Club Shay Shay - Waka Flocka Flame

Episode Date: January 2, 2023

Joining Shannon this week inside Club Shay Shay is none other than Waka Flocka Flame! Listen in as the hip hop star shares stories throughout his career in this wide-ranging interview and conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's Poker. On the latest season of my podcast, Against the Rules, I'm exploring what it means to be a sports fan in America

and what the rise of sports betting is doing to our teams, our states, and ourselves. Join me and listen to Against the Rules on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Against the Rules. Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It's funny, my first time getting bullied was by a girl. Huh? Yeah, she's great She liked you, she didn't want to bully you

She liked you, you wanted to, you know Like I dodged her my whole sixth grade I'm telling you, I was 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 conversation and a drink today is a rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, also the proprietor of Club Che Che, and the guy that's stopping by for conversation and a drink today is a rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, one of the pioneers of trap music, and a reality star.

He says he's not a superstar, but he's a star. From the crib, Georgia, Waka Flocka. Yeah, man. Ain't nothing super but them french fries. How you been, bro? Man, blessed, man. That's the only thing I can say, blessed. You just got here from there. So what's popping today?

You and I were talking off camera, and you say you've been in Atlanta since the fourth grade. I moved there in 94, and we both come to the conclusion. It's not the same city that I moved there in 94, and even when I left six years ago to move to L.A., it's different. No, it's a whole different city, man. It's faster. It's not country as it used to be. Right. You know what I mean?

You start seeing people from every walk of life. Right. We got traffic. Uh-oh. We never had traffic. Dude, we got traffic. It's traffic at 7 o'clock to 9 o'clock at night. I'm like, where are all these people going?

It used to be traffic. You know, Walker, it used to be traffic, basically Thanksgiving all the way to the New Year, and then it was cool. Now, that's a 24-7 Now you 24-7 48 8 So thanks for stopping by the club. I'm just let's talk about a crew league the hip-hop basketball competition Yeah, you or your team beat 21 Savage team. Now. He said you would doubt team

We're doing a lot of filing on demand. But why do you got fouls? Savage team now. He said you would be our team. We're doing a lot of filing on demand, but why do you got fouls? They won't look you don't foul You not leaving the game with all your files. Oh, no, I'm using all those and my nephew is just face I'm gonna do your team be 21 Savage team 21 2220 a lot of junk talk a lot of of junk. You the king of A now. Yeah. Nah, I'm not no king of A. Yeah, basketball.

Basketball, why? They ain't touching me. So, you got skills like that? I was out of shape, though, man. Oh, so you was out of shape when you beat him? I felt like a retired plumber. You know what? One of my family members, he just big.

He just be chilling now. Right. But I'm telling you, I jumped for this rebound, man, I'm telling you, man, that shock I got through my leg was unbelievable. But I got more endurance than all of them. See, these guys go out and party and drink and do this. One rule I love about it is that the celebrity or the captain can't come out the game unless both decide to do it.

Right. So for me, I'm going to make you run over four quarters. So you didn't come out the game? Hell no. You won the MVP. Yeah, but that was our strategy from the beginning. Right. We said all we gotta do is keep the artists in the game.

Right. They won't be able to survive. So obviously you're very competitive. Did you play sports growing up? Yeah, I played basketball. I tried football. Why you, I mean, bigger, you tried it. What you mean you tried it?

You big too. What happened, you get mad and wanna come play football? Nah, you gotta hit me. Nah, I ain't going down like that. But that was the thing, if you get mad, that too. What happened? You get mad and want to come play football. Nah, you got to hit me. Nah, it ain't going down like that. But that was the thing. If you get mad, that's the thing. You can get mad and just lay somebody out. And it's all within the rules.

See, basketball, I can just shoot your eyes out. Nah, I don't want to shoot nobody out. I don't want to get mad at you. I won't go on. If I'm mad already, go on the paint with you. Man to man, like, ugh. Dude, me being mad at you is raining the three as opposed to me putting this four on before you hit. Me raining is putting the ball back in your mouth.

So you played basketball. Were you good at it? I was great at it. My problem was my attitude. It showed me, man. Basketball showed me that your team is everything. You is nothing. Right.

And I was just a ball hog. I was just a Mr. Know-it-all. I felt like I didn't have to practice. I felt like I didn't have to do suicides. I was unorganized. Right. So by me failing to make it to the NBA, I felt like it showed me an eye-opener

that people around you was everything. So that was your goal growing up? You played basketball. You felt you had the skills to make it to the next level? Oh, definitely. Out of basketball, what I wanted to be was an astronaut, a basketball player, or just get money. Well, you got the money.

Well. So I guess being a basketball player. I don't got the money yet. You got some money, but you want more money. I ain't got no money. That's the cold part. I need some money. Man, go ahead, old man.

Yeah, it's crazy. So when you were growing up, you wanted to be an astronaut, you wanted to be a basketball player. But what was your fallback plan if none of those things happened? The streets. The streets? Yeah. So you wanted to sling?

I didn't want to sling. The streets. So what were you going to do with the streets? I'll get some money. How you get money? Hey. Selling mixtapes? Hey.

Watching cars? Hey. The streets? Hey, the streets, you ain't need no application. You don't need no degree. You just need to be lawless, man. And I feel like, when I miss basketball, I feel like I fucked up. Right.

You know what I'm saying? So you threw coffee into the wind. You ain't even really care after that, huh? I never believed I could go to college. That wasn't even a thought in my head. Like, I'm telling you bro did streets there's no i me growing up is not how black you know what we call black kids in our neighborhoods today we didn't have real estate agents we didn't have none of that we didn't have no entrepreneurship that was unheard of so in your neighborhood you

didn't have anybody to aspire to so you saw the people in the streets so that's what you aspire to it ain't that i even seen them. I wasn't even inspired by them either. I just knew I needed something to get to the next level. And what was close to me was streets. So I'm not, so I'm just a call a spade a spade. But I wasn't there to broadcast about it, brag about it. I'm not the kind of person that do that. You would never know what I did.

So I needed something to go to the next level. But I'm not a person that settle for less. I always know I'm not a person that brag about things that's not positive at the end of the day. So for me, man, I just knew I'm gonna be something. But one thing I always kept was a book in my hand. Know what I'm saying? I always made sure, man, it ain't gangsta be dumb.

Gangsta's greed. So I just took the gangsta image to the next level. Like, oh, yo, was gangsta taking care of my family? Was gangsta just keeping my little brother alive? Was gangsters keeping my homies alive? And I didn't want to risk nobody's life for my lifestyle. But you know when you're in that lifestyle, you're risking other people's life in that lifestyle.

Not unconsciously. Now I know. Because back then, it was more so I felt like I was helping you. Because if I'm in the streets and you respect the name and how I'm coming, man, you ain't gonna touch my family. Right. I know that from being a kid growing up.

Right. So it's more, I was more big on respect. I wanted the streets for respect because respect gets you paid. Right. I don't know, well, I'm from respect gets you paid. Right. So that's why I want respect.

Well, that's the number one currency. Yeah, love and respect. That's all I love, love and respect. So you're doing what you're doing. Did you have a game like, I'm going to do this for five years, I'm going to do this for ten years? How long did you set out to say, I'm going to hustle? I didn't even have a limit on it.

I just wanted to find a better hustle. So one hustle led to another hustle. That's it. So is that how you morphed into the rap game? You started hustling like, well, dang. You hear other guys rapping like, I can do that. No, it's funny. My mother had an artist.

She was a manager. She had a chance to do community work for him. And I ended up getting close to him. We then became best friends. So I thought to myself, I said, yo, maybe he could be a big rapper. You know what I'm saying? I believe in him.

Hey, Gucci, I believe in you, bro. I'm with you. So I started from right there. I said, You know what I'm saying? I believe in him. Right. Hey, Gucci, I believe in you, bro. I'm with you. So I started from right there. I said, you know what I'm going to be? I'm about to learn my first job outside of anything. I'm going to be your assistant, bro. Right. I'm going to be your security.

I'm going to have to be your role. But this stuff, I never knew these titles. But this is what I was doing. Hey, bro, you can't even pick a bag up. You're a star. So that's what I was on. So you have all that. Oh, of course.

