Digital Social Hour - Balancing Life: The Art of Social Media Breaks | Mario Canon DSH #676

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

Dive into the art of balancing life in this exciting episode of the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🎙️ Join the conversation with Mario Canon as he opens up about the transformative power of taking social media breaks and embarking on a spiritual journey to find balance in Hollywood's bustling world. 🌟 Packed with valuable insights on the current state of rap music, the challenges of being typecast in acting, and Mario's personal growth from humble beginnings to the bright lights of fame, this episode is a must-watch! Don't miss out on the journey of resilience, faith, and the relentless pursuit of purpose. Tune in now and subscribe for more insider secrets. 📺 Transform your life with the lessons shared in this inspiring discussion. Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🚀   CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 01:19 - Predetermined Roles in Life 02:44 - Current State of Rap Music 07:42 - Living in Your Car for Success 09:52 - Focus on Music or Acting 10:34 - Meeting Andy Frisella 12:49 - Role of Religion in Life 14:09 - Personal Sacrifices Made 17:05 - Future in Big Movies 17:45 - Project Block Party Overview 18:50 - Importance of Community 20:10 - Significance of Health 23:58 - Overcoming Confidence Issues 26:48 - Mom's Reaction to Dad's Discovery 29:33 - Everything Happens for You 31:21 - Perception of Fear in Others 34:39 - Buying Your Way into Roles 40:57 - Experiencing Life's Lows 41:50 - What's Next for Canon 41:51 - Where to Find Canon Online 42:47 - Thanks for Watching   APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail]   GUEST:  Mario Canon https://www.instagram.com/thisiscanon/   SPONSORS: Deposyt Payment Processing: https://www.deposyt.com/seankelly   LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Be quite honest with you, man. I think right now with rap music, I hope it would take a better turn right now. I feel like it's in a dark place. I think a lot of times we're chasing numbers now. And I think the rap that's being pushed, it lacks a sense of purpose and morality, right? Now it's more strictly for entertainment and number

and shock value. Right. All right, guys, he's back. We got shock value. Right. All right, guys. He's back. We got Mario Cannon. Thanks for coming on, man. Thanks for having me, Sean. You've been taking a little social media break, right?

Yeah, just a little bit. Just a little bit. A little spiritual journey? Yeah, man. You know, sometimes too much of anything can be bad, right? So you got to have balance in life, man. That's what life's about, balance. And sometimes, man, I see a lot of stuff coming through the timeline.

I'm like, oh, man, let me take a break. Let me replug back into reality. And let's get that real love. And sometimes it's not attached to the phone or any of these social media programs. Right, because you're playing in the celebrity space, the acting space. So you kind of got to be on top of it. But at the same time, it gets too overwhelming sometimes. It can be, especially being in Hollywood now a lot and being around and seeing things that a lot

of people might not see on the outside, especially where I'm from in the Midwest region. They don't get to see what I see. So it can be a bit overwhelming. Right. Now, you mentioned you came from some auditions. So when you're auditioning for these roles, what's kind of the feeling you get? Do you feel like a lot of the roles are predetermined? Yeah, because a lot of times they're going to typecast you if you don't have a household name as of yet, right? And I've done some great things in the music industry and I've had some nice runs in the acting realm. But until I get that Denzel Washington, that Michael B. Jordan stakeholder, I'm going to be typecasted a lot of times, but it doesn't bother me.

What's typecasted mean? I'm going to be casted for what I look like. When they're going to give me a role, I'm going to play the role of the swole guy, sometimes, a lot of times, the thug guy, the handsome guy. Not to say I'm all that. I'm just saying that I get typecasted.

Yeah, I just had, I don't know if you know Dane DeLegro, but he's like 6'11". He played Predator. Wow. And he always gets casted villain roles because of that. He's so tall and scary looking, I guess. Yeah, I get the rapper. Well, you are a rapper.

I am a rapper. So that was one of my first roles was a rapper on Empire. Nice. You still rapping a lot right now? Yeah, yeah. Actually, I'm doing rock. I got some rock coming out, like a rapper on Empire. Nice. You still rapping a lot right now? Yeah, yeah. Actually, I'm doing rock. I got some rock coming out, like a rock-rap mixture. Nice.

So a lot of live instrumentation. I've been experimenting a lot with the different sounds. So I'm at a great run. You know, I had some tracks. I dropped videos with, like, NLE Choppa, Montana, Busy Bone. I even got some music with some other actors, too, like Lewis Hawk and some Chicago PD and all that. That's cool.

What do you think of the current state of rap music? It's gone through a lot of evolutions. I'll be quite honest with you, man. I think right now with rap music, I hope it would take a better turn right now. I feel like it's in a dark place. I think a lot of times we're chasing numbers now. And I think the rap that's being pushed,

it lacks a sense of purpose and morality, right? It's now it's more strictly for entertainment and number and shock value. But as before, I feel like the music industry and the rap genre had more of a cause. You know, you talk about like public enemy and KRS one, you know,

back in those days, a Tupac, those guys had messages behind, even though they had their gangster side, there was a balance, right, where they had a statement and a mission of what they were trying to deliver. Right. Right now there's so many diss tracks going on. I mean, you know, it's like WWE right now, right?

