Drink Champs - Episode 214 "Quarantine Champs Ep.5" w/ Ludacris & Jalen Rose

Episode Date: June 5, 2020

N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs. In this episode the #QuarantineChamps chop it up with Ludacris and Jalen Rose.Former NBA player and current sports analyst for ESPN, Jalen Rose speaks about his college days as a member of the “Fab Five”. Jalen discusses playing against Jordan, battling the Knicks and more.Ludacris joins the quarantine party discussing his love for music and rapping. The guys recap Luda’s recent VERZUZ battle with Nelly and share their thoughts on dream battles they would like to see. Luda talks music career, working with NAS & JAY Z and reinventing his career as an actor.The guys discuss the pandemic and how it will affect fan attendance at future concerts and sporting events. The guys also talk about the expectations society has on athletes in comparison to artists and much more!Follow:Drink Champshttp://www.drinkchamps.comhttp://www.instagram.com/drinkchampshttp://www.twitter.com/drinkchampshttp://www.facebook.com/drinkchampsDJ EFNhttp://www.crazyhood.comhttp://www.instagram.com/whoscrazyhttp://www.twitter.com/djefnhttp://www.facebook.com/crazyhoodproductionsN.O.R.E.http://www.instagram.com/therealnoreagahttp://www.twitter.com/noreaga--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/drinkchamps/support Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank you. This is an iHeart Podcast. Why is a soap opera western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your gut microbiome and those healthy bacteria can actually have positive effects, your mental health, your immunity, your risk of cancer, almost any

disease under the sun. This week on Dope Labs, Titi and I dive into the world of probiotics, the hype, the science, and what your gut bacteria are really doing behind the scenes. From drinks and gummies to probiotic pillows. Yes, really, probiotic pillows. We're breaking down what's legit and what's just brilliant marketing with expert insight from gastroenterologist dr roshi raj listen to dope labs on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and it's going to take us to heal us it's mental health awareness month and on a recent episode of just healed with dr j the incomparable taraji p henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey.

I never let that little girl inside of me die. To hear this and more things on the journey of healing, you can listen to Just Heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, connecting changes everything. My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild-haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell-bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover in a hell-bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover was furious.

He was out of his mind, and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees. You can now binge all 10 episodes of Divine Intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What a good beat, hopefully this is what it should be. This is your boy NRE. What up? It's DJ EFN. And this is Drink Champs Yappy Hour. Drink Champs Quarantine. Drink Champs. Quarantine Champs. Social distance. And we are in the

building right now. One of my favorite people in the world. I feel like I watch him almost every day. I mean, from the college days up until the NBA days. He's one of the guys that transitioned. He transitioned like us. I mean, from the college days up until the NBA days, he's one of the guys that transitioned. He transitioned like us, like from a great, dope basketball player and then transitioned to media.

But he kept the same attitude that he was on the court. And in case y'all people don't know who I'm talking about, the integrity of my man right here, Jalen Rose. Thank you, family. I appreciate the love. Yes. I'm grateful to be on. And just so you guys know,

as somebody that's been in the podcast game 10 years, and Jalen and Jacoby is now on ESPN Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. And for us to come up via radio, doing a pod once a week, doing a pod five times a week, I always watch people that's in the game that's doing their thing. And congratulations. Y'all did the same thing. Y'all on TV doing y'all thing

on Revolt. I'll be checking y'all out. I'll be checking y'all out on YouTube. So congratulations. Cheers. Thank you. Thank you. But the one thing I didn't know, I didn't know you guys started out as a podcast. I just learned that just now. Cheers. Thank you. Thank you. But the one thing I didn't know, I didn't know you guys started out as a podcast. I just learned that just now. Absolutely. I always watch you on TV.

I must have skipped y'all grind and went straight to y'all. Yeah, we sold out now. We sold out now. But Nori. Y'all leveled up. Yeah, it wasn't even in our contract. Like it was a passion project. And our show used to be called The Rose Report.

I pitched the idea to Bill Simmons about me doing the podcast. I was already doing the NBA coverage and talking about the other sports on ESPN. So when they started Grantland, I started doing The Rose Report podcast, and I was doing it with Jacoby. But he wasn't listed on the show. And it was like Run DMC and Salt-N-Pepa. I hated they didn't acknowledge Jam Master Jay and Salt-N-Pepa or

Spinderella. They should be in the title. So I'm like, it's two of us doing the show, he should be in the title. And then all of a sudden it just grew and grew and grew. It became a radio show, a late night show, an hour show, a 30 minute show on ESPN2. Now we graduated. I'm wearing Givenchy. You know what I mean? I'm wearing my Detroit Buffs because we on ESPN now. And even Mike Tyson picked y'all up. Yeah, that was love. That was love. Actually, I got a chance to see Mike. We were at the Fury Wilder fight.

Wow. And I went to the NBA in 94. So this is when Mike was at his height. So I was at all of the Mike fights. Wow. I seen at least 15 Mike fights up close and personal. I went to Mike's house multiple times. He had the livestock. He had the birds.

He had the tennis court. He had the crazy large movie screen outside. Mike was that deal. I know people see him now and I'm happy he got a chance to reinvent himself. Mike is that heavyweight champion.

Other than Ali, if I had to say who's the baddest dude it's mike tyson no doubt about it now now i gotta so you know i gotta ask you um what do you feel about you know mike is looking vicious right now he's looking just as vicious as he he was in brownsville you know what i mean downright scary looking right now um so what do you think about that, this upcoming fight? Because is there a league like Ice Cube? Let's big up to Ice Cube. Ice Cube has the big three league where a person can live after basketball.

It's like life after basketball, right? I kind of feel like that's what Drink Champs is and the Versus things. It's like kind of life after rap. But do you think there's a league that could exist like life after boxing or something like that? Don't sleep. Boxers quietly never retire because they advertise themselves. They're independent contractors. So really, if they want to get in the ring and do it, think about it. They're doing fights right now in the UFC during the pandemic. Yeah. Like top rank is like we about to do some fights in June.

Like so if you want to get in that ring and go toe to toe, you have the chance to do so. And don't be surprised if Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield do a fight. Yes. Well, I think that'd be insane. Don't be surprised as somebody that was at the fight. I was at multiple Mike fights. In particular, I was at the fight when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear. And it was crazy. It was like a mob scene.

People was throwing stuff. People was mad. Because, you know, people be betting. People be going to Vegas, saving up, trying to have a good time, that type of thing. So to see those two guys reinvent themselves and get back in the ring and real deal Holyfield, I'm paying to watch that.

I'm paying to watch that. I'm paying to watch that as well. So let's take, let's bounce around a little bit, right? Let's take it from the Fab Five days, right? You from Detroit, correct? So I got to make sure as a fan of the show, are you smoking something? Are y'all drinking something?

I'm drinking. Is everybody in the room? I'm drinking. I can show you. I got stuff over here. I'm on drink champs right now. Yeah, yeah. And we also got drink champ sports here. He got questions too.

Okay, yeah. I'll pause in the building and tell Paul I said what's up. Yeah, yeah. He's questions too. Okay, yeah. Paul's in the building. Tell Paul I said what's up. Just so you know, Nori, I've had a spot in Miami when New York started to infiltrate. Bad Joe,

Puff, Q, BMF. I was down there. Right, right, right, right. That was the early 90s for sure. When you was on the charts, number one album, doing shows. That's right, God damn it. That's right, God damn it. We didn't even say that.

I watched the show, and what ends up happening is I know they clown you and they sleep on what you accomplished and all of that, because Jacoby do that to me. That's what make y'all show great exactly clown one another right right y'all know y'all gotta give nor his flowers while he here that's right that's right that's right but you know i'm saying because like since like i haven't watched college basketball from unlv days uh the Five days, and I can't really tell you that Zion made me watch it. Like, I'm no disrespect to Zion, but it wasn't enough.

Like, to me, college in those days, when it was the Fab Five and the UNLV, it almost felt better than the NBA. You ever think those days are going to be recreated they won't and here's why because at that time the best players from high school didn't go to the nba didn't go to the g league didn't go overseas they went to college and the best teams had juniors and seniors the squad you talking about UNLV, I idolized them. Okay. They came to check out one of my games in Detroit when they came to play at the palace. Wow. Anderson Hunt, their final four MVP went to my high school, Detroit Southwestern. Wow. Okay. His daughter, by the way,

graduated from Jalen Rose leadership Academy. Wow. Okay? His daughter, by the way, graduated from Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. Wow. Just to bring it full circle. So LJ, Goldtooth, I had that in my mouth. Part down the middle of my head, like Kenny Anderson and LJ, I had that. Right, right, right. Wanky like Stacey Augman slashing to the hoops. I was trying to do that.

Like, that was my squad. Right. And I never knew, watching them beat Duke and then lose to Duke, that I would be playing against Duke the next year in the finals. Right. I was in Anderson Hunt's basement in southwest Detroit watching the game with all UNLV gear on, shorts down on my knees. Right.

So I knew that was going to have to happen when I got to college. And they lost. And we played them the next year. That was crazy. So you think college... You said you can't. You answered that. No. No, they had juniors and seniors, man.

Juniors and seniors. What do you think about them offering them to play players now? I'm not sure what the exact story is, but they're saying that they're going to juniors and seniors. What do you think about them offering them to play players now? Like, you know, I'm not sure what the exact story is, but they're saying that they're going to let players get off their jersey or something like that, make money off of their jersey. So, you know, Biggie... What, in college you're talking about?

Yeah, college, yeah. So, I think I got to do this public service announcement. And Biggie said it, either you slaying Craig Rock or you got a wicked jump shot right and so i know a lot of people in and outside of our community make us feel like our ability to play sports or rap or entertain and get a check when we're 17, 18, 19 is going to last us forever. It won't.

So I appreciate the opportunities that the G League is going to provide. And if you don't want to go to college and that's not for you, you should be able to make a living off your likeness and off your self-worth. So monetize it, yeah. But let's not act like when you get $500,000 and Uncle Sam take half, that's $250,000. And then your agent take $1,520,000. And then endorsements, they're taking $20,000. And then you're paying $1,520,000 in insurance.

Let's not act like that's like $180,000. Wow. Wow. It's better than nothing, but it's still. That ain't forever, though. Right. So if you can go from high school, like Kobe, KG, LeBron, that's the goal. Right.

Nobody's in the backyard counting down after they watch their favorite players and watching the last dance and like, yeah, I'm about to make the game winning shot. My dad, three, two, one G league. Ain't nobody saying that. So, so when, when you play for a college team, is there anybody who goes get ruined right there? Like, you know, cause there's certain people that, that you know is going to go to the NBA and there's certain people that, you know, just ain't, but they're a great role player on a college team. Is that something that that player is established to know,

or that's something that happens at the end of the year? So the good thing about sports is if you work hard, have a good attitude, and you create a lane for yourself, especially team sports, that gives you a chance to make it. Like, that gives you a chance to make it. So you can be a guy. You don't have to be like the star on your high school team or even your college team. In the league, they have role players.

Right. That exists. So that's why it's important to like not do other bad decisions to mess up your name because then you can't get on. But if you have a good attitude and have good skill and you play on a team, we're talking about Scott Burrell

right now from the last dance. He probably done made more money doing interviews and endorsements since that started than he made playing for that team. He played with MJ for one year. Right. And who's that, the coach?

