Nightcap - Nightcap LIVE from the Herbst Theatre for Super Bowl LX Hour 1

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson are live from San Francisco at the Herbst Theatre! Unc and Ocho are interviewing the biggest guest as we prepare for Super Bowl LX, featuring the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks! Download the PrizePicks app today and use code SHANNON to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NIGHTCAP   (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Use Coach Shannon to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's coach Shannon to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, it's feel good to be right. Thank you so much. Thank you for everyone that showed up. We greatly, greatly appreciate that, Uncun Ocho.

We're nothing without you. I love you. I love you. I think it's, it's more. moments like this that, uh, me personally, I'm just going to speak for me and then Ocho can speak for himself, that I get an opportunity to realize just, just how special you guys are. Um, I don't, I don't have to get into what transpired in 2025, but for you to have a, so for us to have a show, a sold-out show tonight and the support that you've shown Ocho and I, uh, uh, Shannon Short will be forever grateful. Thank you guys.

Listen, for those of you that I don't know, and I'm always playing around. You don't know nobody in this audience. I know, hold on. For those he don't know. You don't think so? You don't think so? Hell no. You're home, boy.

I know, I know a few people, but I appreciate y'all. I thank you. You know, you guys don't understand that you guys are the meat and potato for our success. I'm very grateful for everything that you've done for us through the ups and the downs. and the fact that we're able to still sell out a show here in San Francisco. I thank y'all dearly. So hello, San Francisco. Welcome to Nightcap Live from the Earps Theater, presented by prize picks.

We do have a La Portier bar at the back, so make sure you go grab yourself a drink. Get drunk. Ocho, so, I mean, you've been out in the Mountain City. You've had an opportunity to get around. You're live streaming. So what do you think about the Bay Area thus far? I love the Bay Area. I've been here.

I love the Bay Area. I love the Bay Area. One part, one issue. I had one issue. Obviously, I took the little buggy carts, a little yellow buggy carts, you know, and they take you on a certain trail, and I went down. What's the steep hill you go down? Right.

So, Roney Hill? Huh? Lombard, Lombard. I went to Lombard, and I was driving, and I accelerated, and I flipped. And so I flipped, and I rolled a little bit. But, man, listen, the Golden Gate Bridge, I tried to jump. And the guy told me, don't jump, because, you know, Some people, it's been casualties.

And I told him I'm a professional diver. Yeah, you're cliff diver. So listen. Apoco cliff diver, yeah. You know, I did cliff diving in Brazil. So I know how to hit the water the right way. You got to point to toes. We point to toes, you good.

But, man, listen, San Francisco, oh, my God, I ate at A soul food today. Okay. You got to go. I went to many bells. Y'all been there many bells? Boy, man, listen, the greens and the macaroni and cheese and the yam. Boy, it was right on. I'll tell you, you got to go there tomorrow.

Well, they better be open at 7.30 because my flight leaves at 10. Are you leaving tomorrow? Absolutely, I'm leaving tomorrow. Where are you going? I'm going home. I don't know where you're going. I want to stay here because I like it here.

Listen, the flight, the flight, and I'm going to tell you why I'm staying, right? I got some few obligations tomorrow, but San Francisco has been so welcoming. The people have been very nice. everywhere I've been. So the flight, the Miami is six hours, and I just got here two days ago. Ain't no way in hell I'm going to fly another six back home already. It's probably about four and a half back home.

Why you said that? Because you got the wind at your back. You ever heard of the prevailing westerlies? Like when you come east to west, the wind is in your face, and when you go west to east, you have a tailwind. You bullshit. For real? I'll discuss it with you later. Okay. Okay, here's the class. The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced this class. of 2026. Going in on the first ballot, Drew Brees, quarterback, New Orleans Saints,

San Diego Chargers. Going in on his first ballot, Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals. Going in, linebacker, Carolina Panthers, Luke Keakley. Going in, one of the greatest kicker, if not the greatest kicker from the New England Paterson and the Indianapolis coach,

Adam Venetieri. And going in, the high stepping, Roger Craig. You like that, what do you think? Drew Breeze, Larry Fitzgerald, Keekley, Adam Venetieri, and Roger Craig. I love it. I love it.

I mean, with those names, what they've accomplished, what they've done throughout their career. No coach Belichick, no Mr. Krai. Listen, their resume speaks for itself. Correct. Harry Fitzgerald, rightfully so. Luke Keekley, even though he had a short career, what he did during that time he played,

awesome. Venetary speaks for itself. Yep. Obviously, what? Three, four-time Super Bowl winner champion? How many times you want to win? Three or four. Three or four.

