles away. Wow. Right there under my nose. I had no fucking idea. So I walk in and, you know, saying, and they, you know, introduced themselves. They was already working on some. They asked me, you know, who I was and what I did. And, you know, just doing the whole the whole artist's introductory type thing. Yeah. And so finally, Reese, he said, well, can you rap on this? And, you know, he played a beat. I'm like, man, what a bootfab, man, you know? So I go in and. And I run, you know, I run the verse now. And when I walk out, everybody looking around like, man, what a fuck have you been? I like, but I ride my bike up and down bank here. Hey, what's up? Yeah. And so from that moment, they introduced me to K.P. And K.P. Who was a A&R at LaFace and had his own, had his own label through LaFace, a ghetto vision. He just signed a Young Bloods and whatnot. I knew none of this. I knew none of this. These are all going on in your city. And I ain't got a damn clue. Ain't nobody told me shit. You hear what I'm saying? Wow. You see what I'm saying? See, nobody tell me nothing. You understand? He was in the trap. You got the poke your nose and motherfucking fit. And that's why you got to be nosy. That's why you got to be nosy. Hey, I'm minding my motherfucking business. All this shit going on around here. Ain't nobody told me shit. So, so, yeah, so, so. I think K.P. Get my number, get my people number. Something like that. And I left and I hear nothing. So I'm back on my bike. I'm back doing my thing. And one, one day I get a page with no code, which is odd for me at the time, but page with no code. You know, I just didn't get those. So I go to the pay phone and call it back. And they say, good day. This is LaFace. LaFace Records. Can I help you? It's like, who in the fuck wants some dope at LaFace? Who is calling me? Who is calling me for dope this time of day? What's crazy? Somebody wants to know. I didn't understand. Whatever. You know, I've been in these business a lot of times. I had no idea. And I was like, I'll say, man, this tip, somebody paid me. And it was like, it must have been K.P. And so it put me on with K.P. And, you know, he's like, yo, yeah, man, it's K.P. from the studio the other night. You know what I'm saying? P.A. patchwork. I was like, oh, OK. Yeah, what's up? It's like, yeah, man. So I was just seeing if you have some, you have some going on later on in the week, we going to LA for the source awards. And, you know, I want to see if you want to come with us. I'm like, come with you and who? And he was like, man, you know, just me, a young blood, outcast, good amount, cool breeze. Just me. Let's break. You sound just like K.P. This is just like, oh my God. Like it's just regular. It's me. Mama there, be there. See there. I'm like, I'm looking at the phone. I'm like, hold on. Let me see. Let me see. Let me check my script. I think I can I think I can make it work. Yeah, yeah, I can move some things around, you know, and. And so then, you know, I start hushing up the money, you know, I'm saying to to put his trip. Yeah, for the trip, put me some money for when I when I got back the real and and to take on out. So I had some work. So first of all, I had to go to my to my guy and we're like, yo, I usually don't ask for them much, but I need this much because I got something going on and I'm a strained yacht when I get back. He say no problem. So I hustled up the money I needed for the trip and left enough work to pay him and get Maria for when I got back. So I go, we do the you do the source awards and, you know, first my first time in LA is my first time really on a music professional, I guess. True. You know what I'm saying? And I saw it as a real opportunity and it was so I was embraced, you know, so so genuinely by, you know, cats like like big boy Timo, Kujo, Gip, you know what I mean? Young Bloods. You know, Cool Breeze. Just, you know, all of the guys, man, from Organized Noise, Dungeon Family, the algae kind of like, you know, embraced me like one of their own immediately. And I remember freestyling on the bus with C. Lo and big and Dre, you know, with big legs and Joe Clare. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember doing the the the the camera blacking the sum they needed done for they had a performance on the source awards, the Watch for the Hook. Yeah. And Cool Breeze, he drove from Atlanta to LA. So he wasn't there for that. And they needed somebody to do his part. And I volunteered because I knew I knew his part. Farboard. Yeah. And all the models. Yeah. I see where you go. Yeah. Opportunity. Yeah, man. I remember it was a time, you know, like I always had. I always had like a pretty fair shot at entertaining the ladies. You know, I'm saying I always kind of ended up on the on the fair side of that of that conversation. And I remember I think it was I think it was Seabone, Seabone, which is which is big boy home. But I think I think it was Seabone and he was he was like, man, what a what a bitch is that man? No bitches in here, man. All these niggas behind you. You know, I'm saying. And we just so happened to be, you know, the sofa tail. Of course. Right across from the bedroom. Yeah. So I said, should I go get some? Wait a minute, man. Me. I walk right over there to the mall. He's there. I'm saying I walk right over there. Man, did me a couple of laps, came back with about four or five. Is it like this? This is what you fit in. Yeah. Yeah. And then right there at that moment, big boy, big boy said, hey, man, you know, I'm going to go upstairs. We're going to go smoke, man. You know what I'm saying? When you finish down here, man, come on up, man. You know what I'm saying? Come on up to my room and we'll blow one. Big boy from Outcast just invited me to blow one with him. In his damn room, I was like, she is. And I'm I'm I'm moving. I live here. Right. That was that was my experience. So when I got back home, I didn't want to sell no more dope. I gave all the shit I had away. I gave the crack. I gave this shit away and I ain't never touched the stuff. I never touched it no more since then. Because I just didn't want to fuck it up. You know what I mean? Then I saw I was. That's the intervention. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was what it took me. That's what the fuck this should have took me right there. Yeah. So, you know, I gave the shit away, man. And I ain't never fucked with it no more. How long does it take? I thought it was a week now. You know, I know I put a little week. It's just a little bit. Just a little bit. How long does it take for you to get a deal, though? Because I know these are happening and now you out the game. Well, I was out there. K.P. said he wanted to sign me. Like he was like, yes, you know, I mean, no, wait. The conversation was. The paperwork. Now we're getting into the business. Yeah, yeah. Because I never forget it took me a while after. So he said he wanted to sign me. Cool. No problem. And I was like, I bet. And he was like, I cool. So we're in the country. I was like, give it here. Yeah. To me. I love you. Yeah. This is great. Kids, this is no cow. This is not how you do the deal. Shit. He said it. Ah, shit. He said, he said no. He said, you got to get you a lawyer. I'm not a KB. Good name. Good name. My name is Robbie. I signed mine on the contract. I signed mine on the contract. I signed mine on the contract. Ah, shit. This place too? And this one. Am I in? Am I in? It took about two weeks to find a lawyer. You know what I'm saying? If he couldn't find a studio, he couldn't find a lawyer. I had shit going on. I had shit going on. Thank you. Oh, shit. Yeah, sir. So, you know, it was probably, you know, we probably had about another 90 days in between that experience to, you know, when I actually started working. Did it feel real for you? At times it did. You know what I mean? You know, there were times where it did. At times it didn't, you know, because after I left the studio, okay, so after I started working and shit, I still didn't have no signing bonus on that yet. I had signed, you know what I'm saying? You got a process and still waiting on your check and shit like that. So I'm still going back to my mama house, you know what I'm saying? Which is on Bankhead. And so it felt real at times when I'm in the industry. The mixers and meeting people and then I'm going back, you know, back to the same place I was selling dope at. So it felt real, but then it didn't. When I finally got my signing bonus, you know, I think I was able to kind of establish myself and, you know, get the shit that I needed done and to, I guess, make it feel real for me. Did you feel nice shirt, Garry? Was it? It was straight? I probably got about $60,000. Okay, yeah, yeah. $18,000, $60,000? Yeah, yeah. That's all you needed back then. Did you make that work? Shit, yeah. Yeah, I did, my thing. A car, a place? My first car was, I went about an 85 Suburban. I went, ugh. And how about it? So I was planning on getting the 96 in Paula. That was my plan. Okay. And I was riding by these buy here, pay here. Because I had no credit. Nigga, shoot what I mean. I stopped it all. We're not familiar with all the things she was saying. And so I was looking for, you know, and I'm looking and my partner had an 85 Suburban and I'm looking for 96 in Paula. So I stopped and I just asked just out of familiar because I'm trying to see if my partner paid more than this is. So I'm just asking. So I'm like, how much did Truckier and you know, a old fat white man say, oh, you can't afford that Truck. Don't worry about that. I say, how much is the damn Truck? Yeah, yeah. Nigga, nigga. Why is the only pie? I'll show you. I'm about to fuck a right goddamn now. So I left with the truck. All off of that. I didn't get the impot. All of some dishes. I'm gonna throw this money at you. That'll teach you to respect me. Yeah. He probably will. It is done. I'm gonna throw this money at you. I'm gonna throw this money at you. I'm gonna throw this money at you. I'm gonna throw this money at you. Yeah. They say one more every day. What's it a good investment though? Man, I don't think so. You didn't get the miles out of it? No. Man, I got probably about two years out of it. Maybe a year and a half. It got me to the point where I had to put a new transmission in it. I had to put a transmission there. In the first six months. Yeah. Oh, the starters. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the hell of a system in it though. Hmm. The music was great. It had a great system Yeah, this is the music work well. All right, give me to get me to deal Marketing Promo everything we're about to drop your first single. Mm-hmm What is that energy like man to be honest with you? I really don't remember a lot of market marketing I don't remember a lot of things being done gotcha. I remember You know like photo shoots for source, you know things like that Like, you know when they get you your fur that album the rating the mics and shit I remember that interview. Yeah, I remember a lot of whole lot of marketing shit, man And I don't think they had shit to do You know, this is right when LA had sold the face. He had moved up the air still Mm-hmm. So it was really I was kind of watching the building shut down. Yeah, my do you literally wrapped about Well, yeah, the building had shut down like it was like the place I used to go to it like people like well We ain't there no more. Hmm. No, you move the building and shit was like changing During the time my shit was being worked on and Introduced so I I don't recall a whole lot being done But I do remember it was a big conversation about you know, me changing my name, you know from tip to Something because that put you know me being tip LA's now responsible for Q-tip who was also on there I guess it's too many tips in one building, you know, and and He they were just putting a lot of pressure on me to change my name. I'm like man, I ain't never been called nothing else I don't know nothing else to call myself. I was like, what about King King of the South? What about that? He's like, nah, no, you're gonna be a rap man. Yeah And Kp like how about T I cuz you know when I'm freestyle and I guess I'm not spelled out my name T I comes out first and whatever and so Like man, nah, and then I remember talking to LA and he was asking me so how's it going? I was like man, everything going good man. I was coming along well, man, you know, I'm liking what we doing It's like what about the name thing guys that going the name thing. I was like Man, I don't know. I ain't I ain't real. I don't know nothing else man. I don't know nothing else But but tip he was like, okay. Well, we'll wait Yeah, yeah, it's my fucking serious. Yeah, and so I like Kp whatever you see it And so that's how that shit happened and And she man, I just kind of I Just kind of like Jeff road witness. She just you know, just because it just felt like the Path of least resistance right when I'm serious drops. Yeah For you now that you've given me the history. I know where your mind said What you a little more is then you know the average artist because you were living in a completely different world Mm-hmm, right you were a rapper by by talent more so than by this is what I'm going after I know this and I know this and I I can't wait for this to happen But now you're at the single you got a and you got it and it's produced by the net tunes, right in your mind Are you like I'm out of here when this drops? Yes Absolutely any Equivocally so yeah, yes, absolutely So how do you feel when that's not the case? I was just you know, like looking around like what the fuck What the fuck is going on? He's somebody. It's a button. We ain't push. We ain't push that button I'm gonna push the button man. It's time But I mean cuz I thought you was out of here, but for real warned me. Oh shit. Okay, it's for real warned me for