A gentleman named Scott Burrell who they showed him. The general manager? Yeah. No, he's a player on the team that they were showing MJ was kind of, you know, giving him crap the entire time. Like the GOAT should be giving somebody stuff. That was literally my next question was like you you you you not you not you didn't go against like the the whack mj like there's no whack mj by the way excuse me sorry but you know like the less

like after he came back from baseball he was a different guy you went against the prime you went against the guy that was talking shit you went against the guy. Y'all had a squad. Y'all had a squad. Damn near Hall of Fame. Everybody damn near. How was it competing with that man? Is it really like the documentary made it to be? Or did they exaggerate?

Or did they underplay? So I know you got smart. And when you got all that money, you was like, you know what? I'm going to Florida. I'm going to save on taxes. I'm going to get more bang for my buck. You was like, you know what? That's what I'm going to do.

I love New York, but, you know, I ain't trying to pay a million dollars for a thousand square feet. Right? Right. square feet. Right? So, so like MJ ended up being like the best in so many categories that it made it unfair. So if you think about it, like he was the quickest, he was the most athletic. He,

um, was the best salesman and pitchman. How about this? He played basketball with his tongue out. Right. Like, just think about that. I can't walk to the corner with my tongue out. Right.

Like, he navigated through traffic with the ball in one hand, his toes pointed opposite directions. Like, that's insane. How about the killer instinct and the ability to be stone-faced assassin

that I learned from the Lakers, I learned from the Celtics, I learned from the Pistons. And I'm about to plot all of that. He did. He had two three-peats and I'm about to plot all of that. Hit it. He had two three-peats and playing against that dude,

it was like, man. It was like, you see, it's like seeing it's like seeing like Larry Bird said, that's God playing basketball. Right. That's for real. that's for real fam like

how many let me ask you this right you you've been in the booth with some of the best you've been on some of the dopest posse cuts you've been one of the dopest historic groups of all time yeah but how many times did you go on stage somebody else went on stage and you was like, yo. Yeah. Yeah. DMX, uh, Jay-Z. It's always, always like that. It's, I mean, you know, I got, I got, you know, I got a chance to, to, to, to, to, uh, do shows with them all. You know what I mean? But still and all, even on the stage, it's really not as competitive as the basketball court is.

You understand what I'm saying? Like, is this something that you want to train harder to bust his ass or you just want to be in a building with him? What happens? A few things.

You got to stop yourself from being a fan. Right. If you're going to be competitive at all, don't wear the shoes. You can't be a fan at all. That sounds like something that everybody needs to listen to for everything. The game was different then. Physical intimidation existed.

Rivalries existed. I'm from Detroit. I'm a bad boys fan i rooted against mj his entire career yes indiana we we booed mj played against him in a playoff so like you can't be a fan at all right you don't have a chance so going into any sporting event there's a favorite there's an underdog and we knew that they were the favorite. We knew that he was the GOAT. But we also knew, like, wait a minute, we played them 10 times this year, and we 5-5. Oh, it was 5-5, okay.

5. Okay. Okay. Huh. So we got a chance to upset them. Everybody think that he about to come in and shine and do what he do, but we about to shock the world. That's how you feel.

And going against those all-time greats, like you were just saying, like those all-time great artists, when they decide to just like go to that other level, there's nothing you can do about it. And that's kind of what it was when MJ was going for his chips. Do you, when you're playing at that time, do you feel that you're living history?

Does it feel like that? Why y'all not smoking and drinking? I feel deprived of the experience. Are you drinking? Hold on, I'm about to drink. Come on, pop it down. Deprived of the experience. We smoked in the air the entire time.

We talked about this when I saw you in Miami. We was at an undisclosed location. We were supposed to do this. You know, where the champagne at? Champagne right here. There we go. The Ace of Spades. There we go.

Look, he brought out Mr. Lee for you. That's big. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There we go. There we go. He brought out Mr. Lee for you. That's big. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There we go. Hold on. Open that up. So what were you saying? I asked him, did you know, did it feel like you were living history in those games?

Because it's always bigger when the goats are involved. So it's like more cameras, more hype. Your family knows, your friends know, the league knows, other players know. Like everybody's watching. That's center stage. Everybody understand that this is going down right now. And you got a chance to do something special. And a young pup like me, you know,

so many Hall of Famers at that point in my career, they had Bill Jackson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Tony Cuoco. We had Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson, Chris Muller, Larry Bird. No, no question. Stand up. And I'm just a young pup. And I remember making a jump shot. They showed it in a documentary.

I didn't even know. I'm watching it. I was like, yo, about to spill the bottle. I'm like, yo, they showed me make a basket. I was like, yo, I was surprised. You know what I'm saying? That put us up in the fourth quarter. I was like, we about to do this.

And then all of a sudden, Mike put on that cape. Took it to another level. Listen, Jalen, as a Knicks fan, born and raised, I got to say that I might have hated the Indiana Pacers just as much as I hated the Bulls. Because I just got to be honest. We would get somewhere, and we would feel great. And we didn't have no pussies on the Knicks neither at this time.

We had we had gangsters. We was trying to be the new bad boys, but it never worked out for us. So I just want to tell you about half of all the New York Knicks fans. You hurt my feelings a couple of times, brother. Thank you, family. I appreciate you. And, you know, I love Spike Lee and And Reggie kicked it off with his greatness. And he scored, what, nine points at eight?

Eight points in nine seconds. And then I came a couple of years after that. And you're right. Y'all have some animals on the team. Patrick Ewing. Charles Oakley. By the way, for those people that don't know, Charles Oakley is so great with his hands.

Not only will he slap you, he a great chef. You know, that's what know, Charles Oakley is so great with his hands. Not only will he slap you, he a great chef. You know, that's what I love about Oakley. That's what I love about him. Y'all had Anthony Mason. He also on Queens. I went against Sprewell and Allen Houston.

When they was both, I'm talking about cornrows Sprewell. Yeah, exactly. Allen Houston sweet shooting, getting buckets, maximum contract. Chris Childs, Charlie Ward. Like, you guys' squad was crazy. Yeah. And playing against y'all, Jeff Van Gundy was y'all coach.

Like, it was so dope. It was Hicks versus Nicks. It was like, you know, who was going to now own the East without MJ or take over the throne? And I know you was cheering one day when MJ got that four-point play. I know you was somewhere cheering. Listen, man, I'm going to be honest. Who got that four-point play? you were somewhere cheering listen man i'm gonna be honest i i had that four point play i had this rhyme since back then i said um because jordan used to kill us i

said i said i'm from new york but still i'll be hating the knicks and fuck jordan but still i'll be rocking his kicks because the kids are so dope, and I can't lie. They just said this back in the days, and I believe them. He said, on a rhyme, he said, he went to games as a Knicks fan. They had Strickland. They traded him, and ever since then, son, he hated them. And just like the curse of Babe Ruth, or like the curse of, Ruth or like the curse of,

we feel like the fact that Rod Strickland was a born and raised New York icon, dribbling the ball when we traded him, this is nature's account, and I'm starting to believe him. He said that once we traded Rod Strickland, it's been downhill for Knicks fans. I watch Stephen A. Smith. I watch, you know, that... We have given up on our franchise, Jalen. Is there anything we can do? I think we can put

you on the court right now and you might give us... So I got to big up you and nature because that's exactly right. As somebody that followed the league and understood that not only right. As somebody that followed the league and

understood that not only was New York the capital for dropping dimes and people having to handle and being slick with it, but you guys had Mark Jackson and Rod Strickland

on the same team at the same time falling. That was supposed to be Earl Monroe and Clyde Frazier. For you young punks out there that don't know. That's what that was going to be for y'all.

And for them to not allow that to happen, both of those dudes to go on and play like 40 years combined and put in so much crazy work. I agree with that. I agree with that. Now, have you ever thought about coaching? I have. And like, I'm a founder of a school and, you know,

I'm fortunate enough to have multiple gigs at ESPN, NBA countdown. Where's the school? Where's the school? Detroit tuition, free public charter, open enrollment founded in 2011. And we're having our graduation June 6th.

I'm really excited about that. We're a 9 through 16 model. We've served approximately 1,000 students. Wow. And really excited about that. So I have a lot of stuff that's keeping me busy and I know coaching would take up more time probably than all of that

to try to be good at it. And so I just appreciate the gigs I have with ESPN and, you know, being a founder of a high school right now and influencing college kids, but you never know.

But I want to be in ownership, man. That's what I'm working on. You say you're in ownership? I respect that, brother. That's what I'm talking about. Why isn't there more black ownership in the league? I watch ESPN all the time, and now they're talking about

the football league, where it should be black coaches having the same opportunities. Why don't you think it's like that in both leagues? NBA, for instance, and in the NFL, like, you know, not just black, but, you know, women, women as well. Like, you know what I mean? So it's it's corporate America, young people and adults. We all know this. And when somebody worked for you and or vice versa there's just certain lines you can or will or can't cross in order for you to get your check and what ended up happening in sports is having a 400 year head start before black and brown people were even able to play whites owned the team to try to get like they own so many things in society

but that's just how it works and so what ends up happening is those teams don't come available they get passed down from family member to family member and it becomes something of a legacy so you don't have to allow x amount of people that have x amount of money to buy into the team you could just pass it down look at the knicks it was they got passed down for father to son look at the lakers they got passed down for father to daughter it's that's what it's going to be. It's generational. Yes. People tend to hire those that they're comfortable with and or look more like them.

So the power really starts in ownership. Then it trickles down to GM and president. And then you hope that it plays out with the coaches because on the field and on the court, they're majority black players. So you would think that they would have an opportunity to have a voice and have some power, in particular with people that look like them. But since it isn't happening in ownership, it doesn't trickle down. And so I'm glad the conversations are being had, but those relationships still have a long way to go.

Okay, Jalen, we got Ludacris who's in the building right now. He's checking in. It look like the Bahamas he had or something. Hey, man, stop that. You look very tropical right now, brother. What up, family? What's going on, man? Let me first and foremost say that it's an honor.

I'm actually pissed that I never got a chance to come up to the drink champs original set. And this ain't replacing it. Number one, this ain't replacing it. Yeah. This ain't replacing it at all. So I definitely have to come up there,

but I just want to understand that those that come before me, like the individual Nori and that I have some DNA of, and I wouldn't be in a place that I was or be able to do a lot of the things that I did. I just want to pay homage to this man Nori and all the things you've done. Thank you, Luda. But you turn your phone sideways,

Luda? Turn it like this? Oh, absolutely. Even better. I gotta do that. I gotta salute you, my brother, because I watched the battle and congratulations, my brother. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you, man, I appreciate that you stood there with the poker face I love the fact that

I believe one of Nelly's boys said something to you and I love the fact that you ignored it and stayed positive and just stayed with the poker face is that something that you wanted you did on purpose? in terms of keeping the poker faces. Is that something that, you know, that you wanted, you did on purpose? In terms of keeping the poker face,

I mean, to have a poker face, it was the internet, his internet was kind of messing up. And I think that my, my, my organic reaction was me trying to see and make sure that it didn't, you know,

fuzz up like it was doing consistently. So a lot of those memes that happened, they was acting like I had a poker face. I was literally trying to make sure that I could see him and understand and hear everything that he was saying. Right. Yeah. Because, you know, this is a pure celebration.