If I help him blow up, I'm gone. We created a company together. We was like, yo, let's take this to the next level. And that's what I did. So on that, I learned how to be security, role manager, assistant, booking agent. I learned all these roles. So when I seen God put me in a new atmosphere, I didn't take that gift for granted. Right.

I took it and went up with it. Right. And thank God for that today. So your mom was a manager or helped get Gooch started? Yeah, my mother was Superwoman. Right. And so you tagged along. You jumped on Gooch's coattails and said, hey, bro,

you going to the top, pull me with you. All jokes aside, my mother told me. She's like, Walker, you need to go on a roll with him. Try it out. Because I couldn't do it. I feel like if I chase him, it's like, you know, it's like meat riders. You know, I'm a meat riders guy. My mother's like, yo, Walker, just do it.

I need you to do this. And I thought like, this is my mother investment. So at least if I'm gonna go out here hard for, for gangs or crews, I need to go hard for my mother investment. If I'm willing to take a bullet in the street, I need to take a bullet for her investment. So I'm like, I'm gonna die to make sure he go. And I'm willing to take a bullet in the street, I need to take a bullet for her investment. So I'm like, I'm going to die to make sure he go. And I really felt like that. I really felt like whoever touches this man, I'm going to prison.

Don't leave him alone. Rob Markman Wow. You about it. About it. I'm about it today, but I'm not going to risk my life for it. Rob Markman I read what you said. My gun was like my father. It was like a bully stopper.

It was comforting. It is, man. I told. It was like a bully stopper. It was comforting. It is, man. I told you, it's a bully stopper, bro. And it's just sad. I mean, but why? You can have 10 police cars and two officers in it. They can patrol 10 hours out the day, and it's still dangerous. Right.

So it's letting you know, man, police are only there to pick up the body or help you to the ambulance. Right. They ain't never there to stop the crime when I was coming. So I had to have a gun. Mandatory. Mandatory. It's no plan. But you do realize that when you pick that gun up that you taking that thing for a reason and you

know you're like, I'm going to have to use it, but you ain't going to kill a brother. I don't know what else to do, right? But I'll tell you this. I grew up in a battlefield where when I opened my eyes, I heard swords, guys yelling, and to go outside, and you've got supermarkets in the battlefield. You have schools in the battlefield. You have life in the battlefield.

So I'm not going to go on a battlefield unarmed. You know what I'm saying? I have to. So what did your mom say? What was your mom thinking? Because I know mom ain't for this. I know she's trying to talk to you and say, Walker, come on now. I definitely played a good role.

She didn't know you liked that. Oh, no, no. I ain't played with her. She ain't one of those. My mother ain't one of them people that's like, oh, yeah, go sell drugs. So I would knock your head off your shoulders. She was that woman. And she know I played basketball.

But then when I got into some trouble, somebody came knocking on the door like, hey, your son did some stuff to my house. I'm like, oh shit, that's your friend? I'm like, my own, her son be tripping like me. And that's the best of friends, you shit. But, yeah. Rob Markman You said the gun was your bully stopper. Did you get bullied?

D.J. Hell yeah. It's funny, my first time getting bullied was by a girl. Rob Markman Huh? D.J. Yeah,, my first time getting bullied was by a girl. Huh? Yeah, 6th grade. She liked you. She didn't want to bully you.

She liked you. She wanted to, you know. She punched me. Like I dodged her my whole 6th grade. I'm telling you. I was super scared of her. Right. But I got in the hoods, of course you get bullied.

Elementary school in New York. Right. They was taking your bus pass. I'm desperate chasing you. Like that shit was real. My whole life was just real. Right. But I'm just not here to complain about it.

I'm not here to make that like a sob story. Right. That was just my strength. So that helped me today when I do business today sitting across the table from anybody. I'm not never going to settle for less. You're never going to take advantage of me. I'm never going to complain.

Right. But we're going to talk about business. We're going to get it done. Your first tattoo, hip squad tatted on your fingers. Yeah. Your homie did it with a tattoo gun. He did it with a paperclip. Huh?

Paperclip, ink from a pen. They all my best friends. I don't know who's more insane, him for doing it or you for allowing him to do it. Yeah, he went to jail to learn how to do some tattoos. Oh, boy. I'm getting tatted. Everything that punches at you. So he came out, you with his canvas.

That's right. Let's get it. Bro, you let a man tattoo you with a paperclip? Yeah, I messed up in school. So I was already in the streets right there. When I knew I couldn't go to school, I'm like, oh, I'm head first in this. That's who I am. How bad did that hurt?

How old were you when you got the tattoo? I had like 17. Hit squad. That was the name of your crew? Yeah, that was the name of my friends, yeah. Your friends? Yeah, that was my friends. My friends, that was the name of us.

So, and your friends, the homies, click. Y'all fight? Love fighting. Love it. Fighting is everything. I'm sorry. I'm not a violent guy, but the gun shit is cool when it's happening. But you'd rather knuckle up.

Oh God, come on. Go on. Shoot my leg. Beat my ass, man. Come on. These kids, a lot of kids today, I guarantee they never had a fight. No. It's too easy to pull that strap though.

Yeah. You don't want no guns. That's cool. I honestly, God's truth, today, I can't even see myself reacting like that. Right. People get real disrespectful. But for me, man, God gave me something that I had to realize, the power of choice.

Right. You have a choice to allow, to let this shit bother you. Right. I can't let y'all bother. I got too much. You got too much skin. You got too much of skin. I don't put too much work in.

Right. I'm 36 years old. I'm too grown to be a punk, a pussy, a lame, a sucker like this. I'm just going to dip, my boy. Y'all too aggressive. But you put this possum in a corner, it's going down. It's going up. So when you go back to your old hood, man, it's your love, right? I mean, ain't no disrespect coming from the hood. Nah, never that. But you know, my thing is this, right? My whole, yo, first of all, my

whole shit coming up was to make it out the hood. Out the hood, correct. I'm not one of them niggas that's going to be a billionaire and go sit in the hood and roll dice and smoke weed. Right, right. I want to buy the block.

Right. I want our name on the block. Right. That's going back to the hood. OK. But what stopped me and what actually made me stop hanging in the hood was Dick Gregory. OK.

I watched this clip. Dick Gregory was like, nigga, why you buy this Rolls Royce? To ride through the hood to show you the richest motherfucker? That I can't buy one? And it's crazy because that's why I bought it. I was young, like nigga we getting money on the south side. I'm finna pull a Phantom out here. But I was ignorant.

And at the same time I could have bought this condo downtown Atlanta that I ride by every day today. Right. And it's fucking five times the volume. Right. The egg on my face, right? So when I seen Dick Gregory do that, I actually got out that car. I ended up getting in an Escalade.

And I've been driving an Escalade ever since 2011. And I don't barely be home. Cars to me are just, I start figuring out. Appreciating assets, huh? I mean, come on, we need one to get from point, I start figuring out. Appreciating assets, huh? I mean, come on, we need one to get from point A to point B. But at what point, because you probably had everything. So now, is it a means of transportation or is it a means to get attention?

You know what it was? Yo, this shit crazy. The problem is, like, the things I wanted to be and grow up to be, I got them. Right. I was 23 years old. Okay. I was sitting so high on top of my mountain, I just kept smelling something. Right. It just smelled like manure.

I was standing on top of shit mountain. I didn't have nothing. I didn't have no business. I didn't have no financial literacy. I didn't have an insurance policy. I didn't know what trust accounts was, shell companies. I didn't know how to go buy tangible businesses. I didn't know what trust accounts was, shell companies. I didn't know how to go buy tangible businesses. I didn't know nothing. So I'm like, yo, how am I this famous guy? And I'm the big only and y'all respected me, but I can't even tell you how to open up a bank account.

I didn't even know how to open up a bank account. I'm telling you, I learned that 23 years old. Like it's crazy. Like I'm all respect to my mother. My mother didn't have time to teach us that she was too busy paying bills and making sure we alive. So when I learned that part, it felt so good learning that. Like, usually if I want to run money up, I have to go on the streets now. I got good credit, some holding companies. I can get me a loan.