real said you're dope You're dope. You know what matter of fact, you're so dope You might go over people here you might not even the people might not even Recognize how dope you are until later. Don't be surprised if the first one Don't do so good if it the first one ever kind of like go under the radar Don't be surprised by I'm like, oh no what this nigga talking about. I'm not Yeah, I just need these two records this nigga did and I'm good And he was right, you know I'm saying he was he compared like just like like Jay-Z like you know Reason without never my fucks didn't see it at first and then you had to come back, you know, so Yeah, so she's one time to for real the fortune teller so you weren't so surprised. No, I was very surprised You like That man no music That is the actual nigga who did the record to Did you not give me your best nigga one thing I never had a doubt about was the quality Of the music. Yeah, never I played it. I was very confident that whoever listened to it with would see The separation between it and anything else that was coming out at the time It was just a it was just a task to get motherfuckers to hear it. Mm-hmm Then we got 25s Be easy rubber band man. Let's get away. Yeah, you went crazy. Yeah, those those things happen So different deal to the art at this point. Yeah, no, no, well Not exactly so after the first album drop and didn't perform the way I expected and I didn't have an office to necessarily go to to kind of push things along Mm-hmm. I just had to take matters or we had to take matters and I own own hands I was Fortunate enough to be shown where the storage unit for all of the promo products Oh, it is for my stuff all of those promotional only CD boxes and the snipes the posters the stickers and all that stuff so we got all this stuff man and start using it I self and start driving to Just areas a Gas tank worth, you know worth of time can get us to like Alabama, South Carolina parts of Tennessee parts of Florida You know and and we just started Making our own relationships with DJs program directors music directors and and and started to Hand to hand Word of mouth. Yeah, you became your own free team. Yeah And that how we you know say then and then when we ran out of those Items then we we started doing mixtapes. We had met DJ drama Who he said he was working on this thing is mixtape series called gangster grills. Mm-hmm. That's that and so he asked me to do a Freestyle for for something else, but then the first gangster grills was Ti and Pse in the streets and that was kind of like a couple songs off of I'm serious Then some Pse songs and maybe you know I'm saying like we just kind of made another Experience repackaged and started pushing it out there. Then we did in the streets part two and shit by then we were working on like 20 foes and rubber band man and we were doing it easy And When we started working 20 foes paying to get radio promotion for ourself And you know we were at this time. I think we probably begin by 15 20,000 the show. Okay, and so then LA called and was like, hey man, things are going well It might be time to work on the second L and comprehensive To say the least yeah, but I hadn't heard from my partner LA in in quite some time at that moment So I did not I Just didn't want to be put in the same position again. So I felt like for me to get my financial independence That was the only way that I could in good conscience Find myself remaining in this situation, which is what I told him But when it came out it just say man, I'll tell you what give me two million man. You could just let me Yeah I said it like that You know what was the reason I heard I heard ready stories by ice tea walking in with the grenades Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you need to pull the pen at the grenade to see if they work You know I'm saying I heard and read all these stories You know by Master P when he walked in did it deal and all so I walked in with that energy, you know I'm saying What was the response? He said well, I'll tell you what he said, but let me let me have lunch and think about it It's very LA so I'm thinking so I'm thinking okay great. We're having lunch. He's saying no no no no I'm gonna have one And then you guys go have lunch And I was like, okay pizza it is so you know we go and we we we enjoy we had lunch and I Start spending that money before we ain't got back. I start you just knew it was Okay, all right, all right, I start spending the money in my head already 96 and pollen I had that man my aspirations had to shop finna get the beans now Yeah, I had to shop past that So we come back and I Was it was it more pits? I think that was there. I Think it could I think it might have been more pits that were there and And when when we got off the elevator he was like up Y'all gonna be happy Yeah And so we go in And and we sit down LA they say well, I'm gonna give you what you want. I was like he said I'm letting you go Well, thanks Yeah, so that happened But that was the best Yeah, yeah, yes, you know to be a free agent at that time because you got heat to yeah Yeah, yeah to be a free agent at that moment in my life man gave me so much Value, you know what I mean and so much leverage in my next negotiation So, yeah, I thank him every day for that. Yeah. Yeah, he let you go while you on fire Mm-hmm. You're on fire Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I was killing shit. Yeah, I appreciate that and that just tells you how successful he was Just be able to just go I'm putting that I'm spending that on Tony Braxton's hairdo You hear me? We're not gonna waste two million on this we have this new outcast thing We're gonna do So, yeah, where was that next deal at? Oh Atlanta, that was the last that's me you kicked out Grand hustle. Yeah. Yeah, that was yeah She's the next the next deal the next conversation was with Atlantic So when you did the video for rubber band man, mm-hmm to me, right? That was your superstar moment. Hmm. Yeah, okay before that. I'm like cuz I saw the flashes, right? You and be any man. I'm serious. I love that record. I I love the Neptune's to this day You know me so I know I'm like, okay here's star. No, thank you I think that's gonna like I said I I was in I was in the boat with you of like, oh, he about to be out of here I thought so so right when it doesn't happen then you get cracking gangster grills. You know your move 24s. I'm like, okay. I fuck with this Rubber band man. Oh, I think I'm gonna superstar. Hmm. Yeah that nigga right there. Yeah Superstar. Hmm to me Appreciate it. And I feel like that was the shift. Yeah, good in my opinion. We're just watching it from a fans perspective That's what I'm like. Oh, yeah. Yes. It's different now. That's what's up. Yeah. I mean, it was good time. We're having good times clearly clearly Clearly we enjoyed ourselves because that early with that kind of success and ownership It's just a different. Yeah, it's a different conversation. