Club Shay Shay - Cordae Part 1

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

3x Grammy nominated and Gold selling rapper Cordae stops by Club Shay Shay to share his remarkable journey in the music industry. Cordae opens up about his decision to drop out of college, discussing the pivotal moments that led him to pursue his passion in music. He explains his choice to disconnect from social media and his deliberate approach in rejecting 95% of the feature opportunities that come his way. Cordae also discusses the impact of his TED Talk, showcasing his thought leadership beyond music. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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That's why. All my life, I been grinding all my life. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice. Hustle paid the price. Want a slice. Got the roll of dice. That's why.

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All my life, I been grinding all my life. Sacrifice. Hustle paid the price. Want a slice, got the roll of dice That's why all my life, I've been grindin' all my life Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Che Che. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Che Che. And the guy that's stopping by for a conversation and a drink today is a three-time Grammy-nominated artist. The next time he's nominated, he's going to win.

Yes, sir. A gold-selling artist, rapper, singer, songwriter, businessman, Cordae. What's up, Unc? How are you? I'm good, bro. Thanks for stopping by the shop. Man, appreciate you having me, Unc. You was born in North Carolina. Yeah. Raised in Maryland.

Yes, sir. What's a Cordae, give me a story, Cordae upbringing. Okay, so I was raised early, like I said, born in North Carolina, like you said, more so. Raised by my grandmother a lot, mom and grandma. Very yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, yes, sir, no, sir. I got whooped with the switch on. Okay. Go out there in the backyard, pick out your switch.

You're getting whooped with the switch. I said this at Rat Bar, I was like, grandma used to whoop a nigga with switches. That was way before the switches, you know what I'm saying? Whatever, but yeah, very, you know whatever but um yeah very you know uh southern hospitality very southern um didn't really like have too much growing up you know not like really don't know what was me type of stuff but just you know how it is a lot of times uh my mom had me she was super young she was 16 years old when she had me and so um so i'm assuming you're the oldest yeah i'm the eldest yeah i'm the eldest. And my nickname was man because I was the man of the house.

I was like my grandma and my mom and then my little auntie. Well, she's like not little auntie, but she was young at the time, my auntie. So I was like the man of the house. So my nickname was man. Right. And I moved to South Carolina, lived out in Florence, South Carolina for a little bit. And then I moved to Maryland and lived in Suitland, Maryland. in florida south carolina a little bit and then i moved to maryland and uh lived in suitland maryland and um i still got it when i moved out in maryland people like man you sound countries

my boy like for real and um i was in fifth grade at that time so my bad i'm going step by step um but maryland it was like uh not a culture shock but it was more so like oh go go like learning about new things right so i became acclimated so like maryland is like home now because i i was maryland is really what made me who i am right but still going back you know to the carolinas for the summer to visit my grandmother my dad my family on that side and stuff so um yeah but like maryland like maryland really helped me become not even helped me but like made me who I am. Made me love sneakers, live music because of Go-Go. And more so in the South, it's like you live in a trailer. It wasn't just straight trailers, but you get what I'm saying?

Versus Maryland, it's like neighborhoods and buildings. So right by D.C., so it's a whole lot of stuff. I'm pretty sure Maryland is the country, too, the South, too, because I think it falls below the Mason-Dixon line. Yeah, so anything considered below the Mason-Dixon line. It's technically the South, but it's more, if you know, it's like an up-North vibe. It's like D.C. It's still a city vibe more so because it's D.C. right there. Right. Like New York.

Y'all don't want to be labeled country, huh? No, it's not the country. I will say that for sure. It's not the country. I will say it's not the country. But I'm looking at you and and I'm reading your story, and you were raised by your grandmother and your mom in a trailer park. Yeah.

Sometimes 15 people in and out, no cable, no internet. Yeah. So you had a pretty rough upbringing. So as you're growing up, what are you thinking to yourself? What do you want to be? Yeah. Well, I would say, I want to say it was like 15 people in and out, but we always had like a good, it was family in the home, so I always enjoyed that.

I want to say 15. You know how niggas be lying to their wife, I ain't finna lie, it was 15. It was like five. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it wasn't five, it was more than five, but it wasn't 15. It wasn't 15, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got about, we got about, okay, okay.

But, and you know, I was raised in like different environments. Like it was some points where I'm like, like I said, we lived in a trailer and then when we moved to Maryland We kind of in the hood and suling and then later on as my mom's getting older and she's getting a better job We lived in like towards like my like 15 like 17 like the last two years of school We lived in like a better neighborhood So I kind of moved around like a lot with the six different elementary schools You know what I'm saying so I kind of lived in like you said like all type of environments like like I said lived in like the trailer in

the country hood right you know and then I lived in like the the Maryland the city what I consider the city hood you know what I'm saying well like people were at their apartments like right by Forest Creek suing they called it 28 for Bradford whatever the case may be. And then living in a better neighborhood in my late teens, like late high school neighborhood, excuse me, late high school years. So I think the culmination of all

those things allow me to interact with all different walks of life. I didn't even really wasn't around white people until I went to college. My middle school, elementary school, high school, all, like, 99.9% black. Like, niggas making fun, not making fun of me,