I can get a loan right now for $10 million, $20 million, $100 million. It's just perspectives and a good business plan. It's easy. So when you start learning things like that, why would you be an edge monster? I know anybody right now, yo. I don't care how gangster you are. My boy, if you start learning this real business, man, you ain't thugging.

That thug, man, who? I wish you were mine going. I'm good. I'm not going nowhere where all the odds is against me. I can't do that. It's stupidity. So that's what made me stop, man. I was on top of shit mountain and I wanted to build Mount Everest.

And I knew it was all right here in my brain. I got tired of just, anytime I see a crowd of black people, I'm clutching. I get around a bunch of Chinese guys or white guys or this guy, I'm kind of cool. I'm like, what the fuck? I'm like, why am I like that? I broke out of that. I want to perfect me. I didn't want to be this person that what they want to say, America wants you to be

all every black man say, yo, niggas don't trust black people. I want to be me. I say, Walker, how could you change anything if you can't change yourself? How could you change the world if you can't change your family? How could you change your family if you can't change your neighborhood? How could you change the country if you can't change the state? So you have to change you, your family, your neighborhood, then your state. So that's a lot of pillars mentally you have to get through as a man.

So for me, I want to be that. There's no such thing as perfect. That's why I'm going to perfection. So that's how I live, man. You say growing up you was good with the hands. Did you ever think about becoming a boxer? Oh, of course. I was going to do UFC.

Oh, that's a whole different animal now. No, it ain't. That's a little... You bet. In boxing, I ain't got nothing to worry about but these. And in UFC, you got to worry about these, these, these, that. Yeah. I'm with that. I'm with that.

I'm with that. Especially if I messed up on everything in life, you better get ready. Boy, if this my only hustle, it's over. Like, I proved that in rap. When rap was my only hustle, I made it. I couldn't eat rap. I couldn't even tell you what a bar was, what a metaphor is.

I still don't know how to do it. I don't know how to count none of that stuff. But when this is my only hustle, I'm finna show you how to win. Like that's all it is. You spoke about your mom and she's helped Nicki Minaj, French Montana, Yo Gotti. What exactly did she do that you was like,

man, my mom got a real honest hustle. Bro, let me leave these streets. Let me get me honest hustle. Yeah, besides Yo Gotti, I ain't never hustle. But, you know, mother's my superhero. Right. My whole life. Are you the only child?

Nah. We love our mother. Right. I'm like my mother's goon. I used to literally hide and follow my mother. Somebody's like, yo, Miss Deborah over here. I'll go over there. I actually watched my mother as a kid kicking prostitution houses, grabbing little girls

out of them. Right. Fighting pimps. My mom was just a different breed of a woman. So I just looked like, yo, how can I complain? And it's a woman doing it. And she just, she everything, bro. I give everything to my mother.

Like, in music, it wasn't a smooth ride. But it could have been way worse if I didn't have her around. So for you, is rap a family business? Nah. Nah. Hell nah. It's about to become a family business. But as you saw your mom doing what you do, you say she's...

Nah, she a hustler. Yes. She's a full-blown hustler. Is that where you get your hustle from? Definitely. Definitely. Why, she the truth. So how does she teach you about business?

Because you say you didn't really know anything about business. But you saw her. She had to have a good game plan together because some of these big artists, although they were probably starting at the bottom, they were entrusting her. Yeah. The problem with people entrusting people, you just don't trust yourself. Right. That's one.

I think my mother, she was a great teacher at showing you what you do, not explaining to you how to do it. Rob Markman Right. Okay. Rob Markman My mother, she's the kind of teacher that she want to see if the students is bringing to the table and not doing what she do. So I automatically knew, I'm like, yo, I don't have a vocal mother. She's straight stone cold with us.

Rob Markman Right. Rob Markman She's the kind of mother, you don't wake up, go to school, she's like, oh, that's okay. That's your little stupid ass, but you don't get the fuck out of my house when you get grown. That's Deborah. I'm telling you, she ain't with no cookie cutting. Right.

So for me, I want to, I say, you know something, Walker? This is what I'm great at. I have to find everywhere my mother's weak at. Right. And fill in for strength. Okay. So it's like, why would I go do the same job she did if she spent X amount of years to do it?

I need to come here and build on it. Because I watched a lot of kids from my neighborhood, like black kids, everything their parents do, they'll do the opposite. And I never understood that. I'm like, yo, if your parents working for 20 years, why won't you build around that? So that's all I did. I went everywhere my mother needed filling at. And handled it. I'm a mama's boy, excuse me.

I never had a girl out of state living with my mother. How long had your mom been in the rap, in the music industry? Sure, now we've been, I've finally been connected to music since Run DMZ. Wow. Like these folks all through the house, like any kind of artist, I just don't want any names and stuff because I really don't like stuff.

But I promise to you, everybody was in my grandmother's house. Right. Any rapper you probably can think about. Well, then if you saw that growing up, what made you want to go to the hustle game? If you saw that, what your mom and what your grandmom and what you could become, why'd you go the opposite? You say you don't understand when you see kids do the opposite of what their parents do, but you was doing the opposite.

Was I? Yeah, you was doing the opposite. You know, I would love to answer that question, but I can't. When Gooch, you say you tagged along with Gooch. So when Gooch went to a club, man, is that when you started rapping? Nah. Actually, man, I started rapping because Gooch kept going to jail in the beginning.

Right. He couldn't even stay out of jail for a year straight. It was like miscellaneous stuff. Then it got to a point where locally people was like, oh, Waka, you made... I'm like, nigga, I only got $3,000 in my pocket. So when I was trying to do stuff that I normally do, people look at me like, man, why you over here, bro? You know you ain't got to do this.

Y'all lit. I'm like, no, that's not gonna be it. So it forced me to get in the studio and become a rapper. I remember when I was becoming a rapper, Gooch was like, man, I don't like you rapping, man. You need to be a goon. I'm like, no, that's not gonna be it. So it forced me to get in the studio and become a rapper. I remember when I was becoming a rapper, Goose was like, man, I don't like you rapping, man. You need to be a goon. I'm like, what the fuck? Yeah, yeah.

So I was like, hell no. But in my head, I'm like, eh, I'm about to make us big. We're not about to fall. So that's all it was. It was about just picking the team up and running with it. That's all I wanted to do. So the Brick Squad, your crew, your clique, so how did you come up with the name?

How do you like, OK, this is what we're going to do. I'm done with that. All of the other stuff that I used to do, I'm done. This is my tunnel vision. Because you seem like a very focused, like when you set your mind to something, whatever it is, good, bad, or indifferent, when you set your mind to something, you're going down that road. Yeah, you got to send the army.

You know, I'm the guy that don't change, though. I'm the guy that evolve. Right. So I just want to evolve It wasn't about like what I did right not doing it. I evolved from that So how you say we came from a cruel click to a company right? So organization correct? So that's what I want I'm like your walker you can do it. It's just like how could you not do this man? This is America How do you argue? How did you organize because you like I By making a million fucking mistakes.

And none of them broke you? None, nothing. It didn't break me. How could you break me? Nothing in the world is going to break me. I can walk with no arms and legs. I'm still never going to be broken. I got my mind, man.

So how were you able to build a fan base so quickly? I guess genuine and realness. All you got to do is be real, be authentic. I don't have nothing against artists today, but I never was the kind of artist to be flashing guns and cameras and talking about killing you all day. That ain't my swag. I couldn't do it. I had a chance to do that, right? Right.

Like, I had a chance to make, like make just manifesting murder is what I call it. So I had that manifesting murder music, right? But at the end of the day, I said, yo, I got a party still. People are like, yo, Walker, you switching up with EDM? But I'm like, yo, I had that on my first album. I just wanted to rock with everybody. I was entertaining, because I knew I was a shit rapper. So I said, I'm going gonna be the best entertainer.

That's something I know y'all not gonna mess with me with. I know, but when I came out and doing music, Recession was out. I think I came out in 08, 09. It was Recession. Rob Markman Right. You know what I'm saying? Rappers was on stage being cool. I came out headbanging.

And I see, just from the era of me coming out, I see what it created. I see now we on festivals. I used to be the only rapper not ever on festivals. I used to be the only rapper in our era on festivals. They used to be like, festivals? What the fuck is that? I'm always taking pictures at festivals. People are like, damn, you got a big fan base. I'm in America.