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and then king Now urban legend came up. Yeah, bring them out. There we go. Yeah, yeah Urban legend came after that. You don't know a sad. You don't know me A sad motivation Man, you had a catalog longest And you write all your stuff like he write all his stuff Not as I said my child like Gonna turn the neck me Bet you I bet you I bet you I bet you different And Then you start shifting into the records for the ladies They were always there. Mm-hmm. No, but it became like a you put you put a you put a spotlight on it Yeah, well see I think what it was bro is I had just Gotten the opportunity to get that deep into the rollout Okay, you know the rollout goes as far as the success will allow it. Yes, sir. So When I get to the ladies like okay, I dropped one that did well a drop the second one that did well now I can you know, I can get into something a little more diverse Was the feature on soldier kind of like your first foray into the R&B space I don't know. No, I mean, maybe it was my biggest. Mm-hmm. I think you know, I had done stuff But it you know, nothing of that magnitude. Yeah, yeah, cuz to me that's that's when I'm like, okay I can recall. Yeah, cuz then that led to like records like whatever you like and live your life Those were after correct were after way after actually what you want. It was closer, bro. Yeah, man. I think man They probably I say records like so to probably lead led the way or Introduced the opportunity to records like my love. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but I mean man I think everything that I was introduced the opportunity to do I'm appreciative. Yeah, you know for the collab Yeah, and then you married the army. Yeah, come on. I know everybody married to the arm You said I'm fully in the army home with you. Yeah Cuz I want to hear you motherfuckers in the comment here rapper He is Very very very very well be money Don't get it confused. Yeah Here for a reason. Yeah I'm a golf track a little bit ATL Jesus. Oh, yeah, we got to get to the movies. I gotta I gotta get there Chris Robinson is my guy. Yeah, man. He's like you gotta come down and see what I'm doing man And I think I was shooting the video Okay I was shooting the video at that time and that was my first time meeting you which which which video Was it it was an LA Atlanta is an LA LA? Okay, what you know? It was what you know about that. Yeah, and I was like And I was living Chris Robinson. I was like, what the fuck is this? It's gonna be big It's gonna be big tank. I said Jesus Christ And you and you look you we probably the same age But you you still you look like a little badass kid like you look like a young kid and you was draped with him It was all around you I was like, how did you do it? No, but it's okay. I was like That's how he's doing it. He's doing it then the movie drop and And dare I say nigga, he was in the bag Yeah, you were in a bag and acting bag Yeah, that was that man that was that was it was challenging But it was also a good time like Chris challenged us And didn't allow us, you know to bring less than our best To the to the set, you know saying but we but we but we all and we stepped outside of our comfort zones You know, I mean he wouldn't you let us do What we were comfortable doing? Yeah, he wanted us to He wanted us to find that That thing, you know, I mean it's outside of our self and he did that every take And I think that you know, we all just enjoy the moment So classic. Yeah No Atl this year we're gonna We're gonna we're gonna do a suorate We're gonna do a little suorate man up at this little spot man called the Mercedes Benz down We're gonna do a little something now That drove by once the twat another movie I want to ask you about Our little brother all of our little brothers in it with you take us Yeah, man, that was a great fucking movie great role to great role like How was this shooting something like that because I was you know, that's an action and it was a phenomenal experience, bro I had a tremendous Amount of fun man, I learned a lot, you know, I learned a lot on set. I think that working with Idris Lonely a power walker, you know, working with Michael E. Lee Chris Who was you know was was definitely the young superstar of the moment now for me I was like, you know, like a real outlaw at the time. I was like Just getting out of prison and she and having You know, like a ankle monitor and shit on You did that movie with the ankle monitor. I did. Okay. All right. Take us to a whole Okay, she broke it just it feel like everything fell into place. I guess That's probably one of my more effortless roles and I like it just allowed me You know to just be a villain But and when people now let's get into the villain part Good when people talk about this role and talk about how treacherous my character was I merely asked What did he do wrong? Was he was he was he honest? Yes, and it's in his approach To getting what he felt like he deserved. All right, let me just say for those that might not remember the plat so well Yeah, so this gentleman by it was a crew crew of bank robbers or crew of robbers of sorts and In this crew that he put together my character my character the crew together In this crew one of the jobs went bad And one of the guys had to go away. That was my my guy. My guy had to go away. The money stayed Nobody else went to jail Crew continued on did they think right my guy kept his mouth shut. Yeah Everybody else was supposed to hold my money. Yeah My girl was also While I'm away, yeah, the crew continues on without me no problem one of the members of the crew decides to Take away with my girl you're not a pocket. Mm-hmm. Amen. She goes. How can I blame him? No problem now? I come home He motherfuckers playing with my money they are we were playing with you money don't want to give me my money And they got my girl and They go no don't want me to be in the crew that I put together. This is crazy. Yeah, this is crazy Yeah, so what the hell you expect to happen? You're gonna play the game Play the game. I'm just saying what did my character do? Nothing? Nothing, I didn't say you did anything Go turn Nick me Around What so deep in the spring So deep in the spring for turning Summers approaching Like with this cover Ladies and gentlemen, oh, yeah, the comedian he's really that None of you you're you're not wrong I'm just saying the way you went about it like you went about it like a criminal will go about it in order to get his shit back I get it. We were all criminals. Yes all criminals takers takers You gonna take from a taker and don't think he gonna take that don't think he think he just gonna take that Yeah, me me personally I feel like Like to be that mega star. I Think that that thing is essential. Yeah, you gotta be on a big screen. Mmm. I just feel like that like Hey, man, why not? Hey, man, why not? I love an opportunity, you