Yeah. I just saw Chris Brown had one on Quavo. Man, Chris Brown. Hey, I didn't know Chris Brown had it in him like that. That dude was spitting some fire. I don't know. Man, I don't know, man. Quayle will have to come back with something.

For real. Because Chris Brown was spitting, and he was spitting, spitting, bro. Yeah, he got violated. He got violated, bro. I ain't going to hold you. Yeah, he might have to switch genres to rap, man, because he was nice. He was nice. He was nice.

Chris Brown is an incredible talent. He can hoop, too. Yeah? Yeah, I've seen him hoop. I've seen him hoop highlights. I need to hoop together. Oh, wait, yeah yeah i seen him i see the hoop highlights i need to hoop together oh wait yeah i saw him in the celebrity basketball league uh the crew league yeah i think he'll be dunking yeah you need to hoop with him yeah i'm down i need to hoop with you too i'm ready you still be balling or i still be balling man even though i'm kind of bigger now

you know i still got the crossover all right yeah i still can you know you played college i played at university illinois and springfield and then i red I redshirted because I was a knucklehead. But I played all my life. Did you get in a lot of trouble in college? At the beginning, yeah, I did, man. I was just trying to find myself, man. I had one foot in college and one foot in the street. Got it.

So where I'm from, it's really easy to get off track and get derailed from your goals. And I didn't realize my potential and talent. Cause I didn't have that influence around me to show me that, dude, you're great. You can, you know, the state,

state of course, state of path. I wanted to be successful. I emulated the guys in the local neighborhoods. I wanted to be like them. Right. You know, that's all you knew.

That's all I knew, man. Uh, after, after high school, it was like, man, I want to be respected and loved.

And in my neighborhood, I wanted to, I wanted to go teeth and the big rims and stuff. That was my, that was like, man, I want to be respected and loved in my neighborhood. I wanted to, I wanted the gold teeth and the big rims and stuff. That was my, that was my end game. Did you find a mentor during that time that kind of believed in you? Yes. I found multiple mentors from, you know, from my coaches to just elder men around in my life that kind of like, you know, showed me the way and and it was crazy going to school i had transferred schools and started going to school like and blooming to normal at like a isu in heartland and what i learned i got to see like um households you know uh my culture like black households i had a mother and a father and they were successful i wasn't used to seeing that on

that on that scale like that you know know. And I was learning that. I switched my whole style, bro. It was crazy. I went from wearing like the street clothes to wearing more fitted stuff. Wow. They were teaching me. The alphas were teaching me and the fraternities were teaching me how to carry myself as a gentleman. So one of my best friends to this day is DeAndre Tillman.

He was an alpha that took me in. He's a lawyer. And I was rough, bro. Like, you know, I was going to the parties, you know, the college parties. I had, you know, I was ready for beef. And they're like, no, dude, we're ready for chicks. But I was like, I was so used to, like, people, like, trying to try me, you know. I had this complex, man, coming from where I'm from. But I didn't realize, man, it was so much more than life.

Wow. Yeah, there's two types of drunk. Some people throw hands when when they're drunk i had a couple high school friends do that yeah i had to leave them behind man because that's too much of a liability for me yeah yeah i don't even drink man i haven't had a drink of alcohol in three years wow yep good for you man for sure that's a big change yeah big change for me man was that because of a health reason or anything specific um i was um getting booked for a lot of shows and a couple of the shows i was i had major openings like for fat joe and 50 cent but i was i wasn't focused and the alcohol allowed me to miss some of my set times because i was so intoxicated damn and i broke down after one show and sat in my car

and I was sitting with my bro, Ruben, and I sat in the car and I said, man, I quit. I don't wanna do this no more. He's like, bro, you're doing great, man. You just, he said, man, you gotta stop drinking so much. And I was like, I'm just gonna quit. And I just quit at Cold Turkey Alcohol. They were paying me in alcohol, you know, like they'm just gonna quit and I just quit at cold turkey alcohol they were paying me in alcohol you know like they were just giving me bottles and yeah the attention and the sparklers

and the women around and I found myself just really man just being just a shallow empty shell man wow and um when I once I quit I got way better at health um you know everything started flowing better for me in life so and you were living in out of your car for a bit right well so when I was sleeping in my car just to be on set when I was going on Empire. When I first started acting, if I couldn't sleep on my boy LaWorce's floor or something, I would just sleep in my car to make sure I made it to set on time. Wow. Just to be a background extra at first.

That's crazy. Yeah, yeah. So that's how I even got my start, just doing background work. And I would, like, pull up to set because I'm driving I'm driving two hours away. So I was trying to time it. And sometimes, they might change the call time to make it earlier. So to avoid that, I would just go on set early and go into the secure parking lot and just sleep in my car. Crazy, dude. You were willing to do that to get to the next level in life? Just to make 80 bucks for the day. Oh, they only paid you 80? Yeah, and some food. Damn. You were a big deal on empire though right but

after that yeah i got so i had got promoted after a while but i went from like being a stand-in to actually getting a guest star role on there got it as well so i ended up playing a character called charlie dupree on the final season so i played like a lucius uh lion lookalike yeah that's dope man yeah yeah for sure. And did the, uh, the business just start booming after that? It, it allowed me to do like guest appearances.