but I'm the lightest thing in there. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's funny. So, growing up in a trailer park, growing up in the inner cities, moving to the suburbs, so, as you mentioned, it gave you a better opportunity of having to navigate and deal with different types of people in different types of environments. in the inner cities, moving to the suburbs. So as you mentioned, it gave you a better opportunity of having to navigate and deal with different types

of people in different types of environments. Yeah, for sure, because like I was saying, I went to five different elementary schools, so I had to be outgoing. Why so many? Just moving around, just like, you know, just moving around, having young, you know what I'm saying, young parents, just figuring it out,

you know what I'm saying? You know, I didn't know why, but like, you know, we just moving around a lot. So me having to be outgoing because, okay, I'm at this school. I'm moving here in April. The school year damn near over, you know? So I got to be outgoing in order to make new friends, in order to get in, you know? So I think that kind of affected me today to where I have more of a not. Like, I'm kind of to myself a lot now.

I'm more reserved. But like, I kind of to myself a lot now more reserved. But like I can turn on that social battery when needed. Right. Is it hard for you because you move to so many different schools and so you're in and out of friendship? Hey, man, how you doing? Next thing you know, you pick up. You got a new set of friends. And they know you pick up and they got a new set of friends. So is it hard for you to maintain stable friendships because you move? So you kind of like a sojourner you just up yeah nah for real um man you know what I never even thought about it like that that that could be a reason like and

I think why I love Maryland so much is because that was like the most like stable okay I was you know like even when we lived in a hood and suitling in a Hickory Hill apartments like I was there for like even though we we switched apartments like apart we'll be like okay we moved we lived in when we first moved to maryland we lived in a one bedroom apartment then we moved in that same apartment complex in a one in the den and we used the den as our bedroom okay and then we had the two bedroom and it's like oh me and my little brother we get we got our own bathroom we don't got to share a bathroom with moms no more you know yeah and so even that was still like stable for me because we still in the same neighborhood i'm still going to

the same school essentially so then when i moved from sueland to like waldorf which is like a better area that was like that was i'm like we was like in the townhouse at that time and again this is like i'm 16 years old you really moved on up in. In my brain, I'm like, one guy, listen, my mom like, okay, we're going to go to a neighborhood, but like no cable,

no, we didn't really have cable and wifi before, but like, so I'm in this area and one got cable and wifi. My mom driving a 96 Camry. Some of my classmates is driving like that shit.

You know what I'm saying? They pull up in the Acura truck. I'm like, damn, like, y'all having that shit. So, even in that environment to where I'm like, damn, like, ooh, y'all having that shit. So, even in that environment to where I'm

like, on, like, the super low end of, like, that area, if that makes sense. Right. So, my bad, I'm going in all type of places, but the question was, what was that? I'm sorry. No, I'm just saying, because I said it was your friendships, and saying because

you moved, because you here, and then you gone. You here, and then you gone. And then you here, and then you gone. Because you here and then you gone. You here and then you gone. And then you here and then you gone. And then you here and then you gone. Yeah, yeah. So when I was in like that area, like when I settled down at that high school, I think we moved there like 10th, 11th grade. Okay. I really felt like stable.

It felt really good, like stability. So that's kind of why maybe I move like an old man now. Right. You know what I'm saying? In a way, like just liking things to be stable. Did you tell your mom like damn my mom can we just like stay warm I just got a new set of friends and I really like these I really like these friends here and he's like baby we we going to win you know what I wouldn't I would um I don't know to be honest I couldn't recollect that accurately but I'm sure I did as a kid you know i'm listening to you and you said you had a speech impediment i also had one and i know kids can be

very cruel very cruel yeah and so how how did you deal with that yeah um it was uh it was tough because when i first moved to maryland again like i'm uh and at this time again we is not really having this shit. So, I'm, and Maryland fashion is huge. Yes. Even, so, it trickles down. Kanye said that's where he got his fashion from. It's down from Maryland, exactly.

So, even in elementary school, middle school, niggas is wearing, I'm wearing Shaxx, bro. I'm wearing Champion sneakers. And so, I'm already the country boy, and I'm wearing Shaxx. So, it's like. So, they gonna give it to you. I'm getting it. Both. You get, you ever got roasted

so bad you want to cry bro because it'd be true i remember i was roasting this dude and he was like nigga that's why your mother drive a fucked up car you live in the hood i'm like god damn bro like that's cruel like but it's true yeah damn like you say that at the lunch table nigga we supposed to keep this 29th school like you my Right. So, but yeah, it just learned you to kind of get tough skin to help me now because even we live in this world

with the internet, so if I drop a song, even though it'll be a million people that love it, I'll have, let's say you drop a post or whatever, right,

and 10,000 comments will be like, man, fire, fire, fire. But our brains are so naturally geared towards that 200 that's like, man, this is some bullshit, bro.

This is like, this is not good. And so it'll make you like more, it can fuck up your whole day. But me growing up like in Maryland where we be joning like shit, like going at each other, joning all the time. It give me a little bit tougher skin to wear. Even now, if somebody talking about like an outfit or something you wear on the carpet or out of the van or like, niggas like, man, you done gained some weight, didn't you lately, nigga? And I'm just like, I got tougher skin. I ain't going to act like I'm impenetrable.