My label was like, yo, I gave them this album called Friends, Fans, and Family. They was like, nah, we don't want this. I'm like, what the fuck? They don't want me to keep talking about killing people and girls sucking my balls all day? Like, it's crazy. I got a daughter. I got little brothers. I got little brothers. I got little homies.

So I went overseas myself. I ended up, me and my friend, Bert, we ended up going over there, taking us a cameraman that speak French, learned English through rap, and we went all through Europe, all through Germany, all through Sweden, everywhere, and rocked all the festivals. Because I seen this quote, there's like a picture set of a thousand things. So all I did was just keep taking pictures everywhere. I was damn near paying for some of the festivals to get on. I didn't care.

I knew I was a star. Once they see what I got going on, they gonna love me. So every time I perform, they were like, yo, we'll give you 30, 40, 50, 60, whatever to come back. Yo, you amazing. You not like other rap artists. Cause American artists had shitty names back then. They like American artists come charge a lot of money

and give a shit show. That's they always said. So it was pretty good. When you came out, you came out hard in the paint. Oh, let's do it. So,

hard in the paint. How did that come about? Was that because like, hey, I'm here. I'm going hard. Oh yeah, so this was hard in the paint was.

I'll call, like it was inspired by LeBron James. Okay. LeBron James. LeBron James never was allowed, that song would never be out here. So I was like, damn yo, LeBron's my favorite player right here. LeBron and KD. So I'm like, you know something?

Rob Markman, I got you LeBron. I know what I'm going to do. I'm LeBron in the streets. And I had a mix tape called LeBron Flock of James. And that was the highlight song of the tape. We wanted that to be an album. And that shit just blew up. And I know like, I come from highlight song of the tape. I wanted that to be an album, and that shit just blew up. And I know, I come from a background of whooping.

If you don't know what whooping is, that's your fault. And I was like, man, if I go to the jungles, that'll just put some connection with the south and the west coast. So I came to California, I wanted to hang with every gang that was alive here, because I wanted to unify it. I was more of a brotherhood kind of guy. So I was like, shit, if I can make it in the jungles, then I could touch LA. I just wanted to touch them.

I just wanted to let them know, bro, this shit bigger than the streets. Y'all folks got Hollywood by y'all. Y'all folks got a beach. Y'all folks living in an area where all the technology at, bro. If y'all just put that hammer down, bro, and put your ego where your nuts at, I'm telling you, you'll be real rich. And I wanted to show them, like, I risked my life to show y'all this. That's why I walked in there.

I ain't walking there to be the hardest man on earth. I walked in there to show you, man, you got to be lawless and limitless if you want to get to the next level. And when I say lawless, meaning your laws. You don't live by your rules and what you say in life. You got to be better and bigger. And I'm just that guy. I got to be better and bigger. How does it make you feel when you hear athletes playing your songs?

They're getting ready to go play on the field, play football, play basketball, and you hear them playing your songs. What does that do for you? Hell, Shannon, man, I ain't make new music 2012, man. To hear it play like it just came out yesterday here, you know, I don't even feel famous. Right. So I listen to that shit like it's somebody else's too.

Right. It's the energy in it. What was it like when you first, the first time you heard your music played? Radio, you were in a club. I was on the phone. You was on the phone? Yeah, my brother called me. Okay.

My brother called me like, yo. My older brother, he funny as a motherfucker. By the way, my older brother never had an enemy in his life. Right. He called me like, yo, yo, Walker. Yo, this nigga stole your name. I'm like, who? I got a bad chance of faith. He's like, yo, Joe Walker. Yo, this nigga stole your name. I'm like, who? I can imagine his face.

He's like, yo, you don't hear it in the background? I hear, yeah, what it do? I'm like, oh shit, it is popping. I'm in my head like, oh shit. I'm like, nah, I don't know who that is, but I'm like, all right, next thing you know, it blow on the radio. You're like, yo, you on the radio? I'm like, yo.

I'm like, all right, I made it, nigga. It's up now. That's what you do. Oh, it was over. So now you're performing in the club. You're like, yo, I'm on the radio. I'm like, yo. I'm like, all right, I made it, nigga. It's up now. That's what you do. Oh, it was over.

So now you're performing in the club. I mean, so when you started out, you go to clubs, you know, small clubs. I mean, they probably play in your club. I still do it right now. You still do the club scene? I still do a 300 venue. I love it. I cannot stand big crowds.

It's all, to me, big crowd music is just like me digging in your pockets. Right. I got to be up and close to y'all. I have to. If I do a stadium, I got to walk around the whole stadium. Right. I'm not even going to lie to you. I have to be around people.

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And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You said, which city is your roughest? So you don't have no VIP? You don't have... Yeah, I play everybody in the VIP.

But there's no VIP there. It's a party. Like, who goes to the club to sip and chill? Yeah, boy. No, I don't... Hey. I'm older now. I can go sip and chill.

Right. If I'm young, I'm like, bro, I'm not about to be here with my homeboys. Right. We about to be here with the club, buddy. Right.

Like, that's how I am, man. It have to be a memory. Man, I'm looking at some of the club, I mean, the heavy hitters. Drake, Lil Wayne, Future T.I., Rick Ross, Offset, Wale, Machine Gun, Fritz. I mean, bro, when you're in the studio with these guys, because I remember the first time, and I'm going to try to equate it to something.

Going to the Pro Bowl, and my quarterback, I played with John Elway, but I go to the Pro Bowl and Dan Marino and Warren Moon and Jim Kelly. Later in my career, I got Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. And I'm like, okay. And the DBs are over there. I'm like, I got to put my – man, I got to show why. I got to show these guys why I'm over here. When you get to the studio and you got these heavy hitters,

then you're like, damn, man, I got to break it. Hell no, I just rap for my fans. I don't care nothing about them. Most times, I just sing music. Like, bro, I'm telling you, listen, basketball showed me it's about the people. I don't care nothing about awards. All due respect to every artist out here.

Man, F y'all. I'm for the people, man. I know the most- Rob Markman So you making music for them? You ain't- Man, oh God, they made me. Fans made me, man. I wouldn't be shit without people.

That's what I look like impressing a celebrity. What I look like trying to out-rap you. I'm trying to out-rap myself to make people love me some more. So it's all about fans with me. I'm a fan-foy guy in real life. In real time, I have to fuck with the people. That's the problem today. People don't fuck with people.

They just talk shit all day. That's why all this philosophical ass podcast is coming out now. Put that podcast in the neighborhood and talk. Get the fuck from behind the green screen. That's why I be trying to tell young niggas that are doing it. Like, bro, y'all too young. Go touch people. Let the OGs do that.

Y'all got to touch people. These people need that. When I was young, rappers in ballpark, it was coming to our neighborhood. It felt good. Now, people get on Instagram and get shooken up. I wish I would. I still going to talk anywhere in the world. I don't care how tough your neighborhood is, my boy.

Because you just didn't see light yet. It's just dark over there. When I put a light bulb in that motherfucker, it's going down. First come the mosquitoes and everybody else. Do you ever get writer's block? Do you ever get like, damn, I don't want to go with this? Nah. Just don't want to do it.

I just, it got to a point like, man, I like my music I already put out. Shit, why don't I make it even more? And it's hard to rap with people. Like, what am I going to rap about? Sleeping with the bad bitch. Drinking. I don't drink lean. I don't pop pills.

I barely drink liquor. I only just smoke puff a little bit. I can't rap with somebody that's 18 years old. What do we have in common? I'm not spending no block. I'm going to erase that motherfucker if I got to. That's my mindset. So why would I? I just don't got nothing in common with people. And then I'm just, we just got different styles. These guys got mellow tone stuff. I don't, I can't go and

say like, you know, I'm in this thing and I'm tripping. I'm tripping and swagging. Man, I can't, I'll be bored. I'm not gonna lie to you. I can't be in a motherfucker harmonizing I like the music but I can't do that. I want a party. I want to yell I want right I just took a break my music still good So why make another record before your debut album you were shot and robbed at a car wash. Do you know what happened? Yeah, I still go to car wash. Yeah, I know what happened Definitely 100% I thank God for, too. That was a blessing. Why?