The music picked up, uh, people see me, I was on national TV. So I started to get a lot of recognition and I actually appeared to one of the, that being one of the commercials for the new upcoming episodes. So I use that to my advantage to, to generate more business.

Nice. Yeah. That's cool. Definitely picked up after that for sure. That's when I got a couple of famous features after that on music. That's when I collaborated with an NLE chopper. I had a busy bum. Me and Montana was working more.

It was crazy, man. It was good. Were you able to control your ego during that time? Yes and no. Because I come from humble beginnings. I had that. But then I also had that chip on my shoulder like look you don't know what i've been through i'm the man i deserve this but but but i was just

getting started i hadn't even scratched the surface yet i didn't even know like there's so much more i got so much more work to do you know so there's always more work to be done so when you think you got it man you know god can take that away from you like that you know so yeah that's important mindset to have because i think some people get comfortable and it doesn't last forever man you get comfortable you get broke bars facts real talk man real talk yeah so uh are you mainly focused on music or acting or do you kind of 50 50 it um honestly man i 50 50 it a little bit but i'm leaning more towards um i just love creating right and um the the music because I have more control over that. And then also, too, man, I'm getting into coaching and speaking spaces.

So I go to schools and tell them my story. I'm speaking to universities and high schools right now. And so I'm really working on my coaching program, which I'll be answering people's DMs and Instagram. And I'm starting to formulate and build that and help people progress forward in life. Because what I'm noticing now is a lot of people lack structure and discipline and they need a plan because they're just out here and they're just watching all the stuff on Instagram

but they don't have a plan and so I'm here to provide that. I love that and you met one of the top coaches in the world, Andy Frisella, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I met so not only as a first-form athlete but I actually got to work with him and Brad Lee as well. And so I met Bill Walsh.

I get to meet all the big guys. It's been really, really cool to work alongside these folks. That's massive, yeah. Those are nine-figure guys. Yeah, and that's the proximity I want to be around. There's power in proximity, and I always tell people that. Like, man, get uncomfortable, man. I want to be the brokest in the room, not the biggest in the room.

Get out of your comfort zone, man. Let's go. I love that i love that let's go yeah i think your story is so relatable right because growing up you didn't have money and a lot of people are like that growing up but you turned it into something big yeah for sure man my mom did what she could i'm not saying we were just dirt poor i'm just saying i grew up in a rough neighborhood um didn't have a whole lot i thought we had it all but once I realized on the grand scheme of things, man, it was tough. I lost a lot of people coming up in this game, man. I've seen a lot of death, man, and I carry that with me, man, and I use my family that I've lost as a motivation and a reminder

that I'm still here for a reason, you understand? So that's where I'm at. That's scary, man. Yeah, yeah. Were you really fearful of death growing up? Yes, especially after high school because I was leading a double life, you know? And so I had one foot in school, one foot in the streets. Yeah.

And so because I was trying to find myself, man, you know, just being accepted. I'm not a gangster. I wasn't a thug, but I'm in these positions and in these environments where i have to portray a certain image but did not take be taken advantage of wow you see what i'm saying yeah so a lot of people are in positions because they're in that position because that's where they're at but that's not who they are you see what i'm saying yeah but they got to survive right you know what i mean and so you'll see that in a lot of guys and i see a lot of a lot of men who just they just want an opportunity to be in a different environment so they can truly be themselves. And once I escaped that environment, I got to actually get break that ceiling and actually start't see it man and i i can't tell you how many funerals i've been i can't tell you how many people i lost wow you know how many names i got on tattooed on me man um and i think about him every day every day and i don't know i just i

thank god like man he loved me every time i wake up i think god loves me wow so your religion's played a big role in your life uh my faith faith my faith man i don't like the word religion to me because religion in in i feel like a religion religion in America is more of a business now. Right, right. But my faith, yes, for sure. Strong, bro. Strong. I think it's important to have something you believe in.

Yeah, for sure, man. You got to believe in a higher power, for sure, to keep you going. 100%. I went through a weird atheist phase growing up. I did, too. You did, too? Yeah, I went through that, man. Because if everybody around you dying that you love and everything you touch dies,

you start believing after a while. You get numb. You get numb, man. How many times are you going to hear the good die young? What? That doesn't make sense to me. Yeah, I don't like that quote.

I hate it. I hate that quote. Yeah, nice guys finish last. Yes, yes, yes. And I find that to be pretty accurate, right? You know what I mean? You do? Yeah, oh, yeah.

You know, for me, it's more about just having discipline. Everybody's getting motivated, right? You're motivated. But motivation is temporary. You're not always motivated. You don't want to get up every morning, do you? Some mornings you're like, man, I'm tired. Sleep in a bit, yeah.

I want to sleep in, bro. I'm not feeling this today. But you got the discipline to go. So I like discipline as a constant more than motivation. I feel that. You working seven days a week right now? Seven days, bro. Seven days, man.