I'd like to commend every artist that participates in this. You know what I mean? Every artist that, you know, gets together and just because at the end of the day, it should be a celebration. You know what I'm saying? The battle thing, we have lived and so what was the first, what was it?

Hold on, what's Luda drinking? We got to know what he's drinking right now. What was that? I'm just disappointed that everybody ain't drinking and they're smoking something. Oh yeah, Uncle Nearest. There's a whole story behind this Uncle Nearest. What did you know? There's a whole story behind this Uncle Nearest. I don't know if y'all know. Yeah, we know. Kenny Burns.

We had Kenny Burns on the show. Yeah, man. I went to the Uncle Nearest. I went to the whole Tennessee. Did the whole tour. Man, it's life-changing when you understand that story. And I'm sure that Kenny Burns was able to relay a little bit of what was going on. But when you get a chance, because we are all fans of the best alcoholic beverages that this world has to offer,

and we got a lot of history in one of our states called Tennessee, you have to go to Uncle Nearest. And if you really want the full story, you go to Jack Daniels first. Right, that ties into Jack Daniels first. And then you right. That ties into Jack Daniels. Yeah. Yeah. So that you can see the inconsistencies of some of the stories that they tell around this motherfucker, man. I got a bottle right here. Can you get the Uncle Nearest? I got a bottle. Might as well drink up, too. I think I drank my shit. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer

and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Ranella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve

into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company

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podcasts. So Jalen, what was you thinking? What was you thinking when you was watching the battle, Jalen? So first off, let me tell you what's crazy. Shout out to Luda. You know I love you, brother. Thank you, man. I appreciate just watching both of you guys on your come up.

As somebody that's a couple of years older than both of you guys, like I was telling Nori, I remember when he went from New York to Miami, running into him in a couple of places down there. And fortunate enough, with Luda and being in one of his videos, graciously move and shout the shocker. Now seeing you with the tank top on, looking like you're living your best life, got a tan, you got money in the bank. It just makes me happy. It makes me happy too.

What I was thinking when I saw him in Nelly's battle is I was lucky enough at a time where both of them guys were at their apex to be in one of their videos. Each artist. That's true. Each artist

hiding here for Nelly and moved for Luda. Yeah, man. So I got love and I'm grateful to both of them. Absolutely. So Luda, one thing that the fans acknowledged immediately was you wasn't playing. And what I mean by you wasn't playing, not to say Nelly was playing, but what I mean by that is you stuck to the script.

Play hits only. You did not want to play like the local or the, you know, the shit that's just the shit in Magic City. You didn't want to play, you know what I'm saying? Like you stuck to the hits. Was that a strategy? Well, you know, I think it's just the shit in Magic City. You didn't want to play, you know what I'm saying? Like, you stuck to the, was that a strategy? Well, you know, I think it's just like playing cards, man. It's like playing spades. It's like poker, whatever you want to do.

Like, all your spades first? Yeah, no, it was more of a, I have so, humbly speaking, I had so many songs. I even had so many songs, obviously, I wasn't able to play. But you kind of throw your first card out there and you see what the first card out there and you see what you know what what the next card comes and then you react from there so it was kind of

just going as as it went along I tried to figure out how I was going to compete and I know both myself and Nelly are just you know competitors I don't know if they were they had this photo circulating around the net from when we did rock and jock football like years ago together and you know it's just like i know how competitive he is and and that's what made it so special just understanding how competitive we were but did your catalog that did sorry but did your catalog even surprise you as you were getting ready for this man listen i don't i wouldn't say my catalog surprised me but i can honestly say that just like everyone else that was watching, it's great to hear all of the versatility and the collection of catalog all within a certain timeframe, because I don't think I've ever sat with my music and listened to it in that type of,

you know, in that type of list and order just back to back over a very small amount of time. So I was just as much of a fan humbly speaking as everybody else was listening to both of our catalogs because um honestly right you've you've had three careers right luda i'm talking about i remember me going to a radio station and me right me me written chris love and over then then all of a sudden i never you never told me you rap and all of a sudden I see you just blow. You're a rapper. Now you had this

luxurious career in movies. What is still your first love? Let me clarify something for you just so that you know. Obviously, you may not have known this, but I've been rapping since I was nine. When I worked at that radio station in Atlanta, Georgia, it was all a plan and a strategic plan that obviously

worked out for me going up there to try and get people to listen to my music because I was like it's artists and producers that come up here all the time so when you got introduced to me of course I had to put on the face and I was acting as though I wanted to be a DJ, but what I was really doing was rapping. That's cool. Hustling. Hustling. Hustling.

To answer your question, my first love is and will always be music. Always. Because there's nothing that touches my soul more than music. And I'm going to tell you like this, bro, this is serious business. I love Dwayne The Rock Johnson. I love Vin Diesel. I know niggas that's making hundreds and millions of dollars. Movies. There's no person on earth that doesn't envy the freedom that us artists have.

And what I mean by that is, you're a part of a movie. Nigga, you only playing one part. Unless you're the producer, the director, the motherfucking, like, everything, you're a part of a movie, nigga, you only playing one part. Unless you're the producer, the director, the motherfucking, like, everything, you're a part of one piece of the puzzle. When you're an artist, nigga, it's a blank piece of, it's a blank page, it's a blank canvas. You paint what you want on that motherfucker. You have complete control and freedom.

There's no other job in this world that allows you to do that except for like a painter or some shit. Hold on. Can I piggyback off of my brother? That's one of the things about being an athlete that I always envy about artists because

we are required to be role models per se by society and required to take drug tests. Correct. That's what i'm saying like we're required like we get judged if we didn't graduate from high school or don't go to college we get judged if like we get in trouble or we have a hustling background or if we drink or smoke it's something like oh my, it makes you a bad person. That was my next question.

I always appreciate the freedom of an artist. How many athletes live in L.A. where the state is actually legal? Legal. And Colorado where it's legal and places like that, Boston even. And you think they're gonna steal chess people it's just the hypocrisy it how people deal with we and medicinal is like how the ncaa used to deal with violations like it used to be like a big thing like oh my god such and such had the nerve to take some money for a plane ticket now people

know how much money is in the game like they should be getting paid right and it's the exact same thing over here and it doesn't become a big deal because everybody knows that that's just kind of how the game go right yo and you know what to add to that as an artist and i'm sure nori can attest to this i think we live long and i think that the reason that we are able even with all of our internal issues and we have problems like everybody else but the equivalent of going and sitting with a damn you know a a therapist or something like that nigga when we do shows it doesn't matter what we talk about in our music. It's therapy because we have thousands of people literally saying the same things that we're saying

and we know that they're feeling our music and feeling what's coming from our heart. So that's what balances us out in terms of all of the damn, all the problems that we have. It just completely gets unleashed when we do these live shows and we give it up.

It doesn't stay within. And that helps. With that being said, Luda, with this pandemic going on, you think it's a threat to us? Because even sports is saying that they're thinking about continuing, but they're thinking about continuing

or doing certain sports with just no fans there. What happens if Luda actually has to do a tour with no fans? Does that take away everything from you or what does that put you in? Absolutely, man. It would never be the same if I did a damn concert or a show with no fans, man. They have the breath. Based on what you just said. Just on what you just said about the energy and the feedback from the audience, that's going to take all that away absolutely they're the breath man it's a reciprocation that's what's going on you're feeding off the energy of the crowd i can't necessarily speak for everybody

but individuals like myself like buster motherfuckers who really give everything that they got on that stage so that anyone that paid a certain amount of money is knowing that they left that motherfucker with their money's worth and then some, there's no way it'll be the same. It's not there. Wow. Same question to you, Jalen. How would you feel if sports continues and is with the

no fan rule? Wow. I'm glad I got a chance to hear Luda say that and as somebody that's gone to so many shows, he made me look at it in a different light because the difference is sporting events can also be television events. Concerts, you want to entertain the people that are present and so we can still do a game like UFC is still doing fights and like they can fake the crowd noise and they can do all of that stuff and make it look like a television event and the players can still play the game. But like Luda said, without the fans in the stands and you being able to hear what they say and

hear what the coaches say, hear what the refs say, it's gonna, it's not gonna be the same without the fans. Like you're going to see some bizarre stuff happening, some crazy upsets and, and like learning things that you didn't really know about the game which may be good without the fans the fans are the heartbeat i agree nigga the pandemonium is our peace yes let me ask you the organized confusion

did you watch the other battles prior to getting into the battle? Man, I watched every single one of them. I was a fan from day one for numerous reasons. So that's part of the reason I'm so glad I got a chance to do it. I love that shit, man. Right, right, right. Okay, all right. Do y'all think they'll be doing rematches? Do I think they'll be doing rematches?

I don't know or should people like like who would you want to would you battle somebody else now after that experience um i hadn't even thought that far ahead bro because i'm like probably the fifth battle that happened on this on this platform that's what i'm saying like it's all new so yeah you know it's weird because i think there is something to say for you going and releasing and like letting people hear your records and then if you go again it may not have the same impact same impact play some of those records i think that's that's part of the reason that is so dope to do it so you know i would have to that that opportunity would have to present itself for me to really give it an honest consideration. There's people who just

know me from Drink Champs. For some reason, they don't know nothing about my music career. They don't know nothing. Have you ever faced that, Luda? Nigga, I got like four names in these streets. You got Ludacris. You got

Tez from Fast and Furious. There's the guy that was on the song with Justin Bieber. Man, I got so many goddamn names, bro. It's ridiculous. But that's a blessing, though, Nori. That means you made a motherfucking statement, and you impacted the world majorly on more than one thing. Don't take that as a compliment.

And also, what that is, Nori and Luda, that shows that you a vet, you an OG and reinvented yourself. I gotta ask you the same question because you got like four of them too. I'm so fortunate that my mother created

a name that's now coming. My biological father's name was James. My uncle Leonard took my mother created a name that's now common. My biological father's name was James. My uncle Leonard took her to the hospital. She combined those names and made Jalen. Now, it's everywhere. I'm doing the draft. I'm watching the NFL.

It's a common name now. It's crazy. You're from Detroit. I'm from the You're from Detroit. Correct, right. I'm like just in front of west side of Detroit. But what I want to tell you guys, the reason why

you can have so many different names and likenesses and stuff is because all of the OGs that have staying power reinvent themselves. Like how many names have Jay had?

How many names have Puff had? Because you're around so long, they become tags. They become handles. It almost like when you had a beeper, it become like your code. And then you move on from it

when a new device come. That's what y'all been able to do. Okay. Well, I'm going to give y'all both questions as a fan. The other day DMX came over. We chilling. I have no idea what's happening. Swiss actually calls DMX. Oh, I got to tell you something.

Swiss calls DMX. In true DMX fashion, he picks up. You know, we're playing Jenga. I have never played Jenga before, but DMX is a thing. Jenga, Jenga, right? Jenga, what is it? Whatever that shit is. Jenga, Jenga, whatever that shit is.

I'm playing that. So, you know, X is a dorm room guy. That's a dorm room shit, right? So I said, fuck it, I'm doing it. Swiss calls him three minutes before this. Swiss says, yo, Eminem wants to battle. X says, well, whatever. Tell him I'm down.

