Club 520 Podcast - Club 520 - Starlito & Don Trip on Luka Doncic & LeBron James, Step Brothers 4 drop

Episode Date: March 31, 2025

We’re back with Season 3, Episode 46 of Club 520, and Jeff Teague and the guys are joined by Starlito and Don Trip where the guys discuss the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to pair him alongside LeBron James, their favorite hoopers, coming up in the rap game, and announcing their Step Brothers 4 mixtape. #Volume #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. The Volume. All right, man, we back. Another episode of Club 520 Podcast. I'm the host. My name is DJ Wells. We got some special, special guests in the building, man. Glad we could finally make this happen for sure, man. We got a special setup. It's only right, man.

We got the whole gang with us. We're going to introduce them last. But to my far left, we got my dog, Bishop B. Henn out the Pearleys. How you doing, Nasty? What's happening, fam? Let's get to it. It's going to be a good one right here.

Now, listen, man. Normally, we ask our guests on this show, you know what I'm saying, how they feel about the mountain, the pile, the black forces with the white laces. But Lito put up with his own, man. You set the tone.

I like his energy. What a dog, bro. I appreciate that shit for sure, bro. It's love, man. And when you see somebody walk up in them shoes, what you think of Tripp? I don't know, man. I only wear Jordans, so

I... That's a unique kind of... I don't know. It took some effort because them shits don't come with white laces. See, he either bought the white ones, took the laces out and ditched them, or he purposefully went and bought white laces and ditch ones took the laces out and ditched them or he purposefully

went and bought white laces and ditched the black laces but either way that's a whole lot of effort for some for some black porters man nah but that's just a staple man

that's that's what I do I can dig it that's like putting that that big ass Rose Rose Grill on your Christ the 300

he's just being excessive until you pull up to the light and you cry that big ass Rose Ross grill on your Christ the 300. You should be excessive. You look to the light and you cry. Oh, shit. Bro got that black and white suave. It's crazy. Did you ever picture

the white laces in that Jordan off? Nah, not till I start watching y'all show. I appreciate that, bro. Show bitch out there. That's big. The truth setter for sure.

They ain't got a pile of them. It's a throw on the black horses. There's plenty more around this motherfucking tube. That's a fact. Mother of death to my far right, my dog, young Nacho,

young Teague, how you what? I'm chilling and I still fuck Stacey Dash. Boy, it's here, bro. I'm just telling you. I felt it when he said it. I love it.

You out of pocket. He out of pocket. He out of pocket, too. Oh, Kurt, what you doing, too? Shit, he out of pocket, too. I'm excited, man. It should be a good show for sure. Man, listen, special, special guest, man. Glad we could finally make this happen, man.

Freaking Mike, it was early in this podcast. We all had our list of people we wanted on this show. Off the rip, he said, we got to have the Step Brothers. We made it happen, man. Lito, Tripp, appreciate y'all pulling up to 520, man. It's an honor for sure. Thank you, man. Pleasure to have y'all.

Man, for real. Man, glad we could finally make this happen. Like we said, all our homeboys, even us, we big fans, man. But especially our homeboys. They pressed the line with this, too. Oh, for sure. For sure. Yeah, for sure.

Shout out to Jamar, who's say y'all names. Yeah, we've got y'all to mouth. My older brother. Yeah. And everybody.

Keys. Keys gonna call me. We was playing streetball the other day. He called me. He was like,

oh, no, no, no, no. My nigga back play streetball. You ain't tapped in. I'm like, I got you, man.

I got you shouting about dog Keys, man. I got you shouting about Don Quijote, man. For sure, man. Listen, we appreciate y'all sliding on this, man. Let's get first thing to it, man. What made you both start making music? What was your inspiration? Who were some people y'all looked up to early on to kind of molded your sound to how y'all wanted to get to it?

I guess I'll leave that. Man, crisscross is what made me want to be a rapper. I don't know how much older they are than I am, but when I first seen them, it was a marvel to see kids rapping. So of course I gained the inspiration to become a rapper. I thought I would become a rapper right then, which I'm glad I didn't because what I had to rap about then wasn't worth me rapping about in the first place. But that's where it started.

The idea or the passion, I think it grew from that to see that kids could do it. And it didn't really start working out for me until mid-20s. But I think it's life. It happens how it happens. Things had to take place in order for me to be in the right space. And I think not to be arrogant in any manner, but I think I had to grow to become an artist. But that's where it started.

Once I seen them, it was a light bulb. I couldn't dim. For sure. Yeah, it was probably Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, early West Coast. West Coast stuff. Oh, lifestyle, aesthetic of it. Just being a little kid and seeing that, just thinking it was cool. Images from the movies and all that.

A little later, probably the Hot Boys. For sure. The next thing. That was the time period when I probably started rapping. Before then, I just thought rappers were cool or whatever. Yeah. By the time I was in high school, I was wanting some money. Wanting to look like it, et cetera.

And then when I actually started rapping, it was more the lyrical rappers that got my attention. Jadakiss, Phab, East Coast, DJ Clu mixtapes. But it was still the Highboys and Wayne, the Squad Up era was probably the biggest influence at the time that I started rapping. Damn. Yeah, when Wayne turned into a whole different kind of rapper.

That's crazy. You said squad uptapes. People forget how fire those squad uptapes are. Yeah, that was before the dedications. Yeah, do your research for sure. Yeah, definitely. Man, first of all, we're going to get to the music, but y'all ain't that, man.

We pulled up to the game. I know y'all both love basketball. What's y'all first thought process when you see Luka and LeBron on the same damn team? Because that shit's still surreal to this point. I know we just watched the game. It's still crazy. When I walked in, I was like,

that's why them tickets were so damn high, too. But it was, I mean, I'm like, you know, two legendary players, like really almost a generational part. You know, seeing them on the same team like that is like, damn. I still don't know how they pulled that off. Yeah, that's what I think when I see that. What really, you know, what's really going on.

Highway rapper? It's something. It's also crazy to see LeBron defer to somebody. Like, I ain't, you know, LeBron ain't probably never been. I ain't going to necessarily say the second best player on the team, but that's kind of the role he's playing. And that's different. Damn, I never thought about that.

Because he was chilling the whole game. The whole game. Yeah, he was chilling, bro. He had two points with us. He was on paid vacation. He was killing it at first. He was going crazy. But it was a few times he really, like, motioning for Luka, like,

come get the ball. Like, you got it. Damn. I seen LeBron play upuka, like, come get the ball. Like, you got it. Damn. I seen LeBron play up here like three or four times. It ain't never look like that to me. I wish he had did that shit when I was playing. And he got the ball every time. Wasn't on the first.

Nah. Can y'all see them winning the chip? I was thinking that too. Like, the role playing step up. Like, I mean, the way Hayes look and what's doing at Rui. Yeah. They hitting shots like that. Yeah.

They got some bodies. I mean, they got a chance. I ain't going to lie. They do got a chance. Most definitely. Obviously, we know your origin with basketball, man. Your man's coaching, head coach CSU. How's that, man? Girl with your potty. Now he leading men at the university. You know what I your origin with basketball, man. Your man's coaching, head coach, CSU. How's that, man?

Girl with your potter. Now he leading men at the university, you know what I'm saying, to run away. He just called me. He said, y'all got a point. Yeah, I swear he just called me. He was like, I swear he just called me. That's funny as hell.

Kyle. Yeah, I talked to him yesterday. Okay. I like that home cooking. That's, I mentioned him twice in that song cause like that's one of the, you know, my partner since middle school and he wanted a few people like still getting paid

off basketball, you know, for us to came up together and it was all our dream at one time, like he's still living it, you know. And so that's a real, I mean, I went to TSU, so it was just super cool. You know, you're at the hometown school, HBCU,

you know, setting some records, attendance records and everything else. Job security and otherwise is, I'm just proud of. That's fire. Is it?

Both of y'all hoops? Hoop? Did both of y'all hoop? No, no. No, I never really been able to get along with people. Well, okay. Y'all wouldn't have said.

Okay. My mama said, even when I try, I try to go and, like, try for a basketball team. My mama said, hell no. I'm like, mama, why? She said, you don't get, you know, you don't play well with others. And I didn't, you know. But I was an angry kid. I had a lot going on.

So, you know, basketball wasn't going to work. I would have probably been like the, you know, run our tests. That's what they did. Draymond Green? No, it had been all going in the stands. He was a real crash up. Yeah, yeah. It wasn't going to work.

I blacked out on him. He didn't strike like the mid-tops. No. See, it be shit like... I don't know how accurate or how often it happens but like when I see like basketball films

and I see the like the I don't know what the fuck y'all call it the rookie treatment shit oh yeah hold another nigga

bag and shit man to be so many niggas on team with black eyes when we get to the game we gotta you know we gotta catch the bus and all that shit.

When we get there, I'm going to be the only one that can suit up. They're going to give me that bag and I'll throw the motherfuckers to the side. But, you know, when I realized I couldn't do, you know, I couldn't be a team player in that aspect, I said, yeah, you know, sports ain't going to be for me. I can't, you know, it don't work for me. I'm ready to fight you know

I don't know how to do the I don't know how to take orders and I don't respect seniority when it's you know I don't know that shit

it just don't work my nigga I just talked about that on the show earlier today like that respect to your elders shit is overrated

I didn't know you gonna have to if you don't give it you ain't getting it back exactly and I don't know and when I was have to, if you don't give it, you ain't getting it back. Exactly. And I don't know. And when I was little, when I was a kid, I don't know what kind of, like I said, I had a lot going on. It ain't really a matter if you was bigger than me.

I might lose the fight, but I'm going to give you a fight. Nah, for sure. So, you know, basketball wasn't going to work out. It wasn't going to happen. He was like, you know. He won't stop fighting the team. You said, fuck the other team, fuck my team.

We ain't got to the game. It's going to be some fights at practice, the locker room, all this. It's a lot of shit I just, you know, I never really been able to tolerate. So I ain't really got, you know, even now, I don't got many friends.

The friends I got, I've known since I was fucking 10 or 11. Yeah. I know I'm crazy for like, I think like 15 years now. Yeah. But, you know, I don't know. I just don't work well or play well with others. So that wasn't going to work out. So no counterweight.

Gotcha. I played high school at UNSU. I wasn't trying to go to small schools. I was looking at my state of home. Oh, damn. No, see, he thought he was an all-star. No, it was like going to the bottom of Alabama. He said, I ain't doing this.