Plane to plane, city to city, where I got to be. Let's go. You're locked in. Let's make it happen. So you're sacrificing a bit of your personal life right now? All the time. Look, I miss holidays and all types of things because I try not to be a consumer. I try to be a provider more because I feel like God has me here as a sacrifice to give to everybody, to give to you all, and to be a motivational. Yeah, because you're going to be able to inspire

millions. Millions. With your story. Yes, for sure. Especially you having me, man. Absolutely. This is the first step. Yeah, this is the first step right here. I can't wait to see where you go from here, dude. Yeah, man. Listen, man, this is all about just staying consistent,

persistent, and being accountable. That's what it's about. Yeah, that's the sacrifice I had to take, too. Yeah. Five years straight, seven days a week. How long have you been doing this? Well, the pot a i've been grinding for you know non-stop since college yeah and uh i mean i got gray hairs i'm 27 where you from i'm from jersey you from jersey bro yeah what part uh northern i went to ruckers bro i went to newark new jersey for a basketball camp

one time oh yeah uh seaton hall yeah that's where my girl went. So I hooped there back in the day, man, and I was in high school, and I got to play against J.R. Smith out there. Nice. I had my best hoop times out there. I heard he was filthy in high school. Bro, he was ridiculous, bro. This dude was coming across half court shooting threes,

and he was a beast, man. But yeah, I like Jersey. I like New York. I didn't know how close they were. I just had a summer out there. I did a few shows out there in like brooklyn and stuff and i was like man they like right across the street from each other yeah jersey's close jersey's a family state it's a good state what got you what brought you here business dude jersey's a good state but not for entrepreneurs yeah so it's if you have a nine to five want to raise a family great state but if

you want to grind and pursue entrepreneurship, you need to be in Cali or a major city. That's how the Midwest is too, right? Like where I'm from. I'm originally from Springfield, Illinois.

And right now I'm in, I'm in a small, small town, Lincoln, where I own a couple of properties and companies. But, you know,

in order to, to really be successful, if you're not trying to live, you know, have, settle down with a family, then you gotta, you know, you gotta venture out here yeah out west or a bigger metropolitan area i feel that so yeah is family uh like starting one something you put to the side for the business well i have

two kids uh right now that you know along the way but um as far as me you know settling down yeah i mean i'm pretty much sacrificing you know my kids kids are great. They're in great positions. I have great relationships with my kids. But at the same time, yeah, I don't live a sedentary lifestyle. I don't. I'm on the road. Yeah. And you like that? I love it. I love it. It's not for everyone. You know, and I have my days, but I love the challenge of not knowing. I like it. There's no ceiling. There's no ceiling to what you can do. For sure, man. Dude, I'm going to see you in some big movies one day, aren't I?

Yeah, man. I'm actually working. I'm currently working right now. I'm writing my own script too. I'm doing it. I have my hands in a lot of things, man. And the main thing for me right now is I'm finishing up an album. Like I said, my first rock album.

So it's got a rock rap twist to it. And then also, man, just getting into the, staying in that motivational speaking realm and actually helping people. Because my biggest return on what I do is inspiring people. It just gets my blood going. Like when I'm able to help somebody change their lives and change their trajectory, it really inspires me to do more.

I love that. Yeah. Project Block Party. What's going. Yeah. Project Block Party. What's going on with that? Block Party. So what I'm doing with Block Party right now is I'm bringing the black and Latino communities together through music and celebration. And so I connected with an artist and a producer on LA, F.A. and Mario, and me and Mo kind

of put together this Block Party situation where we can bring all cultures together through education in less fortunate communities through music and celebration. So you know like when they have city events, we have acts come out, we'll provide different opportunities for people for learning, for job placement,

you know, health, not only make it educational but then make it fun with with the music and games and stuff for the kids and things like that so we're having a real block party like bringing that family back together through music that's why you see the block party music video you see kids you see people of all ages all races and ethnicities and backgrounds yeah you know and different social classes all together under one roof celebrating and dancing. I love that. Yeah. Community is important. Community is very important, bro.

Yeah. That's how I decide where I live, actually. Really? Yeah. I like that. That's very, community integration is one thing I learned when I was starting my first business. Yeah.

Yeah. When I house shop, I look at the neighbors. I look at the vibe. I look at the type of people living there. And if I think it's a good community, like that's a major plus. Gotta have community. And I really, I had a hard time finding that in Hollywood, honestly, like the community, like being in Los Angeles, Hollywood area.

And I'm not saying they don't have a community, but I just seen like in that space, I didn't really feel the community. I feel like everybody's like in a rush to try to be famous. Yeah, LA is very much, what can I gain out of you type of energy. Yes, yes, yes yes especially i would talk to somebody and then you know it'd be kind of cool but then if i'm wearing my jewelry or

something or they're like they'll be more amphis like oh this dude's got ice on or they'll look me but oh you are important you got oh yeah you've been on this show and you know oh man what's up dude that's happened to me so many times the first is like you would i look like this you know another swole rapper dude or something. And then you get to talk to me if I have a certain persona or jewelry, or you get to look me up online. Now you really want to be my friend. Super weird.

Yeah, I talk to everyone the same way. But yeah, as soon as they ask for the IG, they talk to me completely different. Really? It's really weird. Yeah. I can see that happening with you, Sean. I mean, you should just talk to everyone the same. It doesn't matter if it's the plumber or your boss.