Because that weekend, I was making like a quarter million. I was going to buy some bricks and some pounds. And it's God that stopped me. I thank God I was arrogant as fuck. It turned me dark. It turned me dark all the way. I just felt like I just wanted to be there, be there, motherfucker, turn hoods up and organize shit.

I was just too, I was bad. Yeah. I think I was fat. And that walker died that day too. I'm telling you. They took the jewelry? Oh yeah, took a chain, little bracelet. Did you want to give it up?

You didn't want to give it up, did you? Hell nah. What? Hell nah. Why not? Fuck, you gotta kill me for it. Nah, hell no, you don't. Here, there you go.

Hell yeah. You got it insured? Nah, man. Even if you didn't, you gonna get some more. Again, No, hell no, you don't. Here, there you go. Hell yeah. You got it insured? Nah, man. Even if you didn't, you was going to get some more. Again, back then, how do you think like that? You think this is my life. We ignorant. We don't have this kind of confidence.

Yeah. I'll tell you what you can get some more of. A watch, a bracelet, a chain. I'll tell you what you can't get no more of, a life. How do you know? I might go on a higher plane. God probably got a bigger purpose for me. And right then and there, it wasn't.

Right. I'm telling you, Charlotte, man, look at him. I ain't got time to be playing with you, buddy. You ain't taking this. Do your job. Who is you talking about? I'm that kind of person. But today, shit, yeah, I'll tell you this shit right now.

How many times did you get hit? Doctor said I got hit four times with one bullet. It's crazy. I got penetrated once, but it hit here, hit my shoulder blade, came through my ribs, hit one of my lungs, and almost pinched my spinal cord. He said probably from the force of me punching, too. So you was fighting? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was trying to knock his ass out.

But I hesitated. That was my problem. I thank God for my... The guy that shot me, I never wanted to kill him either. Right. I had every opportunity in the world to do him in jail. So you know who did it? Oh yeah, definitely. But why kill him? He made me... I'm a for him. The guy that shot me, I never wanted to kill him either. Every opportunity in the world to do it in jail. So you know who did it? Oh yeah, definitely. But why kill him?

He made me, I'm a fucking millionaire for him. Did he ever apologize? I don't even want it. The bullet, I deserved that bullet. Man, I'm telling you, I deserved that motherfucker. Cause you was out there bad, huh? Man, I deserved it. Buddy can go and get a job.

I teach him how to put the gun down. I deserve it, man. The shit I know today, man, I can it. Buddy can go and get a job. I teach him how to put the gun down. I deserve it, man. The shit I know today, man, I can't be mad at nobody because it helped create who I am today. Your debut album, you called it Flock of Valley. Named it after Tupac. Yeah. Both of you, I mean, is that because Tupac was shot

and he talks about it? You know what? I got it from Tupac, but I actually got it from Machiavelli. Okay. When I found out who Machiavelli was, the guy that everybody went against. Nicole Machiavelli. You know what I'm saying? He was just a guy that shit it on Tupac, but I actually got it from Machiavelli. Okay. When I found out who Machiavelli was, the guy that everybody went against. Nicole Machiavelli. You know what I'm saying?

He was just the guy that shit and all slept on, but he was that guy. Yeah. I felt like that in hip hop. Right. 30 years after Tupac and Biggie, and we still haven't, we saw Takeoff just recently got killed. Yeah. PNB Rock, we see Trouble, we see Takeoff. I mean, Takeoff,off just recently got killed. Yeah. PNB Rock. We see Trouble. We see Takeoff.

I mean, come on. Yeah. I mean, Pop Smoke. I mean, these guys. Come on. Come on. Come on, Wilder. Give me something.

Why? Why? I can't tell you why, and I never want to speak on nobody's death, but I could tell you this. When God bless you, right, you have to change your ways. You have to evolve. You have to. That's all I can say.

Right. I can just say wrong place, wrong time for these guys. So when you, I think, take off, they say take off with, and they were, you know, rolling dice. So in other words, once you ascend to a certain level, you got to leave that alone. Oh, yeah, I don't roll dice. You can't go back to the screen. And I know, look, I don't, you know.

With all respect, why would I roll dice to somebody that ain't on my tag break? It's liability. That's right shit could happen. I ain't gonna lie. I've been there I've gone back to the crib and roll-dice play card I don't gamble though, but you know what I do gamble with my business my life I'm ahead driving around drunk drivers angry guys. You know what it is, Walker, is that I think I wanted to show that I'm still Shannon. I'm still the guy that came from Glenville, that went to high school with you. I was in the same classroom with a lot of you guys. Some of you guys dropped out. Some of you else made it through.

I went to college with you. I'm still me, bro. I don't look at – I was like, I'm trying to show you that I don't. I went to college with. I'm still me, bro. I don't look at. I was like, I'm trying to show you that I don't think I'm better than you. And I felt that was the only way for me to show that I wasn't better than you. I ain't never been that way. You know what I'm saying? I watch people die every day like that. That's why I ain't never be him.

And it's crazy. I grew up always an outsider. Always. So even in my neighborhood growing up, I was an outsider. I'm a New York nigga. They're like, hey, what's up, New York? Right. So I'm never from the neighborhood up, I was an outsider. I'm a New York nigga. They're like, hey, what's up New York? Right. So, I'm never from the neighborhood, but I am.

Right. I ain't got nothing to prove to y'all. Yo, you could be like, yo, that nigga Walker Lane, he ain't allowed in the hood. Right. Man, what hood? What you talking about? I don't fuck with no hoods. Man, I'm in my neighborhood.

Come over here. You know what I'm saying? I don't even have that attitude. Right. That shit don't... I'm not rolling no dice. I think, yo, when y'all done hit me, I'm out. Right. I'm not him. I. When y'all done, hit me. I'm out. I'm not him. I know what outside really look like.

I know God was looking on me because I done brought so many pieces and set it out and brought them going. We going to get a case of beer. Hey, we rolled the dice. I played cards with them. But they look, you know, the thing I can honestly say about my homeboys, and I knew what a lot of them was doing, like, hey, bro, I'm going back to the city.

Y'all want to ride? I said, no, Sharp, you know what we do. I don't even want to put it like that because if you get stopped and we got – they're going, hey, you the big fish. Hey, I'll hit you up tomorrow. Or I'm about to go do this. I'll hit you tomorrow. I'm like, bro, good looking.

I mean, you know, like I said, I just think I wanted to show them. Not one of the guys. No, I was never one of them, but I wanted to show them, hey, even though y'all see your boy on TV and I'm playing and I'm catching touchdowns, I'm in the Super Bowl, I ain't changed. I still got respect. I still got love for you. You know what's crazy? It's what they call street niggas. Yeah. That's people that get money out the streets 24-7.

Right. And it's street guys. It's just guys born in the streets. Right. I'm a street guy. I'm a hustler. I'm not a trapper. I'm not about to sit out here and sell drugs every day so they can know my face.

Kudos to whoever did it. I never sold crack, never sold cocaine. That's not my sway. I don't go tell you that. Everybody know that. But I'm not with that. But I'm with what I'm with, though. You get what I'm trying to say?

But in life, man, even like rappers, they call everybody a rapper, but it's not. There's not a lot of rappers out today. If you're a rapper, that means hip hop pays your bills. It's a lot of inspiring rappers. It's people out here that spend money to look like a rapper and try to be a rapper. And they are the people out here getting into more trouble than the people that's actually getting paid off hip hop. So that should divide today.

I think that they gotta stop putting these guys in the same bracket. How can you put an upcoming rapper and put a headline like, he's the new this guy. What is the respect at my man? These guys are inspiring rappers. Rappers get paid off this. Inspiring basketball. That's like saying a guy that play in the park is an NBA player. So that's like niggas in OTE is NBA players.

That's like kids in college are NBA players. No, they inspiring NBA players. That's like these guys that get around rappers, they inspiring artists. So it's a difference. You gotta know the difference. And I think that's where the mental confusion come from, from rappers and inspiring rappers. They feel like they gotta hang around the guys that's inspiring. And that's when they go back to their old ways

or get tied into some old shit. I'm not doing that. If it's three o'clock in the morning, I'm not hanging around a bunch of mean, mugging ass motherfuckers. Nigga, if you not smiling, you getting away from me. That's my motto. I'm like, yo, bro, he not smiling.

