Episode 466 | .IDK.

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Let's go. Our iHeart radio music awards are coming back Thursday, March 26th. Live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music that you loved listening to all year long on your favorite iHeart radio station and the iHeart radio app. Hosted by Budakris. Icon award recipient John Mellencamp. Innovator award recipient Miley Cyrus. With performances by Alex Warren, Kaylani, Lainey Wilson. Budakris. Ray. TLC. Salt and pepper. And in vogue. Plus Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year. Also gold medal Olympian Alyssa Liu. Neo. Nick Colesure Zinger. Nikki Glazer. Sombra, Weiser and more. Watch live on Fox Thursday, March 26th. At 8, 7 central and listen on iHeart radio stations across America and the free iHeart app. No, warrior. Ma. No, conductor. No, warrior. Ma. No, warrior. Ma. Warrior. Ma. No, warrior. Ma. No, warrior. Ma. No, warrior. Ma. No, warrior. Ma. No, warrior. Ma. Alright Roy, we are back. Today we are joined by a very special, very talented guest. I got a beef to pick with you, but I'm going to pick that beef with you after our guest leaves. Pause. We shouldn't argue. We shouldn't fight in front of companies. But you should have sent me this project the day, the night it dropped. I talked about it the day it dropped on the pot. But you know I have ADHD, so you supposed to like, no, no, stop what you're doing and play this project. Today we are joined by another DMV, we just talked about the DMV. Yes. And it being like, you're just a hub for extreme talent. A DMV, I'm going to say he's a legend. IDK is in the building ladies. Well, there's no ladies here. Gentlemen. Yes. We never have ladies in the building. How you feeling fam? We never have. We never have. We know it's podcast. What podcast world is with? We don't really have ladies in the building like that. We got to fix that. We got to fix that. Well, we got, we have some ladies sometime. Okay. We have some ladies coming in. Next time I come out. Yeah. Bring some ladies. How you feeling man? I'm good. I'm good. So, ETDS, right? But before we get there, because I was reading up on you, obviously been following you for a while. But listening to this project, ETDS, even the devil smiles, available now at DSP. If you haven't heard this, it's one of the best projects that you're probably going to hear in the last 10 to 15 years, without a doubt. I'm getting right to it. How the hell did you get a DMX feature? That's easy. I'll be a question. No, no, no. I don't mean getting the features easy. Answering the question. Answering the question. Yeah, yeah. I did a song for him before he passed. Okay. It's actually me and Denzel Curry. Okay. He done, we cleared prayers for the projects prior. Okay. Yeah. So, it was like, by the time he left us, I had a beat, well, when he left us a little after that, a couple of years after that, I had this beat from Kachanada and I heard it. And it was a beat I originally passed on. And then I heard that shit and I was just like, yo, this sound like some rough riders type shit, but like with a little bit of a different swing. Like the way I've seen him DJ, it made me understand the beat more than before I had actually seen him DJ. Okay. So, like, he's got this thing where he'll play something like that and it'll be ladies dancing to it and all this stuff. And once I saw that vision, I was like, all right, this beat is like a little different than what I originally thought. And I was like, man, I wonder what happened to them vocals and what they doing with that song. So, I hit Pat from his team and Pat was like, yo, I still got it. You know, we don't know what we want to do with it. And I asked for his blessing to try it on the song. Once we tried it and we all loved it, it was like, oh, let's, you know, go through the proper channels, the family, fiance, everybody to fan kids to clear it. I got on a call with everybody, let them know my intentions for it. And they gave me the blessing. So it's the first actually approved or a state approved feature that came out since it's passing. That's why I love it that question because I mean, getting DMX feature while he was still with us was tough. Right. How'd you originally connect with him? I chased him down that South by Southwest to clear this thing. That's a brave thing to do. To chase that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really was like, yo, all right, he's performing at this joint because I always like never left that mentality of, bro, I got to make sure it happened. I don't mind like rolling up my sleeves and just hitting people and staying on top of certain shit. Some people have like an ego about it, but I look at it like how I looked at it when I first started rapping. I went to PG. When I got out of prison, I went to PG community college to just try to do like computer science or some shit. And I would be like rapping, I'll be in a cafeteria looking crazy by myself just like writing and stuff like that. And I knew that I looked crazy, but I always knew that at the end of the day, those same people that thought I was crazy, gonna see me where I'm going to be at. And then that's not going to be crazy. No more. Make sense. Right. So I have the saying, I wrote this when I was locked up, fantasy without reality is insanity. So I've always been that way. So me, like I was in a place where I didn't necessarily need to chase him down necessarily, but I was with all that because I, because whenever I believe it makes sense to do something, then I'm cool to do all that stuff. If it don't make sense, I probably feel weird. But if I think it makes sense and I'm like, yo, what I have of you on this thing is great. I just want your blessing. And they brought me backstage and I talked to him and he's like, it's good, whatever you need, it's good. Yeah. I was gonna say, how do you pitch a DMX in that situation? I just told him what I was doing and it was, you know, I had to do with religion and my fight with God and whether he's real or not and all these things. And I told him the pitch and he was like, it's good. Whatever you need, it's good. Yeah. I mean, so then it was good. Because I mean, your entire disography, you have some of the most impressive features. Yeah. Go through your whole cattle. You too though. You too though. I just be biting your features. You make an album that way. How do you kick that in? I'll get you the next few. Because you've never like struck me as someone that's, that tries to be in the mix so much. So that's where, or even I guess a networker. Right. Right. That way. So how do you get these types of features? I mean, they're all different, but the real answer is audacity. I just ask. I ask, I hit J. Electronica on a DM and see a few response. I'm just like that. And I think I move with, man, I don't mean to come off like this, but this is actually true. It's like a divine energy that I move with that's really connected in a way where I think things happen. I'm working on something. I can't speak on it just yet, but when everyone hears that I'm doing this, I think people gonna be, there's gonna be some people that's maybe mad, but most people are gonna be like, wow, that's crazy that you're doing that. And it's cause of the divine energy and the connection that I have. I really respect people who, especially when someone has passed away and I have a record that I'm gonna do, I speak to them and I thank them for allowing me the opportunity to even do this when they're not here and the past just starts to clear. Yeah. I mean, I'm just being real. Like, and so that's what it is. Anything I do, I always make sure that in my mind, this, this, this, and this makes sense because of this, this and this. And if it don't add up, I don't hit niggas bro. Yeah. If I'm calling you to make sense, I love that you just said to DMJ electronica. I had to fly to the mountains of Mexico, hike, hike up the side of a mountain to the top of a pyramid to get my future. No, I'm not guessing. I'm not guessing. You're not joking. I'm not joking at all. I mean, that's actually sicker than my situation. I'd rather be you. You would rather go that route. Once I'm abroad with me, it was a couple trips to Mexico. Yeah, man. Yeah, it was. Jay, like, is a he's an interesting guy. Yeah, yeah. One of my favorite people ever. But you just have to be prepared for anything. Trust me. And moving around with him. A thousand percent. A.R. 15 had to be put in malls faced by the federales for me to get that. I was in Mexico for the future. And we were getting both. Wild times, great times. But Jay is, he's just one of those people, man. The definition of free. Yeah. He's the definition of somebody that is free, somebody that does what they want to do, lives how they want to live. It's admirable. But it is, you know, when you have, when you when you when you meet people like that, you realize like, oh, yeah, like I'm not living. Yeah. Like this person, he's living. Living, right, right, right. He's living, he's waking up and doing whatever he wants. Whatever the fuck he wants to do. Did you feel the same way with Doom? Because I know you guys had worked before. Yeah. He has a feature on the album. Yeah. That one was really special, man. When I say I move with like divine energy in a certain connection, this is where I think it might it might make the most sense. With Doom, he did a feature for me a while back. And Dale the funky homo-safien got on the song. So I had to cut his verse down a little bit. I didn't have to, but I felt like it was necessary for the song. So he did a pretty long verse. And then I grabbed that and I held onto it, not thinking I'll ever use it