And it don't phase me at all, but I would like to think I got tougher skin. When they were talking about your speech impediment, you talk with a lisp, did you know you had it at the time? Or did you like, man, I'm talking just like you. I mean, because I had one growing up up i had to go to speech class and so what i did i would make fun of everybody else so people wouldn't talk about me so how did you navigate that because like you said kids can be cruel and it's unrelenting because once we find out what bothers you oh i can't let it go not at all i think it kind of just stopped after like

fifth grade and again it wasn't like I was um poindexter when it's just like nigga like you know what I'm saying but like you know when you join on your man's like boy shut your ugly ass up and they're like a daffy duck ass nigga you know so yeah so it'd be like it wasn't just like I walk in the school and it's just like list boy you know what I'm saying but it's like when we joining on each other it's like a back and forth type of thing so when we joining on each other they gonna you know what I'm saying? But it's like when we joning on each other, it's like a back and forth type of thing. So when we joning on each other, they go on, you know, dishing. That's what they talking about.

I'm talking about your shirt, because we wore uniforms in Maryland. So I'm like, your uniform shirt got a stain on it. And you probably wore that shirt yesterday, fool. And they like, all right, daffy duck, you know. So it's like a back and forth thing. It wasn't like just a attack. So, you know, God, if you're going to dish, you got to take it. If a young kid was sitting here and he or she had an impediment speech impediment talk with a list or stuttered what advice would you

give them how would you ask explain to them how to navigate going through life cuz sometimes you can possibly outgrow it and sometimes you still have it because I talk with a heavy colloquial dialect I'm from rural rural South Georgia it is Who I am I've learned to embrace it because I talk with a heavy colloquial dialect. I'm from rural, rural South Georgia. It is who I am. I've learned to embrace it because that's a part of who I am. It makes you unique. It makes me unique.

And so, but I went to, when I first got on television, I went and I, you know, I was trying to be Ed Bradley and I'm trying to articulate my work. I'm like, well, hold up, but that ain't who I am. That's not why they hired me.

Absolutely. And that's why you connect, how you connect in your audience and how you've been able to build and why people connect with you because it's authentic. Because nobody can be Shannon Sharp better than Shannon Sharp. Nobody can be Cordae better

than Cordae. And so that's what I would tell that kid. Just be yourself. Embrace what it is. Ain't nothing wrong with you wanting some self-improvement. And whatever that you want to do. If you want to take a speech class, not saying you should or you have to, but whatever you want to do nobody can be you better than you so just embrace yourself embrace your imperfections and embrace your flaws and accept it and flourish in it did

you ever have a fear of public speaking you know what no no when I was young I wanted to be a lawyer okay so I wanted when it was around the time Barack came out so I'm, I wanted to be a lawyer. Okay. So it was around the time Barack came out. So I'm like, I want to be a president. Right. And so I always read a lot when I was little. Like I was in fourth grade reading fat ass Harry Potter books. So at first I started reading Harry Potter books. Right.

And then my mom and my stepdad was like, well, if you can read an 800 page Harry Potter book, you can read this book on W.E.B. Du Bois. Right. You can read this book on Thurgood Marshall. So I was like in fifth grade reading Souls of Black Folk. I was in fifth grade reading Thurgood Marshall, reading books on Huey Newton and Malcolm X and things of that nature. And this is when I fell in love with rap, like super heavy too from reading. And I used to look at Nas lyrics and Google rap genius, super early rap genius days and just look at them and it's like, oh, same with Jay-Z, just Google Jay-Z lyrics and just look at them like, oh, and just annotate. And so, yeah, so me falling in love with reading, it always gave me

a, I guess, above average like reading and comprehension level and ability to speak. So now I would, when they doing popcorn reading, I'm raising my hand. Right. You know? Steve Harvey. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps,

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predictions get your football fix right here on the gmfb podcast we've got recaps retweets and reactions to all the wild moments you might have missed both on and off the field we bring it like nobody else straight from the source whether you're a missed both on and off the field. We bring it like nobody else, straight from the stores. Whether you're a football fanatic or you just enjoy a good laugh, make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tells the story a lot that when he was growing up,

he told a teacher that he wanted to be on television. And the teacher told him, said, you can't be on television because you have a speech intent and spent up impediment and so he made it and he says every year he sends her television because he's on TV did he did that's crazy did anybody get the first two years you're a damn that's I'm sure he's putting the nice ass TV yeah might as well yeah I mean TV's are really cheap now Yeah yeah that's true But let me ask you this

Did anyone ever tell you that you couldn't make it Because of your impediment No not really to be honest It wasn't because of the impediment I don't I remember this one person I was in a group chat with And she was like Well you know how you do group chats and stuff in high school?