And then he goes, but then X says, but I really want Jay, right? Swiss says, he's not coming outside. X says, he doesn't have to come outside. He can play it from the room, right? I'm not sure if X understood the terminology. Like, you know, we all laughed. What do you guys think? Like, I'm sure both of us, I'm sure both of you guys, you know, everyone has to love DMX.

Like, DMX is just one of those artists we just all love. But Jalen, I got to start with you because you're from Detroit. So you might have, you know, I know that Eminem blood is running through you as well. When you heard about this battle, what did you think? And what did you like? So I did something with the last dance with Swiss Sunday night. Okay. And I'm glad I'm with both of you guys.

Cause he gave me a few battles that I want to ask you guys opinions. First off when somebody calls out somebody else usually they beef up not down is that fair they always call out somebody that they definitely know that people may see as they're equal or better but i respect that. Right? But when I was with Swiss, he said DMX and Busta Rhymes. That's what he said. He didn't

say Eminem. What do you guys think about that? Because I think... Well, first off, DMX has so many great records. Period of time. People sleep all night. He like Luda in this.

Like, when you start, like, I was watching the Nelly thing with Luda. I was like, he's got a lot of number one records. You know what I'm saying and that's about what I think about DMX and both of y'all was on Def Jam so what do you guys think about all of us was on Def Jam all of y'all was on Def Jam right except Eminem

even Jay, me, Luda Jay and DMX but he's affiliated through Paul being the president of Def Jam at one point. Damn, that's true too. Goddamn, bro. Is he still the president? He's not the president no more. I just think they're different weight classes. Okay.

Okay. How about you, Luda? Man, you know what's crazy, man? First and foremost, what you said about DMX, man, that's actually one of my guys, man. I love DMmx's spirit i love he's anointed to me to me he's anointed it's like when he comes around i know that around too like i'm so sorry to say that like but jesus comes with him bro like it doesn't and when you go on later i got a dmx story too go ahead go get legend no it doesn't get much realer it doesn't get much realer in terms doesn't get much realer. In terms of just pure

don't, like he says exactly what the fuck he means. You could just, like he's to this day just one of the realest. I'm trying to find out. But, you know, I would have to hear more names in order for me.

When you said Eminem vs. DMX and when you said Jay-Z verse DMX I like those I don't know if I love them I want to hear more names so that I could feel like oh okay to me personally in my opinion I think there might be a better match-up of just personalities or you know trying to match up lyrics or how certain people's tones are and what they you know like that's that's what i'm trying to do i don't really see those as being phenomenal battles but i could be

wrong and that's what i love so much about these verses is that some people they you know you it starts really making you think it really really provokes a lot of thought but my initial reaction to both of those i don't i don't like them dmx said he said jay-z here with us yeah and the thing is is that it's unfinished business in his mind it's a continuation of their already ongoing battling yeah but we all gotta relax on that one it's not i'm just saying but that's why it's to him that's that's it's a given like that's in his mind he still thinks. It's unfinished business.

Yes, yes. Got you. Yeah, you know what's crazy is that there are certain artists that they can't have 20 records. These niggas got to have like 40. Let's just be honest. Some got to have the 30. Some got to have the 40. And it's only like about five to six artists who can actually do that shit.

Let's be real. Like, let's just say if Drake were to ever do a battle, if Jay-Z is to ever do a battle, 20 is like nothing to these motherfuckers, right? Dre and Puff as well. Dre and Puff as well. Nigga, for real.

Exactly. Dre, Puff, think about it, man. This is some real big talk. We talking some real shit. So when you talk about, you just, DJ F, you just said, would I ever do it again?

The fact that there may not be rematches and all this shit, you got to put the best matches possible together the first fucking time so that you don't have any resentments or regrets. So why did they put these two motherfuckers together? It didn't even make sense. You know what I love? You know what I love about you and Nelly on both? When y'all got back into fan mode. When you saluted Nas for being on that record, when Nelly saluted

talked about his days in New York because I remember where he got the Air Force ones from. You know what I mean? He was hanging out with us on Penalty Records. He said that too. I love the fact that you guys don't forget the essence of I don't want to say the essence of hip hop, but the essence of how things started.

And you guys paid that homage. But in particular, that one moment when you spoke about the Nas record and when you spoke about, like, you know, how you was honored to be on the record. How did you even get that call? How did that even, like, come about? Man, Nas has been gone on record saying before that I was one of his favorite rappers, man. And I still, to this day, it's surreal for me to hear that. And it was the biggest compliment in the world.

And I got that call to get on that record. And immediately, I was like, where that? Who called, Def Jam or Nas himself? Nas. Nas made the call. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Nas and Shaka, my manager, have been cool for a minute as well, because Shaka used to work at the label with Nas.

So it was always family. And then me and him are Virgos, so our personalities, like, off-camera are so... I'm a Virgo too, nigga. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That record, I was so glad, yeah, yeah. That record, I was so glad I was able to play that record

because that shit right there made so much impact for me in terms of the respect that I got holding my own with two hip-hop heavyweights that everybody else respected. And from there on out, it was like, okay,

Luda is a down, he's down south, real respected lyric lyricism, all that. That part right there is the part that people never know. You understand? Sometimes you feel like when you get to a certain level that, you know what,

it's like, fuck it, I'm just doing me. The fact that you can, we can all it's all humbling moments, you know what I'm saying? We can still humble ourselves and say, what? I got a chance to be on that. That is what makes people great motherfucking phenomenons. You ain't never lie, man. Ever, ever, ever.

That shit is crazy. Crazy, crazy. And I just love that memory. Having those memories, coming to New York. Man, I have a funny-ass tunnel story to tell whenever we ready to. But I'll try and make it clear. We're going to get to the tunnel, And we're going to get to your diary. But Jalen,

you said you want a story with DMX? You got a story? Well, yeah, a couple of things. One, like, and watching Luda and Nelly battle, I just wanted to salute the Midwest and Atlanta and the South just watching how

we started to get acknowledged in the game of hip-hop. That took a long time. Say that again, Janet? I'm sorry. The respect for the Midwest and the South in hip-hop,

that took a long time. Somebody that was born in 73, I know about the Cold Crush and the Funky 4 Plus 1 and remember around DMC and the message. And I, like, I know about all of that. And I wondered when it was going to ever happen, being from Detroit.

Like, Motown, we celebrate all music, all genres, rock, you know, Barry Gordy had Motown, like that type of thing. So for it to happen with rap was dope. My DMX story is playing for the Bulls, family with the Lox, shout

out to Jada Styles and Sheik. They were in town. They were about to do a show. I don't, I think it was House of Blues. We was at the spot doing what Nori do on his show all of the time. They was about to go perform.

We got the cars outside. Everybody was looking for X. X was going to do what X do. We was following behind one another. X wasn't ready when it was time for the show to start. All I know, one of my favorite moments, Ludo and Nori and hip hop, I'm standing on the stage doing X ad-libs.

Oh. Hold up. Wow. And I knew every record and didn't mess up once. And he came, I straight gave him the mic. I didn't mess up once. That's gave him the mic. I ain't Nessa once. That's dope. That's dope.

Real tough. Now that's a memory. You don't get it. Not too many people that get to do it, some of their favorite rappers ad-libs in life, period. So dope. Also, Luda, if you don't mind, Nora, I want to ask Luda a question.

You followed in X Footsteps being a dope MC creating bars on your records, but also you were a great actor. And you've been in some great films. So what about that transition?

Man, the transition started when John Singleton made you rest in power. Man, he asked me to be in Too Fast, Too Furious. And I had to try out for it. I was on tour with Eminem at the time. And it was like they needed it ASAP. So I was backstage. That's crazy.

You just can't say that. Hold on. You heard that? He came with the haymaker. I'm on tour with Eminem and John Singleton calls me. That's not no regular shit, Luda. Hold on, slow down. Come on, way too fast.

Say that again. Slow it down. Slow it down. Wait a minute. What? I was so busy that I had to record myself on tape backstage 20 minutes before I went on stage. And I remember reading the lines and everything. And then the next day I got the call and I had the part.

Now, literally, I know until later, he was like, I think Ja Rule was the person he wanted for the role. But Ja Rule, I guess, was either asking for too much money or doing something. And he was like, all right, well, I'm going to go to Lula. So I always say thank Ja for turning that thing, doing whatever he did to mess up the opportunity because I don't think y'all understand. Wow, that's

crazy. Take a shot for Ja Rule, Luda. Take a shot for Ja Rule. He's also a Def Jam. You gotta take a shot, Luda. Yeah, so look. Two fast, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and hopefully ten and eleven will be shit. Shout to Rosenberg. Now, let me ask you something, Luda. there was a discrepancy at one time about fast

and furious i believe tyree's and rock was going at it what was that thing about and and what was it because the rock did a a spinoff of that and when he did a spinoff then y'all guys couldn't continue filming fast yeah um i think it was it there was a big misconception Of things going on And I think that maybe some Some people got some premature information But what you need to understand They were both under the universal umbrella So it's up to universal

To green light certain things Because they're the ones that's paying hundreds of millions Of dollars in order to shoot these movies How much, Luda? Hundreds of millions Don't get it much, Luda? Hundreds of millions. Don't get it twisted with hundreds of thousands. Hundreds of millions. The average budget for a fast movie

is like $200 million. So whatever was going on between them two, I feel like they may have felt as if it was that they had certain powers on their own, but the realization of it was that Universal is calling the shots because they're the one that's cutting the checks.

So I just think it was a misconception, man. Wow. Hold on. I want to ask Luda something. This is going back, talking about just straight rhyming and emceeing, and you talking about being respected as a lyrical emcee. Have you ever felt, and me, I'm as a dj from miami early 90s we was we was looking for lyricism coming out of miami and out of the south we're known for bass music and also which we it's

just a part of our culture 100 did you ever feel like we don't get respected in the South for lyricism? Or we felt ourselves of it? Absolutely. What you say, Nori? I said, here we go. Listen, Ian Fendon, just in case y'all don't know, this guy, when y'all look up the South, he is there like this. He loves the South

and I respect that. I knew he was going to ask you this. It took a long time for us to get that respect, man. There's history and there's a whole list of history there because the bass music, obviously, that was in Miami and, you know, and then...

And Atlanta too. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Absolutely. Bass music in Atlanta and in Miami and all throughout Florida, Georgia, and then it took for, you know, outcasts kind of on a popular level to really break everyone's stereotype of what could be possible coming from the South. And then from there on out, you know, humbly speaking,

individuals like myself, and we just kept hammering away, man. And next thing you know, we got the respect that we needed. You know what I want to say? You know what I want to say? You know what I want to say? Because a lot of y'all think that from the South, that people in New York didn't respect y'all lyrical content, didn't respect y'all. But the thing is, had we had Twitter

back then, y'all would have knew how much we respected y'all. Y'all would have knew how much. But don't forget, we would travel to New York too, though, brother. Sometimes we would see the lack of the respect sometimes. But you know, we all do respect, right? You ever heard sometimes. But, you know, we all do respect, right? You ever heard somebody that says, you know, I traveled to London and, you know. No, no, absolutely, absolutely.