know It's you supposed to be a baseball player. I was he got a little game You're supposed to be here. Yeah, well, that's what I saw you you know, usually, you know, young people want to be what they see Yes, you know my exposure Lended to the opportunity of me being a formidable Pharmaceutical rep. Yeah. Yeah, so that's what I wanted to do and then Then your Marvel Yeah, and man, that was great, bro For real they can see you in Marvel guys man. We're just like Wait Seeing you in ant-man bro Was yeah, yeah unexpected incredible. It was it was it was a moment in time because it's like you see You know, we're always we're always praying and hoping for moments where we have representation You know I'm saying based on the things that we've all been through and have had to overcome For sure, you know I'm saying and and when we see when we see our brother in there that we know has Has had to put in real work. That's what's up Oh, it's on so many different levels to get to that point to get that call to be trusted in that way Yeah, you understand I'm saying like that's that's hope for all of us right there right now That was I was definitely a member of the entourage. That's great That's what they call it. Wow. You know what? What were your dreams and aspirations riding that bike on Bankhead? Because I know you wouldn't think you could be the motherfucking antirah I can't say I had dreams of being in a Marvel movie or anything like that For real, bro. It was just to show the world I would dope and get my mama at the ghetto Yeah, yeah, you've done you've done both of those. Yeah Congratulations, brother. I'm gonna travel back to the ghetto on her own cuz she like it My grandma will not leave the hood and say but I like I'm trying to come visit you Would you say treacherous is a treacherous When you've been going along time, they don't know who you is no It's new niggas and they hungry You used to live around here, huh? Yeah, okay, okay So let's talk new to you. I mean Let's talk new to you. I mean Right now, man, let's think to this thing that people are now They're calling new ti. I can't even say it's new to you. I'm just I'm used to it. I don't think cut the dreads Yeah, you got the hat I will not Try to expose my hair line. I know what you're trying to do I'm familiar with you I don't think it's new ti Right, I'm talking to KPM like this isn't this isn't new ti. This is just ti. Yeah, this is just the shit We love the energy we miss Cutting through and I want to say bullshit, but let me just say bullshit cutting through all the bullshit It's just cutting through Sean niggas was dope and you're hearing the difference Yeah, like like always referred to when anybody started talking about like who who who the dopest rappers like they've ever seen Or heard I was like, I'm gonna tell you the dope one of the dopest rappers I've ever seen When when they brought that Robin thick song into the studio Yeah Yeah We sitting there you keep he working on some music. I play play the song they call me from the car He looked at me there I Mean I hear I hear what y'all doing I hear what y'all going for I'm back there like this You I'll wrap He like, you know, let me uh Turn the mic on let me I'm sorry Michael I Know what I do He not about to do that 10 to 15 how you like that Did you have a child Not yet I was mid-metamorphosis Yeah Do such a I was sitting there like this This niggas crazy. Yeah, I need call me from the car. He said a nigga. I heard this record He didn't want to do I said nigga ain't a whole lot of ti's nigga. I'm telling you that's a nigga special Usually the records I don't want to do, you know, I'm saying those are the ones that I kind of I probably put more into Yeah, because like it's actual effort Got it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Why kill the king? Well, well in my first of all in my in my research I have found That by large majority Most kings historically have Fallen To the sword mm-hmm by some means or another Me myself personally I Feel like, you know, if that's gonna happen It may as well Come at the hands of the man that created the king Which is me? Hmm now Cuz I mean if you look at Caesar and how he you know I'm saying you look at all of the kings You know I'm saying just look just go back historically Robert Baratheon man, just just by large majority the kings they fall Usually the people either turn on them. Yeah, you know, I'm saying they get Double-crossed by by the right hand You know, they won't when poison them something like that You know, I mean something always happens to the king at the end of rulership So just by way of mythology mm-hmm, you know me seeing how those matters work themselves at that led to the narrative now me personally I've been On an evolution and growing in a search for peace As I get, you know, older. I'm just trying to find that place in life. Well, I'm I well I'm I'm straight. I'm chilling. I ain't bothering nobody ain't nobody bothering me Just just content with where I am who I am and what's going on around me I found that to find That level of peace you have to starve the ego And so to me killing the king is Me starving the ego as killing the ego see King King of the South is Just that bravado fuck everybody else. It's all about me. You are going exactly where I need you to go that's And I fit and I find that you know when you present yourself in such a way usually That ego or that persona More times than not it walks into the room before you do 100% Yeah, so by the time you get there you already you're being met with The introduction of the ego of people's response to the introduction of the ego So, you know, I'm saying I just kind of want to simplify my life in such a way Where you know, that doesn't become as problematic as it has been So it's not retirement. Yes, it is retirement. Okay as well. Okay. All right. Okay, cuz I saw me It read I thought it was a two-part it reads as such. Yeah. Yeah, so you you like this it yeah, I mean When I was actually gonna let him know then absolutely Okay, okay, all right simply because like when I was a kid you you you just you know Spoke to it a minute ago when I was a kid ride my bike on Bankhead and I had aspirations of doing this Everything that I wanted to do I've done. Hmm. I Am then some yeah for real So it ain't really nothing else for me to be like You know, what the fuck else is there for me on this side of things on this side of things now I'm still directing producing writing and and and and you know doing movies I'm still introducing talent to the world I'm still have real estate developments that I'm working on I still have other areas of business and entertainment came getting back to doing comedy You know, I still have other areas of business entertainment and Personal growth things that I can work on within myself to present and talents to present to the world I don't have to continue to Just lean on this, right? Yeah, I mean not I completely understand it But before you retire let's let's let's really talk about let them know though, right because It was so unexpected Hmm, I mean I think to the public. Okay, maybe not to yourself. Maybe not to your inner circle, but to the public. It was like Man, you know, what the fuck it was first listen first half a listen. I appreciate it It's a you know, you know this we all fans of the music and we do music But it's when something comes on and you drive and you start doing this Yeah That's when you know, you got a fucking hit record I appreciate that So congratulations on that cuz I from what I've been told is the first certified record of the year. Yeah Huh? Yeah, come on with the certification Yeah, shout out to my brother guys. He too. I know that's your partner on Viral guys guys you need more. Yeah Tina. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes home team. That's right. It's nasty That's a nasty space to have a hit record Amen, I'm having fun. I know you are, you know, I'm having fun, you know, uh, it just feels like just Effortlessly doing doing our thing the way we want to do it and that's what it should it should feel like fun Like even here in the records and being at the studio with John listening to those records. I'm like I'm like That joy In that effortlessness what you do is shines through all those fucking records. Yeah, and it's just not it is just not the norm I didn't hear nothing. I didn't hear it. I'm serious come out 2001 25 so 25 years later. You doing some of your best work. Damn That's incredible, bro. That's humbling. You're doing some of your best work, brother. I have this and bro I've heard tunes nigga. Thank you. Glory to god. Yeah, and I love that, you know That y'all still got the team together. Yeah, I'm saying you jay's a jeter kp like Well, jay don't do music no more man. Jay, you know, I think jay jay focusing in other areas of business He's doing a lot in fashion. Do you still have a coup? He's still got your line too. Yeah, we still own a coup together Yeah, yeah, yeah, but he has his own Vintage heavy he has his own brand that he's created um jay is heavy into Though though that japanese kind of oh, yeah, you know the international style. Yeah, shit So he has a vintage heavy that that he's working on right now. That is doing well But I I think man jay grew to a play where he couldn't be bothered with this music shit no more I don't think he has the uh, he don't have to temp the the page that That he just don't feel like it all of that. He got the way I am like way before me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah I mean, yeah But I mean it's it uh when it comes to having the gift those different too because the gift hungers a little differently I'm gonna still do music. Of course. You got no choice. You know what I'm saying? You have a house full of Oh, man wife and like man your daughter nigga Man, well y'all write a song for man. Yeah, cool. Do a song for we love that I need a feature I saw you and your wife and your daughter. I think I don't know if it was in the blue It was something and y'all had your daughter with y'all and I just stopped. I was like, listen Good to see you. You are amazing. That's it That's it. You're amazing. That's it. She's she got it. She's she's got it. You got it. You got it in house You don't have to go nowhere to find no more superstars. You have because all your kids are different type of music all different type of stars They are you got buddy the guitar You got the mind healing me Because I'm a big lady But king and and did it it's balance One of y'all doing a but I literally I once again for shit. I fuck with and I like I always I comment I'm like, they need to do the buddy film They gotta do that's craig and dayday, man You literally came back craig and dayday, man I think they but see the the funny thing about king and deminit When they were young, right? Like all the kids, you know have their own reputations and they started young but Like like buddy red messiah. He never got in no trouble. He was always the kid There was like just to himself Played the video game read his books. Yeah, never had no problems out of him in school Always had good grades everything Neat-neak. I never knew If she done anything wrong. I don't even know she whatever it was. She was so smooth and cool Whatever she was doing. She got away. Yeah, so the the kids that got In trouble the most Was king and deminit And I always got in trouble together. Yeah, you know saying they were always the one That work but see then something happened You know right around when deminit got like in lem grade or something like that He just got got cool and just This one with the bullshit no more and you know and he just left king like In the life by himself To his own devices, you know and um And if I I imagine king be looking at like nico, what happened to us? We were And um Yeah, so I imagine, you know king, you know, he he's still like In his mind see deminit as the motherfucker. He's crying party. Yeah, it's cold defended. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know Deminit like nick i'm trying to be mayor one day, you know, and I don't you know So their dynamic is is is strength. Well, it's funny to me me to watch it entertains me Yeah, yeah Seeing how that has played out for you man with the family the kids like damn. I should have more kids It ain't too late. Yeah It's fun, man If it's my two Oh, man, it's great. Yeah, but it's like you got multiple personalities in there, man Like so it's it's cool to see and then just like I said the The talent that they have they are passionate. Yeah, you know major major is uh, he's a different level of talent Because I think he I believe he he he ain't he's sitting out to be a thespian I think he wants to do, you know more acting and writing and And to thank you. I'm just waiting on major to need me for something like major don't never need nobody for nothing Wow, he's so self sufficient and just kind of does his own thing and move At his own pace did Man, he's just always got his shit together. He don't need nobody to wake him up for school He'll need nobody to find him a ride. Oh, he liked him. Yeah, he's doing All his own she's just responsible. I can start it like the way we will have like he got a driver's service So we started where we'll have a driver's service come get then he started calling him himself You know, I'm saying it started arranging his own pickups and drop-offs. Yeah, and he did that like in ninth grade Oh, yeah, yeah, you said you have a driving service. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He was yeah, I was I was just gonna I was gonna I'm not gonna skip over. I'm the driver What what my wife is killing me see I tried that right? I gotta drive one more. So we tried that and you know He got on us like, you know, you know, we're gonna have to work something else out because y'all be making me late Huh? You know major would be waiting on us at the car. You're like, both of my parents are artists You know, yeah Hang on Wow, we gotta talk. Yeah major definitely more responsible than us. Yeah. He definitely is I might need your help on that driving service Hide at my house Now but see the thing is I'm now I'm trying to get it now, you know, he know He talked about a drive, you know how to drive We picked him out of car and now I'm trying to get him to drive himself Hmm, you know, that's gonna be tough. Yeah, I'm trying to get him, you know now Trying to get him to drive. Yeah, I've been I've been winning. I was winning my son off the uber for real He got a car and everything. Yeah, somehow uber still get caught. I'm like You know, dad, I was going to the game and you know that that's that's downtown You know how it go. Yeah. Oh nigga. I don't know how it go. Nigga don't go to the game. Shit Got my daughter For real damn gone Yes, oh, we go. So she's gone. She's gone. She's responsible till she ran out of gas that one night. We had to go get her Minutes they could be on missus together. We're part of town. We're in the valley. Okay. Well, no, so the valley could get sketchy It Well, yeah, we'll talk. Yeah But But like her friend group and her surroundings, it's all You know, it's it's far removed from from from from what we've what we've seen have been through so good stuff And that's something that you know, I appreciate too But when you have children that are as you said far removed You just don't want The first time that introduced to That side of life to be, you know, so much of a shock that they don't know how I'm responsible. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So they get touches, but you know, no, they don't What I'm about to say here's what I'm about to say I'm gonna tell you how they get It's how they get it they get it in music And concerts. Okay Now you think you think we going there? I'm gonna tell you how they get it Rollin around in it. No No, no, yeah, man. No, but you know, listen, you can't tell my son He ain't be a young boy. When it come on Oh my god That's funny. What are you holding up? That's funny. We got his nerve guys like this. Tell me some things All right, brother before we let you out of here. We don't want to keep you too much love What are these glorious noises Uh, you've his keyboard has gotten smaller They be talking shit about his keyboard We've done better the keyboard it's got Smallest but it's not about me. It's about Brother ti Oh, man, the people have some information that they need from you. Come on. Come on. Ask him. Ask him We understand that you are a Eloquent rapper a musician a magician with words But as you said you know about this r&b money And the people want to know your what they want to know You Five You're top five again Top five You're top five r&b singers R&B songs We've got to know before you go Here on this show everybody want to know Take it Come on Hell no They should have never gave you nigga Brother ti And this shit was spent on private The people want to know your top five R&B singers my top five my person All right, let me go with my wife You gots to do it better start at home. I'm gonna go with my daughter Come on. Yeah Want to go with my other daughter? Yeah Hey That's my wife money. Yeah, that's my wife money. I don't get to touch it. Okay Yeah, uh, man and then I'm gonna go Prince and Michael Jackson. Yeah To be able to do that is a blessing. Yes, indeed your top five r&b songs I'm gonna go a witness Houston. I want to dance with somebody come on now New edition can you stand the rain? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm Prince insatiable Okay Yes, sir Marvin Gaye got to give it up. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm understanding escape It really good. It's what we need. It's really good. It's understanding. It's really good like Yeah, what you doing? Hey, let's make a Voltron your super r&b artists All right in building this artist you're gonna grab the vocal from one artist The performance style from one artist the styling of that artist the passion of that artist And who's gonna feature as the rapper? I'm gonna be the rap feature. Who gonna be the rap feature? Okay, wait, let's go. So one vocal in history to make your super r&b artists. All right. Well vocal is singing the songs What vocal you use who's vocal? I'm gonna say Marvin Gaye. Hmm. I think he he's done just about everything Absolutely. Yeah, you can't do falsetto chest voice Love song Healed. Yeah community song up tempo ballad tempo ballad all of it. Okay. Performance style on stage Performance killer style on stage I'm gonna probably go Michael Jackson Hmm. Yeah, Michael with Marvin voice. Well, wait, you know what? Nah, yeah, I'm gonna keep that I'mma keep that Shit, I'm gonna keep I forgot what the rest of them will kp. Get your man Please tell your man to pull up in one of those Royce Royce This is a close call to TI Don't forget the channel. Don't forget the Get out of there. Leave it's a style The style the drip the drip Uniformity artists see I can't say Prince see that's why I would go and uh, let me see um Oh So Prince one, you know what? No, not for me. I know. I know. I know. Yeah A couple different outfits you all want to Yeah, man Man damn, bro, you know what I'm gonna tell you let's go Barry white Hmm Fly shit suits all day me coach. Yes, sir. Yeah, let's go. Yes, sir a full gangster Yeah, okay. All right. All right. All right. Yeah. The passion of the artist The heart of the artist who mean it heart No inconsistency with what like the tenacity and focus and what they do Like they drive and what they do. Yes, sir. Let's say usher Fully locked in the hardest working Locked Yeah, got you. They need a rap feature on this song For this super rmb artist Who you getting? Let me see Dead or lie Maybe somebody that's retiring I'm gonna see if they can get ti And hopefully he doesn't like the song Because then you gotta snack All right, let's see one more one more one more. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah I said no names I said no names I said no names I said no name who you was Would you do who you was with don't say she I ain't said no I Now now we had a very important party show. Okay, I could do it. It's my favorite party show My favorite party show, uh, will you tell us a story? Funny or fucked up Or funny and fucked up. Mm-hmm, but the only rule to this game Is ti p can't say no name. I'm trying to see what cat. Whoa. Oh Ha ha I'm trying to I'm trying to get context here. What what what type of story is funny or fucked up Or funny and fucked up. It could be both or just fucked up. I mean this I was I was at an award show I was at an award show um in values And uh leaving that award show going to a party And when I went to the party I was greeted by security And welcomed right in and then I saw a partner of mine And uh he uh, we we we we slapped hands and said I was hadn't And we were going into the same party and um The security say they with you and I looked and I was like, yeah. Yeah, they were me And uh, they was like, okay. Well, you straight, but they can't they can't get in I'm like nah, man. Can't do that. He's like nah, man. Look at man. Look how they drip, bro. And you know And then that what they were doing. It's so many dudes type And um So then we're going back and forth with you know with the security about us getting in and then another Artist that we we both knew walk Well and say, what's up y'all straight and you know, I was like, well actually We're having an issue With with them, you know getting in and so he takes security over to the side They do some whisper and then he looked back whispered look back whispered in He going on in the party And uh, I said, okay, okay, cool So I look at the part I say, well, you know what we got to do, right? So And so I talked to the cure. I say so listen, this what's gonna happen Y'all gonna let us in here Else we're gonna see which one of y'all can fight so Who's it gonna be? And And you know and while I'm doing my thing. I'm trying to give him an opportunity to make a good decision. Yeah And the person that I'm with Takeoff Security So right then I got to take off and now we're in a all-life brawl Me and this person And my people who with me his people with him and security and this in vegas and um And it happened to be a club this in the casino Of course Soon as you say vegas, I'm like these niggas fighting in the casino. Yeah, so, you know, we fight, you know And you know how you fighting is such In the melee You start you just fighting whoever you fighting By the way, I'm in a suit I'm in a suit. I have a suit on yeah I I had no problem passing dress code. Yeah So I'm fighting in and anytime somebody fighting in the suit is always much funnier because the traction on star bath On the hard bottom on the heart. It's all bad. Yeah. So anyway So we're fighting And I got my wife with me. So and she always every time I I just see every time these things are happening I just look at her. She just She's just look at No, all right. So we're fighting we're fighting and now I in the melee. I don't notice The actual police have showed up. Oh Is this los vegas and it's an casino actual police have showed up and The person who I'm with I think one of his partners actually stowed on the police So now we fighting police now we fight police and um I see In my peripheral the police pull out Point and bow I see the person that I'm with Hold a face like this and um I'm like damn, but I see like this blue coming down here and um I thought it was like a super crib or something I had no idea what it was Much What Much better news It was a mace pellet Is a mace pellet. So now Oh, I forgot to tell you I also had an ankle monitor I also had an ankle monitor and um So now You know, I grab him and my old lady and while the rest of the melee taken play I kind of Lead him because he blind he can't see I lead him down the escalators through the slot machines get to the uh To the to the bathroom And you know, he washing his face off in the sink and shit And then I'm like you straight you like yeah, I say good because I gotta go I can't be here So I got my old lady and took off and we were banned from there. That's what happens to we were banned We were banned from there for quite some time Oh, the band has been lifted. I believe yeah, the band has been lifted now. I can go back. I think he can too I don't know. I think he say he say he was had I know My band got lifted before here because I know I was I and he was still they were still tripping on him for But I think now everybody's cool. Yeah. Yeah, and that was the automated one. What was the automated? You gonna let us in We don't see which one of y'all Look bro, they were playing in our favor Because they they they the way they let the way they let the third guy in Yeah That's not that's not that's not in my face. Yeah. No, you're not gonna do that one. Let's fight That was many years ago though very many years ago. Oh, man. We have we have since we evolved killed the king. Yeah Brother ti man, we appreciate you coming through man. I don't man pleasure to be here before we let you go though I want to say long live og clay. That's right. Yes, sir. Yeah, that was my partner I'm talking about yeah had me places. I should not have been I love that brother for that man. Clay gave me covid On the comedy gig but we for comedy in Atlanta. Yeah coughing. I say what's that? What's that? You all right Days later Yeah, that's that's my brother. That was our guy man. Clay called you out of nowhere. Hey nigga I ain't want nothing. What the fuck you doing? All right, nigga All right, take on clay. Yeah Fuck with that. That's my partner too. Yeah. Yeah, we got two mini stores. Oh, absolutely But yeah, man, you continue to be an inspiration to all of us, brother Thank you as you uh continue to evolve In those spaces of evolution, man, you just you just go crazy. I appreciate you, brother. You go crazy, man You do too, man. Thank you my brother. Yeah We uh, we we we not get old we just get better. I say you are a guy man Care what type of you say you is a all right guy with me, man. It's just it's just an article of clothing It's just who you think you are I'm on a damn turtleneck Here you think you He laid it up for me, man. I'm a comedian. I don't It's not my Killed a king. We got a date Yes, yeah, mr. Date. We're not telling it. Okay Okay, we're not gonna tell you just tune into the hit records that are proceeding. Yeah the drop Um, kill him brother Man, I appreciate it. This is all right, man. Thank y'all for the chat a lot too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we've made Clean those what they just come from. Yeah. It's a barista. Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to sessions at Atlanta. You know And you're going to hit the road too, right? Yeah, we're gonna do it. Let's uh, I think it's about time you hit the road though. Yeah, he Hit the road, man It should sound like work It ain't though at this point Hey, because it's all gonna be laid up the way you want it to be It it sound like it should be huh? It is again. Yeah, man. Let's figure that We're gonna do a look man. We're gonna make sure people have an opportunity to see me That's what we if they won't do and we're gonna be there. We put them there. I can't wait man. We put an absolutely Sure, we'll bring guests we're bringing guests might even be you know, uh of a particular lineage Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. That's good conversation. Yeah Yeah, might even be a particular bloodline. Yeah with a particular last night Ladies and gentlemen, my name is tank i'm j valentine and this is the rb money podcast the authority on all things r&b Uh, I'll care what he say He's still the king tia This is an i heart podcast guaranteed human