for anything. Then when Red came up, I asked for his blessing to use a piece of it. I wasn't going to actually make it a feature. It was just, oh, that's Doom. You know what I mean? And then he passed away. And then when he passed away, I was still waiting for Jay to give me that verse. And he DM me and he's like, now I got to make sure this happens. You know what I'm saying? He's like, I got you. And then he DM me again. And he was like, touchdown. And then he sent me the joint. And that's how that happened. And then I still have more left though. And by the time I started making this project, I had to go deep within myself and go back to places that I didn't want to go back to, which was being incarcerated behind bars, all that shit. And then once I did that, I started writing the records and then I conducted, sent me this beat I took what he had. I chopped it and made the verse on that beat is me chopping his beat. And then the hook is the beat he basically sent me. So then I thought about him like, yo, I'm wonder if those Doom vocals are fit here. And it happened to be like the X things, similar BPMs. And then I was like, yo, he's talking about being locked up the irony of him talking about being locked up. And that happens to be the piece that I left. And I'm talking about being locked up the whole time. I was like, this gotta happen. So that's what I'm saying. Like I didn't plan that that happened. I put it together, I pinned it. I went to my experience of being behind bars at that time, trying to Kate too for the first time, all that shit. And I wanted to put you in my shoes for that moment. And that's what that's what came out. So and then obviously same thing, send it to the powers that be. Now I got approved. It wasn't going to be a feature at first. But then something, they messed up something on accident on the vinyl and my fans were zooming in on the way, you know what I'm saying? When I put out the pre-release sale and it was like, Doom, Doom. So I tried to hurry up and change it. And I changed it, but then people just kind of was like, nah. We saw that. We saw that. We should do the very Doom thing to do this. To take it all happy without saying. So I never, when I announced it, I never said anything about Doom. And then people was mad. It was like, man, how disrespectful is it to not list Doom as a feature on the project? But I wasn't trying to. I wanted it to be a surprise. And also because it wasn't a full verse, it was just on the hook. I didn't want to gas it. So people thought. Yeah. Okay. So that's what happened. And then I just, all right, it was like, well, I guess we just got to put it as a feature then. Yeah. You know, that's just what ended up happening with that. So speaking of spiritual connections and you being locked up. What did you see on the first inhale of K2? I saw some weird shit. Okay. Well, walk me through the day. It was my birthday. And you know, this is when K2 was new and shit. So nobody really understood how people knew people would trip off of it. Twist it. Yes. But most people didn't really know that all the way how bad it could be. So you know, it was my birthday and my boy D was just like, yeah, man, I got this, that and then, you know, we smoked it and you got to, you know, you smoke it slow so that the high could last because sometimes the high is really quick. Sometimes you don't know what high you're going to get. Actually, that's the thing. It's not consistent. You don't know what is going through to you and I smoked it and I just started like basically everybody in prison that I saw look like their selves, but an animal version of them. So themselves. Like if you look like kind of like a camel, okay, to me in that moment, you look like a real camel. You know what I'm saying? And it was like, but it was it was dark though. It was like scary. Like it wasn't funny. Oh, no, I'm sure it was like, yo. And then, you know, you know, like you you looking around like, I'm locked up right now. And you're like, yeah, you starting to the reality starting to really kick in. Like, I don't know when I'm getting out. I must be real now. It's my birthday. I'm looking at this. Like, you know, we had they got me like these little donuts and all this shit. Yeah. My birthday and I'm like, I don't want to eat none of this shit. This shit like I try to eat it. It tastes nasty. Yeah. I was like, you know, I just need some milk. Yeah. I'm going to lay on my bunk and let this shit go away. And I remember hearing this beat in my head. I still remember the beat to this day. I kind of got to make that. I got to make that shit. And it was just this dark ass, weird ass beat. But if I make that beat, there's nothing in music that sounds like this shit, actually. And that literally was my experience doing it. I did it a couple of times, though. It wasn't like the only time I did it. Oh, so you went back for another case. I think I did it before that. And then that was my birthday time. So yeah, but that I think I tried it. I don't remember exactly how much I tried. But I'll tell you this, when I got out, I didn't smell weed no more. Yeah, I couldn't smell weed no more after that shit. Like every time I tried it, I would get this weird paranoia high that I didn't like. So I just stopped smoking. Yeah, I think I accidentally smoked K2 once. Well, accidentally. It was like 2010 and like the synthetic weed was that's when I was around. And I was synthetic weed, but part of me feels like in 2010, that was K2 and we just didn't really know. Definitely. It was K2. That's K2. That's what K2 is. It's there. There was a name. I forgot the exact name. Spice. Spice. Yes, I smoke spice. OK, so I smoke K2. Yeah. You definitely smoke K2. But no, it definitely makes you trip out. So the reason why we would do it is because it was just like, oh, yeah, it was like you can't it doesn't show up on your piss test. So that's why we're smoking. I think I even smoked it a little bit when I got out, because it didn't show up on my piss test. But honestly, it was one of them things where I was like, oh, I realized my weed high was starting to like like be not what I remember being. So I can immediately tell when drugs are not for me because I don't like them or because I may like it too much. Right. Right. Right. Like shrooms, I don't do very often, but I've done them multiple times. Shrooms is cool. Yes, I think I especially micro dosing this and that. But like I tried Coke. I was like, nah, I'm cool. Because I may end up liking that shit. Yeah. So I left that alone. But I that K2 shit when that one time I smoked it in that living room, I'd never wanted to go near anything synthetic for the rest of my life. Yeah, no, it ain't like nothing about it was cool. It wasn't fun. It wasn't a story we could talk like later. It was just like, nah, nah, yeah. None of that shit is cool, man. Like, I mean, to each his own, but that ain't my style. I don't even drink. I never I never did shrooms. I had shroom tea before. OK, yeah. I just never like I never like outside of we I was never really like with trying because I'm scared to have like a trip and never come back. Right, right. That's like my biggest fear, like I'm going to turn into a whole different person. And I'm not going to be able to snap out of it. And it's like everything is different now. Right. So let's talk about the beginning of I.D.K. Originally from the UK. Yeah, born in London. Born in London. How what at what age did you come to America? Two years old. Oh, so yeah. Yeah, I'm American. You're American. More than anything. But are you still tapped in with the London sound like London rap? Yeah, for sure. I got like Goldie on my project. I'm still like it's in me, you know, saying like for show. But but I'm mostly just a DMV, like, you know, I mean, that's mainly what I am. D.C. Maryland, Virginia, for those of you who don't know. Now, the DMV, because me and Roy have been talking about it. What is it about the DMV that just keeps creating such unique, such talented artists like throughout the years in hip hop and in R&B like this? This this something about the DMV. Is it just the culture of the DMV? Is it the close proximity and so many different people are able to connect with each other? Like, what is it about the DMV that just keeps giving us like such talented artists? I think that we have some of the highest concentration of pure creativity, not creativity meets opportunity to expand creativity. Because, you know, when you look at LA and you look at New York, it's easier to expand your creativity to an audience because they have the industry there. We just got the raw creativity. So, you know, when when you look at something as unique as Go Go, then you look at how people have adopted certain cultural things. This is like a big African community there. There's a big Hispanic community there. Obviously, black community and all of these things, you know, when you kind of put that together and we're all close nearby each other, I think it creates what I like to call a color that doesn't exist. Something new, something unique. And in the way we dress and all of that stuff, you know, we made new balances popular. You know what I'm saying? When my when my dad was living in Baltimore and PG County. That's I even got honest. You from New York? Yeah. Yeah. New York is trying to claim the new balance. Jim Jones tried, which was kind of fun. But that's Jim Jones. He's going to play. He's our soldier boy. He was the first to do everything. But no, I've always because I was wearing new balances. And I'm not saying this as a stat, but when they weren't popular up here and used to get kind of like new balances in Maryland, that's all they wear. Yeah. I fell