Wiz Khalifa (Rerun)

Hey, what's up? I'm Joel Madden and this is Artist Friendly. On this episode, I'm talking to Grammy Award-nominated, multi-platinum, rapper and entrepreneur Wiz Khalifa. Let's go. I'm not smoking on gas, I'm smoking on piff. That's my kind. I don't want no bedtimes. I don't want to have bed. That's the modern, I think, independent artist is like, they understand the major label distribution. But the independence of it is like, do the records come back to me? And I think the younger artists now understand that where I didn't actually. It wasn't set up like that before to where you could just basically, like you said, license out an album, but not be locked into a five or however many album deal. Yeah, ten records, five records. It was different back then. But the artist came, because back then, if you were like, I want to do a license deal, no one would laugh at you. They would be like, hell no. Not unless they didn't think you were valuable, because they would be like, okay, cool, yeah, whatever. And then like you said, if you have that cult following and you're able to sell, they're not going to see that because they're used to having to promote you and put you on that level. But if you're able to do all of that stuff yourself and they kind of like downplay it, then they would do that back in the day. What part of your career did you feel like or do you feel like you figured out how the whole thing works? It was really when I figured out who my fan base was and figured out how to keep them entertained more than anything. When I would try to make songs for the label or just work with situations that other people thought were the best ideas, that never really connected. And it wasn't because it wasn't good stuff, it just didn't connect. It wasn't what was going to put me at the top. And when I started making music for the people who I knew I was entertaining, then that's what kind of, well not kind of, but was allowed me to block everything else out and just do what I thought was cool and that's what took me to the top. Yeah, because you really do have, it's interesting, you have plenty of charts songs like most stream songs on YouTube or this or that. But you have, I would say that's like one aspect of your catalog is like there's hit songs. But then there's a whole other aspect of your catalog that if you go to your show, you see the songs that everybody loves. They like the hits, but then there's fan favorites that feel like it's part of a group of people that have been with you a long time. Yeah, it's a bigger story to the hits. I think it's just me being able to exercise my talents and my ability. Because if you put me in a position where we're writing a big song, I'm going to do well. But I don't lean on that to be like, I'm the dude who makes hits. I love music and I love what I do and I'm great at what I do. But I'm really, really for my fans, my community and yeah, whatever they say goes. Yeah, it's a lifestyle brand, all of it. I think you do have a way of including in your, it says if you go to your Instagram, you're just living your life. But you found a way to make your life also your job. Yeah, 100%, which is very sustainable. Yeah, I think I come from like the beginning of the social media era. And that was really what it was all about is just being yourself and not really having the facade and all of that stuff. So like you said, I'm able to just live my life and that be the brand, which I'm really, I feel really fortunate and blessed to be able to do that. Yeah, I mean, what you, I would say almost like you built a model because it's unsustainable to do some shit that you actually don't really like to do. Yeah, I mean, all that stuff, it eventually comes down, like it crumbles. Or you know, you could be successful and not be really happy. And that's not the goal, you know, for my generation, just coming up and seeing, you know, the pros and the cons of kind of like, portraying stuff that you're not like, we know how that, we know how that story ends. Yeah. So you learn that you learn that lesson from other people. Exactly. We watched other people do it. So we kind of like figured out how to spin it. And me personally, you know, just growing up in Pittsburgh, which is like a blue collar town, we don't really have too big of an industry or, you know, anything going on there. So I'm really like level headed with it, you know what I mean? And that's that's always been my angle is being relatable. Yeah. And it's like, when you see me, I got jewelry on a shit like that. So now it's like, okay, maybe I might not be able to get to that level. But yeah, I started out where you are. And now I smoke pounds of weed. Like, you know what I'm saying? So I was like, at the end of the day, I'm just trying to show people that you can not show people, but be an example of, you know, being yourself, being happy, being healthy, sticking to the things that you love and the people around you, because everybody still sees me with the same team as well. And you see me with from before, you know, you know, that I started with. Yeah. And that's all part of the part of the story is, you know, just stand down so you can come up my perception of you. And we've known each other from around. Yeah. But my perception of you was always working class, real roots, like your team has been with you forever. You care about Pittsburgh. It's like, it's evident in everything you do. Even the jewelry and stuff, I would say as more of an aspirational kind of, it's not even like a flex. It's like, it's a bit more of the rockstar thing where like, well, what do you expect? Like, it's also tasteful and cool. You know what I mean? Like, there's some style to it, where sometimes you can see someone who just bought the jewelry, because they thought they were supposed to buy the jewelry. And it's like, who picked that for you? Right. Versus someone who has a bit of a taste or design with their, with how they put it together. Right. But I think there's aspiration versus kind of, I'm just spending the money how I think I'm supposed to spend it, because this is what everybody else has. I've always found you somehow, and I don't even just say in hip hop, but in entertainment at large, I've always found like you have always existed in your own, like corner. Yeah. It's interesting. I do. And I think it just has a lot to do with how I came up and the time that I came up, because when we first met, I was on Warner. Yeah. And you know, they were kind of shopping me around based off of a single and things like that. And there was no way to really know where I was going to end up from those days. But after that, like immediately after that, is when I was able to like just lock in and just find my own critics, like people whose opinion that I cared about way more than anything else. And as soon as I started doing that, and releasing music at my own pace, whether it was a mixtape, album, a video or whatever it is, I started to develop a confidence where I was like, I know what's up. Like, you know what I mean? And that allowed me to really, like you said, build that corner, that world to where I can just create from there and not really be distracted at all. And even if I want to take a little break or take my foot off the gas, or I'm trying different things, I tried the or I do all of these things with confidence and knowing that, you know, the people who I'm reaching out to, they're going to understand it and they're going to get it. And, you know, everything comes from that. There's been a lot of opportunities that I couldn't have planned myself, whereas like, I don't take credit for everything like, yo, I know this, I know that, but I am always ready for any situation, just based off of being really, really sensitive to, you know, my crowd and just having a genuine love for what I do and love for the people that I do it for. Like, that's my inspiration. It's not the money. It's not number one hits. It's not, you know, awards or anything. Like when I got my first number one, I didn't even know what that whole process was. I was just having a good time, having fun. So a lot of the stuff that happens to me, I realized that it's the energy that I put out. So I just keep putting out great energy. Yeah, it's the, it's a, it's kind of, I see it as the like, great example of to find what it means to be yourself. And actually just double down on that every time. You double down on how I feel, my intuition, opportunity comes when we go forward. So I'm just going to keep going forward, doing what I think I should do. And you really do, you strike me as that guy who's just doing what he thinks at any given moment, you're doing what you feel. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm not scared, you know, I'll try some stuff too. But that's how we figure out like, whose opinion is the most. What matters. Yeah. And then it's funny, because then you have your life that's, let's say it's like your work life, right? You gotta go, whether it's the music you're making or your touring or, I mean, you have a lot of shit going on. I want to know more about the MMA and the fighting, because I think that's like one of the coolest aspects of you. Thank you. Because you're a very chill guy, but you also train and I know you could like fuck somebody. If I had to. Yeah, if you had to. But then you also have your real life in the, not to say that's not real life, but then you have fatherhood. And you got to, and that's a whole other aspect of life that I didn't know about until I was, I was touring for 15 years and then I had my kids. And then it opened up another almost like a whole side of the house I didn't know existed. And I had to find the balance between who I am out here to the world or whoever, and then who I am at home with these people who they think it's cool what I do, but they don't really give a fuck, right? Especially if it takes me away from too much. Right. So I'm always trying to find the balance of like, how much I let that impose on, you know, the relationship I'm trying to have with my kids, because my, my, my relationships with my parents was, was, it was broken. So it was very important to me that I like knew my kids. You know what I mean? Definitely. And I know you are a very man, super engaged father, because I've seen you around. Cause I think our kids went to school, our kids went to the same school at some point. Lower school. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then I saw you a little league. So you're in it. Yeah. How did those two worlds? How did those two worlds mix? Um, I'm trying to think of like a cool answer, but there is none. Yeah. I think like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think just being passionate about both. Yeah. I had to learn to sacrifice on both ends. Uh, there was a time where I would be in the studio all the time and like, you know, I would get anxiety if I didn't go to the studio. Yeah. But having my kid let me know that it's all right to not go to the studio some days, or it's okay to plan it where, you know, maybe a week you might be heavy in the studio. And in a week there's no studio, you know what I mean? So it's like preparing for those things. And then there's times where I feel guilty for being away. Yeah. Me too. You know, like you just don't want to be away. You want to be there for certain things or you call off as much stuff as you can, but then there's just some stuff where it replaced. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you can't. So I had to give myself grace on both ends and just, you know, kind of not go, not be so hard on myself. The time I know in what my intentions are, and that's the best thing about it as being a good dad is you care. Yup. And any dad that I meet who's like juggling it or can't really figure out what's going on in between. I'm like, you got the first step down. You care. Yeah. Like motherfuckers don't care. You're like, they'll just go on and put stuff in front of it and be like, I got to do this. I make excuses. But if you're like tripping and you're like trying to figure it out, that's the first step is to care. And then you try to take action and you figure out what takes this place and what, you know, what that looks like. But caring is the, is the first part. And I think, you know, the more conscious we are about that, then it all starts to, you know, line up how it wants to. And now I'm at the point where I can work out tour, go to the studio, make content, hang out with my kids, get them from school, make sure that he's got his work done, make sure his clothes is this. And I got a newborn daughter now. Oh, wow. Yeah. So I'm putting her to sleep. Yeah. You know, changing diapers. Yeah, exactly. Like, you know what I mean? But it's like, it all happens together. Nothing replaces anything. I'm not losing out on anything. And it's just because I care. You're articulating something that I thought the same thing for a long time. The first step is that I actually am stressed about this. It just means that I care about how they feel and what experience they're having with me as their dad. It's a beautiful thing. And they're actually wiser and stronger than I'm giving them credit for. Because when I explained to them, I have to leave or go away for a month. And we're going to figure it out. Maybe I'll fly home on this day off or whatever. They understand it more and they understand what's at stake. Right. So I'm also making a living for their life. And actually, I think kids who have parents who are trying to balance careers and they're doing it with them instead of shielding them from it, they understand actually how life works a little bit. And they're the benefactors of it. Yeah. I also think what you hit on caring is actually sounds kind of dumb, but when you tell an artist, all you got to do is care. Care about that thing more than anything else and you'll likely have success. It's kind of the same with raising kids. Yep. You just care about it. That's your, that's like the greatest song you'll ever, ever be a part of. Yep. And, and if you're, if you're lucky, you get to be a character in their story. Yep. And they have some great story. Yep. But I always try to give my kids more credit that they're, that they're stronger than like some mistake I could make or some day I missed because, right. And, but finding the balance is always the, the stressful part. You know, when you care about what your kids getting out of life, it'll keep you up at night. Yeah. It'll have you questioned in a lot of things. Yeah. That's funny, man. That's the, I guess that's the, the actual struggle of every dad. Mm hmm. Do you know, like maybe there's some guys out there listening that would say like, I was easy for you guys to say, right? I'm working 50 hours a week at this job. I hate and I'm missing bedtime and I'm getting up and leaving before they even get up, but that's their, that's the same struggle. It is. It's the fact that they care and they miss their kids and they're trying to figure it out, makes them a great dad. Yep. That's a good point. Yep. Yeah. It's the modern dad though, I think it's a different generation. It is a different generation because we're able to tap into that. Yeah. Before it was just the dad thing to do, like up, I'm out. Yeah. Or, or I put a roof over your head. Thanks dad. I'm asleep. Get out. We're like, all right, I worked and I got to play with my kids and I got to take them somewhere like dope and like, I can't just let somebody else do