No, we didn't have those. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, but that's true. So I was in this group chat, and I remember I first moved to college, and I took a picture of me setting up my studio, my little home set up, like my microphone, laptop, speakers set up in my dorm room, took a picture of it and put it in the group chat. She was like, yeah, your roommate gonna think you ass. Like as a joke. And I was like, alright. Like I'm gonna show you. Say less. And so now, I never forget that. So now whenever I got a show back home and she

try to, one of my friends be like, hey, can we bring such and such? I'm like, nah, I'm good. Are you petty? For sure. Absolutely. I don't understand the first time but keep it going? Because stay over there. That's a customer. You paid it. Absolutely. I understand the first time, but to keep it going? Because stay over there. That's a customer. But at that-

I pay a customer. But listen, listen. All money ain't good money, baby. All money ain't good money. But she was never like really a supportive person. Right. So I'm just like, yo, let's just keep it where it was before. So if you supported me before, it's like-

People can change. I go above and beyond. When did she have a John Q moment to change your heart She had too late Too late. It's all love if I if I were to run into it be straight love like man. How you been? How you really feel Ain't a front because I'm just trying to admit good energy I'm gonna go out of my way you but you not going out of your way somebody Somebody came to you and said, hey, Cordell, you remember such and such?

Man, she trying to come to the show. Well, shit, hit a ticket last night. Shit. You did a TED Talk last year, nearly 5 million views in six months. Yeah. Obviously, Bill Gates was there. So what was it like meeting Bill Gates? And when you went there, what was going to, did you know what you were going to talk about before you did the talk?

Yeah. So I did the TED Talk and I was like, high level. You know, that's my shameless plug. You know, that's my brand. That's his brand high level. My bad. No, that might be a sound. My bad's for sound. But so, yeah, I was like, okay, high-level mindset because that really helped me,

me not even realizing what it was and me not having a name for it at the time, like being the youngin', like really helped me, you know, get to where I am at today. And, you know, one thing I did miss on that TED Talk, I wanted to shout out YBN Amir because without him, I would not be where I'm at today. Okay. Like, hands down, without YBN Amir, I would have still got to where I'm at today, but it would have took me a lot longer. So I got to shout out YBN Amir. He's a huge reason why I'm here, why I'm here today.

And so going back to the TED Talk, just the principles more so and like little things that I've learned on the lifestyle, things like discipline. So I wanted to include that. The second idea I had, I was like, it was like, why prostitution may should be legal in America. It was just just on some like, you know, because some TED Talks is like two points of it. You get what I'm saying? So it just on some funny shit too i was telling the owner ted i thought what do you think of this ted talking he's just like uh keep high level buddy let's stick with high level um so yeah it was uh so when they reached out it was just one of the things i wrote you know how you got like a list of things you want to do at the top of the year so i had ted talk and one of those i had shannon uncle shea club at the beginning this year right. So I had TED Talk in one of those. I had Uncle Shea Club at the beginning of this year.

So when TED Talk, they reached out to us. I'm like, oh, that's fire. So we did it and it ended up being the number one most watched TED Talk of the year. And after I did my TED Talk,

they was like, hey, I was in my green room. They was like, hey, Bill want to come meet you. And I'm like, Bill who? Like, you know, like whatever they like, Bill Gates.

I'm like, oh, open the door, bring him on in. Right know right so um i talked to him and he's just a really cool guy i know it's a lot of things out there with him buying like farmland and like a bunch of shit but i had that kind of money i'll buy some land too you know they ain't making no more god ain't making no more land exactly so i don't know what he's doing what i don't want to defend you know what i'm saying or whatever but um so i'm just like i'm i try not to be closed-minded I'm like bro that's Bill Gates why would I not meet Bill exactly you know you might present me an opportunity absolutely absolutely there we go so so um I'm just

talking to him he's like man like that was like my favorite TED talk I've seen in a really long time man like man take my number down and we're just talking about it he's like oh you doing Coachella he's like yeah me and my going to come see you at Coachella next weekend. This and that. And he stood by his word, came to see me at Coachella like the next weekend. And, you know, he donates. Don't misquote me, but he donates like a lot of money

like just every year. And again, not defeating him. He should donate a lot of money. Right. But he helps like a lot of decent causes. So, yeah, he seems like a great guy from my interactions with him, for sure. You said high level, your mindset in the speech. It says remain positive, be disciplined, control your environment, create good habits, remove negative people out of your life.

Yeah. That's what I was doing with Shorty, you know. Man, that was years ago. She changed. Hey, you know how Michael Jordan did his damn Hall of Fame speech? Yeah, he roasted everybody. Yeah, look, that's different. That's different.

How do you remain positive? A lot of people say, you know, even though when things are going bad, you remain positive. It's easy to remain positive when things go good. Okay, you drop a song, it goes viral, everybody's clamoring for it, or everything that you seem to touch. But what happens when all of a sudden that slows down how do you remain that positive mindset when things are not going as well as you expected man it's a lot easier said than done it is man some days you might have a couple days where you just kind of like just fucked up and just um i can curse right yeah sure you can okay sorry um we are 20 minutes in now so so yeah. Oh, yeah, exactly.

Right? Shit, maybe I should have asked that before. Sorry about that. You're good. But, um... Yeah, creating that problem. Yeah, so it's a lot, like you said, it's a lot easier said than done. Like, some days when things aren't going as well, it's just, it's hard, you know?