What's wrong with him? Hey, give him some shots or he gotta go home. Simple as that. Hell, real simple. Your house got ra- I mean, I've never been in a situation where you see it on TV. So your home is raided. You weren't home but a gooch was.

So what's it like? So when you get the call, it's like, hey, did Redd Dolls kick it in? No, it was Henry County back then. Oh, Henry County. Because they thought my house had drugs and prostitution rank and this. I'm like, brother, I'm a rapper. Like I'm a rapper. Like I'm not afraid to think I'm a rapper. Right, I'm a rapper. Like, I'm not afraid to think I'm a rapper.

Right. Bro, you ain't in the streets. You're right. They thought that was a front, huh? Of course. There ain't no front. Fuck, I look like selling weed or crack or pills, and I'm getting paid to go 30s, 40s, 60s, 100s, and this to go do shows or go do walkthroughs or get paid.

Like, you a wilder. New out. We see Gunna. We he's gonna get released. He fled the racketeering gang charges. People say he snitched. And normally when the fans get you, the fans say that when the fans, well look, when the fans come knocking.

I don't know, the fans never touched my door, so that shit, I'm good. But you know the fans. I know of it. Yeah. I don't know it. When them alphabet boys come, you know, FBI, GBI, ATL.

High-fiving them. Yeah. What's up, my boy? Want a picture? Shit, boy, I ain't know it. When them alphabet boys come, you know, FBI, GBI, ATL. High-fiving them niggas. Yeah. What's up, my boy? Want a picture? Shit, boy, I ain't no criminal. I know a whole bunch of them. Yeah. Walk, what up, man?

What's up, my boy? I'm going to take a goddamn Vegas bun. What up? Boy, what? I'm not that guy. I don't take pictures with anybody. I don't know. I'm going to be honest.

I read those shit. I be reading like, damn, that's what they be doing? Gunna got released. Young Thug is still in. Damn. I know Thug's a hard working. He's one of the most hardest working artists I've seen in my life. Right.

He loves music. But who knows? God bless their situation. I hope they learn from it, man. I pray they be bigger and better people for me. Right. I read what you said, I wish I hadn't started my rap career off

talking about guns and violence. Yeah. Cause, man, I seen what it did to everybody. I seen it. I'm watching that shit, invented drill music and all that. But for me, bro, I would never see people doing, like,

crunk gangbanging music. Right. That's what I want. I crave my style. I like somethingunk gang banging me. Right. That's what I wanted. I created my style. I like, so I put this street shit in some parties. Right. And that shit just went to the left.

I watched everybody grow dreadlocks. I just watched them. I watched everybody party the same way. Niggas jumping in the crowd, head banging, moving around. I watched it. I watched them have a crew of motherfuckers on stage jumping around. I watched it. I'm not saying they got it, but they watched me do it.

Rob Markman Right. You see what I'm saying? And I seen how far it went though. It's a difference. See, due to me and these young guys today, see we two different monsters, right? When I came up, you know what my most important piece of my career was? Rob Markman What? My OGs.

Rob Markman Okay. So every song I was talking about my big homies. These young kids today, they think they the big homie. And I'm here to tell you- It's a lack of respect? And I don't care about that. Cause I don't even think about a nigga disrespecting me. I'm telling them young guys,

hey, that's your self-destruction button. You got to tap into people growing and you all do. You have to. I'm telling you, don't ever let these people that are doing business talk to you like you a man. Cause you not. Nigga, you young. You, they gonna get you that way.

So for me, I always kept some older people around me and I don't care what happened to my career or how I went, it created who I am today. And that was the biggest blessing I ever had in my life, because I was raised around OGs. Is rap music blamed for the gun violence in the community? Hell no, that's the person. Hip hop is not dangerous.

It's the man that's rapping. My hip hop career is not dangerous. Right. Yeah. So let me ask you this. You rapping about this, okay? You're trying to get noticed. Your debut album, you rap about what you rap.

Once you make it, should you stop? Should you change your messaging? I'll tell you this. Shit, if you still rapping about gangsters, you're a liar. You're capping. I stopped rapping because I ain't. I ain't do it. I never knew life.

Yo, my nigga, I skydived. I walked down Barcelona. I never knew this shit exists. Yo, I never even went to festivals until I became a rapper. I was in the streets. I never knew about festivals. I never even heard of that shit.

You got guys at street, guys going to festivals doing gangsta shit. That's crazy. What are you doing, Nutbag? No, I'm just telling you, that's not my life, man. You ain't even heard of that shit. You got guys at street, guys going to festivals doing gangsta shit. That's crazy. What are you doing? Not back? No, I'm just telling you, that's not my life, man. My life is just, it's not about drilling and killing and spinning.

I'm not about to kill y'all. Nigga, what you talking about? Rob Markman, Jr.: Why do you think hip hop is the only music genre that glorifies killing its own? Lil Jon, Jr.: It's just a mental condition. It's just the way they see each other. It's an animal thinking. Because everybody's in survival mode.

So if you act as if you've got to survive, the only thing that acts like you've got to survive is an animal. You see what I'm saying? So once everybody stops thinking that they've got to survive and live, it's two different perspectives. I know I've just got to live. I don't have to survive no more. So these guys

is in survival mentalities. So that's why they got animal instincts. How do we get the recording companies to stop exploiting that because they push that?

How do you get them to stop doing it? Yeah. How many billionaires we got that's rappers? We don't have to say, we have to. Well, you guys want to see

Jay-Z is a millionaire. Diddy, probably. I think Diddy. we got that's rappers. We don't have to say, we have to. Well, you guys want to see, Jay-Z is a billionaire. Diddy, probably, I think Diddy, Diddy might be one. Rihanna's not a rapper, but she's a billionaire.

I mean, I don't, I think. What's stopping all these people that got all this money? Hey, I never touched 100 million. I can't wait. Right?

Me either. I cannot wait. I'm talking 100 million liquid, not just having 100 million. I can't wait. Me either. I cannot wait. I'm talking 100 million liquid, not just half an hundred million. I don't care what 100 million or 100 million public trucks, 100 million puzzle pieces. I don't want 100 million or something. That's true. But I ask you this, right?

What's stopping people that got all this money just saying, hey, look, y'all, let's all put 100 million in. Let's create a major label. Let's create a distribution company. Let's get our kids assigned to us. It's not about making money. It's about keeping them to survive. Do you believe that you can make it without talking about those things,

the drugs, the guns, the sex, the violence? Can you have a rap career without? I just heard Chance the Rapper. Okay. I heard J. Cole. Them guys don't again it's what you glorify okay right oh yeah that's just that's just life you say you don't do that did you did you ever do drugs did you ever do pills did you ever do lean yes i was addicted to ecstasy from 14 to 27.

Yes. Did you go to rehab or did you just stop? Man, I'm done with this. Done. So you went cold turkey. No intervention or nothing? I find it weak to depend on something else that you created as a man, especially. So I don't, I talk to

a counselor for just a hair perspective, never to be a crutch. Again, God gave me something, choice, a mind. You have to build on your mind like you build on your basketball skills. And I want to overpower these shit. I want to overpower everything. I just, nothing could beat my mind, man. I'm telling you.

You and Gucci got, Gucci was on and Dre got clean. You and him had a falling out. Considering how- Me and Gucci ain't been best of friends since my first fucking mixtape. Y'all not best of friends? We always was like this, like. But, I mean, but, you know, he started here, you was piggybacking, or you was tailing a trail, whatever term you wanted.

Nigga, I don't give a damn whatever they want you. What happened? You said he didn't want you to rap. He wanted you to be that. Look, King. Look, look. I ain't going to lie. I'm over talking about it.

But it's his life. Right. I know I ain't do nothing wrong. Right. That's all I'm going to say. Right. You get what I'm trying to say? But y'all cordial.

Cordial, man. We good. OK. But it's just like he's doing something totally different. Cordial, man. We good. Okay. But it's just like he's doing something totally different. I wouldn't move how he move. Right. I couldn't do that. I'm just sorry.