It should be the same. That's not how people talk anymore, man. They're constantly on social media. This stuff's always been pumped in their face, man. And I don't fault them for it, man. I feel like they're just misled. They're misguided. And that's really why I love the coaching aspect and the motivational speaking and helping

people with fitness. Like, I want to work with you and help you with the fitness as well, because I know you say you want to be dunking a lot more. Yeah, yeah. You're dunking like 40% of the time. I want you dunking 80% of the time. I want to be windmilling. Windmilling on people's heads, bro.

You know what I mean? For real, that'd be dope. Yeah. You can get me there? Huh? You can get me there? I can get you there, bro. Easily. Let's do it, bro. I know what I mean? For real, that'd be dope. Pause. Yeah. You can get me there? Huh? You can get me there? I can get you there, bro. Easily.

Let's do it, bro. I'm locked in. I'm going to get you. You know, you're going to be looking like, you know, your lady. I'm like, man, Sean. I love it. Were you dunking? Well, I don't want to lie and say I'm a cat.

I did. I was dunking. I was doing the regular dunk. I didn't do nothing fancy. You know, throw me an oop, I throw it down, right? Throw me a one-hander. I probably can dunk pretty well right now because I'm dunking. I was doing the regular dunk. I didn't do nothing fancy. Throw me an oob, I throw it down. Throw me a one-hander. I probably can dunk pretty well right now because I'm really strong, but you probably only get one out of me because I'm built for running.

I train a little boxing and things like that, but I'm pretty explosive. I still run. I do sprints and things like that. I love training. I love fitness. That's a rare quote right there fitness is the one of the first key steps to to having a better quality of life is health because i don't care how much money you make if your health sucks you trade

anything for your health right if i told you i'll give you 20 million dollars today but you won't make it but you're gonna die tomorrow what would you take i wouldn't take it you wouldn't take it right so you want to make sure that your health is first because you can't help anybody if your health's not good yeah no i'm big on health and i think it should be uh i think people assume they don't need to look at it when they're young but it's important to start early very important man health and health is very important i mean dude when i got my blood tested i mean this is a low thing in general in America right now, but testosterone, mine was pretty low and I was 25. Yeah. And a lot of that has to do with, you know, what's being programmed in the food. Um, there's so much, so much, so

much, so many additives in the food and it really, really hurts our testosterone right now for men. Yeah. Seriously. And so I think it's probably at an all time low right now. It is by men. Yeah. Seriously. I think it's probably at an all-time low right now. It is by far. Yeah. So we have the same, our grandfathers had higher testosterone than us. Yep. Basically, which is crazy. I mean, but you can understand why.

You know, our food's more processed. They're pumping so much garbage out. Yeah. And we're just inhaling it. It's like, I know where I live, it's like people want to get full cheap. So the cheaper and fastest way they can get their high from their food. Right. They're going to take it. Fast food. Oh yeah. Yeah. I don't eat any fast food anymore. Oh yeah. I won't say I don't eat fast food. I don't eat, I don't eat the fast food that

the typical American fast food. Like I'll eat a salad and go things like that. You know, yeah. These are that sort of stuff. I meant the drive-thrus like all those fast food, like Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's. Oh no, things of that sort. I meant the drive-thrus, like all those fast food, like Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's. Oh, no, no, that's done. Done deal. You can't eat that stuff. We know better than that. But there's this notion that you need money to eat nice, you know?

So they go to these places spending five, ten bucks. Yeah. You need discipline to eat nice. That's it. Yeah. You need discipline, not money, discipline. You know, you're sleeping in too long. You're spending too much time on TikTok. You need discipline, not money. Discipline. You're sleeping in too long. You're spending too much time on TikTok.

You're watching too much Netflix. You're spending too much time lollygagging, man. Let's get it. You know you can do more. You know you can do better. Let's have a better grasp on time and let's utilize that time better so you can have a better quality life so you'll have more time to do things that you want to do and things that you thought you never could do. Because a lot of times people have confidence.

That's why they spend so much on different things to outshine that. It's like a cloak. Yeah. I went through that growing up. Did you have some confidence issues growing up? All the time, man. I mean, I got beat down. I had definitely a

confidence issue, right? And I would try to over-confidentiate with whatever it was, whether it was my gold teeth, whether it was the rims on the car, whether it was a tough bravado, acting macho, or the women. know whatever i could do the alcohol the mask it i would do that instead of just attacking the problem so it was much easier to make an excuse to i'm that way because i drink you know instead of just owning it right yeah i think me not having that father figure growing up i think played a role into my issues but i was so shy growing up dude i was so scared to speak out really yeah for real even in sports like I was always one of the most talented kids but I just was scared to speak up and be a captain be a leader so you grew up without a father as well uh they got divorced when I was like

10 yeah yeah so I saw him a little bit but you still talk to him he passed away I'm sorry to hear that yeah but yeah that definitely played a role and a lot of people are growing up without fathers yep yep and you know that, you need that structure, right? So I had that same issue, right? I had men in and out of my life, but I didn't have a father. I met my father kind of later in life. Me and him were cool, like, you know. Nice.

He's a cool dude, man. But, you know, we don't talk every day. But, you know, my father's cool, man. He's got his family and stuff. You seeked him out or he seeked you out? I don't want to lie. It's kind of like mutual. I always had a relationship with a sister, my Aunt Sherry.