So, what you had, like some D2s or something looking at you? Yeah, it was like D2s, D3s. I had a couple of looks, but I remember, I think Tennessee Tech, one of their coaches kind of hollered at me. I was hyped.

That'd have been solid, Lee. I'm trying to tell you, whatever. I go in the coach's office, they looking at film, shit, I'm hyped.

And the first thing the coach asked me, he was like, hey, you know DeMarco Pope? Shout out DeMarco. he was Mr. Basketball. He was one of my partners from around my way. I was like, yeah, like why?

Basically, it was like, shit, we recruit you, you can help us get him. I'm like, damn. Fuck you. See, and I would've said, fuck you. I mean, I'm sure I probably had an idea. But it was, yeah. That and TSU coach at the time was Nolan Richardson III, maybe?

Yeah. Arkansas coach, his son. He was at a tournament and his son, the fourth, played in high school at the same time. And I dunked on his son. You know, we knew each other. We was close and shit. But it was over with. You know, that's why I wanted to play.

Rob Markman, Out the gate. Rob Markman, Yeah, so- Rob Markman, Oh, you fucked up your chances. Rob Markman, You don't know the code of service. Rob Markman, That was like our rivalry. Hey, you like around locally or whatever. Rob Markman, Yeah. Rob Markman, So after that, I skipped a grade and shit.

I graduated young and it was- Rob Markman, That's why I think we all can relate to y'all music because y'all talk about stuff that seem like around our area. Y'all talk about wrestling and shit. And I'm like, damn! When I first started listening to that, I'm like, they rap about everything I grew up watching and doing.

I'm 36. We ain't that far apart. I turned 40 this year. Yeah, but when y'all said all that shit, like when y'all was talking about Randy Savage, give me Undertaker casket and all that shit, I was like, yeah, I'm tapped in. Because that's when I first started listening.

Because my brother was like, you tripping. Because, Lito, you rap like you talking. So I'm like, he ain't rap, he talking. They be like, that's the whole beauty in it. He chilling. You like these hype-ass niggas. And I'm like, this shit calling whole beauty in it. He chillin'. You like these hype ass niggas. And I'm like, this shit calling hard. So I started listening.

And they put me on. Shout out to my brother Terrell, man. Shout out to big bro. Man, obviously y'all had Chris before I got to him. So what was the first time y'all linked up? Y'all first like, all right, I kind of fuck with him type shit. Listen, my timelines are hard. Like 2010. Okay. Yeah, it was 2010. I don't know with him type shit. Listen, my timeline's hard. Like 2010.

Oh, okay. Yeah, it was 2010. I don't know no dates and stuff. We like formally met through Yo Gotti, actually. Chapter Gotti? I was in business with him, and he was like looking to work with Tripp when he was coming up. And kind of, you know what I'm saying, placed us around each other. But we started working kind of on our own within that.

Craig can kind of tell you. Yeah, we just, I was on the road with Goddard. And he had to stop in Nashville. And I don't know what the hell Goddard had to do. I don't really like, I don't like tagging along when shit don't got nothing to do with me. This nigga mean as hell. No, no, no. I'm just saying,

you know. He was on a side quest. Not quite. You know, and God had shit going on. He had business to tend to. Respect.

I ain't want to be the nigga sitting, watching him do what he got to do. I want to be along for the part of this that involves me, but certain shit didn't involve me. So God is going to go do a verse for so-and-so. It might be in the fucking studio five hours.

I'm just going to be a nigga sitting in the studio. I don't smoke. I don't drink. So I'm going to be a nigga sitting in the studio like this. So whatever he was going to do, it was in that kind of... He wasn't doing nothing that I needed to learn from or watch. So while I was doing that, I think Stardom had lined up a verse for another one of Goddard's artists. So I was like, all right, I'll write with y'all then. So I had no idea we was going to Lido's studio.

So when we got to Lido's studio, he set him up to do the feature, Fast Forward. I don't know how he did it, but that was our first time meeting each other. And at some point, his people came down and told me, the guy wanted to buy a verse from me. I'm like, man, I don't know anybody here. I just met him. So later on that night, I found out that Star pretty much was the person that convinced dude to get...

I don't remember who the hell it was that got the verse. But we was on the road. And what I was doing for my profession at the moment, or at that moment, I couldn't do that traveling. So, you know, my pockets was a little light. He couldn't have knew, you know, that me getting some bread right then was, you know, that shit was like oxygen. So him lining that up, that kind of changed my perspective of who he was.

You know, again, it was my first time meeting him that day. And all the way up until then, me being only familiar with his music, but being familiar with rappers, I had the preconceived notion that he'd be more like rappers. You know, I can't speak for everybody, but when you meet rappers, some rappers don't turn the rapper shit off. Like, you know, you can tell that, you know, you're acting.

I don't need the camera version of you. I need the real version of you. And for me, so many, and it still happens even to this day, but that's how I assumed Star would be. So when I met him, you know, I met him, I was doing something, you know, and I went back downstairs. So later on, after, you know, finding out he lined that verse up for me, and we sit, we rap for a second. We sit and we talk for a second. And, you know, I think that was the thing that made me have to be a little more open-minded.

Because I'm like, you know, I assumed he was this kind of guy and he's the total opposite. So he just made me some bread. He didn't make nothing off it. And he had, you know, there was nothing invested

in it for him. He had to have just, you know, fucked with me for, you know, he had to have done that just because he fucked with me as an artist

because he don't know me as a person. So from that, you know, I think, you know, they gave me the, I don't know, like I said, I don't work well with person. So from that, I think they gave me the... I don't know. Like I said, I don't work well with others.

So I guess that was like the olive branch, so to speak. And he couldn't have known that, but that was the gesture that made me say, he a cool dude. I could get to know him and see where this goes. For sure.

For sure. All right, man, before we go, I need you to be here. It's time to get some drinks up in here. Oh, yeah, Barbie! Oh, man, I didn't know what my guy was doing. That's freaking my guy. You got to figure out what that means sometimes. Be a couple things.

Barbie, what's happening? What's going on? What you got for us today? What we got? Blackberry and blueberry. Okay. What's in the blackberry and blueberry? We got a little green.

Oh, okay. I can get you a mocktail. You want to make me one? What's a what? I can get in the blackberry and blueberry? I need you a mocktail. Do you want to make me one? What? No, no, no. I appreciate it. I don't know what the fuck you're saying. Give me a mocktail. All right, Barbie. I was going to say, but it was record time.

I'm never sitting without this thing. I was about to say, but it was record time before Barbie ever fit in. I was going to never sit her without this thing. Yeah, I was about to say, she was on cue. That's what I'm talking about. Let's put this drink in there. Flip it. Here we go.

We got all the drinks you need. She got to get out of here. You just stay a while. Yeah. You was looking for another chair all right she usually stay here so what was that moment y'all knew y'all was gonna collab and work together yeah i was to get to that. It was not right away necessarily that first session,

but even prior to then, from the first things I heard, like you said, I rocked with it. I saw promise in it. I felt like without knowing him, I felt like he was going somewhere with it. And when we started working, it was like right away, one, it was effortless for him. And I took to just a new, fresh energy. Because when we met,

I probably was like five, six years in the game. I think signed a deal like five years before then. So I was damn near at a point I almost like turning the corner, finding like five years before then. So I was damn near at a point of almost like turning the corner, finding like a second wind almost. And I was trying to figure this shit out outside of having a deal. Finna go on my own. And he was getting a deal.

So it was like part of it for me was like paying it forward. It wasn't like big homie kind of time because we really about the same age. But more so, I'm like, man, if I can help bro skip some steps or not make the same mistakes I made or any of that, that's what I kind of felt like was almost like a role I was due to play. But as far as making music, it was just effortless. You know what I'm saying? The first couple songs we did, it was like, one,

he just like killing the shit right away. But it was also the first time I met my match or met my equal as far as on just a talent, skill level. I'm like, man, this nigga can rap. Boy for boy, word for word kind of thing. And it wasn't a competitive, looking over your shoulder. It was more like complimentary. I was going to ask you because, like I said, all my friends listen to us.

So we used to battle. We used to rap y'all shit and be battling like, nah, he beat him here. He beat him here. Did y'all feel like that? I know y'all just said it wasn't competitive, but did y'all feel like that? Like, I played my little brother one-on-one all the time. We competitive. We family, though.

At the end of the day, we want each other to get better. Yeah. Like, was it like that for y'all? Nah, I don't think so. No. Like, that's, and I think that's probably why we still rocking 15 years later. Yeah, for sure. Because rap groups don't last.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You can kind of run down a list. I think what happens is we might have favorite verses. I would say for every song, I probably got a favorite verse, but all those favorite verses ain't mine, if that make any sense. It could be a particular record, and I really fuck with his verse and like he said you know I should it's I don't know

because it's not a competition in any shape form or fashion like if you ever sat in a session or any person that's ever sat

in a session like when even on that kind of time like when we start working we working in unison and we might

speak to each other about where we're going, depending on what kind of record it is. But for the most part, our verses are all wrote at the same time. So when he go in the booth to do his, I'm going to do mine, or vice versa, whoever's first, or whatever order. Most of the time, our verses are wrote pretty much at the same time. Or I might be, well,

one of us might be closing a verse and the other one just finished and he go in and record it. And we like to, at least when it happens, I believe in just letting shit flow naturally. So if I'm writing my verse

and he say something in his verse while he recording, nine times out of 10, I know I'm probably at the end of the verse, but either my verse and he say something in his verse while he recording, nine times out of 10, I'm probably at the end of the verse. But either way, if he said something that inspired me to say something, or if I like a line, he said, we'll repeat the line. You know where it came from. Or sometimes you don't.

We don't much care because what we're doing, we both fully aware of what we're trying to build. I want you to like the song. I don't want you to like a verse from the song yeah so you know when we doing the we ain't really i think it's competitive in a sense but not so much when you know we don't sit and say oh man i gotta get well sometimes but that happened no that but that happens on features sometimes people get a verse from both of us. It's seldom. But they'll get a verse from both of us, and it's only a select few people

will allow to get both of us on the song because we feel like that's lending our brand. But when it happens, most times I don't know the stars on the song. So when it happens, I'm going to just do what I do. And then Craig, it's happened a few times. Craig called me like, they ain't tell me you was for the verse on it too.