it because I know how much they care about spending the time with me. Yeah. And you wonder, yeah, it matters. Yeah. It's freaking, like, yeah, that stuff matters and it makes you feel so much better when you do it too. Yeah. Cause you dig deep. You're like, man, I gave that shit everything that I could and I just feel good. Like, that's the reward. It's a good tired. It is. It's the best. Yeah. It's my favorite thing to do. Like I've already proven myself that I could rock the biggest show and I could do a song and blah, blah, blah. Like, you know what I mean? So what do I need to keep running to go prove that to anybody for? I'll do that when it's time to, when it's time to pay a bill or when I plan being creative, it doesn't have to have, it doesn't, you know, my passion for my kids and my family and just that balance and them depending on you and knowing that you'll be there or knowing that you're not there, but you'll come back. Yeah. They got to learn all of those lessons. Yep. It's the greatest one. Yep. Love the kids. Yeah. We're lucky we got healthy kids. Yeah. Yep. For sure. I always think about that. What do you think that part of your life, aside from just balance and figuring out how to make it all work, do you feel like fatherhood has affected your art? Yeah. I think it affects my art being a father. It doesn't make me like censor my art. Right. Any. I think fatherhood, like I said, it takes the anxiety away from the art for me because it let me know that I'm more than just an artist. Yeah. Yeah. Like before I had my kids, like that's all I had was my art and it was a lot hinging on, on that being successful every time. Right. And this is just a new stage of being the same artist, but it's just handling the art differently. So the way that I handle my art in my twenties isn't how I handle my art now, but I'm still the same artist and I'm still create great art, but I just handle it differently. And definitely 100% having children. You know, it changed that. But when I, when I do create, I would just say that to me, it made like longer periods in between like those, those big moments. And that's not even true. Cause when I was a kid, I worked forever and then it, then it popped off and then yeah, so you got to work forever again. And then that's, so that's just what being an artist is. Yeah. Nevermind. My kids don't got shit to do with that. I mean, I think it just makes you cause, cause I think you said it and I, I agreed with it when in my head, I was like, Oh, it just made me give a little bit less of a fuck. Yeah. What the outcome of that was because when I go home, that's not who I am. Right. And I forget about it. Yeah. And then I wake up the next day and they're like, Oh, the song came out and did this. And you're like, Oh, that's cool. Great. And then your kids like your, it gives you something else to like, that doesn't define you. Yeah. It changed me 100% in that aspect. Yeah. Like I'm not just an artist. Like I'm not just leaning on that. And I was thinking about the timeframes of like when I create and like when I feel like I'm in my bag the most, but I'm constantly creating like regardless, but I don't put so much pressure on that creativity. Like I don't, I don't look at everything like this is that moment. Oh, this is everything. This is the one right here. Right. I'm not doing that. Like, you know what I mean? I'm like, okay, I like this shit. And it's cool. You know what I mean? I'm having a great time doing it and whatever happens, happens. And I just keep that flow of creativity going until I'm like, Oh, okay. Now, yeah, we need to do a tour. We need to do merch. We need to do this. We need to do that. But I'm not looking at everything as if, you know, that's the end all be all when it comes to like the creativity and the art. Like I love my art and I love what I do, but my kids just helped me to, you know what I mean? They inspire me more to just, you know what I mean? Create just regular shit. I don't got to do, I don't got to be crazy or anything like that to be inspired anymore. I look at them, I get happy. I listen to the music that I enjoy while I'm with them. And I think about how that stuff makes me feel. So I'm not really even creating from the same space sometimes. Like I used to be in a strip club, like creating from that space. Different time. Different age. But I do think that that's also just a lifetime of experience where you actually start to see how nature works. You know, you've been in the environment so long, you can read the leaves. You can tell what the weather is coming. You know what the different predators are. You know what the different food you can eat in there is. You know, like when I think about the music business and music and how that intersects, because we do just make art, but then we actually have to go do work. Right. And we have to make decisions that affect the business. And any artist that denies that they are not an entrepreneur, that denies they're an entrepreneur is denying themselves. Right. If you are not an entrepreneur in the music business, making a living, making music, you want to deny that you aren't a business person, then you should quit. Right. Because this is a bit of a jungle. And the longer you're here, the more you understand how all of it works. Right. And you have these intuitions and these feelings and you see what, you know, what an opportunity is. You can, you can smell it or see it or because you've been here long enough. Right. You also know who's full of shit. And you move through intuitively, making music is intuitive, deciding when the how a lot of that's intuitive. But then you also understand what a good plan is versus a bad plan. Right. You also know you need a plan for this thing. Yep. And that's a good business. Yep. And so you have your team and you built out a functional system that works for you. And that's why you can scale your business. Otherwise you wouldn't be rich and famous. Right. You would be a trying to make it guy for 20 years and you know, those God bless them, but they couldn't get it together. And you're like, I wonder why that. Yeah. I wonder why that something's not functioning. Exactly. But the intuitive, adaptable survivors, like we're just like, it's kind of like dogs. Right. Like we just get better, smarter. We smell stronger. We know like we can, and we build businesses in this ecosystem of music and art and also make having a family could have been just intuitive. Yeah. It could have just been us going, we need something else to take us out of, or maybe we're going to kill ourselves. Right. Absolutely. You know what I mean? Absolutely. We were going to be to go off the deep end. Yeah. Cause the rock star stuff works in your twenties. Yeah. All that shit, the crazy stuff. Right. And then in your thirties, you start to go like, whoa, it's not even appropriate anymore. Can I live this way? Like you can't. Absolutely not. Good stuff happened after 12 p.m. at a strip club. Bruh. You, it's the burnout. It's in a row. Burnout is real. What are the chances of the crazy. Absolutely. Seeing happening and I'm there and I get caught up in it and whatever you start at that, you start doing the math and then intuitively I think we go, I think I need to settle down a little something. I need something to slow me down. Yeah. Take me to the next level. I think about that. It is. It's, it's, it's, it's crazy because, you know, I had my first son at 25. So I was still figuring it out. That's young. Yeah, it is young. And there's a ton of stuff that I did when he was a baby that I would never do now, but I was in my 20s, so I didn't know no better. Save. So I was like, you know, I don't regret it, but I just know how much he helped me level up because just thinking about that and knowing like, wow. Okay. This is growth and it's because of him. And it's because I'm. Want to be a good human being. Yeah. And I'm not like, you know, worried about anything else. So, you know, that's like you said, that's what takes you to that level of sustainability, where you can sustain, where you can be doing for the rest of your life. Their rock star 20 shit is you, it's not going to last for your whole life. A lot of people try to do it, but their bodies just start caving in and it's not, they don't feel good. And it'll look good after a certain age. Yeah. It's like, you could tell who, who's doing it too long and too much. And then they show up at the party and everybody shows them love, but it's like, dude's kind of cooked. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah. So we don't want to, we don't even want to reach that point. And you get, you get signs. And then like you said, having a family, like, you know, in the back of your brain, you're trying to, you're definitely telling yourself, like, dude, this is, this is where it's at. You don't necessarily have to slow everything down and stop. But this is what's going to take you to the next level of sustainability of what you're going to be able to do for the rest of your life. Yeah. It's like finding the balance each with each, with each era phase level. But I would, I would almost like, I'm sitting here and I've always respected your career. And I've always been a fan and you've always been, uh, one of those people, whenever I've seen you around the way you carry yourself. I just have a lot of respect. Cause I've been around a long time and I've seen, I've gotten to see it all. So I've gotten to kind of make my own judgments on like what I personally respect or admire and how certain people roll and how they move through the world. And just as an observer watching you build a career and with your catalog, the things you do, entrepreneurially, the different brands you have, it's all true to you. There's some kind of vibe to it that feels inviting, feels it's got a friendliness to it. And then getting to see you around with your kids and then hearing people, right? He's the nicest guy or he was this, my kids on the team with him or this, like that stuff actually to me, it matters when I always tell my kids, when we're at a restaurant, how do we treat the person that's serving us our food? Right. Because I don't know if they grew up on my music or even if they just know who I am, how we treat them is going to resonate for years in the stories they tell about our family. And whether you were wanted to be born in this family or not, you were born in it. And how we behave is, is you're representing me, I'm representing you. So if I was out there and embarrassing you or vice versa, neither one of us win and neither one of us will appreciate that. And we got to have some self-respect. And we got to care about people. It's not that we give a fuck so much that we're going to behave in a way we wouldn't, but we do care about people's opinions of us as people. And like, I watch how people roll. And I just make my own decisions and I go, I fuck with that guy. And that you're one of those guys that I've always thought, man, I fuck with that guy. Good look, yeah. I mean, that's not always the case. It's not, it really isn't. And I feel bad when someone doesn't get it. I think like, that's what I tell my kid, because he's at that age where he's like, you know, he's like, he likes to joke and shit like that. And how old is he? He's 11. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. It's when it starts like my son's 15. Oh yeah. But they start, yeah, they start being cool at 15. I remember I was worried about being cool. He's, he's cool as hell. Yeah. But he's still like figuring it out. And I'm like, you know, you're, you're privileged. You got a lot going on and you're a charismatic dude. So I'm like, there's a difference between being funny and being an asshole. Right. I'm like, there's enough assholes out there. Like, you know what I'm saying? So, and I live by it. Whereas like my job during the day and not even my job, but I'm here to be a blessing in somebody's life. Yeah. So if I come and contact with you, I'm going to make you feel good. I'm not going to make you feel bad. You know what I mean? And like that's, I did my job. I'm good. And I try and I'll rub off on him and let him know it's a choice. It's a conscious decision to be, you know, a blessing. Don't be a pushover or anything like that. You know the difference between somebody trying to get out on you, but just regular any old time, you know what I mean? It just, it doesn't take a lot. Just matters. Hey, how are you doing? How was your day? How are you feeling? Thank you. I appreciate that. You know what I mean? Just the little stuff. And then, okay, now you add on. You're somebody who people look up to. Like now it's even better because they expect you to be an asshole. They expect you to be entitled or whatever. And you just show them the exact opposite. You show them how down the earth and cool you are. And that's way better. That's a way better, you know, interaction with people, no matter who it is. It's weird having to have that conversation with your kid. Yeah. Um, same thing I've had, I had to tell my kids, I'm like, they're either going to know who you are or they're going to find out because your parents. Right. So your mom is, you know, she, she's famous is usually about her. It's usually like, like, I'm like the sweetener. I'm the bonus. I'm like, oh, but like, they're either going to know you coming in. They're going to have a perception of you because your mom is so-and-so. Right. Or you're going to get there and they're going to find out. And so exact same conversation. Don't be a pushover. Have self-respect, but be a nice surprise for people because the world that we live in, most people expect you to be asshole. Right. And you're not. Right. And so you don't have to put your guard up. Yeah. Don't be a pushover. You got to be aware of that when, cause it's the same thing with boys. They're joking around, whatever. And for me, I don't know why, but it's nothing like growing up. I changed my mind now cause that, cause I understand like none of us choose to be born in the families we're born in. But I used to have like a real chip on my shoulder with like, he's a rich kid. Like he grew up rich and I had a major judgment and that's not the case. Right. But you don't want to be the stereotype. Hell no. And I tell my kids that all the time. I'm like, and I think they listen. They'll get it. They'll get it. They'll get it. They'll get it. I mean, I think, I think like, because when you genuinely want to be cool, that's what you're going to do. Like, yeah, like you're going to get pushed and pulled in a lot of different directions and you're going to try to impress your friends and you're going to try to, you know what I mean? Have your moments. Yeah. You have your little moments and shit, but that's how you learn. Like sometimes you go a little overboard, but you have to be able to brought back, be brought back. That's why I look at him growing up a lot different than, than how we grew up. Cause we would get punished immediately. Big time. Like if you did some fucked up shit, it's like, yeah, exactly. There's no like how the fuck, why would you even do that? But now we look at our kids like, okay, it's okay to make a mistake. Cause you're learning. Especially like a little mistake. I would get spanked. I would get like the belt for like anything. Anything. It was like, like, what level of life with my kids. I'm like, I'm like, no, people lie. You're scared. You're going to lie. Boom. Bro, our parents wasn't sad. Did you eat that? I'm