She's a pastor. And I didn't know why this lady was always wanting me to come over her house. It was weird. I know it sounds crazy. Cause my mom was like, oh man, you know, my mom was kind of like kind of protect me and shield me from the situation.

Yeah. And she always would tell me like, no, that's just, you know, that, that lady loves you. But she didn't tell me like,

well, that's my, my father's sister. Whoa. You see what I'm saying? And you didn't know. I really didn't know. Wow.

And then she would tell me like, well, your, your dad's my brother. And we i mean we're like twins bro like it's crazy and i'll be like no my dad's dead my mom told me my biological father passed away you know this is you know but she was protecting me you know she was it was a protective mechanism she was trying to protect me from um the situation but yeah i never knew until like later i was like finally got to start to talk to him like man this guy's like the same as me like this is this is my dad wow and then i had now i

got sisters and things like that on my dad's side oh so you had no idea you had a whole nother family yeah i had a whole i got i got a whole family like i you know they know and they do they're pretty well to do as well actually like you know i could have probably benefited from that growing up but you know but now i'm benefiting from it so did that cause some uh issues with your mother like some arguments stuff um no i'm i'm i'm pretty pretty level-headed guy man i understand right everybody has their reasons and um i'm still here and and I'm healthy, and I'm thriving, and she's doing well. And so we get an understanding, and we move forward. I don't really dwell on what happened, what could have happened. Let's focus on mending the situation.

Let's build together now. That's a great mindset, man, because a lot of people get stuck in the past. Yeah, you know, I'm not one of those rappers or one of those guys, you know, grew up without my daddy. I'm not dissing my dad. And I'm not going to diss my mother. We're going to work on building right now what we got and move forward. Living in the present, right?

Yeah, I'm living in the present and the future, man. I'm trying to prepare. And so I have a son and daughter, and I'm trying to show them, you know, how to be logical, methodical in their approach, their thinking, so they can continue to grow. I love that. You set goals set goals man every time man uh you got you know you got your 90 day goal you got your year goal

you know you got your 10 year goal five year goal there's i have so many goals and i'm not saying i reach them all but at least i get i might i might crush it yeah but at least i have something i'm working towards i i do vision boards every year yeah so i'll put it like, I'll do a physical one where I do the magazines and stuff. And then I'll have one on my desktop, on my computer. And dude, every time I make it, everything on there comes true. Really? Because you're just looking at it every day. Like subconsciously, you're picking up on it.

And that's strong, the subconscious. Like you're visualizing that. You're making it happen. That is super, super powerful, man. I really believe in manifesting your reality. 100%. I'm huge on energy, man. Yes, for sure.

For sure. I used to doubt it. I used to not even think there was a spiritual side to life. But, dude, there is. There is, man. And I thought about, dude, I'm telling you, Sean, man, I lost my brothers, man, to the streets at an early age. I'm watching everybody around me die, bro. Like, seriously, like, and people getting killed left and right.

And I really lost my faith in God for a minute. I just thought, like, God, why are you letting this happen? Why am I around so much death and murder? What is going on? You know, but I really had to reel myself back in. I was being selfish and i had to really understand like man you know i'm blessed every day i wake up what am i going to do about it how am i going to make a difference not poor me there's other people

who are experiencing way worse what am i going to do to help and contribute to society in a way that can turn the trajectory change the trajectory of children that come from homes like me that are in my position or even worse positions all right so what love that what kind of difference am I making do you believe everything happens for you not to you everything happens for you everything nothing I'm not a victim I'm a victor I know you that sounds, but you have to really embody that. You have to really feel that in your soul, in your heart in order to win, man. I've been through a lot being in Hollywood. I've had my beefs.

I've been blackballed plenty of times, man, for just being confident and knowing my purpose, man. But you don't see me crying about it. I keep it moving. I check you a little bit, but I'm it I keep it moving I check you a little bit but I'm gonna keep it moving yeah how many of the beefs did you start

I like to say I didn't start any of them okay you know I wasn't powerful enough to start any of the beefs you know I was in the position

of trying to grow so a lot of times and you know how dark the industry is man if you even appear to be a threat to someone in their position, they're going to make sure you ain't getting to the next level. Because there's a lot of gatekeeping, man, that goes on in Hollywood, man, in the entertainment industry. I mean, I experienced it on so many different levels, man. And as just a background extra, I experienced gatekeeping for sure.

And that must be frustrating because you know you have the talent. You won awards for acting. Yeah. And you're not getting the roles because of these gatekeepers yeah or i'll get the role and they'll take it from me because one of the gatekeepers like how to get in here because i'll see through the cracks because talent is talent right and so you know when you're booked by an agent sometimes you get booked for some something and then somebody else that doesn't particularly want you to be in a position like, hey, get him out of here. I don't want him here. How did he get in?