I didn't know you was on it. 48 bars on the song. Yeah. Sometimes I just take over. But other than that, when we create, especially like Step Brothers music, whenever we create music

that's Step Brothers, we do it in person. So I'm fully aware that he on the record. It's like Steel Sharp and Steel. It's more than, like you said, y'all play one-on-one. It's like still sharp and still. It's more than, you know, like you said, y'all play one-on-one. It's like sparring in that sense. But when we working, it ain't the end game is for you to feel the finished product.

So it's like, I mean, for sure, there's been times I'm like, damn, he killed me. But that's like a good thing. That means the song was better. And I'm supremely confident that when I go in and work with him, I know what he going to do. So I can't have stuff or, you know, I know I'm going to get smashed on the song. So it's more so that than like, you know, you should want somebody to make you better.

That's for sure. I wanted to ask you this question, because you said, you know, when y'all first inception to meeting each other, you was just like, I seen somebody in position. I can help.

Like, like he's solid. If I can help him skip a couple of steps. Cause I first heard, you know what I'm saying? Great goose. That's the first time I heard you early back Chevy day. I was like, okay,

he cold. So then you said time progresses. You just like, all right, I learned. I'm gonna help you out. Being with the major, being with other artists

and then having your own spot, like, do you see somebody going into that situation? Both of y'all obviously give a lot of respect for being great independent artists in your own right. I always like to be like,

okay, I know what I've learned, but I'm not going to hear what he's going through because I want him to still have his journey, but I'm going to still give you the game so you don't make the mistakes

because, you know, this music industry can be really, really crazy. Oh, yeah. And you're the reason why I started drinking that nasty ass shit. I'm on that gray, dude. industry could be really, really crazy. Oh, yeah. And you're the reason why I started drinking that nasty ass shit. Yeah.

I'm on that gray, dude. My ass is wild. Oh, you know that. That was that shit, boy. That time. Who's scoring big in the NBA this season? You are. With all the new ways to get in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook,

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than i did i was 19 years old making club crunk music and just trying to you know when i i get with cash money it's like a dream come true like i said i was inspired by the hot boys five years before that i ain't started rapping maybe four years before that time so i'm like it's whatever i'm just trying to get in where i fit in versus like he got he got in the game really more so off of like emotion driven like personal passion, like and just like no frills. It was like it wasn't about a single. It wasn't about, you know what I'm saying? It was him just kind of being himself.

I'm like, damn, like it was more so like on a fan level, even like, man, don't change that. Don't let the game change. Steer you away from that. That's what works. That's what got you here kind of thing. And I think it's just, like I said, paying it forward, man, I believe in karma and all that. So I would want to golden rule.

Like I would want to do what I would have wanted somebody to, you know, the game that I wish somebody would have gave me, you know what I'm saying? Like I, it was never like the irony we, wanted somebody to, you know, the game that I wish somebody would have gave me. That kind of thing. It was never like, the irony we have made so much progress and history together, but it was never about like trying to like make something

or get in on a situation. It was like, I met him at a point where he had options. Like she could have signed with them, them, or them. It was a little bit of everybody trying to rock with him. I was even in a position where people was like, man, you should get in. I'm like, nah, I think, wait. You know, his trajectory is bigger than the help I could directly offer. But I'd just rather be like in on it.

There's a lot of artists where I met them early on or I was around. And whatever small part I might have played in their story, I'm like, I just counted it as like, that's what's up. I mean, it's a part of my legacy too. I was there. I reach out to everybody too. I don't have to know you. I think, you know, many people don't respond.

I just use, that's really what I use social media for. So I be feeling like if I know you about to make a mistake and I don't do nothing to prevent it, then I feel like I'm at fault. I feel like it's my fault you made that mistake. I don't know how much sense that really makes, but I don't know. It almost seems like a duty. Like I have to say it. I got to DM you and say, Hey man, you know, you got this and this movement. You should maybe,

you know, do X, Y, and Z or not do X, Y, and Z. And you know, I,

I try not to give people advice. Cause you know, my shit, my path wasn't perfect either. I can't tell you what wouldn't work or what won't work. That's right. But I can tell you what I did and how it went wrong. And you know, you take from that what you will.

And, you know, if you can make it make sense for you, then that's great. You know, we can't all dunk. So, you know. Nah, for sure. I suspect. Leo, I wanted to ask you, like, what's the benefits of signing to a major, though? Spending somebody else's money, number one.

Yeah. But on the back. I mean, but if you ain't got it, like, shit. Yeah. But, I mean, there's a lot of benefits to it, truthfully. Like, they move the needle on stuff. It's a lot of relationships. These companies and partnerships with each other,

like almost like backdoor type of situation. So it's better to be on that side of the things that's moving, I guess, tricks of the trade. But like Tripp said, like, you know, whatever you take on the front end, you're going to compromise something on the back end. Yeah. For sure.

Shout out to the gang, man. I mean, the thing now is just to be independent in the rap game and a lot of people go into it with no education behind it and shit on labels all the time. Yeah, not even the least bit. But see, I think it's pros and cons to both sides. And music just happens to be, at least rap music, I think it's pros and cons to both sides. Music just happens to be, at least rap music, I can't say music as a whole because I don't

have experience in other genres of it, but rap music don't got no prerequisites. You want to play ball, you got to start, you should down it before elementary school. You got to do the AAU shits and you got you gotta do all them camps and shit but it's things in place to teach you how to become uh you know how to play team ball yeah or how to adapt to it even you know as you progress to different levels of it you know when you get to high school you know you play a little different than you played in elementary or middle school then you know same for college same for if you go into like summer league same for when you go to the actual league it's a learning process but it's it's things and people in place to teach you how to move along with that in the rap business man it's it's more filled with people that gatekeep, if anything.

But there's no way to learn this shit before you jump in this shit. You almost got to make the mistakes to figure it out. And a lot of the people, we feel the opposite about it. There's a lot of people that feel like, shit, nobody helped me. So shit, I ain't helping you. But that's the tricky thing about the music business. So right now, the, you know, the fact, the, the trend is to be independent because the word independent sound, you know, it may, you sound self-sufficient.

You sound like a self-made artist or self-made boss, but in real life, you really want to do whatever benefits you. So I wouldn't say don't be independent. I wouldn't say go be independent. You got to go with what works. So if you step in it and you spent however much you spent and you can't sustain doing this shit, because in real life, you got real life to deal with. That's why they say it's a young. I don't agree, but I understand why. But they say it's a young... I don't agree, but I understand why.

But they say it's a young man's game. It's a young man's game because you got the time to be able to go through the shit you got to go through. At 19, signing to a label, then owing them fucking $500,000. Having to deal with that at 19 is a whole lot smoother than dealing with that at 36.

Yeah. You got four or five kids. You know, you got more responsibilities. You don't got the room to have to deal. No. Well, you don't have the room to,

to be able to work through that or learn from that. But in the music business, people think, you know, if they, like right now, they think signing to a major is the worst thing in the world. Real time is not. I think you just got to know what you getting yourself into. You know, like right now, they think signing to a major is the worst thing in the world. Yeah.

In real time, it's not. I think you just got to know what you're getting yourself into. Yeah. It's more about your plan. Right. That's how I feel. And if you don't got a plan, you know. You can be signed without a plan and get lost in the South.

Exactly. So you can be, you know. You can be independent. You can be independent without a plan and you just saying you're independent kind of thing. Right. I think signing up or whatever is just kind of like being able to work your plan. Because even that's the thing. Like the time that I was signed, it was like going to school.

I used it. I ended up using it as an education. Yeah, okay. Like because it was a lot that I saw things working for other people. I wasn't in the same position they was in. I had a leverage otherwise. But I saw, like, man, they working. Outside of just the machine and all like that, I'm like, man, these dudes never stop working.

And so I'm like, all right, I'm going to apply that. I might not be able to scale it the same way, but I'm going to take what I got and just double down on what works for me. Okay. Yeah. And that's what's super dope about y'all is that obviously y'all put your head down and the music sells itself

and y'all both have co-followings. We talk about the independency like opportunities and stuff now. You think it's a little bit easier for artists to jump into the game now

because of social media and stuff like that? Because you got people like Jello come in. We now even know him as a rapper. Yeah, Jello going to. We now even know him as a rapper. Jello? Yeah, Jello gonna smack.

Now he gone. Look at him. Look at him. Swerve it, they cold. Oh, oh. Oh, man, look. I been saying that man name wrong forever then. I thought it was like Jello or something.

He said Jello. I'm thinking Jelleton. Jello. I'm like, somebody named Jello? Oh, I don't know if you want the copy. I was like, damn. I was baffled.

I'm like, it's a rapper named Jello? Access, access is plentiful, man. Like, you know, you can,

you can blow up faster. You, you know what I mean? You can reach, you can go farther faster because of all the resources. The internet make the world very small. So people can get hip to the same thing. Even for y'all to say I was on Grey Goose,

what it took to get that record high was a lot of footwork, was a lot of pressing vinyl records and hand delivering them, putting them in a mailbox, sending them to DJs. Going to Louisville for Kentucky Diaries, like there's probably the trickle down of it reaching to Indianapolis. From Nashville, going to all the HBCU football, classic weekends, like we jumping out in traffic

with like guerrilla marketing, versus now it's like a streamer plays your song and it goes everywhere the next day. Like, I mean, that's beautiful for, you know, I guess for people that can't advantage themselves off of it, but it's also like, you know, it's like microwave stuff. Like, the food don't taste as good. Yeah.

And not only that, but like I said, ain't no courses for this shit. So, you know, you take a 19-year-old that didn't have any aspirations of being a musician or being in the business, and they did a song and it popped, and now they in the mix. Imagine how easy it is to manipulate, well, for the industry to manipulate that person. You learn nothing from them. You don't know how this works. All of it is new.

And this shit move fast as shit when you important. And, you know, and that's the tricky thing about it. A lot of times when, you know, a lot, shit, I'm sure we've all experienced you, you know, especially you, whoever recruited you disappeared later. You know, they did all of the fantastic shit to get you where you was going. And then once you got there, you wasn't prom queen no more. They moved on to the next one to do the same process.

And a lot of times what happens when you're not familiar with the process, you'll think you're on top of the world and you never start adjusting or you never start. Like you say, you got to learn from what's going on. So if you're on top of the world, you never start learning. What happens? Because there's no way to be there forever. So what happens when that shit slow down?