in love with new balances. We won new balances in the early 90s, though, in New York. We won new balances in the 80s. No, I'm sure you did. But I remember I remember like the 90s, like new balances were a thing. And I remember when I was born in the 80s, but I remember seeing pictures of the 80s. No, I definitely listen. I'm not. But I do know that new balances was definitely something that New Yorkers wore like early in the 90s. And it's probably before that. But I'm just speaking for me and my friends. We definitely started wearing new balance in the early 90s. Yeah. Up here. And like when my dad moved to Maryland was like, oh, two, three, four, somewhere in that time and nobody was wearing new balances up here. Like when I went down there was foreign. I was like, oh, new balances are in there. Comfortable as fuck. I could like actually do things. But yeah, in the early 2000s, at least my era was definitely not wearing not wearing balances whatsoever. That was definitely a DMV thing. And listen, I'm definitely like I credit New York for popularizing a lot of styles from DC, you know what I'm saying? Like how people were dressing or the drug dealers, all that stuff. People popularized a lot of stuff back in back then in New York. And I think there's some sort of an admiration for people in New York and how y'all get down and the swag and all that stuff for show. But the idea. I knew the buck was coming. Once they give you what's they give you credit and they give you profits. But yeah, yeah. No, but it's just really one of the things where like, you know, it I think that DC specifically in a DMV, we do a lot of things and maybe don't get the credit. So a lot of people are vocal about it. That's really more so what it boils down to. Maw Boost Mobile is proving that you don't have to overpay for great wireless. I don't know why you do that to yourself. I do do that as a friend. And I'm sitting here. This is an intervention to tell you don't need to do that anymore. Help me. You can unlock savings with Boost Mobile right now, $25 a month for the unlimited plan. It's a permanent price with no contracts, no price hikes. You keep your phone and your number, but you save up to $600 a year compared to any other major carrier. Stop overpaying and switch to a fair price at Boost Mobile.com today. Based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit Boost Mobile.com. Let's go. Our iHeart Radio Music Awards are coming back Thursday, March 26th. Live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music that you love listening to all year long on your favorite iHeart radio station and the iHeart Radio app. Hosted by Ludacris. Icon Award recipient John Mellencamp. Innovator Award recipient Miley Cyrus. With performances by Alex Warren, Kailani, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris, Ray, TLC, Salt and Pepper and Invoke. Plus Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year. Also Gold Medal Olympian, Alyssa Liu, Nio, Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glaser, Sombra, Weiser and more. Watch live on Fox Thursday, March 26th. Eddie Seven Central. And listen on iHeart radio stations across America and the free iHeart app. What do you think the DMV music lineage is? Like, for example, you could start with disco in New York, which then went to Cool Hurt and then went to Curtis Blow, Keras, and so on and so forth. You kind of couldn't tell the entire. The entire story of New York hip hop. Yeah. Where does DMV start? Well, so I'm going to speak with a lack of all of the information and education and answer the best I can with what I what I understand. I think the seventies, maybe the late seventies is when Go Go kind of came. But people were rapping over Go Go. Let's not let's not like get that twisted. People were rapping over Go Go. And I think, you know, people like Chuck Brown, things like that, they were coming in. Um, then we get to the early eighties. I'm pretty sure. Don't quote me on this, but look it up. We came punk rock came from DC. OK, I'm pretty, pretty sure. I'm like, like 90 percent sure. Um, so we obviously have that. And then, um, and then I think in the eighties, Go Go started to expand a lot more. I think that the nineties came and then we had, um, is it nonchalant five o'clock in the morning around that time? Right. Smalls era. And by the way, I'm going to probably miss people. So I don't want to, you know, saying no disrespect to anybody that I miss. But I think around that time that started to happen. When we had like Junkyard Band and all these people that started getting like real recognition being signed. I think Def Jam records, things like that. And then, um, where the era where I really started paying attention to certain things was when Tabby Bonet and Wale was coming out. Because Tabby Bonet was the first nigga from back home, from what I remember to be on MTV. Yeah. Shout out to Tuma, because Tuma was working at MTV around that time. And I remember seeing that like, yo, this could really happen. Yeah. I started seeing Phil Iday around that time as well. So, like, but, you know, a little later actually, but Wale was the first time I really seen like somebody like doing something, you know what I'm saying? And that kind of rubbed off on me like it's possible because not only is he from where I'm from, he's also African. You know, he's talking about the struggle being African, being made fun of all that shit. So it's connecting with me in a real way. So about the time I got locked up and got out, I remember saying to myself, yo, I'm not going to take rap seriously, because my biggest thing is I want to rap, but I don't ever want to perform. Like the idea of performing was so crazy and scary to me. You want to rap, but you don't want to perform. No, I just want to put out songs. OK. And I was like, I want to have like a local buzz like Wale when he first came out, but I don't want to be like a big superstar or anything like that. OK, OK. And that was my mentality going into it. My plan A was to finish school, you know, and try to do something with that. I still got my book from jail when I wrote my plan A, my plan B, and both of them were not rap at the end. They had rap in it, but that wasn't the end all be all. And so, but like I'm back to the lineage part. You know, you go Wale, then you start seeing like Fat Trail and then Shotg Lizzie. I was I was locked up when Shotg Lizzie. Yeah, I remember being locked up and they were like, yo, Shotg Lizzie, Shotg Lizzie, he beat from a Fat Trail. Nick is telling me, you know what I mean? And then then it was just mad. Other era is like when you go from that era to the next I think it's the next era was me starting to be like Gold Link and Chad's French people like that was coming out. Shabuzy was around too. Yeah, like Shabuzy was always running. Me and him got songs from when he was like fucking 17 or something like, you know me and Shabuzy coming up around his time. All of us is like doing our thing. But that Gold Link wave was serious when that came out. That was like, oh, shit. Like, you know what I mean? And can't forget there was even before that it was like Booby, one way Booby and all these, you know, all the street rappers that was coming out to big wax, everybody, circle boys, all that. Then we go to after that era, you know, we all kind of was doing our thing. We was growing. I want to say logic was around that time as well, a little bit before that. And then the next era was like when Big Floch and Rico Nasty and Shabazz, Q2Fool, all of them started coming out. But that was a whole thing. Yeah. Then we got Young Manny and all of them guys, Zan Man, which is basically they originated the flow that everybody's really using now. And then there's probably another era right after that, which is kind of more so now where you get Nino paid and you get who else is out there? You get El Cousteau. You get, I mean, I would say that's even a little after maybe or close to that. Where, you know, right now, I think after that era, Earl Swisher clip went viral, Niggs was like, oh, shit. Like that's our flow. That's like the DMV flow to the tee. You know what I'm saying? But right now, I mean, like you got people like even Masego coming out. They came out a little bit before round my era. Yeah. Like all like we just got so much shit. Yeah. You're running down this list. It's so much talent. Yeah. Yeah. We were, I think it was last episode when we're talking about a Foggy's album, like. Foggy too. The DMV has a sound, but it doesn't, if that may. I guess because there is just so many different types of artists where there isn't a definitive sound. But there is. Like I think Foggy, and I mean this respectfully, like I can hear some of Gold Link in his music to me, which is a very much a DMV type of tone. Maybe, maybe I, you know, that was the one thing I was saying. I don't see it all the way, but I can see maybe from the outside. And then how it could be. I see the nuance a little more. Yeah. So I'm like foggy sound like foggy to me. But like, but when I hear what he's doing, it is it is a lot of sub pockets of music, right? But it's kind of the same way it is like a lot of sub cultures in general in the DMV, right? But ultimately what you may get that's consistent is a certain type of slang, a certain type of respect and flow that's derivative, derivative of go go music. And then after that, it just becomes what type of style you want to do over what type of beats, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. But I'm probably missing like 90 percent of all of the shit that's really has been going on in these areas. That that's that's the thing, but we don't have the industry like that. Yeah. So