Either way. Yeah, he went four. Because he won one with the coast and he won three. Okay. So, I mean, you can't argue with anybody that's been in there. Yeah. So this is a great list. Obviously, a lot of news was made about who didn't get in.

Yes. Mr. Kraft obviously didn't get in, which is a surprise to me. I don't know what he's doing to keep him out. Coach Belichick, I understand, you know, the Flakegate, the spy gate, and a lot of the writers that vote for this, they probably feel at some point in time, Coach Belichick wronged them. He was snide, condescending,

or whatever the case may be, cavalier with his answers or things like that. But at the end of the day, if you put him in, I guess they're putting him in, they're going to make him wait because they say he's unworthy of being a first ballot. And the argument that they use is that they say, well, what was he without Tom Brady?

And my retort to them, what was Coach Noel without Terry Bradshaw? what was Coach Lombardi without Bart Stark? So most of the time, most coaches that go into the Hall of Fame, they have a Hall of Fame quarterback. This is not, you know, I'm not interrupting your normally scheduled program to break this news to you. Everybody knows, with the exception of Bill Parcells,

the exception of Joe Gibbs. Joe Gibbs won the Super Bowl three times with three different quarterbacks. Coach Parcells won it two times with two different quarterbacks, Jeff Hott, Stellar, and Phil Sims. But you can't hold who. who he, you know, who his quarterback is. I think it goes hand in hand. I think they work brilliantly together.

I'm not so sure Tom Brady would have won as many Super Bowls without Coach Belichick, and we know Coach Belichick would not have won as many, if any, without Tom Brady. So it was a match perfectly made in heaven. But those are your 2026 class, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Keakley, Adam Venetieri, and Roger Craig. So give it up for those guys going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I mean, you played, you played, I played against Adam. I played against Drew Brees when he was with the charges.

These other guys, Larry came in, I was gone. Obviously, I played against Roger because if I'm not mistaken, I think he was with the Raiders when I got there, when I got with Denver in 1990. But this is a very good class. Drew Brees, one of the top quarterbacks ever to play the game. Larry Fitzgerald, one of the top receivers to ever play the game. Keekly, like you said, he had a very short career,

but he was a defensive, he was a defensive player, the defensive rookie of the year. And the next season, he was defensive player of the year. He's the real deal. Many time all pro, he was sudden. He was all over the field. A very good student of the game. He was a thumper, very well deserving.

I think Adam Ventyteria was a no-brainer because he is one of the greatest kickers. I mean, you can make a case him. And the guy that was at Baltimore might be the two clutches kickers ever, especially in moments in which they've come through big. All right, we got two very, very special guests under the tent pole. Here they are. They have their own show, James Harrison and Joe Hayden, Debo and Joe.

We was just going over this Hall of Fame class. Drew Brees, Landfitz, Gerald, Luke Keakley, Adam Venetier, and Roger Craig. With the exception of Craig, you were in the league with all of these guys were in the league. Any surprises? Drew, obviously, Drew, obviously, Drew with the records that he had. Ladd Fitzgerald was consistent throughout his career. Luke Keekley, one of the best middle linebackers to ever play the game. Obviously, one of the best big game kickers in the NFL history.

Adam Vanity Terry and Roger Craig, the first man to rush and receive for 1,000 yards in the single season in 1985. What do you think about this list? All deserving. I don't know. I don't know. When you talk about a guy at first to do something,

he was on those championship teams, I think the thing is that when you look at, especially you look at Raj, and the guys that were in, he having to be in the Eric Dickerson ever. And he looked at it. He had to be in some of those guys that were rushing for 15, 16, 17, 70, 100 yards,

and he never had that kind of. of season. He was just, you know, he was kind of like a Marshall Falka, a guy, a Christian McCaffrey, a guy that can do everything. You just didn't hand him the ball and he's like, okay, he's going to go for a buck $5,200 a day. He did a little bit of everything. He might have 70 yards rushing. He might have 70 yards receiving. And so I think that kind of kept him back, kept his numbers down. But I think he's very, very deserving to go in. What do you think about this list? I love the list. I actually played against, you know,

a lot of those dudes too, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Keakley. I think nice hands Larry. I'm super glad. for him to get in such a good dude, such a good person. He was so dominant for such a long time, and he wasn't the fastest either. So he was able to get open with his body, and if it was in his area, he was going to catch the ball. You mentioned you have an opportunity to spend one season playing for Coach Belichick.

You're talking about a guy that's won eight Super Bowl, six as a head coach, two as a defensive coordinator. His game plan in which he stopped the K-gun, the Buffalo Bills offense in the 1990 Super Bowl, is on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What do you think are some of the reasons outside of his personality. What do you think some of the reasons why

he was unable to get in on the first ballot Hall of Famer? They've only been for George Coach Hallis went in on the first ballot. Chuck Noel went in on the first ballot. Coach Lombardi went on the first ballot. And Don Schu Laudeau went on the first ballot. So they've only had four First Ballot Hall of Fame coaches.