He happy doing what he doing. Right. Shit, I'm happy doing what I'm doing. Right. So if it ever intertwines in a time and a place, hey, it's what it is. But he happy, man. And to me, that's all I ever wanted to see my dog happy.

So he happy being where he at. I don't gotta be there. I chill for a nigga a mile away, I don't kill. Your brother committed suicide. And I think before he did, he called, he reached out, you missed his call. Yeah, definitely. How did that impact you? Shit fucked me up, bro. Can reached out you missed his call. Yeah, definitely How did that impact you shit fuck me up?

Hey, let you know man. Just You didn't know what your brother was going through did you now? And I let me know man. I'm too into myself And you missed the signs Were they were there any warning signs? There's something you could pick the phone. I could see because he was going blind, okay? But again, I couldn't see you killing himself. Right. It was a selfish act.

I still ain't forgive him for it, to be honest. So that's probably a lot why it don't hurt me a lot. But man, that shit crazy, man. It crushed me. I ain't even going to lie. It's crazy. I still ain't deal with it. I ain't put it in the back of the burner.

It's just like shit happened. You've had some friends to also. Yeah, I had a friend I know now committed suicide last year. I always meet people like this. It's what it is. I see my other little brother brains on the floor got a head ran over by my next door neighbor that was drunk. Oh, white guy.

And he never go to jail. You get what I'm trying to say? So it ain't that was drunk. Old white guy. And he ain't never go to jail. You get what I'm trying to say? It ain't make me grow up hating white people. It's life, King. There's nothing going to break me and beat me down. How do you, I guess the word is cope. I don't say you get over it.

You don't cope. That's the wrong word. See, when you start attaching yourself to these words, you start falling with those symptoms. Deal with it? It's nothing to deal with. It happened. Right. It's like saying I got... So you just move on.

So it happened, move on, move on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What you going to do about it? It gone. It's like having a cold. Fuck, I'm going to sit and complain and cough all day. Yeah, cough all day. I'm going to go get some herbs.

Help me get over it. Man, I ain't complaining. I'm going to go fight it. It's over. I complain after I'm done. I'm going to deal with this. I was just built up to be like that I'm finna go fight it. It's over. I complain after I'm done. I'm finna deal with this. I'm just built up to be like that. You got to deal with it.

Why? There's no can, man. This shit ain't good. So is that how and why you're able to deal with things? Because you've had a lot of trauma, death in your life. My first superhero, right? My father. This guy's like, this guy probably built, probably a little bigger than you, built.

Okay. Dark-skinned motherfucker. Right. The glory guy. Right. I'm talking about he's the, he that nigga. Right. When I watched this guy sitting in the hospital,

the size of my pinky dying from cancer. Cancer. And I said, God damn. What the fuck did my father do in life to die in that bed with that kind of sickness? And then I had to grow up and realize the kind of man he was. And that was his karma. That's another reason I didn't stay in the streets.

I didn't want my karma to die in the hospital bed for council. That's why I'm so big in health right now. I just, I couldn't see myself being that. So watching my first superhero and my second superhero was my cousin, Kevin Ford. When I watched him go to jail for 25 years, under 16 years old, crushed me.

He just got out of jail. He did 26 years. My older cousin. When I see shit like this, bro, it crush me. So to see guys like that, I'm good, man. Facts. You mentioned health. You mentioned help. You started farming.

How is it going, and what are you growing on your farm? This year I haven't did a lot on the farm because there's a lot that I wanted to bring to it. It was people like, yo, we want to do TV shows. Are you farming in this? And I had to crush all of them. Like, listen, y'all, I'm not doing this for, like, credibility. The farm I got is more peace built.

We don't slaughter animals on this farm. We don't smoke weed on this farm. We don't drink liquor on this farm. It's more of a yogi kind of thing. It's more of a peace. Man, I'm telling you, Sean, that was one of the best things that happened to my life, to touch earth and see what earth come back and tell you. And for me, bro, a lot of people are like, yo, bro, I love who you are today.

I'm like, look, my nigga, I'm not trying to act like it feel good. It stop you from eating indulgent and a lot of food because you see the process of how the food got to grow. Right. I was taught you don't pull nothing out of earth unless you ask to take it out of earth. Then you put it back in So that's I love that part about farming. So you you you veggies are your veggies from from the garden to the table? Yeah, baby Why not? Why not? So, you know, you know, you no longer eat meat who you yeah, I'm about to did it

I eat it now about the dead it next year is over. I'm a cold turkey guy I gotta go back to it cuz they I learned man. I tried it's over. I'm a cold turkey guy. I got to go back to it. Because that eat, I learned, man. I tried it, right? Rob Markman Yeah. Rob Markman You eat things that's dead, you'll always have dead ideas in your mind. When you eat clean and with life, watch how bright your ideas get. Like the fucking, the depression stuff, it don't exist.

And then they created a word called vegan i don't like that right i don't like people calling themselves vegans because it to me it stops you from growing mentally it stops you from learning what you eating so i become i'm a conscious eater right i'm conscious of what it is i'm a conscious drinker i'm a conscious everything i just want conscious and knowledge of what i'm doing that's it i watch air you a guy i watch if you tell me i should rock your bronco jersey right let's keep it pimpin'. You see what I'm saying? So it's guys like you that we get to watch and be like, damn, I watch you in the end of your career right now really do shit you should have been doing in your 30s. Let's call church on that. Right?

You see what I'm saying? But I'm watching that OG. I'm like, damn, he really showing us what you supposed to be doing and standing on business, too. And that's where I'm at in life. I feel like people want me to keep doing music. I'm like, King, I'm 36 years old. My daughter's 17. Like, I can't talk about bending y'all over and doing this. Baby, I'm grown. Like, my daughter friends might be looking at me to do this.

How weird is that? Like, you see what I'm saying? I just can't be that guy, man. Right. I want to be 40 and 50. I can't fucking wait. I'm looking forward to being older. Right.

You and I were talking about Carol. You were talking about you. I was like, man, you're a pretty big dude. You're like, yeah, but today? You're like, I'm going to get it right. You said, I'm tired of having you say, you got Mr. Frog body looking like Wade in the pool when I take my pants off. No BBA. You ain't doing no work.

You ain't doing nothing cosmetic. BBA? Ah, what the fuck I would... Man, I'm going to tell you something that's the craziest shit. It gets to the point where nigga, you walk by a mirror, you be like... You're like, yeah, I don't know who the fuck that is. They're like, for the t-shirt, I asked me. I'm tired of jumping in the swimming pool.

I was just talking to my cousin. I was like, yo, I'm tired of going in the swimming pool with a t-shirt on. Come on. Come on, Walker. Boy, I ain't getting that shit without a little t-shirt on. Sheep. Sheep. You know what I'm saying?

I went to V-Live. You know what I mean? I can't wait to get it. So my new goal, man, is just to have like at least. How much time have you given yourself? Six months? A year? When's your birthday? May 31st.

May 31st. Oh, you got five months. No, I'm going before that. So after this week when I get home, I'm going on a 14-day cleanse. Okay. With straight herbs and water. Right. After I eliminate the fat and the toxins in my body,

I'm going straight to working out. Right. Immediately. I'm dead in all the meat. So what's the end goal? I mean, how much you weigh now and what you're trying to get down to? I'm going straight to working out. Right. Immediately. I'm probably dead in all the meat. So what's the end goal? I mean, how much you weigh now, what you're trying to get down to? 297.

297. You're talking my height, though. Right. What you trying to get down to? I'm going to probably bounce down like 255. 255. You going to be diesel? Oh, yeah, just cut.

Toe up? I'm an underwear model. Ah! Yeah, yeah. You going to cut them like news, man? Man's health magazine, boy. I'm like underwear model. Ah! Yeah, yeah. You going to cut him like Newsweek? Man, it's Men's Health Magazine, boy. I'm like this. You on the cover?

What? Walker. Boy, Walker tripping, though. You tripping, young man. What the fuck is he talking about? I'm gross, baby. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.