when you hear certain things, they kind of like become like this thing where it's like it's dope, cool, people taking from it for sure. But it doesn't have the chance to incubate and become this big thing. Every now and then you get certain things, but not not so much, right? And then, Brian, like a lot of the artists, they be like they don't have the foundation around them. So structure wise, like management, certain things like that. So that's why I say we are the hub of pure artistic talent, whether it comes to style, whether it comes to music, all of that shit. Like we got that in the purest form. We got the blue magic. You know what I'm saying? But we don't we're not always able to distribute it throughout New York City. Got it. I see a better for you. I get it. She I understand. I see with the not Atlanta record with what La Russell has been doing with the Bay. I see everyone arguing what's the city and what's not the city. Is the clips DMV or not? Yes, I say yes. I say because I've heard Ferrell said out of his mouth. OK, I mean. So I'll go with Ferrell. So right here, right? I think people try to write off certain places because it's a little too far. I think there's two ways to look at it. There is. It's like if I'm out of town, I rather just I'm so I'm closer to DC than I am to Baltimore. Yeah. So when people say where you from, I just say DC. That's not. But if you're from DC and you say you from DC, but you're not from DC, yeah, that don't fly. So you got to know the context in which you speak and all. If I say. The DMV and its pertains to the clips, it's the most general broad aspect of the DMV we can have. Now, the real DMV, like the the the honest to God, real version of the DMV is the metropolitan area, right? All around. I basically, if you're if the train don't go to where you from, it's not really the DMV kind of. OK, that's the way some people look at it. But because DC, Maryland and Virginia are the DMV, the specifying that you kind of got to be from there to really understand why you got to specify. So because of that clips is DMV. OK, so if they say it, then that's it. That's it. You know, I'm I ain't bad. That ain't bad at all. Not so the whole remember the Titan squad is right. Right. Right. Because as a New Yorker, we still claim the clips. Yeah. Born here. You're the only New Yorker. I didn't even know that. I've never heard that in my life. You said you said before and he said, no, I'm not. I don't get what you're saying. They probably from Tracy. That was from the rocks, many from the brawls. I mean, speaking of the clips and push it, see, you and I were talking the day that record came out with push. Yeah. Why do you think people thought you were disinjured on that record? I don't know. That was a very odd perspective. Because you even hit me. It was like it was like I said, I said this and I said that. And I wasn't thinking about no Drake when I made, you know, saying like ice and, you know, it was it was dope to see that people dig that deep. And listen, man, keep digging. Like sometimes I do be saying some clever. Yeah. It's right. But I think it was that. And I think just by nature of the timing, that's why I say divine timing is interesting. I didn't plan for that to happen at that time. And I think they said something about Drake posted something about ice. And then we dropped a song. I was not that shit had nothing to do with when I was saying so. Hey, look, people probably said it because they just thought that that's what it was. And hey, I let them in and they try to dig and find little anything that may look like a shot or beef or disrespect. That's just what rap is. No, everything is like Microsoft under the Microsoft. Like what he meant by that? Like you said by that. And then, like you said, if somebody drops a song and you drop something or somebody posted something and you drop something, it looks like the timing of it all is like, no, that ain't no coincidence. Like he talking to him. Yeah, I don't even think push was talking about what to say. Like I could you could maybe make a case, but I still don't even think push was talking about Drake on that verse. Yeah. And it's kind of one of them. I'm not about to ask that man. Unless you understand, like shit like that is just like our conversations on really that's not what it was like. You know what I'm saying? I think he would say what it is if it's necessary to be said. I think he was just expressing himself with that pen like we all do as artists and whatever people want to say, let them talk. Yeah, because I even thought it got weird in those threads. I saw people saying you you had who kid host it because because of family matters. Like if y'all really think I think about Drake, that's too much. Like I'm not the kind of guy that's obsesses over trying to make a point or insert myself into a conversation that I have no business in. I don't think that ever goes well. I am a guy that if somebody says certain things about me, I don't like bullying. And I don't like it mostly mostly trying to bully me. Yeah, it's because I that's the mentality I develop from being locked up. It's like you let somebody play with you and buying them walls. That's going to be your time the rest of the time there. You might as well just crash out and I have to deal with that. No, cut that short now. Crash out, but if that's what you got to do, that's what you got to do. Because at the end of the day, this shit is about survival. When you buy them walls, you got to figure out how to make your time the most comfortable possible. I'm not about to have nobody make my time uncomfortable, bro. I got to eat. I got to do what I do. I don't bother nobody. Leave me alone. Yeah, I'm over here. I'm in the car. I don't like that sometimes people think because I'm a nice guy like to people for the most part, they think that they could maybe play with me. That's rare, by the way. But that's what I don't like. But to me to just go out of my way and be like, oh, man, let me try to even like stretch it because I'm niggas here some shit. And then they'll be like, oh, this is my opportunity. He said this one little line. Yeah. And I'm going to try to make it. Then I'm man, that shit don't. Again, I move with divine energy. If that ain't what it is, that's not what it needs to be. I actually fuck with Drake. You know, say I fuck with some of the shit he does. A lot of shitty does. Drake, I listen to take care when I was locked up. That was, you know, that was a record that shaped how I even listen to music. I don't think people give him the props he deserves for the music he's put out. Even though commercially he's successful, I think from a respect standpoint, people write it off. I was arguing with Torrey about this shit like on a joint because he, you know, he has his feelings about it. And I'm like, look, I don't know about the ghostwriting shit. I don't really I'm not in the room to know who did them. But what I heard when I hear on them speakers, my my my argument with him was. Are you saying what he's saying was coming out as bad? Or is it because he may have a ghostwriter? And once it was like what he's hearing is bad. I'm like, I don't agree with that. That nigga is clever. I said this to his face. I told him, I was like, you know how to say simple clever shit in a simple way. That's hard. It's extreme. That's very hard. It's probably the hardest thing. So I'm from a shout out shout out to him and what he does. No, you know, and that's not no disrespect to push. That's not no disrespect to other people that I fuck with. I'm just a fan of what this is. And that that guy has never done nothing to me that I, you know, I'm saying they try to say maybe he had an idea that was inspired by something I did with the the K-Tranada joining and never honestly, never mind whatever. That was like an internet thing. I actually saw him after that. And the energy was just cool. I left it at that. So when people try to put all that together, they make shit with people to fan sometimes make shit with. And then then the other thing is like some people be I'm not saying he is. I don't know him, but some people be sensitive and take that shit seriously. Yeah. I'm not one of them guys. Like I really got like I said, bro, being behind certain walls and being behind them walls, bro, you look at life differently. Like you look at time differently. You look at being patient differently. You look at who could be an enemy and who's not very different. Yeah. So for me, like I don't move. I move with the principles that I learned from that. And yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of artists obviously are sensitive, but they kind of let the fans and the internet dictate how they they should move. Because a lot of times it's not even that. And then the artist will be scrolling for two days and be like, no, you know what? Maybe it is. Maybe he was talking about it. Like, no, they made this. Oh, but you should understand that the fans are the ones that are making you think that someone is saying some shit about you. But gang, that's why I got a fucking phone. Hit my line. Yeah. Yeah. And Jay, electronic. Yeah. Talk to me. If you feel away about me, but that's why I'm like, this is just man time. If you feel away about me, if I feel away about you, oh, man, ask anybody that I will call you. Yeah. I'm going to hit your phone, bro. And something to be scared. They don't want to answer the phone. And they any nigga who don't want to answer the phone and have a conversation but want to talk on the internet, I already write you off. Yeah. That's that. You perform it. But that's yeah. That's that's ego shit, too. It's scary. I'm one of those people who was