It's super hard, but try to just always find that counterbalance of this remaining. Like like what we said before we got here, like, man, we woke up this morning. After that, that's a, anything else is an extra. And so I say that now, my mindset now, because I did have a really rough last year, like just mentally, things I went through, like just personally in my personal life and mentally, I really went through it. I was like really like in a super dark place last year, like really really dark that I've never even been in before like just growing up and things of that nature even with me having success and money and all of these things like I was in a really dark place last year but I had to come and again it's easier for me because again I'm I'm

super blessed you know but no matter what there's always a blessing that you can find it's like okay like even if I woke up, I have all my limbs. Even if I don't have my limb, I still have. It's something that you can find to be grateful for, to be appreciative of. That's why when people ask me how I'm doing, I'm saying, man, I'd be a fool to complain. Because I truly, especially me, I would be a fool to complain. One, nobody want to hear it. But two, I would be a fool to complain.

complain. One, nobody want to hear it, you know, but, but two, I would be a fool to complain. And so I think everyone, like, even though we all may be at different stages of our life and careers and things, we all have something to be grateful for. If you sat down and wrote out things, man, we got, okay. I know what my next meal is coming from. Okay. I got a roof over my head. Correct. Oh, even if you don't got a roof. Okay. I I can find where I'm woke. I am alive today. Yes. Yes. You know, it's like the old saying when they say, you know, God don't make no mistakes. I'm like, he doing this to me on purpose? I sure hope this was a mistake.

But for you to remain, and I'm listening to you talk and you say, you know, look, at the end of the day I remain positive because I woke up this morning. Absolutely. Then I can attack anything else that happens after that. We can figure it out. We woke up.

We can figure it out. We can figure it out. Not the Kanye song, but college dropout. You go to Towson. Yeah. And you're like, okay. You were telling the story earlier how you're setting everything up in your dorm room. Like, yeah, I'm in college.

I'm in college. I'm about to go be on campus. About to see these shawty.ty, and then you decided to leave. Why? Yeah, because I really went to college because it was bigger than me. Like, I was like first generation. Like, my mother didn't get a chance to go to college.

She had to go to night school to get her high school diploma. My dad got his GED in prison. You know, my grandmother dropped out of school in third grade yeah that was normal for yeah yeah so that generation yeah exactly so me is just like okay this is I and I always was like I would like to say a little smart growing up right you know I always had decent grades so it's like this is my avenue I got no other choice and I was that that was like almost a plan B for me And so when I got to school

I would say it was like my second year when I really locked in on a music thing and I thought oh, yeah I ain't finna finish my goal was I okay I'm a finished college give myself three hard years to like really go crazy on the music But then by like my junior year, I'm taking out extra Sally May long. Shout out my mom She co-signed them for me and I'm cashing. I'm I'm having about out my mom she co-signed them for me and I'm cashing I'm I'm having about five G's in my pocket because I'm taking out extra loans right and so I'm using this to fly to LA right to fly to South by Southwest to go to and I'm working a job at this time too I'm selling a little weed I'm getting money in my brain you know what I'm saying like I wasn't uh Escobar but you know I'm

selling my little old yeah yeah yeah I'm getting a little money working at the restaurant got you know got my extra Sally May loan so I'm using all this to just to put into my music into and I'm getting scammed I'll pay like a local artist for a feature they done ran off on me I done money being a green bean I done money

gram this cool bread and he done like appreciate you sir green bean you know so um yeah just taking risk man just just taking risk taking a bunch of L's and I was just like I can't I got into that mindset like yo I am not giving myself no other option but to do this music thing I'm not this just my I'm not giving myself a plan B just like I don't want to live with myself when I'm 50 years old. Oh, they're like, man, I didn't tell I was being too safe with life and you never want to be too safe. And that's something I'm like fighting right now because I have things to lose.

Like before, I didn't have nothing to lose. I'm taking every risk. I'm going heads on. Now I got, you know, thing. I'm not. I'm not. I got other people to think about. That's depending on me. And so I'm I'm more risk averse which is necessary to learn that but still like we still got to be brave we still got to take chances you still got to take risks yes and so just trying to find that balance because I think it was a point to where I was almost like being too safe right with the moves and things that I was making well I would turn down things as it wasn't like that but it was just a lesson more so of me just like nah I still got to be brave I still got to have that same belief and faith in myself and God that like yo let's just go for it let's just go for it to take it to the next level were you a good student or were you partying doing things that I like a

lot of college kids do I mean you obviously you're in college you want to enjoy it yeah this is an environment because hopefully you're going to grow up and not party like you did in college. So were you a good student? You say you got good grades, but were you partying? Were you doing things like a typical college kid? I was a good student in high school. And I was still in high school. I've been smoking weed since I was like 12 years old.

Okay. And so in college, it's like, oh i don't gotta smoke you know this is when we was like illegal so you know we had to hot box a homie car be paired you already paranoid you are you know you'd be looking around make sure the police and nobody come around and so college is just you got a friend with an apartment so it's just like oh we can really oh yeah turn up there so so in high school i was able to balance you know, turning up and things of that nature. But in college, I was a horrible student. It was just like, yo, especially when I found out I'm really going to do music all the way.