What's your next step now? And in a lot of cases, that's what create, you know, we see it all the time. It happens almost every day you'll see a person that was some kind of social media sensation and now they got all kinds of weird legal troubles and shit but it's because they was at you know they was on top of the world at one point and they never fully adjusted to you know to be able to manage not being on top of the world. It's almost like an instant high. And now you're chasing that high. In some cases, you'll never get it again. But that's because shit's a whole lot easier to get it popping,

but that don't necessarily make it easier. It ain't no such thing as a street team no more. Nah, you got to have a social media team. Those are called gang members. Yeah, there ain't no such thing as a street team no more. Nah, you got to have a social media team. Those are called gang members. Yeah. For sure. I had a question.

So, we was listening to music earlier and yeah, Five Times was one of my favorite songs. But when y'all heard Seeing Green by like

Nicki, Wayne, Drake and them. What's that? It's just a song, man, Wayne, Drake, and them. What's that? It's just a song, man. But. Well, you know what I'm talking about. I know exactly what you're talking about.

That make you look. I ain't looking. I was thinking what it is. I wasn't thinking. Who be here? What the fuck? Man, that's a song. He was a science sample.

Yeah, he's a science sample. Okay, okay. Okay, Heather. I ain't know the name of it. I never heard it, actually. What you was asking about the title? Like, do y'all be like, damn. Like, I mean, I know it's a sample, but it's like,

because we knew when I first heard it, I'm like, damn. I heard this before. Man, I want to shout out Shannon Sanders. It's a producer, songwriter from Nashville that actually, I think, produced that Heather Headley song that was sampled. Somebody I've known for like 20 plus years. I thought it was cool that they were sampling his work the same way we did.

It's one of them situations, man, because this happened to me a lot of times in my career. Where things get recycled, re-rocked, repurposed. I ain't looking for Ignacio Medea because that's her song. It's their song. It's very similar. It's a very similar beat. That's hip-hop. People are making the same song down there word for word, note for note, over and over.

But when I heard it, I was just like, I thought it was interesting because that's one of our biggest songs. Man, well, that's that shit. I'm like, nah. I never heard your song. Yeah, he ain't heard it.

But, uh, nah. I'm thinking, um, I don't know. I don't know I don't really believe in coincidence so a lot of times no I didn't either

it's too close bro it is it's crazy I remember the producer dude doing of course not the one that made the hours

but the dude that went viral making it in his car. Yeah, people was tagging us on Twitter. Right, so I guess I was already conditioned for it. I understand the

I guess the process now for how they make beats. Yeah. It ain't is, not to say, I don't know he know who made it. Street Symphony made it, didn't he? Breeden Money. Okay. It ain't, it's, not to say, I don't know, he know who made it, Street Symphony made it, didn't he? Breeden Money. Okay.

My bad, Greedy. You know, shit happens. Either way, like, the sampling process ain't the same no more. It used to be,

you know, they take the vinyl and you had to like, you had to put some work in it to create the sample you was creating to make the beat. Oh, yeah. And now it's a whole lot different. It's websites.

They already got the samples already cut up. Yeah, that's just an instant transfer. Right. You take it and start adding drums. Yeah. So I never heard Nicki Minaj's song on the beat, but I didn't know how I was aware that they used the same beat.

I'm just not... It just wasn't nothing I was interested in. So they don't really even bother you? Yeah, I mean, it just... When it happens over and over and over again... Yeah, he's a big... He got prior experience in such. But they are different too though. Because I can't charge it. I don't know where it comes from. Right.

That's what I'm saying. It's happened to you more than that. It's happened like that. I don't necessarily... I've had scenarios where I got to the source of it and figured out where the inspiration came from. I've had songs with the same titles, or the same terminology, same slang. It might have been East Nashville slang. Don't nobody even say that.

Y'all say high court. If a New York artist came out making a song saying that, I think everybody from around here would be like, where'd they get that from? Especially in real time. I put out a song six months later. Big artists with... The same song. Where'd you get that shit from? But every step of the way,

especially just growing up and just maturing, I take it as complimentary or I'm flattered by it in its own way. I do, like, I guess that's why I think so much when people do give me props or salute me because you don't have to. It's just easy to act like you don't know who a nigga is. So for all the people that do like give it up, I'm like, that's cool. Because I know what the opposite feel like too. Yeah, true that.

That was too close for me. I was about to say that. For me, for sure. I was just like, it's cool, because I know what the opposite feels like, too. Yeah, true that. That was too close for me. I was about to say that. For me, for sure. I was just like, that's too close. Because I know how shit. For sure like that, I really just be looking to see how he react to it. Real shit can listen. Clearly.

On that first tape. Yeah, okay. They did. Go Ham. Yeah, they did. They did. I Go Ham. That's what it was called, right? I Go Ham? Yeah, they did. That's what it was called, right?

Go Ham? My song called it. What was theirs? Theirs was just Go Ham, right? Sam. Man, listen. You gotta first remember that this is when I, you know,

this is us first working together. So to see him react or respond to that, man, that shit was the funniest shit in the world. Like, Star was on some, them niggas got cameras in my house, dude.

They bit it. It's my shit. I'm like, okay, maybe. I don't really know. He addressed the first 10 brothers. He did. That's what I'm saying. That's why it was funny. And me just That's what I'm saying. That's why I was funny. And me just being, me being the permanent devil's advocate.

I'm like, I don't know. Fuck it. I don't fucking ever do shit. Matter of fact, you can Google it, man. Right. Yeah. It happened.

That's crazy. That's crazy. For sure, man. We got to talk about Naptown, man. Y'all are frequent here. Y'all got hella love in the city. They always show love to y'all, man. We got to talk about Naptown, man. Y'all are frequent here. Y'all got hella love in the city. They always show love to y'all, man. What's it like pulling up to Naptown, man, for the people who don't know, man?

Man, it feels like home to me. Yeah, I was about to say, it's welcoming. Because I've only ever been here in the same space and environment just like where I come from. Okay. environment just like where I come from. You know, we was talking about like where we perform and it's been the Sweet 38 which was limelight and was like... Cloud nine.

Been there for every phase of the same club. Every name. Fusion and Spots. The Rerock for sure. Give me your features though. Shout out to Lil' E. Shout out to Lil' E. You know it's love in the city when you can pull up to Fusion

comfortably yeah that's love that's what I told you I said damn well y'all made it up well y'all are good in my city love that's a wild spot

they had to shut that motherfucker down permanently I ain't even lying it's like it's y'all and Boosie yeah y'all and Boosie yeah

y'all like stamped in the city like that's a good space to be in though yeah bro if you ever try to learn rap music from Indianapolis

it would not be your typical people here it's Boosie Gotti y'all like it's like yeah platinum here

we talk to people out of town that we know about like big artists you know Future we rock with Future of course Jay-Z, to people out of town that we know about, like, big artists, you know Future. We rock with Future, of course,

Jay-Z, Ho, and people don't understand when we tell them, like, when they come to my city, it's cool, but we more so, like, people who was

close to us, like, more relatable. So y'all stand out, like, way more than them, like, in our city, for sure. As you. Yeah, that's a fact.

Nah, for real, though, bro. Jay-Z come here and be, like, cool, a's like lito pulling up i just told you bro my boy b just said man ask the nigga when he's sliding back down to the city man they anticipating y'all pull up for sure yeah so it's always i mean even when we didn't have like music out like new music, current music at all, it's always a packed house. We done sold out them spots like wild to wild quite a few times. Had Mike Ellis pop up on stage and snatch the mic from us. I don't know where he came from. Wait, me and Sean?

Yeah. Me and Sean. He grabbed the mic and said, y'all got to smell like hot dog water. He told the people in the club they smell like hot dog water. That's him for sure. That's some daft shit for real. The way he came from,

I thought he was just another nigga standing behind us. You know, the whole hood is standing behind us on the stage. So, you know, I don't know who was who. So when he popped up and grabbed the mic so you know I don't know who was who so when he popped up and grabbed the mic you know our first reaction is who the fuck this fucking mic apps

what the fuck and we had a slight we had a slight idea you know what was really going on but it was cool you know and he just was

showing love cause he had it right back he say shit about that that was ridiculous that's how the brand. It's always been, you know, I don't remember the first time I came up here,

like, on my own time, but it's always been a sign. Like, we went to the game earlier. Like, we'd walk into the game, probably take four or five pitches, and we're out. We took hella pitches and shit inside of the game, but it's just like, you know, even going, I mean, I've been coming up here to Pacers games and

whatnot, but it's like when people can see you, like you said, as far as being stamped. Like, it's some cities that we only saw one side of, you know what I'm saying? And that's the hood side, the urban side. And I think people appreciate you for it. Because I do understand a lot of artists don't see that side of it. Nah, thanks, bro. And no, not to them.

By the time they was coming to a market like this, they might have almost outgrew the hood or they were going to the hard ticket venues or was on somebody's tour or otherwise. And it's like, I'm going wherever they got the bread. Right. Pulling up to. Nah, for sure. Most definitely, man. Right. Pulling up to. For sure.

Most definitely, man. Y'all pulled up to the city one time and performed with the Young Nacho jerseys. Yeah. That was legendary for sure. Yeah, I got the picture of that. Where the fuck y'all find that at? Nigga, I was starting it. I was like, I didn't know what year this was.

I'm a bad kid, fuck. I didn't know what year this was. This one double did. I was like, I was 24 and I was fuck. I know. This one double-decker. I was in 44. I was 24, but I was starting. I was coming off an all-star.

I was swinging. See how your niggas do you, man? I'm dirty. I'm so good. He do me like it's every day, bro. It's cool.

I'm turnt up in the morning. Nah, it's real. In a video, too. In a bone shocker like a video. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I appreciate that man

child of the team man this is genuinely real fans of y'all music man so that's hard that y'all do that for sure I sent that

I sent that mama's revenge to my mama she's like nigga what is this I was like listen to it she's like is this God for me I said

yeah for me I said yeah, is this God for me? I said, yeah, for me. Why are you saying for me? I said, for me. Oh, man. I wanted to ask, bro, how did y'all cross paths with Kevin Gates? Our story is different. Well, you know, who want to tell that before we go first? Man, I'd say that was like 2013.

It was before we actually met. This is just a strength, like I said. I don't believe in coincidence, so it happened like this. I'm pulling to the crib, and when I hit my garage, I take it. This is just days. It was probably 2012, maybe. I take the CD out whatever I was listening to

and so the radio pops on and it's satellite radio at the time literally when I take the CD out I hear K Slay

at the time rest in peace he like I hear him asking the artist he interviewing he's like man so what you

listening to right now like what you got in your like if you have a five disc changer what you listening to and the artist on there is like man in your, like, if you have a five disc changer, what you listening to? And the artist on there is like, man,

I don't listen to nothing but Starlito. I'm like, I'm in the car by myself. I'm like, what the fuck? Like, you know, I was just, I'm about to cut the car off

and I sat there and I was like, now I'm curious, like, who is this just shouting me out on satellite radio? So they play some music when they come back.