mocking the test to I do in a dumb way. A lot of times as well, I will always approach somebody if there's something that needs to be said. That's mad. I never understand. Like we could just have a five minute conversation. Yeah. That doesn't mean we have to. That's a confusion. We could just both coexist if it is like that and just move forward. It's not. I never understand why people can't just have a conversation. Niggas be avoided, bro. Yeah. Listen, bro, I keep going back to this, but I'm telling you, I had to realize I'm the way I am because at pivotal ages from 17 to 19, I'm to 20, I'm behind bars. So I'm looking at my mind, my brain is developing and I'm learning these things. And that is high. You can't do that back. You know, you can't do that in that situation. You like you can't hide from niggas. You got to confront. Yeah, I've been in situations where I'm hearing shit about a nigga. He fell in the way, nigga, pacing back and forth. I don't know if he has a knife on him. I don't know what he's. I literally walk up to the thing like, yo, let me holler at you. Let's let's sit down and talk about whatever the fuck. Yeah, this misunderstanding may be because I got to go home at the end of the day. Bro, I can't deal with like all this in this nigga on some probably crash out shit. He my he don't know when he going home. I don't have time for that, bro. Let's talk about it. And if it from there, it still escalates. Then I mean, I did everything in my power to de-escalate it and whatever happens after that is what happens. Yeah, that's my mentality. So when it comes to these niggas, this is a piece of cake. It's just like, just get on a phone, bro. Scary ass. Let me be scared, bro. That's a phone call. Phone call. What can you scare? It's a message. So we grown men, kids and shit. I don't have no kids. I'm saying niggas got kids or are going to have kids. Right. What are you doing? Yeah, let's just talk. So imagine your kid think that's my daddy. You know what I'm saying? My daddy. That's how my dad. My daddy scared it all. My dad is supposed to be a superhero. Yeah. What are you scared for? Niggas. We're learning kindergarten. Talk it out. No, but that's my power. Look at it. What was that feeling like when you thought you had to do 15 and it ended up you know, just having to serve the three? So I need to make that clear. I never thought I had to do 15. I have 15. I got 15. Yeah. But it got suspended to three. Was that because you were a minor or? I think that helped play it apart. OK. I think they would have fried me if I was if I was 18. They considered it, but they charged me as an adult. So it's like it's a consideration, but it's not. It doesn't legally make them not do or not do something. I think I didn't have no record prior to that. I was 17 when it happened. They didn't find said gun. There was a lot of little shit that was like in my favor. So then the judge is like, all right, man, I'm going to shoot. Three, boom, you could do it on private home detention, which is a trick bag because it's like it sounds sweet and it's better than going to prison. Let me make sure that's clear. But private home detention you got paid for. It's not state. So it's a little more strict. It's a little different. And then to be 18, living your life as a 18 year old at that time. It's kind of hard to have that level of responsibility for that long of a time. So I went in back in for violations and shit like that. You know, saying and then I ended up having to do the rest of my bit, what they call up the road in state prison, where they basically is his is sweeter, is fun, more fun and more livable than jail. But that's where the real hyenas be at. That's where the real extortion happens. That's where the Aryan brotherhood and all that type of shit is over there. And you have to know how to navigate gang culture. That's why this music industry is a piece of cake to me. These niggas ain't, you know, saying like I really had to be in that situation and navigate that as a 19 20 year old. My nigga like I had to be I was a tutor. So I hope people get a GED. So off bucks. Everybody's fucked with me. Yeah, yeah, off that. And I used to cut niggas hair. I used to have a blade and a comb. Imagine they catch me with a blade. You know, saying like I'm in a back cut niggas hair for two dollar soups. Like nigga, two packs of noodles, hitting niggas with the shape up. Like all that, you know, saying like that's what that was where I was at with it. I hustled. I did what I had to do. Got to fuck out that joint man. Like so that's why I say this shit. I can see niggas when they really that when they really not that like when they are scared. You learn how to sense fear. Like you could see a nigga heart being like, you know, so you could feel it. And and one thing I definitely never do is take advantage of people's fear. I just try to make niggas, you know, calm niggas down. Like, yo, I'm not a bad person. We good. We can get through certain shit. It's just when niggas try to act like they, you know, or act like I'm scared because I'm being nice. Yeah. I just don't really get something that happens in the initial part of the Vlad question. But just since you know, you mentioned it on mixtape. What was the Christmas Eve body that they they tried to put on you? Oh, my God. You did not commit. That's a whole other thing. So that's you wrapped about it. I feel like we know fair and and and you know, that's come up quite a few times. That particular conversation of what I was saying, I want to make sure it's very clear. A lot of that was based off of imagination and exaggerating whatever the scenario is to explain the effects of karma. Yeah, OK, right. Like going through all this shit, getting away with everything, thinking I'm and then come back and now I got charged with shit I didn't even do. Yeah. I did have a situation where some charges came up. We don't need to talk about the charges, but they came up. Bro, I was in my cell and they're like, you get moved to Virginia, like Virginia, they put me in a bullpen. I'm like in a bullpen like what did I do in Virginia? I don't even be in Virginia like that. It's the DMV. And so they say I had my niggas. So they say I had some charges and I thought about what the fuck. And I remember the only time in my life I ever got Rob. I was fucking around with these niggas and them niggas was I'm tell you. That was the day I realized I didn't have a certain level of fear, meaning I want to get a little bit into the story. Like I'm chilling, you know, in the DMV niggas wear ski mask. That's like a thing. Yeah. So I see a nigga with a ski mask and I'm with somebody who's supposed to be him. Right. And I remember I seen a nigga, but I didn't really think much of it. And I remember nigga came up to the car next thing you know, I got a gun to my neck and they like, what a coke at what a coke at. And I'm like, coke. I don't got nothing to do with none of that, bro. But I know the niggas that I'm around. They in a certain shit. You said I'm a K2 guy. No. They into shit. They in a certain shit. I had to got out of my first bed. This was me trying to figure out my life. I sold a like Impala SS. So I had like six bands on me. I remember feeling that money in the moment. The first thing I thought is whatever this nigga need, I'm going to just give him to him. It's not worth my life. Right. So he's got the gun with a coke at that. And then he proceeds to try to rob me. Right. I do this thing where I get on the ground and this is a car right here. And I start feeling in my pockets and my nigga. When I say I think the six bands was right here. I have a couple of dollars right here and I have my wallet right here. I was about to give him everything. And then I realized, man, I felt them six that six bands. I'm like, I'm not giving this nigga this money, bro. So what I did was I'm Ricky Zeke. You should have a class, right? So I'm like this. I'm moving my body underneath the car a little bit. Yeah. Right here. And I'm like, giving the money out of here. Boom. And I'm throwing another pocket under the car. I got changed and some more. And I'm like, the wallet to like the wallet to make it all. So meanwhile, I'm pulling this money out of here. And I'm doing this and I put it put it under the car and I shimmy out. And I'm like, I ain't got nothing else. Yeah. And he goes over to the other nigga and he this nigga crying and some more shit like this nigga. I get like about the ugly cry like, yeah, yeah. And I remember in that moment, like looking at this nigga supposed to be not that listen, man, you can cry if you're getting robbed and you might lose your life. I'm not going to. But I just ain't expecting. But we're going to laugh. So you can do it in a moment. You can cry. But we don't laugh. So that this shit happened and shit and dumb. And and that's when I realized I didn't have a certain level of fear. I was like, I got I still had that money. And I still got that. Yeah. That's how you focus on that. That's just bands under the car. So boom. So that's the segue to that story. But back to what the original thing. So my social security was in that wallet. So when that shit came up, I'm like, man, what if they got me for my social and did some wild shit? Oh, OK. Now I'm getting hit for that. Yeah. And it was a serious as charge. It was a very serious charge. Luckily, more serious than the shit I was in there for. Luckily, they never moved me. They were like, it's there's a mishap. But man, I was like, so relieved. I'm like, I'm never getting out like at this point. Because even if you because if you get a body, you still got to be in court for like a year of fighting that shit. Yeah. Hell yeah. And I'm like, that's what it sucks about. Even if you ain't do this shit, if they got enough evidence or believe they have enough evidence, you're going to be in there for a minute. So yeah. No, absolutely. Today's show is brought to you by presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet, which is Florida's sports book. March is here, mall. So you know, the madness is going to take over. So angry. College basketball. So mad. Center stage. Every day we have games. I cannot wait. The temperature is rising. The shots are falling. And now it's time to get the hardwood with Hard Rock Bet. Sign up today and double your winnings on your first 10 bets. Max $50. That's right. Your winnings are doubled on your first 10 bets. So if you wouldn't want 100 bucks on your bet, make it 200, mall. That's how you start March. So don't sit on the bench. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and let's get the party started. Dancing boots on mall. Here on bonus bets, not a cash offer offered by the Seminole tribe of Florida and Florida offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC in all of the states must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, you call 1-833 play wise in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, once help call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem called 1-800-gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. And in vogue. Plus Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year. Also, gold medal Olympian, Alissa Liu, Nioh, Nick Colesier, Singer, Nikki Glaser, Sombra, Weiser and more. Watch live on Fox Thursday, March 26th. Eddie Seven Central and listen on I Heart Radio stations across America and the free I Heart app. Let's talk about suburban trap. Yeah, because I like that. I like that that that that turn. Um, how did you come up with creating that name or that sound? Yeah. And try. So it's interesting when I first got out. The flow. Well, when I got out the last time from actual prison. Um, there was this thing in my mind where I just wanted to just be like a normal guy, normal scenario. Like, like I didn't whatever was in my past. I wanted that so far away from me. I was like, I'm going to come out rapping, but I don't know. I don't want to talk about nothing about being locked up, nothing that shit. Um, and I just want to separate myself from anything that could be considered street. So I grew up in the suburbs. The way PG County is set up. Maryland, if you don't go to a private school, you still go to school in the hood with the hood. That's mostly the scenario. Or if you go to a school like in like, let's say Boo, for instance, it's a lot of niggas who come from certain areas that end up going to that school. So it's like weirdly still bad. You know, saying like it's just still go down. So I was like, I wanted to create this thing that made it very clear that I come from this. And at this time, I'm not trying to talk about anything that I did going to jail. All that shit. I was just talking about, look, man, I'm just a snigger that's hustling, selling weed, trying to make music work. And that was what the suburban trap thing came from. OK. And I created these little characters like all these different people that represented people that I did meet along the way being behind bars, things like that. But I wanted to make sure that my story was very clearly not that. OK. And so I talked about college a lot trying to go to college. I barely went, but like that's what I put like, you know, more in the music. And that's that's how I actually changed my life. That project when it came out. You mentioned your plan A and plan B written down. What did you want to do instead of? I'm not performing, per se, but plan B was like a registered nurse. OK. And plan A. That's not how I was. I was. You can't just say registered. All right, well, man. No, no, they do. But I wasn't expecting I.D.K. They were like, not registered nurse. And that's what I wanted to do. Yeah, because my mom was saying shit like that. And you can make a lot of money. Yeah. And the other thing was she was told my I.T. So that's plan A. Trying to get an I.T. OK. When I went back to school at PG community, I was trying to do. Computer science. OK. And learn that aspect. And that was my plan A and my plan B. Rap was in the plan in the diagram I drew, but it wasn't the end all be all. I was just trying to I was just trying to get a good job, man. Knowing that I got felonies and she just tried to like figure it out. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's really all it was. Now, I was texting Rory about this this this project and and listening to it. The last two days, like just on repeat. I haven't I don't think I've enjoyed a rap project like this. In a very long time. Like this this had this reminds me of how I felt when when Mock dropped Pray for Haiti. Obviously, you got conduct on this. So that DNA is is there. I'm a I was I came up in the in the 90s. Right. I'm an 80s baby. Got. So this is this reminds me of I felt the far side. I got you. I felt, you know, that whole era of 90s rap. Mm hmm. Was that like making this album? Was that the the the intent? Was that the feeling the vibe, the energy that you was aiming for? Or was this something that just happened? Because this is definitely like real rap hip hop. Every level, the music, the bars, you set a line in there. Like I love when rappers say a line that I never heard. You say cutting corners like a picnic sandwich. I've never heard. I've never heard. So when I heard that, I was like, not only is the music incredible, but whenever a rapper says things that I never heard any other rappers say, I'm impressed. Oh, it's hard to create new things and new sounds and things like that. So just the music and the rapping and the bars and then the intention and then just everything all together. I was really impressed with this. And I told Roy, I was like, I can't believe that this album has not been in my rotation. It's a mixtape. Yeah. It's a mixtape. Like again, you know, mixtape is just a name. Yeah. Right. But there is something that is a difference in as far as in creation with artists that it's a different type of freedom when you're creating an album versus a mixtape. But this this this is like some of the best rapping one of the best projects that I think we've had in a very long time. So I had to I had to come in here and salute you for that. But like, what was the intention? Or did you feel like, you know, I want to I want to go for this energy, this vibe, the golden era of rap, hip hop, or were you just being IDK? I think I was being IDK more than anything. I let production dictate what I do. And I think I was this is IDK, the artist, and is IDK the producer. And I think that when I put the records together, then that started coming out. I was thinking, especially the first half of the record, the project, I was thinking more like 50 cent, 50 cent and G unit reason being I'm by myself for the most part. I got my peoples and I say I'm not I don't belong to no subculture, no community of rap. I'm cool with everybody, but I'm like a loner. Sometimes people even think I think I'm better than them. I could tell the energy. I've heard people say that and they even like that. It's just it's like went back to just being being locked up when I was at first. People didn't know how to read me. And I actually actually like that. Yeah, I like when people can't read me. I remember O.G. came up to me. I had to be here all that shit. He like, man, I still can't put my thing on you, man. I can't read you. And the reason why I said that is because I will be quiet. And then next thing you know, I'm cooking somebody or making fun of somebody. How they dress or whatever the fuck like whatever it is. Yeah. So he was like, he came up to me because after that, he was like, I thought she was the quiet nigga. Now you roast the niggas. You hate clothes. He's like, I can't put my finger on you. And I always move with that because I always like to look at the room, see what everybody on, see who's who. All right, that's the loud nigga right there. That's the quiet dude over there. This nigga, I'm not really sure about. Let me see. And I think in the rap industry, I inherently just do that. So if I if if someone's really quiet, I'm more loud. If someone's really loud, I'm really quiet. I'm just paying attention. You know what I'm saying? It's like interesting. So I think because of that, I felt like I was a loner. And then it's just like, bro, it's just certain niggas be trying to style on niggas like they that they that. And I'm like, bro, listen, man, I ask you for this, whatever record or whatever. Whatever we doing, don't try to act like you better than me or cooler than me. Yeah. Like I understand you where you at. That's industry, though. Yeah. That's just industry policy. That's like, well, I think about this shit. All this shit is like high school. I know the type of nigga I was in high school. But I was a certain type of nigga. I got niggas from high school with me right now. I wasn't the type of nigga like you do that kind of shit, too. I wasn't the type of nigga that wasn't cool. They ain't getting no hoes, nothing that shit. Like I was a certain type of nigga in high school. Yeah. And I look at certain niggas. I know what type of niggas they was in high school, but they got a little bit of, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And they move like that's who they are. I could tell. Right. And I'm like, I get offended by that. Right. Like, nah, bro, I'm this. You that we cool. Yeah. But you don't got a style on me. I'm good at what I do. Right. And for my resources and never being a part of a big community that catapulted me, I figured it out. So listen, the features on this. Yeah. Let's just run through it real quick. Before you while you're looking them up, I had said to Maul earlier today, I think you out shunned the features, which is kind of a very difficult thing to do with the type of features that you. All right. I appreciate it. I mean, Black thought did go fucking. Yeah, he was. But Black thought is Black. Who's going to have the presence that you have next to a push or next to a Black thought takes a different level of talent in my. Because usually when people get these types of features, you end up kind of like, that's the highlight of the project, which I feel like you're the star on every song, even with the features, which to me is very difficult to do. No, I appreciate that. That's where a lot of, I think rappers fuck up, especially if they signed to a major and now get the opportunity to have all these crazy features. Like, well, now your album is the feature presentation. Like now this album is dictated based off other people. No one's really going to connect with you. Yeah. And you know what? To that point, it's interesting. You know, I look at like our future, for instance, I remember when I was, I first heard about our future from a double XL magazine in the cell. And I'm like, these niggas look as weird as shit. Tyler, they're created. These niggas on some demonic shit. Like, I don't really like, you know what I'm saying? Like when you, when you around like certain people, that shit is weird to you. I didn't grow up really on that. So when I seen it, I thought it was weird. But then when I started seeing them, like afterwards, and obviously Tyler's done stuff on albums and shit like that for me, like I started to get it more. When I got out more, you know what I'm saying? I went to school as like two white people. The whole school was like, oh, you know what I'm saying? Like I only knew one thing. So the interesting part of that is I see that they had a movement and they did their thing. I realized I thought I needed a cosine up until like 2017. I'm like, damn, you know, JID is with J.J. Cole and them and they stamping them. And then you see Kendrick came in with Dre when he really came in. He came in with Dre and then Cole came in with Hove. Well, a little bit of Hove. Kanye were Hove. Then Big Sean came from Kanye. Yeah. And I was like, man, and I'm like, all I should do is wane. So I'm like, man, it's always been people passing the tortures. And I'm like, man, I had gotten a deal from good music at some point in. But I didn't want to do it because I'm like, is Kanye going to be back at me? And then it didn't sound like he was going to be too deep into the you know. Yeah. So I'm just like. And then it got to a point where I had to just go back to the mentality I always had. It's like, I can't make that happen. I have to do what I can on my own. That's when I went to Adult Swim with an idea. I was like, yo, I got this project, but I want all the songs to sound like they could be on Adult Swim. The only reason why that worked out is because when I dropped a project called Empty Bank, bro, when I say crickets, it was the second. It was right after Subtrap. I dropped Empty Bank. And I'm like, yo, this is going to change my life. And it was crickets. Nobody was really fucking with it like that. Nobody I experienced. Oh, this thing doesn't just keep going up because you consistently put out music or even better music. That's not how that works. It's about attention. Right. And I was crushed by that. And one thing happened that was probably the most important thing. One of the most important things in my career, the guy who created, directed and created Tunaami and Cartoon and Adult Swim. He tweeted about the album and how much he loved it. So we had a relationship and that's why when I had the idea, I was like, hey, I got this idea and then he was like, I'm going to get behind you. That's when I started realizing that's the cosines. I got a I can't I can't be waiting on no other rapper to come fuck with me. This and then give me a bad deal on top of that. It may not work. Right. I was like, all right, fuck it. I'm a fuck with Adult Swim. I'm a fuck with this brand and make sense of what I and then they help market my shit to an audience and Adult Swim is the kind of what kicked off me having like a cult following. Like they they were the ones that really like did that for me. So yeah. Yeah. That's fine. No, those those I completely agree. Those cosines are more important for your solo group. Because even like, I mean, of course, Sean did just fine. But he was signed to good music when Yeh's coming off 808s and Harbryx going into my beautiful. Right. Arguably his peak. Right. You're not going to be the biggest part. You'll get a look like he's on the bonus track on my beautiful dark swiss of fantasy, which I'm sure helped. But his real cosines, because I was in the building at Def Jam at that time, that was him networking with the building. That wasn't a Kanye thing. Like he really put in he had to go put the work. Yeah, Kanye rightfully so is focused on his fucking career. Because it's all over the world. Yeah, right. Right. I can't sit here and put together the entire like Yeh took a break for a second to do the push. Tiana Nas, like that's when he's like, I'm stopping what I'm doing. Right. And I can focus on producing other other people's shit. But at that time, now you sign in to good music. Those guys at the height of his career. Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, how many kind of these are even on finally famous. Right. Right. Right. No, that's one right. But first of all, Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay, I was in the office. Sean had, I think it was the BAPE store. Sean had shut down the entire street in Soho. And that's when Kanye and it's not a slight to come. I'm just telling the truth or whatever. Kanye in the building took notice like, wait, wait, wait. Big Sean booked the big store by himself, shut the whole block down, cops had to come. Like there was too many kids out there. That was the day that Yeh was like, I'll get on Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay. This kid got something. It's somebody. It's a certain respect that you got a demand for yourself. And again, it's not a slight to Yeh. He's got his own shit going on. That's why it's just tough for artists, which always makes a great point with Wayne. Wayne at the peak of his career, stepping aside, putting his ego to the side to help Nikki and Drake and Tiger. And everyone was that's the rarest thing that does not ever like. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got that self confidence, though. Yeah. That's I was getting pussy since high school confidence. Yeah, right. Like, no, he had the story. Wayne's been getting pussy since he was 10. Yeah. No, real shit, though. Like that shit rubs off on you in a certain way. When you move a certain way, like I could do shit like that. When my eyes closed, if I ever had an artist like, you know what I'm saying? Mm hmm. And the other thing is you just explain something that's really important and a lot of people don't understand how to maximize opportunity. Niggas be playing games out here. Like, I don't play with this shit. Like I do this shit. I love this shit, man. I'm about this life. I made I made myself focus on this thing to get where I needed to get to. Like, bro, like same that same album that kind of flopped for me. My nigga, the one thing. Another thing that happened day free. Dave free was like, that shit is fire. I'm going to do it. To where I say, Rashad, I think Peter Rosenberg sent it to him. OK, he was like, I can't lie. That's that's I can't front. That's fire. And he put me on tour. I said, Rashad, I got like a bunch of money. But I had no money. My mom had just passed away. I used the life insurance money, bro. To pay for that. My last 10,000. My only 10. That's the most money I ever got in my life at that time. Yeah. The $10,000 I got from that shit. I fucking. I was about to try to get a little van with it and shit. They're like, no, no, no, just render sprinter. Yeah. You know. And I think it was a rush card. They gave me a little bit of money to do. Remember, rush card is crazy. They gave me the money. I had to have people sign up. It was a great idea in theory. Yeah, it was. I had to have people sign up. But that's the dedication, like my last, you know, saying for my mom, my blessing, like, you know, I mean, yeah. And I think that's that's something that people that separates what I've seen in the 15 years I've been doing this shit. When Shaw Money allowed me in the building, I was not expecting Shaw Money to then guide me to every next pillar. You allowed me in the building. I'm going to maximize every last thing that since you gave me a key card. I'm talking to everybody in this fucking building. I'm going to get to know everyone. I'm going to try to figure out how I can help with everyone. I think rappers lose that mentality, too. Sometimes when. You get signed to say a Jay-Z. All right, go get to know Sherry. Go get to know the entire team. Someone's giving you an opportunity that doesn't mean they're going to lead you to the fucking water. Yeah, they just allowed you in the building. Now it's your time to go do something. I watched Sean talk to everybody in marketing. He was he was asking assistance to help him out with stuff like people that were 20 years old, making forty five thousand dollars. Big Sean was nobody. Oh, some of those people are still on his team to this day. Yeah, like that's what you need to do when you're given a small opportunity. How can you