Like, I dropped a lot. I had like one class a week. I kept one class a week, and I was flying to Atlanta. If there's some sort of convention like Complex Con or South by South, I'm flying out there. I had a friend who worked at Southwest. I got the buddy pass. I'm going to find somebody couch I can sleep on.

I'm going to do all. I'm going to take all of them risks. In college, that's when I got heavy into popping Zans and Percocet and trying Acid and trying all types of stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I'm not, you know, bragging about it. But just like college, that's when I really.

Well, hell, I'm surprised you made it that long in school. Yeah, exactly. So. So, yeah, college, I kind of really got burnt out. And this is when like a pill really became like super cool and like in pop culture more so cool if you would you know so um yeah i was just i was yeah i was i was burnt out for lack of a better so you say you're probably around you say you're 18 19 when you says okay it's this music thing damn school i ain't got no black up playing i ain't got no job lined up it's either music or I'm gonna be back on grandma mama couch, but that's it

Yeah, that's it. That's yeah. That's why I gave my I was just like it. This is just what it is It's just no other options. I'm reading or you say you met a lot of your so your rap friends rap friends through social media Yeah, it's social is social media a blessing or curse It's a combination of the two. it's just depending on how you let it um dictate your mind your frame of mind and so yeah i met namir i actually met namir through um my bro simba my dog simba but i met him in person at um at rolling loud la for me taking them trips again if it's something that's going on like within music i'ma find i won't even have a ticket there i'm just like yo just by me moving off that muster sea fate i'ma find a way

right and i'll just find for some miraculous reason none but god i'll just find my way with an artist band which now we get that you know you just ask you just get your agent or somebody to ask you in there but like as a um a citizen at the time that's's a big deal. Right. And so that's how I met Namir through that. He recognized he rocked with my stuff. So that was how that sparked. And again, you know, without being Namir, I would not be here.

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It is fast, but even we just would not be here regardless. And so, so yeah, so we just stay connected through social media, but to go to your point of it's a blessing. Social media changed my life. You know, it changed

millions of lives. Social media, since the social media age, I bet it's a study that shows more millionaires, multimillionaires are being erupted. And that's how I learned a lot of information. I'm able to watch. I watch interviews. I can watch somebody that's coming to your podcast and get a gym from there. I can watch people like earn your leisure, you know, learn financial stuff from there. So, you know, that's the beauty of social media. It's going to be interesting, though, to see studies of human behavior since social media because it's still a relatively new construct. OK, people are more antisocial now because of social media.

Attention spans are a lot lower. Work ethics are a lot lower. Things of that nature. So I'm just curious to see what type of effects long-term social media is just going to have on humans and human behavior. Mentally, like, social media, like, isn't the best for me. Like, right now, I can pull out my phone right now. I have no Instagram, no Twitter, no TikTok on my phone. Like, I'll just download.

Did you have it? I did. Did you get away with it or you never had it? I had it download it. I did get away with it or you never had it. I had it for sure. But like this last year, again, you know, when I was like really going through it mentally, I think these last two years, I'll just download it when I got up. OK, Cordell, you got to post this. And OK, we got a song out. We got to post this.

I'll just download it. Do what I got to do. You know, still scroll a little bit. Tap in. What's going on in the world? You know, Twitter, the new news, you know, that's the new newspaper. So I, tap in with what's going on in the world. Twitter, the new news. That's our new newspaper. I'll tap in, but once I've gotten

the information I needed, posted what I needed, I'll just delete it just for my own well-being because we're also comparing our lives. You got to think, people only post their highlights on social media. Only dubs. People only post it like their absolutely

highest of high moments. Like, nigga, I ran into Drake today so I'm going to upload that like to my, so, you know,

people can't create all type of illusions and things of that nature. So, I say, let's say, you're looking at everybody's highlight reel

and you're comparing your real life to someone's that's probably lying. That's a moment. That's a moment that's a moment and so it gets you all the way feeling you know blue and and feeling a little depressed or just down you know and ungrateful for your life that you live so and again it's just going to be funny to see like the long-term effects on social media okay like people are attention spans are a lot less um people don't

pay attention to conversation as much right things that so it's just going to be interesting to see that because it's still a fairly new construct so it's just going to be interesting i'm listening at you talking you said you were going through something last year if you don't mind me asking what was going what were you going through that caused you to say you know what i need to step away from social media was it something that was going through you were going through at home because your lady was going through something uh the the music wasn't being put out like you liked or like you wanted what was going on in corday's life that says man i need to step away from this yeah um i think i put out an album last year right and again most people loved it you know like most people loved it.

Most of my fans loved it. A lot of people come up to me, a lot of artists, which helped me feel better. A lot of my peers come up and be like, man, that new album was gas, but I can see the improvement from your first album. I think it was way better in my opinion. And I think you were more like structurally, just songwriting ability and all this improved. And again, like I said, a lot of fans love my second album more. But when I see it wasn't being as well received as, like, my first one,

I just want to please the fans and please the people. And so when everybody doesn't love it at the level, and again, so when I'm making this album, I'm like, nigga, this is the best shit since sliced bread. I made this song called Warm For Me. I'm like, nigga, this is the best shit since Sliced Bread. Right. I made this song called Warm For Me. I'm like, man, this shit going to be bigger than Redbone. Right. The challenge is getting me out. And it ain't nobody, you know, because I'm a positive person.