And then they just based the whole London off of your one-time experience. You can't. That's not the real, you know what I'm saying? So the thing about it is we respect the Midwest. It was certain acts, but we had no way of telling you we respected you guys. You know what I'm saying? Because you guys wouldn't go to the venues. You guys would go to the venues that's hot.

You understand? You guys would want to go to the tunnel. You guys would want to go to, you know, there's certain things as opposed to the lyricist lounge. But I also think regionally, accents and slang, people didn't think it was lyrical. But like, for example, like I think Trick Daddy's a lyrical-ass motherfucker. Scarface is one of the best to ever do it. For instance, I don't know if it's personal, but if you look at all my features

in my beginning of the career, it was with David Banner, Juvenile. No, we're not talking about you. I traveled to the South, so I understood. So when people said that New York don't respect it, I was always the example. Pharrell is not from New York. That motherfucker's not from New York. And I

put, I don't want to say put him under my wing, but, you know, I don't know what to say now. Well, you helped validate him. That's what I'm trying to say. So, can I, go ahead. Go ahead and finish. No, no, no, because what I'm trying to say is New York, we respected y'all. It's just

that we didn't have the opportunity or the connections to actually tell y'all. Like, you know, we loved OutKast just as much as y'all. We loved UGK just as much as y'all. We loved Scarface just as much as y'all. You know what I mean? It's just that we didn't have the, you know what I mean? We didn't have the means to say, yo, if Scarface dropped the record, to tweet back. Like, nigga, this is crazy, nigga.

Like, we didn't have that. You know what I'm saying? So we had to actually identify with that. So that's why the internet and this social media is actually a great thing. I'm glad he said Scarface, by the way. I'm glad he said Scarface, because Scarface was before OutKast, man. He did so much to open that

conversation. So, how about this? This is great that we're having this. I love So much. Yeah. So, so, so, so, so how about this? This is great that we have in this. I love this.

Artists, legendary MCs. Both of you guys drop bars. You guys are great actors, been in multiple movies. And so Nori, you from the East, Luda,

you from the South. Let me be, you from the East. Luda, you from the South. Let me be the referee from the Midwest. Yes. Okay? Because I saw East Coast had a stranglehold on the game. I talked about it earlier. Even through the 80s. LL, Rakim, everybody. over on the MC, on and on

and on and on. But then the South had their turn and took a stranglehold of the game. Like UGK, Ghetto Boys,

J Prince was an independent artist. Suave House, Able and MJG. Masterpiece, Able and MJG, Masterpiece, Young Money, I mean, not money, Cash Money. All of them came in like the 90s.

And once the soft got it, it wasn't that New York didn't appreciate it. It was like, damn, they took it from us. That's what happened. For real, that's what happened.

They got hot real fast and all of a sudden, New York became possessive of the game. I agree. Like, my family lives in Georgia. Luda, no, he can't take five steps in Georgia without running to somebody from Detroit.

That's a straight fact. You know what I'm saying? We migrated down there. You all know why. In Miami, I was living there when y'all migrated there from New York. Pip Pop was living down there. Joe was living down there. Cali came up. You had number one records.

I seen y'all at the spots. Joe Snow Crab. I had a spot at the Portofino. I was there. I'm trying to tell you. I was in there with me, Chinoo. For real. Big up, big up, big up.

Big up, big up, big up. You see what I'm saying? Taking over amnesia. Like, for real. So, New York did appreciate Atlanta in the South. It wasn't like they were denying their talent. It was just like, damn, they came with so many artists and so much heat and so much style. And it was just overwhelming for the whole game.

And that's how they just swung it to the south and kept a stranglehold on it. You guys can argue about for how long. I feel like they still got it. And which had already happened with the West Coast too, mind you. Yeah, I don't mind. I just feel like that's what hip-hop is. Hip-hop, everybody deserves a turn.

From the Midwest to the South to the East Coast to even overseas. Canada, let's not forget Canada. Canada is out here. They're not a part of the United States at all. And they are here now. We've got the number one album. Let's pick up the Tory Lanez. Let's pick up to Drake. Let's pick up to, you know, Carter now official belly. Let's pick up to all these guys like hip-hop deserves our era everywhere you know why because i know this is crazy this is well said this is gonna sound crazy this is gonna sound retarded when i was coming up right i thought i was the only gangster i swear to god i didn't think there

was another gangster down the block like so when i used i'm so sorry to say this but when i used to shoot at people i thought that was it. I never thought people would shoot at me back. When someone shot at me back, I was like, you're the only shooter? What are you doing shooting at me? I didn't realize that there's other people, other places

who think they're just as real as me. I didn't realize that, and that's what music is going through right now. The thing is, everybody deserves their turn. Everybody deserves from Canada to listen. I feel like Vancouver in Canada is about to have a moment. I feel like Augusta, Georgia, not just ATL. I feel like it's going to be a whole other movement around in a different part of Georgia. That's going to come and they're going to and that's going to be the South of Atlanta's competition.

I just feel like everybody deserves it because everybody has the same struggle. We have the same story. And it's the same, like, you know. Same passion. Same passion. You know what I'm saying? And the thing about it is I love it more now. Not hip-hop in general, but what I'm saying is these young brothers actually don't need a record label at all.

They can actually go right to the internet and just, what do you think about that, Luda? Yeah, you're right, man. Like, it's different when, you know, we had a demo table. We was trying to sell albums out the trunk of our car and shit. Now it's like everybody asks for advice. I'm like, you create your own fan base. It's a lot easier to do that right now.

And don't tell me your music is hot. You got gotta let me you have to create a fan base in order for me to believe that your music is hot it's that simple so you gotta create a movement man if you can't sell to the nigga next door how the fuck you think you're gonna sell to me I gotta ask you guys both a question

because like founder of a charter high school I have so many people that want to be like you guys and they want to be basketball players and athletes as well and i'll start with you nori first can you guys please let the world know and watching the last dance with michael jordan right now some of the things you sacrifice and the time and energy that goes into your craft like if you're writing rhymes if you're thinking of thinking through beats if you're thinking like like please let the world know like you don't just wake up in the morning and press out a record

and all of a sudden you're number one in the country well well i love to answer this question a lot of people don't know my first album came out in 1997 it was called the war report and all of a sudden you're number one in the country? Well, I love to answer this question. A lot of people don't know. My first album came out in 1997. It was called The War Report. And everyone calls it a classic now. Everyone says it deserves five mics now. Everyone says how ill it was now.

Everyone says... But back then, as an underground artist, I couldn't connect to the people. I couldn't understand it. It was a classic. So I was still on the block. I was still doing the same exact thing. It wasn't until I seen a brother named Akineli. And I said this story before.

But Akineli had a record called Put It In Your Mouth. I had a record called L.A. L.A. and T.O. and Y. They do not mix together at all. Akineli saw what was in me and Akineli brought me on tour because I had this album that people are saying, yeah, great, the album that people are saying is a classic but I didn't see the residuals. I didn't see what came from that.

So I had to actually go start all over. And the thing about it is when people want to really be in this music industry and they can't separate the streets from what it is. Not only did I stop selling the things that I was selling prior to that for this, but I had a classic album that people call a classic album now,

and I was still in the streets. So I had to just take it all away. And it was one brother who showed me the world, and it was Akineli. Akineli said, yo, look, bro, L.A. and L.A. and T.O. and it was akanele akanele said yo look bro la and t on why because you got to remember i come like i said 1997 if you didn't have video music box um if you didn't have b like three dollars a video yeah you know if you didn't have that the the video oh no and that's that's uh i forget what that is called that was a jukebox yeah yeah jukebox if you didn't have that you didn't know how i looked you know what i'm saying

so i wasn't even getting shows with a quote-unquote classic album. It wasn't until N.R.R.E., you know what I mean? Where I went out there and I did a song called I'm Leaving on the Firm album. And again, I've had to fly out to L.A. and, you know, Nas and them is the hottest in the world. I can't believe they're going to put me on their group album called The Firm and I'm leaving that part of the group. And I stood there and I just did it.

And it was a record called I'm Leaving. That's what set off my whole solo career. For that year and a half up to there, I really stopped doing everything. I dedicated my life and my craft one million percent to this. You know what I'm saying? The shit worked out. There's a lot of people who probably

didn't, but it's a very much sacrifice. You can't have one foot in in this area and one foot in over there. If you want to really be serious about this, you have to have two feet in, your eyes, your eyebrows. You see, I'm Puerto Rican. I got thick eyebrows. So you got to have all that shit in there, you know what I'm saying?

And that's real. So, Luda, I'm going to ask you. You want to ask the same question to Luda, Jalen? Yeah, for real, Luda. What about you and your come up, especially being from the South? You talking about, man, I was so intrigued by Nori's answer. I forgot what the hell the original damn question was. So I'll tell you, it was crazy. So it's like.

You have bars. You've done a great job of continuing to not only sell records, but become like an artist that's mainstream. But what ends up happening is so many people want to be like you. They don't know the sacrifices that you made and what it takes for you to make a record and the time, the sacrifices, and the notes that you take in the beats that you listen to, like,

please give a snapshot of like the energy that it takes to be a professional in your craft. Yeah. Sacrifice is definitely my middle name, man. If I wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for sacrifice, I just posted on my Instagram and you can go look at it.

Like all the people that's watching at ludicrous. I still have my 1993 Acura Legend, bro. I'll never get rid of that shit. The gold one, right? The gold? The gold. So the gold Acura at a time when that was my tour bus, man. You know, when I was working at the radio station, in order to pay for studio time,

in order to pay for mixing and mastering, I would wear pretty much the same clothes every day or the promotional T-shirts that I got for free working at the radio station. That's what I would wear because I'd be saving all my money to put myself in the studio. I wasn't such a materialistic person. So everything, if you want to be successful, you got to learn how to sacrifice one thing and get another. It's that simple, man. I could talk about sacrifice all day. I've sacrificed 10 years of my life just to put out a platform called Kid Nation, which is basically the hip-hop music and other genres of music

for kids with enriching content but sounds just as good as some of the shit that we're putting out. So go to kidnation.com and follow Kid Nation on IG. So you'll see the fruits

of that labor moving forward because we just launched a video on kidnation.com talking about kids washing their hands with a hook and everything that's catchy. That's dope.

That's crazy dope. Yeah, man. So listen, that sacrifices everything. That's dope. Appreciate it. Because like... Thank you, thank you, thank you, man. When you guys get on the elevator,

you hear background music. One of the things we do at our school, I'm the founder, tuition-free, open enrollment, public charter. We get zero state funding for our facilities. Zero. I deal with the young people that are underprivileged, that are underserved. The ninth grade through the college graduate. Like that's the young people that I nurture. And one of the things we do in our building and your song that you just mentioned

reminded me of it is one of the records I play is Nas, I Know I Can. You just reminded me of that. Is that song kind of like that? Absolutely. We only have one song up right now because we're doing a soft launch, but it's basically about hygiene. That's the number one way to fight

this virus right now. It's about washing your hands the proper way. It's talking about brushing your teeth and just trying to remind our children that you have to make sure you stay, keep your hygiene, right. But we have way more songs on the way. So again, any subject matter you could possibly think about that we're trying to teach our kids. It's revolutionary.

The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the meat eater podcast network hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll

say when cave people were here and I'll say it seems like the ice age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for

Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1.

Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Michael Kassin, founder and CEO of 3C Ventures and your guide on good company, the podcast where I sit down with the boldest innovators shaping what's next. In this episode, I'm joined by Anjali Sood, CEO of Tubi, for a conversation that's anything but ordinary. We dive into the competitive world of streaming, how she's turning so-called niche into mainstream gold, connecting audiences with

stories that truly make them feel seen. What others dismiss as niche, we embrace as core. It's this idea that there are so many stories out there, and if you can find a way to curate and help the right person discover the right content, the term that we always hear from our audience is that they feel seen. Get a front row seat to where media, marketing, technology, entertainment, and sports collide. And hear how leaders like Anjali are carving out space and shaking things up a bit in the most crowded of markets. Listen to Good Company on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Talk to them, Ludo, on one of the songs about using social media to their benefit, not their detriment.

I like that. Talk to them about that. Use social media. Don't be used by it. Yeah. Every time you post something that can stop you from getting a scholarship, it can stop you from getting a job, it can stop you from an opportunity.

Every time. Got you. People start taking on social media so young. So young. I got you because the second verse of that record that I got with Lil Wayne, no one was able to hear that on the battle, but wait until you hear the second verse of that record that I got with Lil Wayne, no one was able to hear that on the battle, but wait till you hear the second verse. I'm definitely hitting some of those things as well as some other controversial topics

that will be talked about, I'm sure. So I'll have this record out within a week and you'll hear it. That's Timbaland produced that? Timbaland produced it, right? Timbaland, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's hot. Let's make some noise for that, baby.

Thank you, sir. Two chains. Old bracelets. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What you said, Jalen? I'm sorry. Old bracelets. That's what they say in this song. Detroit and Atlanta

has a kinship, guys. We're cousins. That's right. We're cousins. That's right. We're cousins. That's right. The struggle is real. So would you say Luda, like, is that the most successful artist you put on in this game? Yeah, man.

You know, he used to be in the group player circle, man. Man, their music, if you haven't listened to it, you got to go back and listen to it, man. You'll see where it set the stage and the foundation for everything. Not just duffel bag. Yeah, not just duffel bag. But I mean, you know, it's just one of those things where, like you said, Nori, sometimes when somebody's first album comes out, people don't understand the impact that it really has until later on.

And you go back and listen to it. That's how you know certain people are ahead of their time. But yeah, man, you know, his success and everything that he's done, I couldn't be more proud, man. And it's like, it's crazy because our birthdays are like one day apart.

So in terms of that Virgo stuff, I mean, what more needs to be said? It's just self-explanatory. The sacrifices that we all make, we know how to sacrifice. Now, what was that moment like? Like, you know,

you put him on, like, for lack of a better word or whatever, you know, and then he says, yo, you know what? I want to go do my own thing. Was that something hard for you to do, to let him go and let him do his own thing? Or that was something like, you know what?

I understand it. Because like we said, we're all Virgos. We probably... No, I understand it, man. I'm one of those people that always want individuals to grow and evolve, man. It's just a product of life. I'm glad when that is. Because some people, they just want to

stick around. They just want to stick to this regular script and they're comfortable where they at. So, you know, anybody who wants more out of life, I'm always going to support that, man. And that's the original goal. When you a CEO of something and you have artists, I told L.A. Reid one time and he said he's never heard any artist ever say this before in his life i said i want to sign artists that are going to be bigger than ludacris has ever been so that was always my goal it was never a situation where i was like i only want to sign artists if they're gonna be not as successful as me so i'm just like i'm here to support anyone's dreams and and any and anywhere they want to go, shape, form, or fashion.

And, you know, I know his family. That's dope. He has a certain place in my heart that will never, never go away. So I'm always going to support anything that he does. Goddamn, a great fucking answer. That's dope. That's dope. Luda, is there any producer that you haven't worked with that you want to work with?

I've been around Dr. Dre. I almost had a beat. I actually worked with him on some of his stuff, but I never had an official Dr. Dre beat that Luda's on. I would love to still explore that, and I would love to get a song with Eminem, which I got to make. I was on tour with him, during that time frame I remember us You know juggling and trying to figure something out But it just never officially happened You talking him rhyming and producing

Producing just rhyming or both Oh I'm not necessarily stuck To one or the other As long as the shit is hot I don't give a fuck What the hell is going on They gotta get on the track That would be nasty Yeah man Oh man this is beautiful talk right here going on. They gotta get on the track. That would be nasty.

Oh, man. This is beautiful talk right here. Absolutely. And also, I have to say this because I think somebody said something about strip clubs or songs earlier. I talked about the kinship that Detroit and Atlanta has. And Ludo can correct me if I'm wrong. I love

him. He's a legend. He's a G. He's a multimillionaire. He's in a mansion right now. I just know that on Sunday, what was it? Pink Pony? Pink Pony.

Oh, yeah. Listen, it's so many damn big clubs. It could have been, I don't know, Jazzy T's. It could have been Stroker's. Something different every day. It's every single day, man. Some of them multiple on the same

day. So, listen, it changes, you know, every now and then sporadically, but for the most part, I wanted to ask y'all something. Is it, is it, Magic City should be the most popular strip club in the world. Am I correct by saying that? Or would you say, is there anything

that you think? I mean, other than maybe a little lesser known, but the Rolex in Miami, which is kind of legendary. I don't know. You got to be ghetto to know the Rolex, though. It is. It was the hood spot. It was the hood spot. King of Diamonds, though, now.

I know about KOD, too. KOD, for sure. More married men on here, by the way. I know, but it's a statute of limitations. She know you got to pass. I was just going with Eminem. She know you was in the streets when she met you. Luda tell you the subject.

Luda remember. But Luda got kids. He like... Yo, this is beautiful. I love to talk just hip-hop. I love to talk just hip hop I love about your show Jalen is you always incorporate hip hop

like everything about your thing is hip hop is that something you have to run by ESPN or that's just something that you do it and they have to accept it well thank you for acknowledging that so for nine years I'll never forget walking into an ESPN do it and they have to accept well thank you for for acknowledging that so for nine years i'll never forget walking into an espn studio and i'm like i get to do my own thing and then

they showed up the next day i had jay with the gold tooth in his mouth and the big rope. I had Bruce Lee. I had the Ali Summit because across the national landscape, they... No, I didn't ask. I didn't ask. I didn't ask. I didn't ask. I work for Disney. I got a corporate job.

And so, it's like, yo, I've seen other shows, Luda, Nori, DJ Ethan, that had like bobble heads, that like helmets, that like kind of were culture vultures, in my opinion, but didn't embrace who we were. So I'm like, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it correct. And if you're not hearing what I'm saying, because remember, when you do a television show, I tell this to people that want to get in this industry. Half of your audience isn't hearing what you're saying. They're at a bar, they're at a restaurant, they're at an airport. They're just watching the TV. So your visuals matter matter what you're wearing

i try to have a fresh cut i have a try to have a good background because they're watching it and so i wanted it to look like us without me saying a word and i and i and i got a lot of pushback from that i was in luda's video move and i was working for espn yeah yeah i didn't i never told you this so i got a couple of i got a couple of um emails about that video you know i'm like this is this is what we do this is who we are don't just play our songs at the game and in and out of promos like play the video yeah i'm in the video like i used to fight this we have survival of the fittest mob deep for a playoff song for nba countdown and i used to be like that's gonna become like a soundtrack. Like if you see Draymond Green on the floor, put on They Call Me D-Nice. Like make it a soundtrack.

And I was trying to incorporate this into like national media and it was tough. And so now that it's normal, I'm glad that we can do this right now.

Norby, please have another drink and smoke something. Luda, switch your pick anytime you want. Wear whatever, you know, beater you want because we here now. But was that what the Fab Five look was about? Because the Fab Five look, like, that was the

first time we got to see hip-hop represented. Yes. Like a college level, NBA level. Like, y'all had back, y'all was wearing like a college level yeah like y'all had back yeah y'all was wearing 3x shorts like y'all was wearing y'all was wearing like yeah yeah like y'all was looking like the hip-hop videos that was relevant at that time and baggy shorts was it and and y'all was out there with the baggiest of the baggiest damn the crazy thing is from the early 90s to 94, I was in college. So then I got a chance to be in the league and have my own money.

So I remember not being liked, not being respected, not being appreciated by the mass media and being treated like I'm a criminal or a drug dealer or a bad person based on my appearance. Like I was listening to N.W.A. and Compton's Most Wanted, and the media came into the locker room and was like, I'm a thug. I'm a huddle. You know what I'm saying? Because I was

representing Pac's first album. A lot of people sleep on Pac's first album. It was real political we've been listening to that album yeah right oh see you a dj strictly for my niggas yeah the one before that one too um my homies and that one like that i was home he's crying yeah right after he left digital Digital Underground as just a dancer. Yeah. Like in sports, it's phony in a lot of ways because we'll show Luda. We'll show T.I.

We'll show Nori and we'll show you guys on the front row. But then at the same time, we didn't want to play your music. We didn't want to play your music. We didn't want to play your music. We can dog and pony show you, but we're not going to play your music. But now Luda can go to a game with the Hawks and stand at the half court and be butt naked with a microphone and then beg them to do it. You can go to a Knorr. You can go to Nori. You can go to a Nick game. They will beg you

to bring your podcast to a game. They will beg you. It's just different now. That's all. They have to respect us because we got a voice, we got money, and we live in the suburbs too.

So they can't dismiss us anymore. Right. God damn. So Luda, I mean, I gotta ask this big question. Did you ever think that hip-hop would go this far? Like, you ever thought you know, just loving hip-hop? Because at the end of the day, like Jalen,

I'm sure you can attest to this, you know, you just loving a game of basketball has brought you to so many remarkable different places. EFN, same thing. But Luda, same thing. It's like, you know, just us loving hip hop because us loving hip hop is the first love. And then creating hip hop and everything else and the accolades that come after that. You ever thought that hip hop would bring you to the levels? I know you've been all over the goddamn world.

Man, that's a great-ass question because as a hip hop artist, it's like sometimes you're so engulfed in this shit, you haven't even thought that far ahead about where the fuck hip hop is going. When you in it,

when you so much in it, and then it kind of takes for you to get different perspectives and, you know, like you said, start traveling the world world and to answer your question man i honestly can say the answer that question is no i i it's not like i had any limited expectations for this shit but at the same time when you go to these countries that don't speak english and these motherfuckers are reciting your every word. That's crazy. That's a little... Crazy!

That's something that nobody in hip-hop would ever imagine. Kool Herc would be on this shit and be like, hell no, I didn't know if this would happen. Are you fucking kidding me? So, man, no, but I'm so glad that it did, and I think it's getting to a point where you're going to have certain

disgruntled individuals because of how commercialized that it has become and wanting to contain a certain amount of it. And I don't see it slowing down anytime soon, bro. So, you know, but it just depends on what what what era you were in. But Russell Simmons or somebody always said, if you don't embrace what's new you'll become your own worst enemy man so you got to be careful about you know evolution and how things are just move i gotta ask you luda um you know like jaylen uh like oh like uh there's certain periods and certain times are the greatest the bulls you know paces there's detroit the bad boys i feel like there was one point in time where def jam was the most lethous all facts fucking label out there when y'all do the new era

i'm gonna do the old era you correct me if i'm wrong luda no you're 100 right nigga jay-z dmx ludicrous so let's talk about the workers first. Let's talk about the people that was behind the scenes. Leo Combs, the staff. Excuse me, the staff. Thank you. Leo Combs, Julie Greenwald, Mike Kaiser, Randy Acker. Kevin Louse.