maximize it for yourself? Yeah, that work across with everybody. Right. That's where rappers fuck up, too. This is still a business at the end of the day. I'm still of the belief that creative should be able to be left alone and be creatives, but it's 2026. Yeah, like you have to be able to manage yourself to some degree as well, because no one's going to get your creativity better than you are. You need to explain that to PR. You need to explain that to marketing. Your manager can only do so much in that regard. You got to have those relationships. Yeah. And let's not act like especially people that work in music don't have some type of vain star mentality as well. Yeah, they want to talk to the artist. They'll work harder for you if you get to know them. Like they want to talk to artists. That's why they got in the businesses to work with artists. So if managers cool, I get it. But if you're not putting in a thousand hours, the way you deal with the guy from Adult Swim, like that means something. He he liked your project. He didn't like your PR agents project through you. Right. Right. Right. You got to talk to these people. Right. And I think that's where artists fuck up a lot. Yeah, I think niggas just be just man, so used to getting a dick sucked. And they just don't know how. No, you've got to be like, bro, they forget that they're human in some time. So they just be trying to like they expect to have everybody. It's like, look, I think they said this the day you become famous, you stop growing. So you're whatever age you are. That's how you're going to be the rest of your life until you're not famous anymore or whatever. And that stuck with me because it's like need niggas be like babies and shit like like crying about certain shit. Like it's like even like reviews and stuff like niggas here review or like Charlemagne says something about the he said Black Thought Body, you broke body. He was saying this shit on on Brexit's Club about the. Yeah. Yeah. But you know what's funny? He thought the niggas singing was me. So he said, God, I ain't going to cut it. He didn't hear my verse here at the P. So so so he's saying this and I just said, man, thank you for even reacting to a joint. Like I don't know. He just didn't yesterday. Like on some like, you know, I saw love. I like, but you know, that wasn't me. Right. That you thought that was me singing. That wasn't me singing like. But see how that like that could have been like, oh, man, I could have met them. Yeah, you couldn't have met them. Also, on top of that, like you brought up Peter Rosenberg. I remember when Jay-Z was on one Epstein and they brought up the the Naslan, Eminem killed you on your own shit. And Ho was like, while I don't agree with that. OK, what would I not want? Right. My out. You know, I'd want an amazing Eminem. Yeah, yeah. That's what I'm saying. At the end of the day, of course, it's competitive, but like, you don't think I want a good verse from my album. And you know what? What I did say, what also is great about that. I talked to Tariq Black Thought. We was in the studio, me and Erica and Paws from Daylight Soul. And he literally was like, man, I did that verse. But man, you came with your like you really like I was big in him up. He was like, no, but you be doing your shit. You dropped a bunch of names down there. Yeah. He's kind of just said, I'm with Paws. Erica not doing Black Thought. Yeah, Tariq, no Tariq. Not Black Thought. It's a different. But I mean, that matters to me more than anything around that type of energy. It was amazing. We were talking about eight tracks. I was trying to understand how it was when they was growing up. They never understood the eight track. That's what he was talking about. I was talking about if I ever had beef with anybody before and they had some crazy interesting stories. Erica was amazing. She played a very amazing project that I can't wait for that shit to come out. If it's the one I think you're talking about. It's the one. I keep waiting for that to come out. I don't understand why it's not out to be. It's really good. It's incredible. It's almost too good. No, it's really actually like absolutely. This even the Devil Smiles ETS Mixed Tape by by IDK. Listen, man, I just want to thank you for this project because this is like such a refreshing just vibe energy. They hear raps and music like this, man. It's like we don't like we were talking about off mic. Like they don't people don't put the effort into music as much as they used to. They don't have the intention, the attention to detail. As much people just want to get out and get it out. But this this this project from top to bottom, bro. I mean, Pusha T Blackthorne, No ID Conductor, which we need to talk about. DMX. Bro, this is just I don't I just I can't stop talking about this. I started listening to this. Definitely one of my favorite projects in the last time in many years. And this is the type of album that we should be talking about. Rory, like everybody wants to always other artists and shout out to other. Have you heard bravado? Yeah. OK, I'm just saying. But this to me is like to have this now, you know, like we and we said this year, twenty twenty six, we've gotten a lot of good music, so far. But this is one of the albums or problem mixed tapes that I think everybody should be playing into. That incredible before we let you go. I'm not sure if there's something you want to advertise, but I thought I thought it was great. So by the time they hear this, your event in New York would have already passed. Yeah, it is tonight. You were mentioning that there are fans that may not have the means to come to your show. Yeah, and write in letters to get free tickets. I thought that was like a really cool cool thing that you were doing. How long you've been doing it? I think I did it before one other time. Well, the last time I went and did a couple of shows, I just think like a lot of people I think the world is an interesting place. And I think that a lot of people are trying to figure out how to escape where we're at. And I like for my shows to be in my music to be some aid to that. But then some people just ain't got it like that right now. I've heard I saw people tell them they lost they they family and financially. Since then, they ain't been good. They had to cover the funeral and they just asking for tickets. They just asking for tickets, my G, like. So I give them a ticket and a meeting for free. You know what I'm saying? Like it's just like if you if it's if you're willing to write a letter about it, you care, you know what I'm saying? Like I if I can do that, I can do that. And I have great fans to where some of them are buying tickets for other people. You know what I'm saying? Which I thought was really special as well. Yeah, those are really that. It's really that. But hopefully nobody abuses it. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, I mean, let it get some tickets. I got you. Right. That's why I like I mean, I guess we can say now, since we're on the topic, Maul and I have done that a lot with people that have DMed us or even people on our discord that just buy regular tickets, get a degree. No matter what. We just haven't advertised it because I just don't want my DMs to be all 800 people at the show. Say, right, right, right, right, right, right, right. But yeah, that's definitely a special thing that I admire. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Is there anything we can expect for? Again, this is this will be out by the time the show is over. But yeah, what's what's the show look like tonight? This one I'm just going to do strictly what's on this record. So it's like it's the show you would have normally done right when the record comes out for fans. But, you know, we wasn't expecting certain things or whatever. So we ended up putting it together fairly last minute and putting it at the time and that made sense. I was going to be out here for Fallon and all that stuff. So that's what happened. But but the great part of it is I'm just going to give them this record. Now there could be something later on where I do this and all the other stuff and probably something new. But for this, what to expect is learn the words, say the words, put that, you know, that's that's what we're going to do in New York and LA fire. Yeah. All right. Well, I think, man, we thank you for giving us some of your time. And we know you got a busy. Yeah, I'm sorry. Fallon, thank you for this for this mixtape. Incredible project, fam. And if you haven't heard it, I don't know what you're listening to, but turn that shit off. Turn on ETS. This shit is incredible. We're going to hopefully see you soon next time when you run to New York. Thank you. I'm not a nigga. He's just ginger. That's I.D.K. ETS available now. Yes. No, warrior. Let's go. Our I heard radio music awards are coming back Thursday, March 26th. Live on Fox. Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music that you love listening to all year long on your favorite I heart radio station and the I heart radio app hosted by Ludacris icon, award recipient, John Mellencamp, innovator, award recipient, Miley Cyrus with performances by Alex Warren, Kailani, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris, Ray, TLC, Salt and Pepper and invoke. Plus, Taylor Swift makes her first award show appearance this year. I.D.K. Also gold medal Olympian, Alyssa Liu, Neo, Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki Glaser, Sombra, Weiser and more. Watch live on Fox Thursday, March 26th, Eddie Seven Central and listen to I heart radio stations across America and the free I heart app. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.