I thought I got rid of him. I'm that little pesky flea fly that keeps finding a way to get into the room. Because no matter what you do, you can put my food in the dark. I'm going to find it, baby. I'm going to find it. Do you think they're scared of you because you speak your mind? Most actors, I would say, kind of just follow the script and they don't really have a personal brand no i think they're scared of my heart because i'm genuine and they know that i got

to this position by genuinely grinding and having a good heart i'm not saying i'm perfect bro but i know that the fear comes to the guilt too if i know i did something wrong to you and i know i wronged you maybe indirectly and you keep coming through the cracks i don't want you coming on no sean sean kelly podcast talking about i don't want you coming out because you're going to expose my true character right you see what i'm saying? Yeah, yeah. I gotta keep this dude away. Keep him, he need to do something else. Because if he reaches the light,

and I'm not the type of guy that wants to do that, but I know controversy sells, but I'm not the type of dude that wants to put people in blast. But also, I'm gonna speak my truth as well. Like, I'm not gonna,

because these kids need to know, and people need to know what really goes on. Right. So they can prepare themselves. Yeah, because a lot of these kids want to become actors, and they think if they goes on. Right. So they can prepare themselves. Yeah. Because a lot of these kids want to become actors and they think if they have the talent, they could do it. But there's a lot of politics behind the scenes.

Yeah. You never want to meet your idols. Sometimes meeting your idols is heartbreaking. Did that happen to you? Yeah, it did. Damn. It did. I could see that because you paint this persona from what you see online.

You think they're just on another level and then you kind of get let down right you meet a man and um you're like damn man i don't i don't even want to listen to you i don't want to watch your movies no more i don't want to listen to your songs no more because then because now i'll yeah it hurts me to even look i'm like man you're not you're not a nice person bro yeah for me it's like just being genuine like you said like just be yourself yeah i hate when people put on a mask or persona i'm not saying you gotta be perfect man i'm i'll probably maybe pissed off a few people who have done some things but you can come to me as a man or i'll admit when i'm wrong when i've done something wrong because i don't plan to be perfect i plan to mess up even after this show yeah i'm gonna make some mistakes that's what

makes me human it's important to own up to after this show. I'm going to make some mistakes. That's what makes me human. It's important to own up to it. That's the difference. Most people won't admit. I'm rocking with it, baby. Yeah. I'm rocking with it all day. I love that.

I'll hold it. I'll wear it with a smile. That's why I can't stand politics because they'll never be like, I made a mistake. Yeah. Politics is crazy, man. Man, I try to get it. That stuff is tricky. Where I live in the Midwest, man, they're really big on politics and going back and forth.

And they don't know. You know, a lot of people don't really know what's going on. Because in Hollywood, I see the politics, but I see a lot of it's all about money. And a lot of people think it's about policy and doing the right thing. And a lot of times I see it's about money and control. That's it. 100%. Money.

Can you buy your way into a role? I think you can. I think you can. I feel like if you have the right situation, the right backing, the right financial sponsor, for sure. You can get put in position easily yeah for sure yeah it's about who you know and who knows you right if you got the right talent agency representing you're

paying them that monthly check they're gonna get you some roles man if you got the right bag anything can happen yeah you know that goes for any industry i feel like anything in the entertainment yeah definitely entertainment anything in entertainment money talks yeah like rap right now is pay to play you know you could see like the hip-hop industry you know is pay to play i'm not saying these artists aren't good i'm saying there's so much talent out there that will never get the chance to display their skills because they don't have the financials or resources to to reach the masses and and then if the labels can't make money off them they're not going to push that stuff they're going to push what's going to generate move the needle that's why i like russ because he's going against labels russ is a beast man

yeah he was the first guy to really pave his own way in the hip-hop space feel like independently yeah russ is a russ is a monster man you got like a favorite rapper uh favorite rapper man is always going to be tupac shakur man like tupac is going to be my favorite rapper um as far as rap i listen to right now man i really i'm all over the place like i'm i'll be listening to some rock some shine down and i'll just go and listen to some old tupac i might listen to some future um some outcast i listen to everything man like literally everything i like outcast i like i even like tory lanes i think tory lanes is super super super super underrated he's talented i think that guy is so talented man and it's unfortunate in this situation man but i think he's a talented

guy man i really do i love his uh his 80s synth wave uh albums i really got some bangers i really enjoy that that 80s vibe man i'm an 80s guy i listen to 80s music too what man come on yeah i got the spotify playlist the cameo all that disco man that's when music was smooth man you could feel it you could feel it the frequency is just higher i feel like those yeah and they had um you know they had they had a message like you know i learned uh about the the message behind the gap band how they were um actually uh named after the black wall street they were actually had a political message in how they were trying to call out the impurities of the people in power.

Through song, but you dropped a bomb on me. I just learned that you dropped a bomb on me was about how Black Wall Street was destroyed. And I thought you dropped a bomb on me was about a lady, about a chick like, oh girl, you dropped a bomb on me.

And it's actually a political song. I didn't even know that. I had no idea. But here I am, you know, music is like a soundtrack to what's going on in a particular time. So if you look at music and you look at what's being pushed and you look at what's going on in the communities and the cultures, that's actually what's

going on right now. So whatever they're putting out is kind of a reflection of what you're going to see in reality a lot of the times, right? Yeah, now they're rapping about drugs and mental health and stuff. Yeah, that makes sense.

You see what I'm saying? Look at IQ levels. If you're going to dumb down a rap, then a lot of the communities, a lot of the kids are going to dumb down what they're doing, right? Because they're going to emulate

because music raises our children most of the time. Like social media raises the children right now. IQ level has got to be at an all-time low, right? Yeah. Like it's crazy. Because I speak to kids who will listen to me over their own parents. I'm like, dude, these people are providing food and shelter for you. But they want to hear what I got to say.