Who else? Kevin Louse. I said Kevin Louse. I didn't say Kevin Louse. I didn't say Kevin Louse. I said Mike Liles. I didn't say Kevin Liles. I said Mike Kaiser. Sean Pecos. At one point, we had the craziest

and it was like nothing was fucking with Def Jam. 100%. LL Cool J. Like you said, DMX. Let's get to the artists. LL Cool J. Red Man. Method Man, Jay-Z, DMX, Ja Rule, Nori.

Who else am I missing? Sean. Yeah. I ain't got time for y'all. Please continue. You got all the rough riders. You got all the DTP. You got all of... I Riders. You got all of DTP. You got all of, like, I mean, like, I watched Entourage over and over and over again. And then I watched Empire.

I did not watch Empire. I'm lying. So, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. No, I didn't mean it like that. What about Power? What about Power? Yeah, yeah.

But Power is about the streets. There has never been a hip-hop storm like Def Jam 170 Barrett. They did like a little documentary, but it wasn't nothing compared to what you're talking about and what you want to see. We have to show, like, listen, there was a point in Def Jam. You can go to Def Jam, you get your hair cut. You can buy weed. You can roll to Def Jam, you get your hair cut, you can buy weed, you can roll... Facts! Yes! $250,000 a check at the same time!

Real talk. Real talk, Noy. Damn, you made me... I forgot about that, bruh. The hair cuts and... You didn't have to go to no hood. Yes. You didn't have to go to no hood. You could get drunk. You could get everything right in Def Jam.

Like, fuck the hood. Like, just go to the hood. Just go there. That's it, man. Did y'all have something like that in the NBA where y'all could just, like, it was like the Soho of niggas? The Soho house of niggas.

So I got to, I want to expand on what you said about Def Jam, by the way. Okay. Somebody that's a couple of years older than you guys. Okay. That's been around in the same place at the same time as Russell. Same place and same time as Lior that went to the Nitro Tour with LL, the Raising Hell Tour with

Run DMC and the Beastie Boys and on the cool check-in and Slick Rick sitting in the ruler chair. Like Def Jam for me in hip-hop, it's a story franchise.

That's what that represents. So like in the NBA, you might have the Lakers or the Celtics or whatever. That's what Def Jam represents in music. That's very true. Everybody in one way, shape or form ended up going through there. Like Scarface ended up being a Def Jam artist. And a president. Yeah, correct.

Like Scarface, just so y'all know, like I'm a Scarface stan. Just so y'all know. Or should be. Right. I'm a Scarface stan. So Scarface was there. When I say that, that like a hundred stars for me so so so so many people have gone through death jam and or their leadership that it's it it it's the story

brand of hip-hop music russell simmons is the Holy grail of people that never spoken to a microphone. And you guys can argue with me, argue with me on this, but I feel like the most influential and the, like the, I guess, uh,

longest, I see Nori. He getting ready. Look at him. The longest served and tenured and most accomplished producer is Andre Young,

Dr. Dre. I remember the world-class wrecking crew and falling in love with Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre. I started DJing and scratching in. He's had so many people from DOC, Above the Law,

Eminem, 50 Cent, NWA, Snoop Dogg, the dog town. I'll turn it over to you experts, but that's what I feel about that. What you think, Luda? Man, again, I was so lost in this explanation. What the fuck was the original question that you got?

Damn. Man, we just... I had a good one. Hold on. What the fuck was my shit? Because we was talking about the artist at Def Jam and we just went somewhere else. Right. Well, the original question was about about the artist at Def Jam and we just went somewhere else. Right. Well, the original question was about really the greatness of Def Jam. Yeah.

And the influence of Def Jam. This is what I feel like, Luda. You know, you being the, like, we have to tell that story. Yeah. You see Entourage? Entourage is... Entourage ain't got shit on the Def Jam story. The real Def Jam story.

That's true. The real behind the scenes of how... Young Jeezy was with Def Jam. I'm looking at a platinum plaque hanging on my wall right now. I forgot about him. I'll tell you something. This is a clip called The Real World, right? And this is when the real world documentary

had first came and Def Jam flew all of us out there and they gave us all the drugs in the world all the drugs in the world Las Vegas the real world you left out a couple of ladies was Tina involved in this

yeah there's a couple of people that Was Tina involved in this? There were a couple of other ladies. There were a couple of other people that I know. Not with the drugs, but Tina Davis was involved. I know. We ain't incriminating nobody. We ain't incriminating. Good call, Luda. Good call, Luda. We ain't incriminating nobody. Def Jam was the ultimate label. They knew how to bail you out.

They knew how to do everything. It was it. Luda understands what I'm talking about. That's so true. Is it true? But we need a doc... Not a documentary. Fuck a documentary. We need a reenactment. You gotta make that happen, brother.

Did y'all say Pecos? Sean Pecos, of course. Yeah, of course. Oh, man. No, Pecos, it's all a part of that little bunch, man. It's all a part of that little bunch, man. So what's your favorite era of hip-hop, Luda? Is that Def Jam era that you was just talking about? Great, great fucking answer.

No, that's real shit. I'm just being honest. Man, that's goddamn. And like you said, man, the moral to what we're talking about today is you honestly don't really realize how special some shit is until way after then you see the impact that it had man music culture uh everything man like that shit that ages like fine wine like i was speaking about on that battle that's the what do we get into as we get older? Alcohols, the shit that's aged

for a certain amount of time. The best flowers, the best cigars where if you put them in a humidor, they dissipate all the bad stuff. And people that pay golf

where you got to take a lifetime in order to damn near become an expert. You start getting in the shit that you really love that you can only

get better at in your lifetime span. That's what you need to be in the game about. What's the best era for you for basketball, Jalen? So that was a great answer, Luda. And I want both of you guys to know, like, there are so many young people that want to be like you and want to do what you do and

you're disciplined, responsible, you're educated, you're both smart, like nor are you smart. Like you play the role that I play in this game. I know I'm blowing your cover. It's like, oh, I know you want to play dumb. You know what I'm saying? Like you don't know nobody.

And you ain't been on the stage or no, I know that. You ain't sold nothing. And the same, same with you, Luda. And,

and what ends up happening is like, both of you guys have so many people that you influence and want to be like you guys that the culture follows of you guys have so many people that you influence and want to be like you guys that the culture

follows when you don't even realize. And so there was a time when the South and we mentioned this earlier felt underappreciated. But Luda, you got bars, dog. Thank you, sir. Like you got

like we and what ends up happening is Thank you, sir. You was a legend. What ends up happening is don't judge ourselves by some trolls on social media. I hate to be this dude. I really hate to be this dude. We got to judge ourselves by the deals that

we did and the money that's in our account and where you live and how you eat. Man, we got to judge ourselves by how many motherfuckers we help. That's really where we judge ourselves. Correct, yeah. With everything that you just said.

With the money that we've made and the places we live. It's who we affect from that. That's how you judge yourself. Like, we're looting right now. He trying to tone it down. He was like, I'm going to go into the worst room in this space because I want to be low key. But like, dog.

I know. That's hilarious. Like, Nori got his records back there, but he don't really have his stuff back there. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, you guys are role models, too. And I just got to keep stressing that point that so many people want to be like you guys. Like, you black and brown.

You smart. You're entrepreneurs. You're leaders. You're well-spoken, you're disciplined, you work hard. I just got to make sure that I always stress those traits about you guys. Because sometimes, most of the time, people underestimate that about you. Hey, man, we greatly appreciate that, my brother. Yeah, people underestimate that about you. We greatly appreciate that, my brother. They underestimate that about you.

They underestimate it. I love these conversations. We got to have more of these, man. This shit is amazing. We heard a snippet of the Lil Wayne Timberland. We heard a snippet, right? Yep. Million dollar question is what label is this coming out on?

You want to get to the money. Yeah. I'm in the midst of doing something pretty monumental, but I'm not able to really speak on it right now. But to answer your question, this particular song will probably just come out before this monumental thing happens. So it may it'll be right in line with me putting this out for the people just to give them something before I embark on moving forward with more music on another platform. That's the best way that I can kind of say it without being, you know, specific at this particular moment. You could disagree with me. So this is what they said to my mind. This single might come out on Empire, but then another thing might come out on something totally big.

Put your hand out of my pocket. Hey, man. That's fully registered to me. You don't have to confirm or deny. Right. I'm not confirming where it's coming out, but it'll definitely be. I have to hurry up and rush it have to confirm or deny. Right. I'm not confirming where it's coming out, but it'll definitely be... I have to hurry up and rush it out to the

people at this point because that wasn't even supposed to happen. So Timbaland is on my neck. We have to get these songs out immediately. So to answer your question, I'm still trying to really figure it all the way out, but within the next seven days, we will have it figured out. All right. And another thing,

I seen you on the ground with LL, and you played a... What was the... What was the Unreleased Fatty Girl verse? Bro, Pharrell... You gotta hear Pharrell, man. I don't know if you saw that, but Pharrell produced the original beat,

and he sampled Fat Albert. And at the beginning... Nah, nah, nah, nah, gonna have a good time. Hey, hey, hey. Doom, doom, doom, doom. So this nigga LL, it was just me and LL on the original version. LL had two verses. And so this was over 15 years ago, bro.

So I'm sitting here like LL is the person who made me want to rap when I was in the fourth grade. Wow. And I knew every word to I'm sitting here like LL is the person who made me want to rap when I was in the fourth grade. And I knew every word to I'm bad. So take your muscle ball, man, and put his face in the sand. I did that in a college show. Exactly. So check this out.

The crazy shit is I had to get all these old songs because I didn't know what I was going to play in this battle. And obviously, again, I have so many, so many more songs than 20. I just had this on the back burner. And when I went live with LL, I was like, you know what? I'll fuck LL up right now if I play this shit. I guarantee he don't remember these verses from over 15 years ago because the sample never got cleared. And nigga, Nori knows LL.

He's not the easiest motherfucker to get to smile just one-on-one. He will keep a brick wall up if you don't trust nobody. If you go back and look at my Instagram, my at Ludacris, and you see that nigga was like a little kid when I played them two verses, man, for me to be able to do

that for a person that made me want to rap, I don't think anybody will understand what that meant to me as a moment in time for hip-hop. Period. Well, Casey, I don't know. Dream Champs is about saluting our people, the longevity

that we have. In every other culture, I feel like in 10 years, you become seasoned. I feel like in our culture, when you have 10 years or 12 years or 15 years or more, and people want to say you're washed up, I wanted to change that narrative. I wanted to, you know, dig into our people and say that, you know, we legends.

You know what I mean? And I want both of y'all to understand that we are legends, man. You are to us too, nigga. You know what I'm saying? And what we did, collective. Let me get some. Hold on. Let me finish this. Band from TV, my favorite.