I figure I was like Kevin Geyser. I hadn't heard of him at the time. And I was like, man, that was like that was real he was like man that's the only artist i listened to and uh so i went and checked his music out from there and was i was rocking with it a few months later uh he had i guess signed with atlantic and one of his anrs had reached out to me um or email was like man we got this new artist we signed and he want to get you on his album or what not.

And I was like, yeah, I rock with his music. We can swap something out. I do the verse, get him to do a chorus for me kind of thing. Just swap it. They sent the song, I knocked it out. And I was on the way to Atlanta to meet Tripp. We was working on Step Brothers 2 at the time. And I was like, man, I'm about to send a song.

When I get to Atlanta, I'm going to go through some beats and send you the song for bro to get on. And they was like, oh, Kevin living in Atlanta right now. I'm going to send y'all each other number. This is the man, whoever from Atlantic Records at the time. I think Brian Johnston, if I can recall. And so I'm like, cool. You know, I reach out.

Bro, like, he rocked with the verse or whatever. We went to the studio that night, and he ended up pulling up at the studio. Oh, that was your first time meeting him, too? Yeah, that was actually the first day I met him. Oh, wow. And so he pulled up to me and Tripp's studio session. And like you said, I guess perspective said that day was different. But we did Leash on Life from Stare Brothers 2.

And we did About a Bitch called Turkey that had all three of us on it. Tripp ended up leaving and me and Gai started there and did about four or five more songs and just kind of chopped it up. From there, you know, just like forged a bond. And moving forward, like me and Tripp ended up joining this tour, Stranger Than Fiction tour that followed. I was on his album, the NYB song.

He was on our album. Yeah. We toured together and, you know, the rest is pretty much history. I talked to him yesterday, actually. Nah, it's hard, bro. Y'all, I feel like y'all kind of introduced him well

to us. Mm-hmm. Like it was y'all that introduced him to us. Shit, he introduced him to me. I didn't know that was their first time meeting. I was, uh...

Man, it's never personal. I just don't, I live in a bubble, man. It is what it is. So he was like, you know, my guy, Kevin Gates, was pulling up. I'm like, I don't know who that is. Then when Gates got there, Gates is one, like, again, this is my first time meeting him.

So I'm, I guess I don't really talk much. So when Gage came in, he sat down and he just started talking. And he was just, I thought them niggas knew each other. But Gage was talking, talking. And he was talking about all kinds of shit. A lot of shit made very little sense. A lot of shit made very little sense. A lot of shit made no sense. A lot of shit made sense fucking six years later.

But either way, he was just talking and he was like... One of the things that it tripped me out because it was random. But me, I guess following and paying more attention to him afterwards, I understood for the most part, he just speak his mind. But out of the blue, nigga was like,

you know, goats eat cans. They lick the adhesive off the cans. I'm like, why the fuck did you do that? It came out of nowhere. But then when they started playing the music, and when they started playing the music, I was like, okay, okay, I can fuck with it. I fuck with it.

I fuck with the passion in it. And all the way up until then, I didn't know who he was. I didn't know who he was or what he do or any of that shit. So when he started playing the music, I'm like, okay. You know, he got something. They started discussing making music. And some of the shit that he was saying, some of the shit he was saying about music

kind of changed how I looked at certain shit. I can't remember what record. Started playing him a record. And the record was either too long or too short. I can't remember what record. Starr played him a record and the record was either too long or too short. I can't really remember. But Starr was like, no, he was scared he was going to make it too long. He was like, well, I don't want to add another verse to it or something because then the song is going to be too long. Gates was like, man, fuck, who give a fuck how long the song is?

It was just 40 seconds. That's all you got? That's all you got? Put that shit out. They're going to eat that shit up. And when he said that, I'm like, that's crazy. I don't listen to a fucking 40-second song. And then fucking two, three years later, everybody's got fucking 40, 50-second songs. Somebody think it was on to something.

And, you know, the delivery was, you know, a bit odd to me. But it made part of it. Like I said, some of the shit made sense later. But meeting them then, I could have sworn them niggas had already knew each other. Because Gates was having personal conversations. I knew them niggas knew each other. This nigga funny, man. Having met his music prior to then, and I think the relationship he had with my music, and he wasn't shy about it.

Yeah. A lot of it, at that point, to me, was just kind of listening. You know, hearing him out, because he was explaining how and when he got introduced to my music, which made a lot of sense to me. And I spent a lot of time in Louisiana, so it was... I think I could understand. Rob Markman, You could understand what I was saying. Yeah, I think I understood. Rob Markman, Yeah.

Because some of the slang he was using was peculiar. I'll just say that. He knew exactly what the nigga was saying. Rob Markman, And we bonded right away. And it really wasn't much different than me and Tripp working together. Like, the work, the pace of the work just kind of just... It was a natural flow. Exactly. Like I said, we did six, seven songs in one session.

And it was all, like, out of here. You know, that was all smashes. I think he was on my call target like four times, something like that. Yeah. As much as, like, you know, some people I get there like, oh, the first time I heard him was here. For sure, I'm sure a lot of people maybe heard me for the first time on his project.

And that was same thing I'm saying, that's how I feel like it should go. You know, try it out, get on the thing. Cause there's a lot of artists, true, early on with Yo Gotti, working with Dov. And it's like, for sure we try the audience somewhere and there's some overlap and however whoever you heard first how have you heard us like that's what it's all about like me working with the younger artists working with little baby and

no cap and etc like i'm getting new fans new audience even though I'm 10 years older than these artists. And it's just I mean, it's just really just a solid. But I feel like when it's easy and fun and all that and creative to make music with artists, you gotta just like you gotta ride that wave and go with it.

I wanted to ask y'all this question because you both are very vulnerable in your music. You get a lot of your fan base feel like they know everything about y'all when they meet y'all. Like you said, you just make games and y'all this question because you both are very vulnerable in your music. You get a lot of your fan base feel like they know everything about y'all when they meet y'all. Like you said, you just made Gays and y'all locked in because of the music. People hear y'all music, they feel like they know y'all instantly when they meet y'all. Yeah. In most cases,

it get real awkward. Well, you know, I appreciate it. I value it, but I think sometimes people get, they get so invested in it that they forget that you don't know me. So even like, you know,

if you're listening to my music and you listen enough for you to feel like you know me, then one of the first things that should stick out is that I, um, uh, not, is that I'm not welcoming, I guess, if that's a word. So what happens, you know, we may be moving around. People call. I was in the airport yesterday. And a woman walked past.

Hey, Chris. I'm like, I don't even know you. I love your music. I'm like, you love it enough to think you could call me Chris. But that's how, you know, some people, some people would be so into it that the line between, you know, entertainment and reality is almost invisible. And again, you know, I appreciate it.

I respect it. I respect it, but I think, um, I think, you know, we, we aware of, of it enough.

And we, uh, background is pretty much the same. So we make sure to, to, to keep the boundaries, uh, um,

present, if that makes sense. So, you know, you walk up to me and I'm with my kids. I get it. You might not know. You know, I ain't done a trip with my kids. So, you know, I'll politely tell you, you know, we ain't doing no pictures or none of that.

I got my kids. And, you know, some people get it. More people get it now than, you know, previously. But, you know, if you don't get it, so, you know, some people get it. More people get it now than, you know, previously. But, you know, if you don't get it, so, you know, I know that if this goes sideways, I ain't really going to get, I ain't going to interact with it. You know, a lot of, what's the word? I'm going to try my best to diffuse, even if all I'm going to do is walk away. I was in the fucking putt-putt one time with my whole family and a couple asked for a picture and I was like, you know, I can't really do that right now with my family. And guy just started snapping. He was like, man, you Hollywood ass niggas

and niggas think he this, he think he that. And I was like damn what's up no see but that's the thing see earlier I told you I don't play well with others and you sound like him

when he be taking pictures with his friends the way my family the way we was raised is come one come all so it don't matter

if you four feet or nine feet, you're going to get everybody's feet on your ass. So, you know, but I got my kids. So, I got to be a father right now or a role model, so to speak. This shit can hit the fan. When it hit the fan, you vastly out. My entire, it was 30 of us in there.

Yeah. And that's just how we rock. So, if any physical altercation would have broke out, it would have been the worst case scenario. This shit wasn't going to end lightly. And, you know, I got to think 30 people stomping you out might kill you in here. On top of that, you know, what's the effect that have on our kids?

These are small children. No, at that time they were small. But these are small children. And, you know, there's going to be complete chaos. They, the shit they came to put put to be at a fucking, I don't know what you call it. Was that, is that considered an amusement park? But that's what the fuck it is. They came to have fun.

That's a playpen, man. You know, they ain't come to see a brawl. No, right, right, right. So, you know, I got to be, you know, I have to, I got to think about the consequences of how far I can go. And I get it. You love my music so much that you blurred the line. You don't get it. So I'm going to excuse you, even though, you know, and then getting louder and louder. I'm like, man.

And at this point in time, my brother was alive. And my brother is what was, he was extremely welcoming. But it was a facade. He was fake welcoming. Like, you know, yeah, man, we cool. They plotting to rob you in like 20 minutes. As soon as y'all go to whatever the fuck, they on your ass. So even then,

I got to defuse him because, again, the way my family rock, if he would have set it off, I wouldn't have been able to defuse it after that. Ain't no, hey man, it's a one-on-one. We don't know what those are. So shit would have

got to be. Niggas know now. Y'all see Tripp. He got some babies with him. Leave him alone. No, it ain't that severe where, you know, you can't speak or interact. I just ain't no bitch, though. Just shut up. Shut up, fam.

No, don't do that. Oh, that's nasty. Don't get upset with me because I ain't, you know, I'm standing on what I'm standing on. And I'm in father mode. I'm in father. Because think, you know, what happens when I take all these fucking pictures with you and now I got to go to the front and have them call, do the fucking, I'll call because I can't find one of my goddamn kids.