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You talk about a lot of your businesses. The rap thing, you're like, I'm done with the rap. I'm just not a good rapper. Right. You know what I'm saying? If I had good metaphors and shit, yo, sure, I'd be right there. It'd take too much time to do a song. Right. I'm just... I can fuck that.

Sorry, I can't do eight, nine, ten hours in the studio no more. But I got little brothers and cousins. I got artists. Right. You let them have that. Man, they the truth. So I need to move out of the way. Let them do it. So your business is now. What's your business?

What are you proud of? You got a trucking company? You got a meatpacking? I tried trucking. I did that. It's fun. Airbnb? I can't do Airbnbs.

I cannot deal with motherfuckers fucking my property up and going behind you. And then, oh, and you walk me tripping. You know, I ain't got time for that. Even, so when it comes to real estate and stuff, I never wanted to be the guy to buy

all the houses. I tried that. And it bothered me to take advantage of people that didn't understand real estate, to buy your house cheap and then sell it for more and celebrate while you still stuck in your same spot. That bothered me. I'm not saying people were wrong or right for it. So what I wanted to do is come from a higher perspective.

I actually met a guy named Don Jacobs, good brother in Atlanta. The truth. So I learned a lot from him. I'd rather come from a perspective where I could create a house that everybody could be in. And I'd rather eat, if I made a hundred slices of pizza, I'm cool with eating a slice of pizza and this pie, this pie, this pie. I eat a hundred circles, I got me a hundred slices now.

And a hundred different ways to eat. So I wanted to come from a bigger perspective and not be on the ground with people that actually need it more than me. I read that you lost a lot of money in your rap career. Oh, hell yeah. How? Did you blow it or did somebody take advantage of you?

Oh, one thing I never did was blow money. OK. Let's get that quick. OK. But yo, my accountant was showing me like, yo, Walker, you know like 70% of your money, you give it away? I'm like, what are you talking about? She's like, yo, you, the money you make, 70% of it,

you give it to people. I'm like, what the fuck? She was showing me like how I sent 5,000 head, this person, this person, this person, this person. And I literally was living off 30% of my career. Right. That's crazy. So you gave damn near a lot of your money away.

I ain't give it away. That's all God told me to do. Right. I didn't need it. That shit ain't break me. Right. I probably, yeah. I made a lot of mistakes, yeah. That shit ain't break me. Right. Oh, I probably. Yeah.

I made a lot of mistakes. You made a lot of mistakes. Financial mistakes. So what lesson did you learn? Oh, Jesus. Everything. Everything. I'm sure.

Tax attorney. You got. Man, I could be the tax attorney. I'm actually about to go to school to learn it right now. I don't know. Cowards and shit. That's you. You you don't really, QuickBooks, you're a Cowboy. If you could work QuickBooks, you really could do your thing, to be honest.

But my Cowboy right now, he the truth. He from Egypt, my boy Sobe. Yeah. Sobe the GOAT. He got you straight? Oh boy, he ain't no joke. He straight, he straight square business. I read, I read that you slept,

you were sleeping at a hotel out Piedmont with your wife and daughter. Yeah. And you got a Rolls Royce and a Bentley parked outside. I still got that. That's my favorite. I call it my old school. It's a four-door flying Spur. That's my old school.

Yeah. Yeah, but... Cream? Black. Black. Matt Black. So why the hell are you sleeping in a hotel? I had to get out the house I was in.

I couldn't get no house. My credit was fucked up. I couldn't have nothing. I was just ghetto. Well, get out the Bentley. What do you need a Bentley and a Rolls Royce at a hotel for? Shit, I had a good room. I was spending like, that's the mentality, right?

You ain't at the Waldorf Restoration. You ain't out at the Four Seasons in the presidential suite. I wanted to be a little more duff. I was looking for a house at the Waldorf Restoration. You ain't out at the Four Seasons in the presidential suite. I wanted to be a little more ducked up. You know what I'm saying? I was looking for a house at the time. Right. I was in that motherfucker for nine months.

Yeah. The whole... You look. And the hotel remodeled after I got out of it. I spent like... Yeah, I spent about $30,000, $25,000 a month in there.

I bought them niggas a whole new hotel. Now we go like, hey, walk up! Then you come to the The Waka floor. Yeah, man. So, now, rap career, business career, if you were to sit down with aspiring rappers or guys, somebody that was in the rap game and said,

man, Waka, I see how you made a clean break from it. You're not rapping anymore. You got all this going on in the business. What's the seminar? They all different. They all know, too. Y'all sure. I'm telling you, I'm on their bumper. They be looking at me like, man,

come on, Walk, man. They be having that face like, bro, I'm finna give it to you, bro. Right. But the most, it just depends where they are. I always give them the game though. Some listen, some don't and they come back. Yes, I like a big bro. You was right.

I should have and I'm like, you know, now let's get it. We can't talk about what you should what you should have done. Let's talk about what you need. It should tap into right angle come to them, but they should tap in right? I meet him in the middle. How did this real? I don't want to know how the reality thing started. How did they come to you and say, hey, Walker, check this out.

We got this idea. We think you ought to be on hip hop. We love it. Right? It's just tacky. You wild, Walker. You wild. Hell yeah.

I wanted it because I know how low level and low vibrating people can be sometimes. So I knew if I get on TV, they're like, oh, that nigga broke. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. They wouldn't think of me doing genius stuff. Then on another hand, I'm like, shit, my ex-wife now, my wife at the time, excuse me. I'm like, shit, she can have a career. She can fuck around and be bigger than me. I'm like, and I was on some like retired stuff.

I'm like, I need to learn business. Right. Then my daughter had a platform like, but I didn't think my daughter was gonna be on TV. She can't stand that shit. But I'm just like, shit, my wife at times, she be lit. Like, what if she start bringing in an extra couple of million? That shit helped this household. You see what I'm

saying? So that's what I wanted it for. That's all. And I wasn't afraid to get on television. I didn't give a damn. Do you think, did that, is that one of the reasons why you and your wife divorced? Because a lot of times, you know, you see when you open yourself up to reality TV and you let everybody see you

in the workings, a lot of times it ends up bad. It was me. It was you? I was just young and dumb. I just, it was me, man. Whoever she say how she feel about as a man, it's always going to be me.

I mean, you got a wife, you're raising a child, but now under the specter of the public, I mean, there are a lot of people that have a wife and kids, but it's not in the public side. Yeah, but see, that's the thing. It's tough, right? I was a brother, a son, a husband, a father, a CEO, a chairman of company, pay attention to my career, protect my freedom, my life, and think of new business ideas. That's 10 things.

11, I got to learn how to protect it. 12, I got to know what's going on. I'm like, fuck it. It was a lot to handle. And nobody understood how something was going to fall short. But then it got to a point in my career where it was like, yo, fuck it. Enough is enough, man. You got to let go.

And I just got to a point where I was like, I can't handle that shit. It's over. I'm tired of living for everybody else. And I got tired of seeing my wife just live with this umbrella over her. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, yo, be free, my nigga. I love you to die. Whatever you go through in life, I'm still gonna help. I'm dear. That's my dog. You know what I'm saying? One of my best friends. So it gets to a point where you're like, damn, yo, you chew too much. I ain't fell at nothing.

It was just a lot. I just wanted to help everybody. I just seen a lot of people don't have the kind of drive I had. And I'm not trying to hold it over you. But fuck it. I guess God did it for me to do it so you could learn from it. And in that process, you're pushing people. You can be pushing them to their death. A lot of people can't afford to be pushed.

They have to edge in their life. So I had to learn that as well. A lot of mistakes I made, I didn't want people to walk down certain avenues because I was afraid they wouldn't make it out how I did. So I allotted them like it's something else just so they ain't got to do that. Right. You know what I'm saying? So it's just a lot of shit that went on in the middle of it.

Bro, you have a very inspiring story. To see where you came from, see that mentality that you had, to see where you are now and the transformation that you've gone through is nothing short of a miracle. Congratulations on all your success. Thank you. Thanks for stopping by with a homie. Always. Hustle paid the price. Won a slice. Got the roll of dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life.

All my life. Been grinding all my life. Sacrifice. Hustle paid the price. Won a slice. Got the roll of dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. We'll be right back. big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe. 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.