It ain't nobody that can tell me different. And so I'm putting out this album. I'm like, man, we going to win this award, this award. It's going to sell this amount of records. And although it was successful, because it didn't meet the astronomical expectations I had. Unrealistic expectations. Yeah. And I wouldn't meet the, like, astronomical expectations I had. Unrealistic expectations. Yeah.

And I wouldn't even say unrealistic, just astronomical. Right. Expectations. It just, like, fumed. It just put me really down in a down space. And then you start doubting yourself. Like, you start having, like, imposter syndrome. Like, am I really worthy of being here?

Do I really deserve this? Like, are people rocking with me? Like, how am I going to make a living? You know, just all of these. Just thinking the worst thoughts that you can possibly think of. And like, man, it's even worth like just doing this, you know? So it was really off that. But again, me seeing a positive, like I did a tour last year and my tour sold out across the globe and 90% of markets, you know, obviously in Belgium Belgium it might have been like 80% sold out or whatever, but 95 in America, fully sold out in double capacity venues that I did off my first album.

So we did a tour, let's say we did a thousand cap venue for the first album. This album, we did 2000 cap venue and sold out. And so it allowed me to see a silver lining of like one, first week sales don't matter. Al album sales don't matter in today age where I'm really able to gauge my success from my album or how much did the music connect it's from a live show because people got to buy a ticket they got to wait in line they got to come see you it takes effort to see a live show so I was able to see like that silver lining really helped me out a lot going on tour performing seeing real life fans rap these words sing these hooks you know word for word that really helped me a lot and so just being trying to stay positive

and finding the silver lining again it's easier for someone who's like me that's super blessed to be able to find like a silver lining because oh we just got this deal that came in for such amount of money you know what right all right my day ain't too bad you know so now your mentals are a lot, you're in a lot better place now than where you were, say, a year ago. Yeah, because realizing just life, it ain't just always going to be,

pew, it's just going to be like, bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop. Okay, we a little stagnant right here. Then it's bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop. Mm-hmm. Ooh, you know, just like, I remember watching your stuff,

and you was like how Fox Sports, not Fox, ABC, forgive me if I'm not. CBS. Yeah, CBS, excuse me, wasn't rocking with you on the way, wasn't embracing you for how you are. And at that time, and forgive me if I'm speaking miscorrectly for you, you could have thought like, man, that's an opportunity lost. Right. I may not get another opportunity. Right.

But then that just opened the door for Fox Sports and you and Skip to do your thing and then you to have your own platform and do your thing. To where now amongst the youth, they may know you. You're a Hall of Famer. You know, you won multiple Super Bowl, but I know you from the football and you being a Superman. But a lot of the youth may know you more from being on TV and from Uncle Shay Shay with the black mile and the hen dog. You know what I'm saying? That's what a lot of the people know me for. I think the thing was that CBS, I think I was just miscast. I needed to be in this format

on a platform like this to showcase my ability that I could talk about things other than just football. And Fox presented that opportunity for me. Football season is well underway. The baseball postseason is here. New basketball and hockey seasons are upon us. While we love watching our favorite teams on television,

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ticket price, lowest price, guaranteed. You moved to L.A. with some friends. Yep. I mean, obviously you say you had flown to la and there was a concert going on corday was gonna find a way to get to it yes so did you always want to live in la or where like when you were growing up like man if i could live anywhere once i become an adult i'm gonna live in la or i'm gonna live in miami or i'm gonna live in chicago where did corday want to live when he was growing up? As a kid, I wanted to just live life as a rich nomad. Like still even now, my goal is like, hey, own a house in L.A.,

own a house in New York, own a house in Atlanta, own a house in London, own a house in Ghana, and just live like a rich nomad. Okay, it's wintertime in D.C., so okay, let me go to la for winter or let me try going to um let me make this album in turks you you get what i'm saying so my goal was always to live like a rich nomad you know to be nomadic but um upscale but my first time visiting la um was for complex con 2017 and i was just like oh yeah nah this is the place to be. You hooked? Yeah I was like yeah this is the place to be. Being Demi living in LA for

three years like man I gotta go back home bro I need to be with my mama you know so be amongst family and all my friends and stuff so just to balance so my goal as a kid was to just live a rich nomadic lifestyle. When you got to L.A., were you locked in? Were you focused where it needed to be? Or were you like a lot of people when they come to L.A., they get caught up in the lifestyle and they party and they have a good time, and then sometimes they forget the real reason that they came to L.A. to begin with?

Oh, yeah, no. As soon as I, it's like that my junior year of college, when I stopped like, you know, just doing Zane's all the time, doing perks, smoking and drinking lean, all this stuff all the time. Like when I made that junior year, when I made that mind frame of, I started fasting, I stopped indulging in all type of vices, you know, stop, you know, doing drugs, stop smoking, stop everything. So by the time I got to L.A., I was all my mind frame was just like, no, we came here for. OK, OK. I was all spot. Yeah, I was already built up that discipline, built up the habits, built up a habit of doing good habits of like staying focused on my work.