like, no. Like with chocolate on my face. You don't even know why you lie. No. But do you think that the guy that you are, that I perceive and that I've experienced in the music industry now for decades, long ass time, two decades almost, uh, and, and from when you started to now, definitely, do you think that your view is because of your, you know, you like growing up in a working class place, do you think that informed how you appreciate what you have. And every time I've been around you and we played that show with you in, uh, just it's a good vibe. Hell yeah. Everybody's good. Yeah. And you actually are checking on people and everybody's like, everybody's good. Yep. That's a different experience than a lot of, uh, big entertainers of experience, much more guarded, much more closed off. Yeah. No, uh, I don't know. I'm right. Yeah. I don't know. Is that your, is that just your growing up? I wouldn't even say that it's my growing up because I feel like everybody has a choice. Yeah. You know, and like, I, I moved around a lot. And I lived in Pittsburgh. That's, that's where I identified the most with, because that's where I'm from, my family's from, but I've always just had my own thing, just as a human being where I had a choice where my environment wasn't really what I was going to become. So even being in Hollywood and being, you know, successful and things like that, I'm not going to become. Right. What the norm of that is. Like I'm still going to be me. Like I always was just me, even when I was hanging out in the streets and there was a lot of people doing a lot of things that I wasn't into doing. Right. That's why I made music because I was like, I'm me dog. Like I can't, I can't act like y'all, I can hang out with y'all, but I can't act like y'all, you know what I'm saying? And it translates through a lot of different things in life. Like I want to see everybody do well. So I don't put people down and I don't, I don't, you know what I mean? Yeah. I, I got crack heads and thieves and, you know, killers, you know what I'm saying? Like, but I'm not that. That's not what I am. Like I smoke weed, I make music and I found my little things that, that are, that make me really, really happy. And that's what I'm into. And that's what I, you know, I put my energy and my passion into. And when it comes to like taking care of people and, and what my vibe is, I think that's like you, like I was saying before, it's a conscious choice to not being asshole. Like I really care about people. I really care if you, I like, I really appreciated y'all for coming through. Oh, that was great. And doing that. You know what I mean? Like you guys took time, you drove up there. It was a really big moment for me. You know what I mean? So it was like, I cared a lot. And if you're around me, I want you to feel good. I want you to feel involved. Like you, with your little brother, your big brother or who, whichever brother you want to be with at the time, I want you to feel like we vibing out on that level. And we all creative. We're all, you know, successful in our own, you know, world, whether it be, you know, business or family or just the fact that we're all still here doing this. Yeah. And I'm very appreciative of all of that. Like a lot of people take that stuff for granted and they just move around and they're just, you know, they just think like this stuff just happens. I don't take that shit for granted. You know, I'm super duper appreciative. Like I'm super gracious and just gratitude all the time. So that's what you get when you're around me. It's like just all of that energy and just balled up in one. And you think the weed has anything to do with it? Definitely. Well, I smoke weed. I smoke weed, a lot of weed because of how I hear music. I've definitely got a contact. I have a real yes. Right now. Yeah. Which I don't really smoke weed, but obviously I have. But I always found it made me like not, and weirdly now I'm not tired, but, but it obviously I didn't like, I didn't hit the joint, but, um, but it was just put me to sleep every time. You got to listen to music high, like zone out on some music, bro. You ain't going to sleep. You'll be like, what the fuck? Like just put some headphones on. Like listen to a record or you don't even got to put up the headphones on. Like this is still an old record, bro. Highest fuck. Be like, wow, that, that's why I listen to, listen to weed. That's why I smoke a lot of weed. Good movie, but you can go fall asleep watching the movie. Right. Right. A good movie. You'll put your good music. Well, listen to a record. You hear all the layers. Yeah. You hear everything. Yeah. Yeah. Hell yeah. But the weed definitely helps. Um, I love, you know, smoking pot all the time, but it takes a lot to recreationally smoke as much as I do. So I don't like, you know, advise everybody to smoke. Well, it's not, well, you know, everybody has their levels. I mean, yeah, I know I have friends who smoke a lot of weed. I have friends who smoke weed every night. Yeah. I got friends who, you know, everybody's got their own. Yeah. That's the, whatever your schedule is, your, your regiment. And you work out. Oh yeah. Every day. And I smoke. Is it all training, all fighting? Or is it also weights and stuff? I do weights too. Okay. Yeah. I lift weights and, and, and box and do hot yoga as well. Oh wow. Two days a week. Yeah. That's really good for you. Yeah. Hot yoga is the shit. I love that. That's my favorite one. Well, no, I think, I think Muay Thai and boxing is my favorite, but the hot yoga, like that's where I get to breathe. And I think a lot. Well, I mean, it's all quiet. Yeah. It really centers you like a lot. And it's tough too. You see like some old ladies in there gangster dog. Yeah. They're going to live a long time. That's the other thing I think about what we've been able to do and build lives doing, you know, creative, having creative be the center of our life. I do think that we like, we have a younger age, you know, like, we're, like, we're not aging as fast. Right. Because I do think that it puts you in a different state of mind most of the time. And I do think that stress is like the killer and doing things like hot yoga. I will do every once in a while. It's really fucking hard. It is. And you got to find the right like group of people. Yeah. Because if you're in some class with people, you don't know. Yeah. Sometimes a little too, a little too personal. Uh-huh. This is very wet. Because you're tripping to your heart's beating. You're like, man, I'm going to stay next to you right now. There's like, so you just got, you got to find the, you got to find the right community. Community. Cause it's got to also, it's different doing it in a room with a lot of hot, like hot girls versus like just sweaty guys. Yeah. Yeah. I'd rather be in that room than that room. I'm a sweaty guy. Yeah. But that's fine. The best room is a nice mix, but it leans more in my opinion in like. The hot chick room. Yeah. I personally just think it's just like a room that I can kind of like be less disgusted by. Yeah. Because it gets disgusting. Yeah. For being just really honest. Yeah. No, for sure. I get it. Every time people say how disgusting it is, it reminds me of how like sweaty it is in there, bro. Like it's so sweaty. Let's say it's like 30 people in the class and 28 of them are like guys and they're like Harry, sweaty, fucking, you know, I don't mind how I look when I'm sweating my eyes off, but you know, I like my own brand. Yeah. But you know, so it's got it. So it's got to me. It's got to be the right. Invite only. There's a lot of nuts boiling in there. It's good for you though. It is good for you though. It's great for you. I love my. You live a long time. And to your credit, I've only, I only go to the one class. I would never go to anybody else's class. Right. It's the same one. Yeah. The same one. So you know all of them. Yeah. Like I found my community. So you're absolutely right. Yeah. Exactly. Hey, whoa. How you doing, Brenda? Good job. All right, Gloria, you're back. Nice downward dog. Yes. I, but hey, that's how you live a long time. Yeah. For sure. Definitely. And not enough people, I think take that stuff serious enough. Yeah. I think doing the stuff that you love in general keeps you happy throughout life. Whatever it is, cause the older you get, the less, you know, kid like you are. Like when we were kids, we used to just go outside and play. Yeah. Like just fucking run. Like for no reason. As soon as the door will open, we would just be running. Right. You don't do that as an adult, bro. Like as soon as the door opens, you're like, ah, like you're walking. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So the more you can free your mind like a kid and just basically have that same experience, just play, bro. Like that's what's going to keep us alive. And that's where the best music comes from. I find when I'm in the studio or if I'm making anything and I feel like I'm playing and I'm having fun with the people, you know, and I think that's a, that's another thing that keeps you young. Man, I'm, bro, I'm laughing in the studio. Like I have to like relax and laugh. Like my shoulders have to be down. Like if we're like cramped up like this, trying to make music, that's not even really creating to me. I don't even know what that is. Even like making it. That's your brand, right? How's it going? It's going really well. Yeah. Yeah. We lead in here. A lot of people like it. Yeah. We were the top brand last year, I think a lot of people smoking it. Yeah. Yeah. Tons of people. Is it pre-rolls? There's pre-rolls. There's flower and there's extracts as well. Oh, that's. Yeah. We got like five different flavors. We're working on two new flavors. We're across it. We just joined with Germany. Oh, wow. We're doing Thailand. Uh, so you're producing there or selling there or both? Both. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. It's going to be sick, bro. Yeah. Is that your favorite brand you got? Yeah, it is. It's the strain that I actually smoke personally. So I've been smoking it for like 10 years now and the weed game has just changed. It's going like this up and down, but right now it's at a point where it'll probably be forever. So I think, you know, It's the easier now to like go on tour and, and like travel around. Then it used to be really hard. It used to be. Back in the 2000s, even when we would even just go into Canada, they would rip your bus apart and we weren't even like a drug band, but like everybody smoked weed right on the crew or whatever. They'll grab like this much weed right here and try to hold you up. But yeah, when I started, it was like the 2000s. It was still hard. It was still difficult to get around. Yeah. Yeah. So what would you have to do? Just buy weed and every place you went, it was more like, or could you like find ways to sneak it? We were sneaky. Yeah. I can say that now. In the drum case. Yeah. I can say that now. We were, we were sneaky. We were risking a lot. Because now it's legal in most of the states. Yeah. We risked, we risked a lot because we had to have a certain quality of that shit. And quantity. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it wasn't like we were going to go without like we, we had to have it. So. And before like, I guess like back then before social media, really, like what are you going to do? You're going to find some local. We used to go on Twitter and be like, Hey, bring some weed to the show. Uh, yeah. I guess the fans would have been. Yeah. Yeah. Hell yeah. We used to find some pretty decent packs that like that back then because you know, it was the street market. So it was like, this is a guessing game. Bring the best. Like, yeah. Exactly. Like, Yo, what's in this? Exactly. How often does a fan come up and say, I want to smoke weed with you? Everybody. Every day. Right. At this point. They're like, it's my bucket list of smoke with you. I'm like, you don't have to smoke. I don't want to see anybody go, you know, in the wrong direction. Like back in the day, I used to just get people high as heck. Right. But like now I'm like, you know, you sure you can handle this or blah, blah, blah. This is the real stuff, kid. I'm going to coach you through this. Yeah. Like just take one or two puffs and keep it moving. But yes, it's definitely like a bucket list thing for people. Oh yeah. Yeah. I would say you're one of, if I put it in the, you know, in the top, you know, if we looked across the music history, right? And we look at like iconic bud smokers. Yeah. Right. Bob Marley. Yep. Snoop. Yep. Wiz Khalifa. Thank you. It's the Mount Rushmore of weed. Right. Yeah. I would put, man, you could put some more people on there. There's way more people. Yeah. But like when you think of iconic, like you, like everybody knows that guy. Like I can recognize him. Yeah. And I just think iconic and I think synonymous with smoking weed. I gotta throw B-real in there too. B-real, yeah, yeah. B-real too, for sure. Yeah. B-real, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's one of them ones. But like it's so crazy to me because, you know, of course, anybody in the weed culture respects everybody from the weed culture. Yeah. It's all good. So there's people like Devon the dude. Right. You know what I mean? Um, Method Man or Red Man. Yes. Yeah. Of course. Of course. Bone Thugs and Harmony. Bone Thugs are one of my favorite groups growing up. Yeah. Definitely my favorite group. East 1999 changed my life. So these are all like groups where I didn't even know that I would love weed songs because I was just a young hip hop fan just listening to shit. So I'm not listening to it because I'm smoking weed to it. I'm just a kid. I'm sorry. I'm just a kid, but I'm connecting with the weed songs. I'm like, why do I like these weed songs? Then I became a weed head. Then you realized. I'm like, oh, okay. Cool. I'm like, this is my lifestyle. This is my lane. Like this is what I'm doing. So I'm just pushing the agenda that I grew up listening to and already knowing and loving. So to be mentioned in that company and then be one of the top, top, top, like that's a dream come true for me. And it's like an honor, like such an honor. You know what I mean? Yeah. Cause I was raised on, on such all of that game. Yeah. And I'm a product of that. Like they created me. Yeah. You know, like how many hours did you spend listening to those? Because the culture is one part smoking weed, but the other part is music. Yep. The biggest part of it. Yep. And then it's like going to places and going to these like different places to celebrate it, some festivals, whatever. But as a non, let's say, like if I was a grateful dead fan, right? I like the grateful dead. Right. I think they're the greatest merch band of all time. Right. Greatest merch of all time. And they built like the idea of like cult touring, like the grateful dead, they built the model, but am I a dead head? No. Right. But I, but I fucking love what it is and I respect it, but I also respect a deadhead when they're like, I went to 250 shows. Right. Right. When I think about the weed culture, I've always loved it, respected it, listened to the records. And when I was little, you know, when I was young, maybe smoked weed and listened to bone thugs, but it wasn't like, it never became my lifestyle. But as someone who's been around long enough to the world at large, I'm saying as like me as a, as a pop culture kind of just customer. Yeah. If I put a mount, a mount, Russ Moore together for weed, you're on it. You're right. It's fucking cool. That's amazing. The huge accomplishment. It's a blessing. Yeah. I smoked a lot of weed to get on there. A great story like monsters, Inc. stays with you forever. And Disney plus is where you'll find your next great story from the return of the award winning hit series, rivals. Welcome to the naughtiest show on television to the unmissable crime drama, high potential, gotta go. A lifetime of great stories awaits this spring on Disney plus. 18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply. You smoked a lot of weed to be with Kali, but you really did have to earn it. Yeah, for sure. And it's funny because it's not just all the weed you smoked, but it's the years and years of dreaming, trying, being ignored, being underestimated, being, you know, before you get that shot and all those kids go, Oh, I like him. Yeah. That song is, I like that song. Yeah. And you're just trying, you're trying to get people to listen to your, you know, your, your demo or whatever. Yeah. All those years are trying. You could have quit at any moment, like a lot of people do. Yep. And then you get that first hit, that second hit, that third hit, you get the fame, you get some money, the hunger changes a little. There's a lot of reasons to stop. And you've put together a career that puts you on that Mount Rushmore. And it's a lot of fucking hard work. I'm sure there have been moments after, you know, after a hit or two or, or, or some moment where you felt like everybody maybe thought you didn't have anything else to say, the music industry changes over and over, but there's plenty of times and reasons to, to, to quit. And you've been doing it nonstop, steady at the highest level. That's probably the accomplishment above any song. It's just how long you've been able to stay at the level you are consistently. Yeah. I appreciate that too. Thank you. That's virtually impossible. I mean, I haven't seen too many people, only other people I've seen do that is Snoop. Yup. And that's my biggest inspiration when it comes to that because it doesn't matter what Snoop does. He does it top tier is Snoop level. And you look at things of value that Snoop touches. And he rubbed that off on me where it's like, if Wiz is doing it, it means something. And I think the best thing for me is to be able to transcend and also be happy. And as long as I'm happy, you're going to see me, you know, doing, creating, doing all of these things. And if I'm unhappy, which I'm not very often, I'm blessed to like, you know, you ever, do you ever get angry? I get frustrated. Right. I think everybody gets frustrated. Yeah. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know about anger though. I'm the same. I can't even recall. Yeah. I don't know. Frustration is a good word for it. Yeah. Yeah. I get frustrated for sure. And you people can sense and they can feel my frustration, but I'm a very like level headed person. So I try to like, you know, work through those situations to be able to transcend and, you know, feel the ups and downs of everything and be comfortable with both. And sometimes the downs aren't really downs. They're just, you know, something else is down while something else is up. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. So you got to do that with grace. You got to be able to, you still got to be able to stick and move like while all of that's going on. You got to kind of, you got to kind of dance a little bit. Yeah. Exactly. Cause actually life is kind of cyclical and a down is just a part of a cycle. Right. It's not really. It's, I guess it's how we perceive it. Yeah. It's how you perceive it. It's how you look at it. And that's what you, you know, that's what you let it do to you in that moment. You can't be the type of person who, you know, when it's visibly up, it's a party. And then when it's down, you know, everybody's, everybody got to feel it. It's like, nah, I'm still, I'm playing my part wherever I'm at. Yep. And I'm still going to be me and I'm still going to function. And, you know, the validation and the things like that doesn't determine anything. This is how this moves regardless. And that's why I'm able to create at that level. And that's why I'm able to perform at that level because I have confidence and just know I call, I'm very confident in things that I have. Yeah. I'm good with what I have. Yeah. Yeah. And the things that I'm going to get there on the way, you know, and the things that I've met that I've accomplished and that I've accumulated, it's because of what I've done. So, it doesn't make you. Yeah. It doesn't make me. Yeah. It's, it's like, that's what I feel. Yeah. I can, I can feel that from you. Also, like, I don't feel a great sense of need. And I say need in the sense of like, I need to get that in the sense of like, if I just could get that, I'll be happy. Yeah. Yeah. You know, there is a little bit of that. Sometimes I feel people can be a bit desperate to think that the answer to all their problems is if they have a hit record. Yeah. No. Or they get that money or they call. All that's great. Yeah. But it will accentuate who you are. Yeah. And if that's a person who is happy, it will make you happy. If it's a person who's not happy, it'll make you even less happy. For sure. It's probably not going to make you happy. Yeah. Like, it's probably not. I'm a firm believer in like, whatever is yours is already yours. Right. Even if you don't already have it, it's still yours. You just didn't get it yet. Right. It's on the way. That's on the way. Yeah. It's yours. Like, if you operate in life like that, then it's just not, it's not if it's when you know what I mean? It's just a matter of time. Yeah. I like that. Yeah. That's good. That's deep. Giving people the, tell me about the mushrooms. Shrooms are cool. You have a, you have a brand, right? I have a brand, but they're not psychedelic mushrooms. Okay. Cause those, those aren't legal yet, but on the business side of things, we're getting started in the non psychedelics. So when the psychedelics do become legal. Like the energy mushroom type things. Right. Right. Exactly. And you can grow your own. It's like a little kit. Okay. Grow them and stuff like that, which is pretty revolutionary because like I said, when the psychedelics hit, you'll be able to grow your own psychedelics as well. How long do you think that is before that? For five, five years? Five years. Yeah. I really believe in those. Yeah. Like micro dosing and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. It's dope. I did a whole year just. Microdosing. Microdosing. I did too. I did a, about half a year. I was doing like therapy and I was like going back and healing like childhood trauma and the mushrooms, like the micro dosing. I was doing like three days on, three days off type thing. Yeah. I really felt like they really helped. They did. They helped with my social anxiety. Like I always had like a turn on, turn off type of thing. Right. It just felt weird where it was like either I got to turn, turn on when I'm out or I just can't be out. Right. But now I get overstimulated. By being like around situations where I feel like I have to turn on or turn off. And I like that feeling way more where I can remove myself rather than having to turn on and turn off. Yeah. Like when I'm performing, I love being around crowds and stuff like that. But that's why I felt comfortable like building my own community with my creativity. Cause I never really felt like everybody else around me. Right. So when I did mushrooms, it helped me kind of like just calm down and just like relax and just be like, you good bro. Like, you don't got to turn on or turn off. You just chill. You be good. You know