I'll take the pictures with your ass. Now I'm a bad parent. That's for sure. one of my goddamn kids. I was taking pictures with your ass. Now I'm a bad parent. I had to, I got to pick the time and the place for everything and if I'm in Target solo, I'm with it. I take as many pictures as you want. Shoot, we just had the game. I ain't turning a single picture down. When we perform, we willing to take a picture

with every person that's in there. If I got my kids, we ain't taking not a single picture. I don't agree with the idea of my kids being famous until they old enough to make the decision for themselves. I ain't supposed to sit

here and let you take pictures of me and my family. You got videos of me. If you familiar with me in any sort, you can check my shit. My kids ain't all over my social media. I feel like, I think it's a very thin line between that shit being cute and that shit being exploiting. And I ain't trying to get no points off my cute kids.

They ain't fucking adorable to me, but dang what I'm in this for. And I feel like in some cases, the more you let people blur the line, the more blurry it's going to get. And that shit make my kids extremely uncomfortable and people don't get it. I came out of Target one day, I had my two oldest kids and I'm naturally paranoid because we come from where we come from. So when I come out, I peep this guy standing by his truck and he keeps staring at me. And I'm like, man, I had, again, I'm paranoid. So I've already taught my kids. I won't say taught, because we've never been in this scenario. So I've already talked to them about what

to do if shit goes sideways when we're out and about. And I've explained to them, I got enemies I've never met because I'm successful. That's what success brings. That's real. So, you know, when I peep the dude, I keep walking. And, you know, I'm walking on one side of the parking lot. He on the other side. So I peep him crossing.

So I'm like, what's up, bro? And I tell my kids to keep going, you know, because if something happened, I prefer them to be away from right here. He was like, man, I've been circling the park.

I saw you go in. I've been circling the parking lot until you came out. I was like, man, I fuck with your music so much. He was a fan. And I was like,

man, you know how weird that sound when you circle the parking lot. I'm like, in real time, I don't know who you are. Like, I appreciate the love. I really do. I'm like, real time, I don't know who you are. Like, I appreciate the love. I really do.

I'm like, man, you know, while I was saying that, he looked at my kids and my kids was like this. He was like, damn, man, I didn't think about that. You know, I fanned out and, you know, I ain't people. I just made your whole family, well, not whole family, but, you know, I made you and your family uncomfortable.

He was apologizing and them and shit. And when I got in the truck, I asked my kids, you know, are y'all good? And it was crazy because they, like I said, I'm paranoid naturally. And I know that that rubbed off on them too. They was like, yeah, dad, we seen him. As soon as we walked out, we seen him staring at you. So they never stopped paying attention to him. And I told them to go to the truck when he stepped over.

And when he pointed to my left, that's when I realized they only moved like two or three cars down. They didn't go all the way to the truck. But that's because they're trying to make sure they see what's going on. But I say all that to say, you know, if you run into me, you know, with my

kids, you know, tone it down. Leave this nigga alone. Actually. running to me, you know, with my kids, you know, tone it down. Keep in mind. Leave this nigga alone. Don't. Don't. Don't fucking wave at him. Chuck the Deuce, keep it pushing. Nah, just do him.

Nigga, I saw you at Target. You look good. You look good. Don't fuck with the music. A handshake would suffice, man. For sure. Just, you know, sometimes that shit just go too far, man. Yeah.

Hey, what's that feeling like, man, when people rap y'all? Y'all perform y'all song, but you can see the crowd rapping every word for word. Like, I play basketball, so, you know, you see people fan out. They cheer for you. They like your stuff. They have your jersey on or whatever. But somebody rapping something you wrote, word for word, bar for bar, what's that like?

It's surreal, and it's still as surreal as the first time. It would probably, well, I could imagine, it would be, it would feel the same way it would feel when you leaving the game or any time in life when somebody got like a basketball card a year.

Nah, that's different though. Because people buy basketball cards to sell them. Yeah. Okay, I don't know about that part of basketball cards to sell them. Yeah. I don't care about that part of basketball cards. I can't sell me rapping. Yeah. Well, see, I think that shit is euphoric.

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know a better way to explain it. I think that shit's a special feeling. Yeah, I ain't never imagined none of this for myself. Like you said, you was listening to the Street Boss song. I was wondering who said that shit aside, wanting to rap just on some cool shit,

or trying to make some money, trying to get the girls, whatever it was at that time, I ain't never expect or look at it as being embraced or well received. I remember the first time somebody I didn't know telling me I was cold. That meant so much more just truthfully than like my friends and peers, people that I knew. They could just say that shit because they cool with me. I'm like, I'm on the other side of town and these dudes don't know me.

Or I'm up at TSU in a parking lot, like in a cypher, just rapping acapella and people like, or the next day people like, man rap something else. I'm just telling my homeboy about you. And it's like, you know, so to level up from there to, like you said, something that I wrote down, something I put together, composed. And I'm four or five hours away from home or I'm 10 hours away from home or we're on a tour and it's like night for night or just period. Even like the new music just being received. But like you said, seeing people really rocking out to it and it's like, like it's they song.

Yeah. It's like, damn. Like, cause I ain't. It's a special feeling. Yeah. I always want to ask this question, especially for y'all. Where do you get more joy in making the music or actually getting able to perform it and share it with people?

I think it's like even for me, it's like 50-50. I think making the music sometimes I was like therapy. And then to the last question, when it's received well and it's appreciated, like it's all another high to share it. Or like we might have made music a month or two prior or over the course of time. But like at the time I'm putting it out, I'm almost enjoying it all over again when the other people listen to it in real time. But that feedback, that reception, the last question that skipped over of how do you balance

giving so much personally to people who feel like they know you? That's the give and take of that. It was like, for me, my music is my personality. My music is like, this is all I know how to be. Once I tapped into that, once I got out of trying to work within a system, I just went with, I'm going to be the best me. I'm going to be the best version of myself. So people taking it at, it's like, I don't really get no better than that.

I didn't have to put nothing on it. The good, bad, happy, sad in between. Because the crazy part is people tend to gravitate toward the dark is the most extreme. You know what I'm saying? I make music that, for me, I might have been crying on the inside making it. But somebody else like, man, this changed my life. This got me through this. Or like, you was rapping my life right there. And I'm like, damn, I was rapping my life.

But the fact that it had that effect on you, like, it keep me doing it. You know what I'm saying? Let me know I ain't doing it for nothing. I say the same. I think the joy come from... I don't get joy out of creating the music, but like you said, creating it is the therapy for me.

Creating the songs keep me from... Creating the song keep me from doing other shit. I'll just say that. Okay. So I think the creating process is more like the release. And then, you know, the joy comes from another person being able to relate to something they wasn't present for, if that makes sense. You know, to meet me and say, you went through so-and-so, so-and-so.

Because when I'm making the record, I ain't thinking about what you're going through. Like you said, I'm thinking about what I'm going through. And I think that's refreshing for all people to know you ain't the only one in that certain battle, whatever that battle is. So, you know, I think for the most part, the joy comes from meeting people that received the music. Yeah, even when you said the wrestling stuff or generational stuff,

a lot of music is a time capsule. So we're just speaking from art. This is the era, this is the generation we grew up in. It's music that's made today that I just don't get. I don't understand because I ain't... I'm trying to tell this nigga, man. I didn't grow up like... You know what I'm saying?

Y'all might be trying to put us on. They be trying to put us on every day. I didn't grow up like that. You know what I'm saying? Y'all might be trying to put us on. He try to put us on every day. I just can't get with it. Right, but I feel like it's still... To say it's still somebody speaking for us or speaking a language that we understand. Because a lot of my favorite artists that I came up on don't do it for me anymore.

Like, you know what I'm saying? Same here. When they make a music present day, they trying to keep up saying? Same here. I, when they making music present day, they trying to keep up with the new wave and it's like, man,

just give it to me straight the way that you always have. And, so, that's just something like we tap into. Like,

even, even the project that, well, I don't know if y'all was going to ask about it or was going to touch on it. Yeah, we about to.

Don't worry about it. Yeah, won't be bad. But, I mean, it if y'all was going to ask about it. We was going to touch on it. Yeah, we about to. Don't worry about it. Yeah, it won't be bad. But, I mean, it's like speaking a language that if you know, you know, that people that relate to it can understand. It's like a sweet spot. Man, let's get straight to it, man. It is very hard to make projects with the same name, and they all still great.

Y'all on the fourth version of this, man. New Step Brothers on the way, man. Indeed, indeed. Indeed. By your four, baby. Get it dated away. Yeah, we came here really to drop the date. We was going to drop it on 520.

May 9th, Step Brothers for Life. Wow, we getting a drop. We getting a drop. Step Brothers for Life, can I ask you this? Yeah. I'm married. I know you're married, too. No. Are you still? No, you're not. this yeah I'm married I know you married too but

are you still or are you not nah I'm talking about what you for I'm talking about what you for that's real I know what I'm talking about

these two we need to get them and you talking to me you can start off with a purpose like that clean it up

I'm married too well I will clean it up boy shout married too well I will I'm clean it up boy shout out to my wife yeah yeah shout out to my wife too

kind of shit he is I have to I have to we're trying to he starts that brother hey he starts

that brother 3 off with that I'm gonna stop you in your tracks then he starts that brother 3 off with that I don't even perform

that part you know what I'm saying that's why I laugh I'm gonna to stop you in your tracks. Then he starts saying, brothers, three, I'm with that. I don't even perform that part. That's why I laugh. I'm going to mute my little crowd. He don't say that line no more. It's like, we actually censored it, so I had to say it for him. We'll let y'all figure that out.

I had to be responsible. Shout out to Stacey. Y'all are a flood. This is my guy, For sure, man. But listen, man, y'all blessed us with value for it, man. We made the decision y'all to spend it black. You just talk. See, I think we never not in... I don't know how you would put that. To the audience or to the people who listen to our music,

you'd assume that in between Step Brothers 3 and now that, you know, we ain't a group or a tandem. I don't know how you look at it. I understand why people think that. But in real life, in between that, we ain't Mr. Beat. He was in my wedding. We know each other. We're around each other.

We talk to each other. We have an actual relationship. It's not just music. And even with music, I'm sure somebody's going to go and do it. If you sat and counted all the records we've done in between... Don't worry about it. He got the count right there. He just asked this this morning. He was like, besides Stepbrothers and them,

how many songs you think they actually on each other's album all the time? You couldn't count? But you get what I'm saying? Our relationship was never contingent on us being a group. When we met, we was two solo artists. Yeah, for sure.

We just worked so well with each other that we never really, it don't feel like work. So at some point, he good with timeline. I don't know how long it's been. So at some point, people keep asking about Step Brothers 4, Step Brothers 4. And I was like, you know, shit. We'll get to it when we get to it.