I made a vision board at the top of the year. I'll write down my goals every month and just want to stick to that and just be in discipline of saving money, being disciplined of just sticking to my craft and not letting any outside influences get to me. So by the time I got to L.A., it was just like I was already cold turkey. I turned down. I turned down blunts with legends. You know what I'm saying? Turn down a drink just because I'm just so focused of just like I'm here for a reason. So I wasn't going to no parties, no nothing. OK, I'm reading that your the original group, your original group of friends, you guys partied with separate ways. Yeah. What do you think? Did did you outgrow them?

There were things that they were doing that you didn't like. How did that happen? Because you had been friends for a minute. Yeah, yeah. It was mainly because of the business side behind it. You know, obviously, every group, groups in hip hop, just for some whatever reason, just doesn't end well for the most part. Groups in general, I think, in music. You were trying to go solo, huh? No, no, not really.

I'm going to keep it a buck with you. What was really the issue was the business side of it. And I'm still dealing with that today to be honest, but just the business side behind like the YBN brand and the powers that be, that was a feel on the business side more so. That was like the main, main thing because like even when I had a conversation with Namir, it was just like, look bro, like this business thing is like bro it's just it's just horrible for lack of a better word we don't own the ybn name all of these things so we're building up this brand of ybn that none

of us own like if why if namir own is like man i'm rolling this thing till the wheels fall off or whatever the case may be but like bro we don't own this so like man i'm gonna have to and obviously we had creative differences and things of that nature. But we go. I was going to find a way because, again, this man is the reason why I'm here. You know, obviously I have talent and it's a God given blessing. God above all. But like this dude, why be in our marriage is a huge reason of why I'm here. So I'm trying to like figure it out. So I had a conversation with him about, you know, the business side. So I'm just like, man, I'm going to have to do this thing like we're going'm just like man i'm gonna have to do this

thing like we're gonna have i'm gonna have to remove this thing from my name and then when we had a conversation he understood it like everything was cool so i thought he understood it from the combo we had but then you know he kind of went to the internet and said something else man you know i didn't really appreciate that but just like whatever like i still got so much gratitude for him you know for that opportunity even still to this day. Now, I never need anything from me. It's just like I still I talk to my mom just last week. Right. So just that that never outshine the master, if you would. And what's your relationship? What's your relationship with him? I understand that you talk to his mom.

Have you talked to him? Last time I talked to my mirror, I called him because i wanted to bring him out on stage for coachella right and namir um early on wasn't really uh um and i'm not talking down upon him he'll notice he he said no to come to the coachella he he was he just got his braces removed so he didn't want to rap and his mouth is kind of messed up you know what i'm saying like me i was upset i'm like bro this is like coachella like come on bro but so he didn't so that was the last time I spoke to not me to bring him out for Coachella and then we'll just randomly text you know things of that nature like yo bro like the new song things of that but like we always gonna be good like it's always a love like I will never ever talk down on that man who presented me this like amazing opportunity I'm not just saying that to be politically correct either it's just the God's honest truth You know, you remember the 2019 double XL freshman class you guys make the stallion you got blue face gonna

The baby Roddy rich. Do you do you follow? Do you follow that you follow you your classmates? Um, Yeah to an extent for sure because it's always like whenever we see each other Like it's just always like we graduated high school together type of feeling right type of vibe So whenever I see make it's always love with her. She always emits super good energy. Always have. Even when she was going through, you know, that thing with Tori. Like, she always, I'll send her, like, you know, a voice note, you know, things of that nature.

But, like, she always was, like, good vibes, good energies. And every time I see him, it's always that. Like, last time I seen Meg in person was at the Met Gala, you know. So it's just like, hey, what's up freshman class we here right you know just talk about you know how proud of with each other oh well Roddy you know we have the same A&R with Dallas shout out Dallas um so I knew Roddy a little bit before the XXL freshman class so it was like super fire and inspiring to see okay us meeting each other 2018 then we both had a show together and the next time we seen each other it was XX. And the next time we seen each other, it was XXL Freshman. The next time we seen each other, it's at the

Grammys. So it's always like, just good to see people leveling up and see like how far they can take it or how far they took it and how far we going to continue to take it. So it's going to be funny to see like even five years from now, 10 years from now to see where everybody is and how far they was able to take it and things they were able to do for their family, their community. It's a blessing for sure. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.

Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends.

Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Can't get enough football? Look no further than the Good Morning Football podcast. Join me, Jamie Erdahl, alongside Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Akbar Bajabiamila for a daily breakdown of the league's biggest stories.

Hey, you want to know the secret ingredient that makes Patrick Mahomes unstoppable? Or maybe which reality show best describes the Jets season? Look no further. We've got recaps, retweets, and reactions to all the wild moments you might have missed both on and off the field. Make sure to listen to the Good Morning Football podcast Monday through Friday on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Mike Wright from the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast.

You heard that right. The Fantasy Footballers have officially entered the Dynasty space. Every week, we bring you the same in-depth analysis and entertainment you've come to expect from the fantasy footballers. Only now it's from the Dynasty perspective. Join me and the rest of the crew every Wednesday for a new episode. Listen to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.