what I mean? So it reset me and like put me in a really good place and knowing like what I want rather than like, you know what I mean? What I feel like I need to do while everything's going on. Yeah. I actually think it really is like something with your brain and the neuro pathways. I really do feel like it does something to rewire something. And it was like permanent though. Like, yeah. And I don't have to do shrooms to feel it. Like, no, yeah. Like I actually feel the same way. I can't, I can't remember the last time I microdosed. It had to be a few years ago. Yeah. It was part of like a therapeutic process. Yeah. What I got out of it, I kept like it just feels like it changed. Exactly. Yeah. That's the best part about it. It sticks with you. It's crazy to me that it's not. No, I mean, I know a lot of people are doing it and using it, but it's crazy to me that it's not, it's, it's not more. I mean, I guess there were, it's being talked about a lot, but just it's crazy to me that it's not being used more. Yeah. I think that it's on this way though. Yeah. Like just from personal and seeing how much has changed. It hit kind of a ceiling. So we'll see where it's going next. But, um, yeah, I think everybody's trying shrooms now all across the world. Just do microdose on top of microdose. Just little microdoses here and there. Don't go too far. Don't go all the way in. I always tell people to like try a microdose. And then if you feel like you could add another dose on, that's fine. Boom. And then you can just stack them. Yeah. He can't go back. What about your album? Cushion Norse Juice too. I'm really excited about it. I started the first one, uh, as a mixtape. This was back when mixtapes was the thing. I think it came out in 2010. And, um, it was probably like arguably one of my most legendary, you know, projects and just concepts in general. It connected like a lot with, uh, just a certain demographic offense that at that time wasn't really being spoken for, like on a big level. So it like made that, you know, the thing to do at that time. So, um, for me, I feel like I'm at another point in my career where I get to fill a void. Right. And you have to wait. You have to pick that shot. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's not always there. Yeah. So I threw in a couple of shots, you know what I mean? Like here and there, just having fun and filling it out and just being involved. But this go around, I really feel like there's a connection and there's a space for, you know, what I bring to the game on a personal level, not, not even just on, like trying to be on a radio or trying to, you know, get a number one or any of that. But this is really just what I feel like the game. Needs. Yeah. So yeah. So I decided to call this collection Cushion Orange Juice too and present it in the same, you know, format that people are really, really used to, you know, seeing me engage in. So it's out. Cushion Orange Juice is out. It's out. Yep. Do you have a favorite song? I think my favorite song on there would have to be. Or like the handful, like that you're just like, those are my shit. That those are the bangers for me. Anything that Cardo produced on, I got Cardo on the album. I got Sledgeman on the album. I got a problem on the album. I got DJ quick on the album. Oh, wow. Favorite feature? Favorite feature, Max B. Yeah. Yeah. Max B is my favorite feature on there. Anybody who knows how this thing has, you know, how this story has been written. Max B is a huge part of that story. And he's in jail. He's coming home. But the fact that he's on there is legendary. Yeah. So that like, that's like a good, you know, uh, what's that a wow moment? Yeah. There we go. That's great. Hey, what about a tour? Tour, we're going on tour. Um, pretty much now I'm going to do like a small intimate run. Cool. Um, beforehand, just to really just engage with people into, I love being out there on the road and doing different side shows. I was in Europe and this girl, she was like, man, I went to this concert and there was only 1500 tickets and I was so mad. I couldn't get one. I was like, that's dope, man. Like to only have a certain amount of tickets rather than to being like so many and everybody being there. Yeah. So it kind of inspired me to do a little, little, uh, experience. Yeah. Those little, those little club shows mean a lot. They do, man. They really do. And it's part of the process of, uh, gaining new fans and like just creating moments. Like you said, that lasts forever in people's minds. They remember that shit. He's taking Mark Holloway on the road. You love Mark. Yeah. You know, Mark is one of my best friends. Yeah, I know. So we started, uh, for anybody listening that don't know who Mark Holloway is. That's so crazy that between us and then we have Mark Holloway. He's the like, yeah. Whiteest, dorkiest dude on the planet. Uh, Mark Holloway was my tour manager. Also one of my best friends we met on tour way back in like 99 2000. And he's your tour manager. So he's one of my best friends and oldest friends. If I look back at who are my oldest friends, he's probably my oldest friend. I don't have a lot of old friends from home. They didn't really like have friends like that growing up. So all my friends happened when I was like 18, 19, when I went out into the world and started touring and trying to make it. Um, so Mark is, uh, yeah, he's one of my oldest friends and he's been working with you for a long time now. 10, 12, I don't know, over 10 years, I think. And I have to say one of the coolest things we had one show, we were playing one show last year and you let him jump off tour or wherever you guys were at and come do the show for us. Yep. That was very cool. For sure. We appreciate it. We're family. Yeah. Man. Bro, even just you said, Mark Holloway just like brings up feelings, bro. Yeah. Mark's a good guy. That's my guy. Yeah. Like that's, that's my family right there. He's a one of those, uh, I know for me, just working together, but just as a friend. Yeah. Mark was there when my kid, kids were born. He's been with me in a lot of me and vice versa, me with him. Yeah. Uh, he's one of those guys that will show up. Oh yeah. If you need him, he's there always there. And anybody, everybody that I know through or me that knows him, they're like, Mark loves you, bro. Yeah. He loves you. He loves him. Yeah. He, you know, he works for you with you, but I can tell he wouldn't be there. That's exactly what everybody like feel how he felt. That's exactly what everybody says. They're like, he, he doesn't have to do this. Like, he doesn't. Like he does what? Yep. He's a guy who does what he believes in. Yep. Like always. Yeah. And he fucking loves you. Yep. I get it. So that says a lot. Very happy. Very, very appreciative about both of you. Thank you. Cause I've known him a long time, man. Mark is a, he's a tough customer. He's his own. Yeah. He's his own guy. Yeah. But, um, for the size and the amount of respect he has for you and love he has for you, yeah, he holds it down, bro. And I see why, man. Thank you, man. Thanks for hanging out. Thank you for having me. Man, I appreciate it. I'm glad we got it done. This is the second time we had to reschedule. Yeah. Yeah. All good. Okay. Cool. But thank you for, for getting it done. I wanted to make sure we did this. Thank you. It meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. Thank you. Thank you, bro. Absolutely. All right. Good luck with the record. Yes, sir. Thank you for listening to Artists Friendly. We really appreciate it. If you liked the show, you can also follow us on Spotify. You can follow us on Instagram at artists.friendly. And you can watch us on YouTube and Veebs. Leave comments. I always read them. See you next time.