And somebody told me, I think it might have been him, talking about how long it's been. It's been a minute. Eight years and 11 days. It's been a minute. When he did that shit, I was like, oh! That makes sense then then why people assume that there's no Step Brothers folks.

Yeah, but it's just been life. It's been forever. And that's, I mean, the irony of the album being called Step Brothers for life is we really, you know, really thugging it out. We really living this. Right. I mean, our music is transparent. Our music is full disclosure, if you will.

But like you just said, every step of the way, we've been in weddings. We've been at birthday parties, funerals, for what it's worth. Like every highs and lows. And we've actually, truthfully, only grown that much closer in the time between Stepbrothers 3 and now so I don't I don't think it's felt like 8 years for us cause we was going through everything every step of the way to get here but I also think it's like perfect

time and divine time the original plan we dropped 3 was to drop again that year you know what I'm saying and people never let us forget it. Rob Markman But I mean, you know, like life happened.

Rob Markman Yeah. Rob Markman You know, just, I mean, we got to point out all the... Rob Markman Yeah, it got real tricky. But anyway, you know, I think, I think right now we in the space or in a in a accessible enough space for us to sit down and like I said earlier

we do all the Step Brothers records in person together we don't email none of that shit yeah we never sent a song over for

right nothing that's every Step Brothers tape was recorded in person and how long those take how long does it take yeah How long does it take?

Yeah, like the process of y'all had to... The first one we did in three sessions. Damn. The second one, I don't know. It wasn't that long. Yeah, the second one, we started around the time of that session with Kevin Gates, which was like early 2013. And we finished it like early summer by the time-

Rob Markman, The other one we did, did the mixtape for two? Nah, that was three. But it wasn't three sessions. It wasn't quite as fast as the first one, but we just would link out of town and was going to Atlanta a lot and just getting in the lab. It wasn't many sessions though. And the last one, same thing. We just get together, we did like a EP,

a short mix type and an album at the same time. And that was over the course of like really the majority of it, about two months, two months time, maybe five or six sessions. And with this one, we've gotten with maybe four or five sessions and got the majority of it together just i mean even our last session we did four songs in one session just not even really thinking about it but in that time in between like we've had sessions where we ain't even probably played no beats. We just sat in there chopping it like this.

Look up and everybody tired and we just go on our way. Because it just might be necessary as homeboys just to talk. You know what I'm saying? And them conversations are what make the best records anyway. Yeah, it turns into the art. But we don't really... Like I said, that's my brother. So we ain't on no schedule, so to speak.

So when we do go in, of course, you know, when we book in time, we keep that in mind that, you know, we got paid until whatever. But we don't really, you know, I don't know. It don't feel like work. So I don't much keep up with it. It just happens how it happens. And we don't do the, you know like when you sit and say man we gotta come up with a fucking a single or catch it this or whatever the fuck we ain't into none of that we go and whatever happens when we in there

it happens and that's what we go with and so far that's what our careers have been based off you know us individually and as a tandem. This has worked because we've been who we really are. It don't make no sense to try to reinvent the wheel now. I'm just trying to think. I never hear y'all recycle shit, but y'all drop so much

music. I ain't going to lie. I was a rapper. I would have recycled so much shit. I can't remember all this shit. You dropped 36 albums. I want a rapper. I would have recycled so much shit. Man, I can't remember all this shit. Yeah, you done dropped 36 albums. I want to know. I want to ask why'd you do that? What made you just get in the studio?

Like, man, I'm dropping 25 albums in two years. Man, we let people believe that me and him made some kind of bet. But in real time- Rob Markman Because he dropped 22. Rob Markman I sat in the studio with one of my rap friends, he passed away, Long Live Casino Jizzle. But while I was in the studio, I was working on a record. I was working on a record, well, I was doing a verse for him.

And he was like, man, when you going to drop something else? I was like, man, I just dropped it. And he was like, it's been about two years. I said, what? And we sit, we go through my timeline, and this was like maybe 2021, maybe. Either way, I looked at my last release and I'm like, damn, it has been a minute. And I had no excuse for why I hadn't released. So actually that kind of spawned the idea of I'm going to put a tape out. And every time I said I'm going to put a tape out, I didn't put a tape out. And I used to overthink it.

I sit and do fucking 40 songs and then pick 15 songs and then everything else just sit on the hard drive. So at some point, I don't really know what it was, but I sat and I'm looking at all these fucking songs on this hard drive. It's just there. Nobody's ever heard any of it. And I said, man, fuck it. I'm going to put this shit out. Then I thought about it. And I said, man, fuck it. I'm going to put this shit out. Then I thought about it again. I said, no, fuck it.

I'm just going to put everything out. That shit's still on the hard drive. I'm like, fuck this. I'm going to put everything from that moment forward. I said, every record I record, I'm going to release. It don't much make sense to hold onto it. I don't have the answers to nobody. So it don't much make any sense. on to it. I don't have the answers to nobody. So it don't much make any sense.

And then I'm in my own studio, so I ain't even on no clock. So I said, fuck it. I'm going to put out everything. And what was the first one? The first tape is eight records. So I told myself I wouldn't ever put something out that's less than eight records. I feel like people do it all the time. It's each his own.

I felt like that wouldn't be, I felt like I'd be doing my audience a disservice to give you less than eight records. So I had no goal. End of that month, I called the distributor. I'm like, hey, I got eight records. I want to put this tape out. I said, hey, let's do it. I did that. I said, I'm going to do the same thing. And shit, after about four or five of them, I said, you know, I think I can do a whole year worth of this shit. They said, yeah, sure. You know, they've heard it all before from everybody. So even the distribution company didn't know I was dead ass serious.

So when I did them 12, really on the 11th one, on the 11th one, I don't pay attention to the numbers. So, you know, they calling me and they telling me how successful the shit was. I said, oh, I can do this for 12 more than that. Man, when I started on that second 12, oh man, I was so exhausted when I got to fucking 24 of tape. I said, it could, the way I, my process is different now.

I used to be one of those artists, always in the studio every day. I record a record every day. Now, throughout the whole 24 Tapes, I probably recorded... I probably was in the studio for three days out of every one of those months. And I mean,

Craig can tell you, I don't remember what tape it was, but I was in New York doing a press run, and man, him was on the phone. He was on the phone for a while. He was on the phone and I want to say he called me about a particular song that he was working on. And throughout the conversation, you know, it really was this particular conversation, I was more an ear than a voice.

I'm just listening to him. I'm hearing him out. So at the end of the conversation, I think I was like, you know, I got to call our engineer because I can't get this shit to work. Like, it wasn't working. I'm trying to record here in the hotel and I can't get this shit to work right. He said, okay. You know, he's fully aware of the time frame you have to release music.

And it might have been like a Sunday or Monday we on the phone. And he was like, okay, when you dropping? I'm like, Friday. He's like, okay, okay. Shit, how many you got? Not a single fucking song. I don't have anything. And shit's got to be turned in like Tuesday or Wednesday for the shit to really be released.

And Craig was like, man, how the fuck do you plan on? You got nothing? I don't got shit. And, you know, man, how the fuck do you plan on? You got nothing? I got shit. And by Wednesday, I had at least 12 songs released. I don't know how many went on that tape. I don't know, man. Times 24. He did this 24 times. Yeah. He was like, how, bro?

I have no idea, man. Like I said a second ago, just let whatever happens, happens. If you go to each one of those, every song is probably 300-something songs. No two songs are the same. I didn't sit and say, you know, I'm going to do this kind of record or make this kind of song. I cycled through beats and whatever popped in my head, that's what I say. That's what I'm trying to think. And with it being my real life, I don't have to worry about saying something

I can't stand on. That's what I'm trying to say. That's amazing to me, like, how y'all can think of this shit. I don't know. Shout out to y'all,

bro. Everybody's process is different. And, when he was going through that, like, at some point, he said he was going to do it

for a year, maybe halfway through or through the first year. So I hadn't dropped in like three years. I was kind of like, fuck rap. And seeing him go through that and conversations we was having, because I was on about half of those projects. I kind of worked my way out of that rut or that space, and I did my Love Drug album. And it was kind of like at that time, like, all right,

I'm going to drop in December. He had dropped 11 projects already. I thought he was about to turn the corner and do Step Brothers after that because he was going to do the 12th. Yeah, I'm trying to get it right. And then when he did the 12th one, I'm like, what's good, bro? He was like, I'm about to drop this January project. I'm like, you just did 12?

He's like, do it again. I'm like, oh, shit. You know what? Look, what happened? When I did the 12, people would cut. You know, some people are going to give you credit. And a lot of people like to give backhand compliments. So one person will say, man, that's amazing.

He did 12 records in a year. And then somebody pop up and say, Pat Poose did it first. Then somebody said, Currency did it first. And I'm like, man, I don't know if they did it or not, but that ain't the point. That's like saying, hey, man, I bought a house. And you said, yeah, but my brother bought the point. That's like saying, hey man, I bought a house and you said,

yeah, but my brother bought one before you. Nah, yeah. What the fuck does that matter? Right. And I never respond to it because I know how quick it can get twisted.

And, you know, my response could, could make currency turn around and read it. And, you know, because naturally you'd be like, fuck him.

He's like, I got nothing to do with him. But it's easy for that to be misconstrued. And that's the last thing I want is for somebody to be able to take something I say and turn it into something. I pride myself on what I say. So when I start seeing that, I say, all right, okay. Every time somebody mentioned fucking 12, y'all got somebody else did it. I say, all right, show me somebody that done 24.

Now until you show me somebody that done 24, I don't respect your comment about somebody else did it. I said, all right, show me somebody that done 24. Now until you show me somebody that done 24, I don't respect your comment about somebody else did it before I did it. I had to. I had a point to prove to Nate Saylor. Man, that killed you for a whole year. Yeah, it was so much music. Me and Mike, like I told you, we'd be sharing the music. He'd be like, you heard of Trip Out?

I'm like, damn, that guy just played it last week. He's like, no, he dropped another one. I'm sorry. Trip, he lost me now. I got down. I was just playing St. Louis. I'm on half of them, and I still ain't caught up. That's the beauty of it.

I was about to say, I think that's the beauty of it. I ain't put all the music out. I mean, it happens. There are people who listen to every record when it drops. And I appreciate that. But I also value the person who, out of 24 tapes, they didn't make it past 13. That 13 tape, they was living in that space. And that tape speak to them.