Because they feel me. They want to be like Mario Cannon. Mario Cannon's got the chains. Mario Cannon's got the fame. Mario Cannon's got the fame. Mario Cannon's been on TV. But your parents are there for you. Right now, they're in your household providing for you. Clothing, love.

They're protecting you. They love you. But we have a responsibility as entertainers to make sure. I feel like we do. We have a responsibility to make sure that we give the youth something to take with them to help them further and have a better quality life. 100%. Yeah, I think it's important to listen to your parents, but I think you should also have a mentor like yourself or someone else to get another opinion because your parents are going to give you advice based off their life. Yeah, for sure. For sure. And I agree with that

wholeheartedly, Sean, for sure. And they mean well, obviously, but my parents were immigrants. They thought going to school was like the answer because that's what worked for them. You know what I mean? But that's not the answer these days. No, the craziest part about it is, you know, speaking of parents, my mom, before I bought Anytime Fitness, one of my first business I bought, I had a chance to work at this factory. And she's like, you need to check the factory job because you're guaranteed this much pay, you know, and you're going to get benefits, all this crap, you know what I'm saying? And I was like, man, mom, I just want to become a trainer. And then eventually, you know, I ain't going to have no schedule.

I know I'm not guaranteed no pay, but I get my freedom. And she's like, how are you going to pay your bills? And I'm like, I'm going to figure it out. And then like a year later, I bought the gym. Wow. That's crazy. Isn't that crazy? Yeah.

Isn't that crazy? I took a chance, a gamble on myself. And so not that my mom didn't have my best interest because she loves me. My mom's thinking about my security and a constant paycheck because that's what she was taught. That's what she knew. Work hard. Pay your bills. That's what she knew. Work hard, pay your bills. That's it. I'm like, no, I want to

work hard, pay my bills, help people, motivate. I want to make a change. I want to change the generational curse of us not owning anything. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's a new era. It's a new era, bro. I want my freedom. Yeah. I think purpose-based businesses are going to be the next big thing. Purpose. I like that. Purpose. Yes. I agree.

I agree. I mean, just think about our lifestyle and how much we love it. I mean, it took us some time to get here, but the money's decent and we feel so good because we're inspiring people. And I tell people all the time, man, you know, a lot of times because they see me in LA and Hollywood, like what is rich to you? You think that a lot of these people are rich they're not you know um it's better to be wealthy in health and life because you can you can buy all the stuff you want man but it's not going to change how

you feel inside like you got to really really have a purpose yeah once you got your purpose and all the other stuff is gonna come 100 yeah that materialistic stuff it's a phase but it's not here to last i've had it all man lost it all you know i've been on top of the game i've been at the bottom of the game too you know i've lost like three businesses in one year one time i was like all right i'm gonna fail wow yeah man you know i was like this is it i'm done what i'm gonna do i came back out fighting well the peaks and valleys man higher highs lows. It's never just like this. Never. Boom.

Boom. You know what I'm saying? Always. Yeah, man. I mean, the trajectory is crazy, but you got to, one thing that's constant is you keep fighting.

Yeah. It's a constant. Yeah, people don't talk about the lows, but it happens to everyone, dude. Everybody. Every single person. Every person. Yeah, people that say

that doesn't happen, I just don't believe it. Nope. I've been there. Yeah. It's never just smooth sailing. Sean, I had a show one time. My car got repoed at my show.

Damn. I'm on stage rapping about all this money I got. I'm big pimping and I'm rocking the stage. I come outside. My car is gone. I had some ladies with me at the time. I had to tell them my car got stolen. I go, somebody stole my car, man.

What's going on? They stole my car. Now they repoed it. Damn. That's crazy, man. I love the honesty, though. I love it. Most people would take that one to the grave.

Nah, it happened. It was crazy, man. I remember it was, I remember like yesterday, man. Downtown was doing a show. Came outside, car gone. I was like, man, downtown, just doing a show and then come outside, car gone. Wow. I was like, man, somebody just stole my car. I had to finesse that one.

I love it, dude. Yeah, for sure. Dude, what you got going on next and where can people find you, man? Right now, next, man, I'm getting ready to launch an incredible program, coaching and motivation speaking. I'm going to have a program put together. I'm going to answer all DMS to help people, um,

you know, reach their next level of life and goals. Um, financially, their love life. I'm in fitness. I want to help people out with their health, you know?

Um, so that's what I got next. And plus a rock album coming alongside of that too. I got it. I got a whole band with me now. Are you boys spitting over rock beats? All right. Um,

but, um, people can find me on Instagram at thisiscannon. So T-H-I-S-I-S-C-A-N-O-N. And I'm answering the DMs. So hit me up. If it goes to the spam, I will comb through that spam

because you know how it is. Yeah. I get so many messages, but they go to spam because Instagram, they're protecting me. Yeah. So to speak. So, but yeah, that's what I got going because Instagram, they're protecting me. Yeah.

So to speak. So, but yeah, that's what I got going on next, Sean. Cool. Link below. Thanks for coming on, man. Can't wait to hoop with you. Man, you know we're going to get buckets. Let's do it.

We're getting buckets. Hell yeah. All right, guys. Thanks for watching. Peace.