I'm still listening to that shit, man. No doubt. War Report, too. Wait, Jalen, what you drinking, Jalen? What is that? So, Luda, you appreciate this as well as Nori. I can show this because I can act like it's sports

and ESPN been talking about the last dance, so I can say, hey, I'm show this because I can act like it's sports and ESPN been talking about the last dance. So I can say, hey, I'm drinking this because we're showing a lot of Michael Jordan. Oh, that's Michael Jordan tequila. OK, that's dope. You know, you watch the last dance. You got to ask a question about the last man. Listen, I did, bro. And listen, people wonder why I wear Jordans all the time. last day. Man, listen. I did, bro. Listen,

people wonder why I wear Jordans all the goddamn time, man. I'm such a Jordan fan. Not only of the shoes, but I'm so glad people got to see that last dance because of what he stood for, how competitive he was, how he would stop at no cost, how this nigga was

finding shit to be mad at to drive him in order to win the championship. Let's be clear, Lula. You was happy when he shut down Jalen and Reggie Miller. Let's just throw it out there. Let's throw it out there. You was happy? You gotta go to the extreme.

You gotta go to the extreme in order for it to be an interesting story, man. And it was such an interesting story. So I do have a question for Jalen. The rumors that you may have heard about how there were times where this nigga might smoke two or three cigars

before he went out and played motherfucking full game of basketball. Disrespectful. What the... Like, how many cigars did the nigga really smoke? Did he, like, take a puff or two of it

and then put it out? So... Oh, my goodness. I love our put it out? So, so, Oh my goodness. I love our culture so much. So like, thank you very much for asking me that question because, uh,

thank Nori. Cause he forced me to ask you a question. So here's the thing. People estimate the fact that as artists, you have things that make you get into the mold to be creative. Whatever it is, it could be somebody rubbing your toes. It could be you smoking. It could be you sleeping.

It could be you drinking. It could be you drinking. It could be whatever. And one of the most discouraging things that I saw in the documentary MJ was smoking and drinking and had a pot belly

and beat us. For real, fam. I didn't realize. Y'all know social media wasn't like that in the 90s. You know what I'm saying? We had voicemails. We had

answering machines. It wasn't like that. I'm thinking that MJ eating lemons and drinking celery juice and going home and beating us. Now I'm watching this, I'm like, he's

smoking cigars on game day, got a hot belly, and he beat us? It's like, dog. I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed enough. I just didn't know how many fucking cigars that nigga Would sometimes smoke cause I'm sure after the game I'm sure after the game if he won

The nigga went right back to smoking more You never seen him Lootin' without a drink or a cigar Yes till this day That's how he is right now He produced it This is how he is right now He smoked like five cigars a day Nigga, this is how he is right now.

He smoked like five cigars a day, nigga, and coughed all day. Come on, bro. It's a different world, bro. That nigga, he's an alien, man. He's a fucking alien. He is not from this world at all. Never has been.

Hey, man, I love you motherfuckers, but are y'all hungry? I gotta eat some fucking food in a minute. Are y'all gonna pass me a plate in this bitch or is there gonna be a part two? Is there a part two? Well, you the only one that own like five restaurants chicken and beer, right? You still got chicken

and beer? Yeah. Chicken and beer is in the restaurant. I mean, in the airport, the Atlanta airport. Yeah. Dude, I just ate there. I be eating there all the time. You know, going from Detroit to Atlanta, I always go support. How rich you got to be to have a spot in Atlanta airport?

Lula, I bought food for like 10 people. How rich you got to be? Lula, to have a spot. Oh, no, it's not about how rich you got to be. It's just, you know, with the airport situation, they have people that they come together and there's a bid. And basically you have to win the bid in a whole concourse. And that's basically, it's like a bunch of business partners. And then they kind of have a raffle and things of that nature.

So that's what it is. It's really just about, you know, kind of lucking up and having the right individuals around you and making sure that you are 100% when it comes to all of the rules and regulations and everything that needs to be done. So that's God right there, man. Hey, Nori, can I go San Francisco on you? Like when Smitty and Hoppy come to the house and they translate what they're saying, basically Luda had more money and being hired than everybody in that side of the concourse to make sure that he got his restaurant in there.

That's kind of what I heard. Hilarious. That's kind of what I heard. Now, these are the last two questions, then we're going to get up out of here. So how is it being—are you in Georgia Georgia or you don't have to tell me if... Yeah, I'm in Atlanta. By the way, when I do come to Drink Champs, you better believe I'm about to eat a motherfucking beast

because I know damn well... We got you, we got you. I got it, good, good. But how is it being like the first couple of states that's opened up? Have you been out, you know, or you been staying home? I have not, not man i don't i don't agree with them opening up early i feel like yeah the numbers are still going up and you

know i think people this is we in a time right now where we really you know have to identify the leaders from the followers and people need to step up and uh you know the leaders are all saying it's well except for one particular leader and then it makes you question why exactly he's telling certain well you talking about um our commander in tweets yeah that's gonna tell you that's only one of the people yeah that's only one of them but but yeah man i i would recommend we don't go out definitely we trying to stay safe man and healthy and continue to that's why i I say KidNation.com, man. We got to we got to plant the seeds of the future and make them think along different lines than some of some of us do in our adult stage, period.

Yeah, the same thing, man. appreciate both of you um gentlemen that are really intelligent and you're socially and politically conscious and you put on for the culture like this isn't a time for black and brown people to rush and start slapping high fives hugging one another right and acting like that we have a cure or a vaccine to the coronavirus because we don't. Right. And a lot of cities are going to open early. And that's because that they they understand the commerce that comes with that. But we have to stay safe because like Lula was just, you know, basically alluding to, they put us in a 400 year, um, uh, trail position. So we like in close proximity with one another.

So when you hear like social distancing, like we don't have the money or the space to like get further from each other and be six feet in the market and at FedEx or UPS at the barbershop or that type of thing. So I just hope that small businesses and black and brown people are able to maintain themselves and stay healthy during this period of time. But like Luda said, this ain't the time yet. Like we need like another couple of weeks, another month to really acknowledge what's happening in our country. Real talk. What he said, LaRue?

Real talk. He said it. Real talk, man. Yo, I'm going to be honest man you know drink champs i don't know if you guys know we started this four years ago and our whole thing is about giving people their flowers now everybody always want to show you love when a person pass away or die and we are great while we alive you know and that's the reason why i started drink champs because it doesn't take me anything to say that jay Rose, you're a great motherfucking looter.

You motherfucking great. It doesn't take anything away from me. I'm a man's man and I love to give people their flowers now. And that's the reason why I started Drink Champs, the reason why EFN, hopefully his Internet was fucked up. But, you know, I'm holding him down. That's my brother. And this is the reason why. It's to show you people how much we love you guys. Let me just say this, Ben. While you're on that subject, bro,

I don't know if anybody's ever told you this in this particular way, but as a student of hip-hop, as a person who loved hip-hop, as you being one of the individuals that came before me, what I can say about you, in a world where rap, and it's a lot of motherfuckers

that sound very similar and sound very alike, there's one thing that can never be said about Nori when it comes to getting on a track. You're going to do something

and find a cadence and a beat that absolutely no one on this motherfucking earth would ever remotely think about doing it the way that you do it. Pharrell would give you certain beats. And as rappers, sometimes we try to figure out how we're going to get on a track, how we're going to ride that motherfucker, how we're going to do certain things.

And you hear Nori get on the track, you'd be like, how in the fuck? This nigga, dude, like, how did he think to get on the track in this particular way? You are unique in the sense of you got that, bro. I'm giving you that. I'm telling you right now, not one person on this earth would be able to step on a fucking song the way that you do. And that's what makes you stand out as the individual that you are, bro. Period. That's dope. Thank you are bro period that's dope and that's somebody that was living in Miami in the late 90s

and somebody that was so very blessed and fortunate to spend time with Ludo and he was gracious enough to put me in one of his videos I can't lie like the war report the NRE the cadence and the cadence reminded me of one another

so like for me to be on with both of you guys like i'm nobody special it's just like crazy to me so congratulations and i appreciate y'all having me on hey we love it man we love we love both of your brothers man thank you for taking the time out for best with Drink Chats because Drink Chats, that's what it's about. It's about giving people their flowers where they can smell them. How many cups is that? That's only three? Is that three? I'm on my third bottle. I know everyone is saying it

now, but we did this four years ago because I realized that me bigging up my brothers doesn't take nothing away from me. I love hip-hop. Do you remember the diary? We did a diary. Yes, I do. me bigging up my brothers doesn't take nothing away from me me i love hip-hop i remember do you remember the diary we did a diary yes the first diary mtv diary i do remember that i'm on def jam i'm i'm i'm messing around luka got i think the number one record at the time yeah so luda's we all on a death jam tour. So Luda's going to

each different room. And listen, you tell me if I'm lying. You stop me if I'm lying at one point. And at the time, a lot of people from New York was migrating to Atlanta. And it was a great thing. It was a super great thing. But there was one dude that was dead.

And he said, these motherfuckers come out here from Queens. They don't show nobody love. And I said, I'm going to show you some love. Oh, shit. Body slam this nigga all over the room. Mind you, Luda told me he coming. But I didn't know that the moment that Luda come in my room,

I'm going to be body slamming a nigga from Queens. I'm not lying. That shit is hilarious, bro. I remember that shit, yes. All up against the wall and everything, bro. That shit is crazy. Crazy. I love it, bro. I love you too, Luda, man.

Jalen Rose, man. I love both of you. Family. I love both of y'all, man. Yo, man. Thank you so much, man. Both of you brothers, man. Luda, man. Congratulations. Jada, man. I love both of you. Family. I love both of y'all, man. Yo, man. Thank you so much, man. Both of you brothers, man. Luda, man. Congratulations. Jada, congratulations. Keep doing everything we'll be doing, man. Yo, man. I can't be... I'm so thankful, man. You know what I mean?

Man, we thankful for you. Salute. Salute, man. Salute. Love, Jalen. Yeah, man. Yo, family. I'll see both of y'all soon. I appreciate the love. Absolutely. Thank you, brothers, both, man. This's up, family? I'll see both of y'all soon. I appreciate the love. Absolutely. Thank you, brothers both, man. This shit has been historic.

God damn it. It's historic. Yeah. Thank you. I apologize. I don't even know how to do this. Thank you, Jalen. Thank you, family.

I'm going to text you. Great show. Great show. That was a lot of action. Not just an easy meeting. Why is a soap opera Western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the

ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your gut microbiome and those healthy bacteria can actually have positive effects. Your mental health, your immunity, your risk of cancer, almost any disease under the sun. This week on Dope Labs, TT and I dive into the world of probiotics, the hype, the science,

and what your gut bacteria are really doing behind the scenes. From drinks and gummies to probiotic pillows. Yes, really, probiotic pillows. We're breaking down what's legit and what's just brilliant marketing. With expert insight from gastroenterologist Dr. Roshi Raj. Listen to Dope Labs on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. And it's going to take us to heal us. It's Mental Health Awareness Month, and on a recent episode of Just Heal with Dr. J, the incomparable Taraji P. Henson stopped by to discuss how she's discovered peace on her journey. I never let that little girl inside of me die. To hear this and more things on the journey of healing, you can listen to

Just Heal with Dr. J from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. AT&T, connecting changes everything. My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a storyHeart Podcast. Thank you.