It happens all the time where people reach out and tell me about old records. They just not hearing this record. They're like, man, what you said on so-and-so, so-and-so record, man, it spoke to me. I had been playing Say Less for so long. I was stuck

on that. And then I heard this new shit, man. I fuck with it. And I kind of look at that shit like Netflix series and shit. You might not be hip to the film or the show that came out four years ago. Nah, yeah. That's a good respect. Now it's enough of it for you to binge if you want to binge. Real shit.

And if you... No, some of us only like what we like. Shit, I got a playlist right now. It's all R&B and it's probably feel it probably don't. It might be 10 records that's been put out in since 2020 that's on this in this playlist. Everything else is from me growing up or, you know, whatever time period it was when I heard it. So I understand when people know when they live with the music so tough that they got no, no, no ear for anything else.

I want to hear the newer shit. I want to hear this. This is what I love. This is what drives me. And if they never move on to another record, so be it. You got enough music for them niggas to hold on to. I knew y'all was good rappers. They all know my wife, obviously.

But my wife, she don't listen to nothing, really. She listen to Spanish music and occasionally Lil Wayne. So she was like... Oh, is your wife Spanish? Yeah. Okay. So she like... I was like, that's different.

Okay, it makes sense now. Don't start. It makes sense now. No, but she like, out of nowhere, I swear to God, I never talked to her about music. Because me and her argue about music. And she was like, the Starlet though, God can rap. He's pretty good.

I'm like, fuck you. I was like, what? Yeah, don't worry. I was like, who the fuck you with? I was like, what? You about to get a divorce. Who the fuck you with? Where you in the dome? I said, what nigga you was with? You about to get a divorce? Who the fuck you was with?

I swear to God, I started laughing. And she was like, what? And I was like, you don't know them. She's like, no, I like their voice. And she was like, Tripp? Don Tripp? I started crying laughing. I was like, I'm going to tell them that we were about to interview.

She's like, you about to interview them? I ride to them in the morning. I'm like, what the fuck? I really need to know where the we're about to interview. She's like, you're about to interview now? I'm like, I'll ride to them in the morning. I'm like, what the fuck? I really need to know where the fuck she heard that shit from. We got to have a good conversation. I'm like, she was your gal. She had a hoop on 2K. It was like that.

She's like, I'll ride to them in the morning. I'm like, in the morning? She was kind of wild, bro. You ain't just do that on accident. I was like, what, playing after Jill? She was like, what? Zalina said, ain't no such thing as a coincidence. So they about to get you fucked up for you.

Nah, that's real, though. That's real. I fuck with that. Yeah, that's back to that. For us as artists, I could never imagine the reach of the music or where it's going to go. I made songs where I would have thought women would have hated me for making a song. And they'd be the one that they take to, the one that they love know, I make something that's so personal or so vulnerable, and I'm like, maybe nobody else will be able to feel this

because it's just uniquely my own experience. And then it's the standout record or whatever. So, like, I mean, that's what's up. I'd love to know what it was that piqued their interest. Ah, shit, me too. I was hella confused. Definitely appreciate y'all longevity in this shit, man. For sure. definitely appreciate y'all longevity in this shit man

definitely appreciate y'all for pulling up too definitely big for us yeah I can't wait for Stead Brothers phone to drop May 9th? Tap in you got the drop on club 520 we appreciate that come on man

you know we support it up here man May 9thknife, Tev, Ian, Sir Brothers, Foe, Life. We appreciate y'all, man. We're going to have to do this again, man. I'm with it, man. I'm with it. I don't much agree to traveling to people. Because you don't get along

with nobody. For me, my bad. But for me, my bad. But for me, I don't know. It always means something to me when people really rock with us. I ain't no cosign. Nobody hits you and say, here's my artist or here's the guy we working with or whatever. You know, if you fuck with me, you fuck with me genuinely because of me.

And, you know, that shit, I couldn't go without showing my appreciation back. So we created a safe zone. Love, bro. I was like, shit, let's do it. I'm with it. Nah, we appreciate it. We definitely fuck with y'all.

I love you, bro. For sure. I mean, obviously from the shoes, you can see I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the platform, the podcast. I wanted to talk more basketball with y'all. No, we can't. No, no, no, no. We're here.

It was a couple of things. One of my partners wanted me to bring up, see if you remember playing Nashville Celtics. He said he gave y'all 35. My homeboy, Jamie Graham. That was one thing you might- Damn, 35? What?

What year though? Did we win? I think he said, y'all might've won that one and they beat y'all in another tournament. That was- 35? But- Shit, I ain't gonna lie, I never played no defense.

So I might have 35. Shit, he probably had 35. Shout out to bro, y never played no defense. I might have 35. He probably had 35. Shout out to bro, man. Shout out to Jim Grimm. Yeah, because I definitely played no defense. There we go. No, Jamie, he played at Vanderbilt. I played basketball and football.

I ain't never played no defense. He probably did. He said he played no defense, man. I'm here to shoot this ball. That's what I was going to say. I wanted to ask y'all, this is just an oddball question. What's y'all favorite basketball movie of all time? Mine's Blue Chips.

Damn. He got game, bro. Ray Allen is the greatest basketball movie character ever. Basketball movie character? With the worst script of all time. For me, it is, bro. I like Blue Chips. Basketball movie character ever. The basketball movie character. With the worst script of all time. That's my movie. Yeah. I like blue chips, though.

The basketball movie character. What's yours? Oh, man. Mine is Hoop Dreams. I fuck with Hoop Dreams, too, though. It was like, I almost, like... That was a documentary,

damn it. Yeah, that was relatable. It was too real. Yeah. That was my... All right, and I ain't going to the NBA, my mom would be like, team, watching that shit. All right, when you seen Will... Just period. And was too real. Yeah. That was my... All right, and I ain't going to the NBA, mama.

I like team. All right, when you seen Will... Just period. Will was out of pocket. So nobody likes Sunset Park. But I like Blue Chips. Damn, Tripp.

Sunset Park. Give me Coach Brown for Sunset Park. Sunset Park was cool, though. It was cool. I thought you were going to say a butter rim. I was about to say

a butter rim. I ain't play no ball, man. A butter rim, my boy. Through the ball. That's the worst. That's the worst. That's the worst. My boy took the ball now.

Through that phone call. My blue chips was so cold. Tommy Shepard. You got that, man. I was like, my bad. We know they was good but the way they was man

that's funny Tommy Shepard and the Thermo bro was putting in work bro man he shot the same shot 23 times the same clip the same minute

I was like come on man and uh Corduroy was in a long time bro fresh off the bus off the roof I ain't never was a Space Jam fan

I didn't like I didn't like like toy movies and stuff like that y'all disrespect but the first Space Jam was a classic y'all I ain't saying was a Space Jam fan I didn't like toy movies and stuff like that y'all disrespect the first Space Jam as a classic y'all I ain't saying that we talking about acting that shit trash if we can get it real that shit trash bro

I ain't like Space Jam I assume that if you love basketball and you was a child that you might have liked Space Jam I got older brothers and sisters so I watch cartoons You know, if you love basketball, you was a child, then you might have liked Space Jam. I grew up. I got older brothers and sisters, so I ain't really. Oh, okay.

I watched cartoons and stuff. I was punching you and shit when you turned cartoons on. So you had to sneak and watch cartoons. Yeah, damn right. And pretend he don't like them. I grew up thinking Allen Iverson was a creative player. For real, my brother was like, excuse me? Nah, you gotta know my brother.

Like, you know, I'm younger. Terrell, he be like, yo, you gonna play like Allen Iverson? I'm like, who the fuck is that? He like, yeah, you gonna play just like him. I'm thinking he didn't create this nigga in his head or something. Then he showed me him. Now it's like, I'm gonna play like this nigga. He good.

Then I got break. Then I got break. Nigga damn near return it yeah that's what I'm saying why y'all always do it like that bro

y'all know I was outside I ain't really watch TV like that unless it was wrestling I was crazy that was real bro he thought I was really A.I.

that's what he said I didn't bro my brother told me I always watch wrestling bro that's all I watch I can dig it yeah you should watch shit I, bro. That's all I watch. I can dig it. Yeah, you should watch shit I used to wrestle.

That's all I watched growing up. Dang. And it probably was not a good thing because I was already violent. Him too. He took that wrestling shit to the NBA.

Hey, man. Cheer, bro. Cheer. I'm glad they came on the show. They about to start playing around. Like I said, that's why I couldn't play, man. I would have definitely been. I'm glad they came on the show He's my store player Like I said Why I couldn't play man I would have definitely been

I would have been Run on a test Nah I had some glimpses Of Ron Artis Yeah baby Like man he's been Injected for the

First seven games Every game He's been injected Who was your favorite Player growing up Penny Harden For sure. Shout out to Coach Penny.

He a laid back cool nigga too though, so that makes sense. Who was your game? Like if you say you played like somebody, who would you say you played like? Man, that's a good question. Mookie at Blaylock. At the time,

because of the time period, I graduated in 2002. At one point, it was like D. Miles. I was tall and slim and shit. Was that the one in Waggoner class too? 2002, I think so. That was the year before Brian. Yeah, that's JJ Redick in them class.

Morris Stoudemire, Mello. Yeah. Helper class. Mara Mello. Helper class. Raymond Feldman and McCann. We played them during the Olympics. Did you give them buckets? Man, they beat the hell out of us.

I'm not going to lie. Raymond Feldman was the best player I played against on the court. For real? He was a dog. Like, at the time I graduated. Corey Brew was in my district in high school, but he was, like, a couple years behind me.

He was nice. Okay. You played against some shit. You just wasn't a regular regular ball player. You played against some NBA talent. Yeah, we played, like, high-level AAU. Yeah. You could hear it in his raps.

Like, when he talk about basketball. Like, the way he talk about it, I'm like, he really play basketball. And some people who play basketball are like, I get 30 like Curry.

It's like, nah. You like Hoop for real. Who said that? Or was that one of your boys? That's right. Should I say? Like, I ain't nobody say that

weekend shit. Come on, DJ, man. I said. I ain't nobody say that weekend shit. I'm a fucking singer. Come on, DJ, man. I'm a fucking singer. Hey, what's the name of the team you said? Man.

Are you saying, are you talking to the studio in my house? For the wrong reason. I just wanted to make the video. Oh, man. I was getting cracked on that soundboard. What that mean?

What that mean? You're really insane. Nine trip. We out of here, baby. Bro. We out. What's up, bro? What's up, my co-champion?

That's how it is. The Volume. This is an iHeart podcast.