He got better numbers than all of them. He does. So him not getting in there is just basically I think it's an opportunity for them. where they're like, you know what, it's time for me to get my get back. It ain't no fun when the rubber got the gun. I ain't like how you talk to me or how you didn't talk to me.

I don't like how you, you know, your relationship with the media because that's a lot of the people, writers who actually are doing it, and it shouldn't be guys like that. It should be guys that are in the Hall of Fame. It should be guys that are first ballot and you're coming up for First Ballot, I believe it should be First Ballad Hall of Fameers that are voting on that. Right. It shouldn't be somebody that has been just writing about the game,

looking at the game and then when the time comes, you know what, I want to settle with school. Right. I like that. I don't like the fact that the writers of the people, the 50 voters that are allowed to vote for some of the players that are going in, especially when it comes to something that's prestigious as the Hall of Fame, I think

it should be those that have played against you, those that have had the coach against you, and that you give them 50 people too much power. And now they're abusing that power, said power, for something that is almost common sense, based on resume and accolades, especially when to come to somebody like to be a Belichick. That's what I'm saying.

Like you could be a blind man and see what he's done and know that he's supposed to be in first ballot. So the fact that they had that kind of power and they like to play and move the goalposts depending on who the person is. They're going to make excuse for somebody they don't want to get in. For those that they like that conformed or aligned to how they felt they should have been, okay, yes, he's available. Well, this is not the first time, and I caused it for us.

I couldn't, I used to think that I knew what a Hall of Famer was, especially, you know, obviously, you know, when you don't play the game, you're like, okay, he should get in because you're just watching it on television. But after playing the game, and I see Derek Thomas have to wait five times for him to get in, I see T.O. who still want to one, three receivers to have 150 receiving touchdowns in a career. He was a five-time all-pro, but three with three different teams. Only two other players can say that, and they're both first-team all-pros. And then when you change the bylaws, they didn't change the rules to keep Coach Belichick out,

They changed the rules to keep T.O. from getting on the first ballot. So now I say, y'all, now all of a sudden you should have an open ballot. You didn't have an open ballot when T.O. didn't get in. So, no, we're not going to do that. No. We're not going to do that. We're not going to change the rules. And just because you don't like who became the governor or who became the president,

oh, not everybody got to show their ballot who you voted for. Get out of here. Yeah, no, I'm with you. I think the 50 voters, the gatekeeping. I don't like, it's normally when you see Bill Belichick, if anybody's seeing them coach, blind man, no. said that's a Hall of Fame, first ballot. If he's not, who else is?

Right. It kind of takes the validity away from it. I don't like the people that if he treated you a certain type of way, you didn't like the way he answered you for the media, all that. If you, for the play gate, take all that stuff away. He still has four ships. He's still better. It still doesn't

change whether or not he was a good coach. Whether how he treated you doesn't change whether or not he was good at his job. Now, he might be, there are plenty of people. Your boss might be a jerk. He's still your boss. I mean, so, Coach Belichick might have been a jerk, but he's still a damn good football coach. And I think sometimes that get lost, but it does.

If we like said individual, we'll give them grace. If we don't like said player, even if they do a great job in a movie, I don't like you, so the movie ain't no good. And I think that's what happened with Coach Belichick. A lot of people don't like him, and it tainted their view about him as a head coach. The people that don't like him are just the bolders. Like, I went there for about four or six weeks. Yeah.

And I'm sitting down to go talk to him, and I'm like, this is going to be a different conversation? Right. Is he going to be talking to me like he's doing the media? And it's all the show, though. Like, he is very open, very communicative. He says what he means, and he does exactly what he says. Like, it's plain and simple.

And something else, like, his ability, dude, to take a player and put them in the position that he sees them being able to play best, like, dude, we had, like, 12 different defensive sets. And it may switch out one person, it may switch out six people. But he was going to put the person in a position that he needed to do the job. To be able to make that place?

Yes. Wow. So talk to us a little about the show. You got a show. And we talked to us a little bit about this today that when Ocho and I, we went on vacation and we're trying to find people to fill in and like, okay, maybe this is something

that could lead long term. Maybe they'll see if they like to do it or maybe they don't like to do it, but this is something that they'll see, get an opportunity to see what it's like to do their own show. So when you got, when, and I remember when Asch said, well, Debo said, I say, Debo who? I see, he don't, I mean, he, he, he, he want to talk,

he really want to do a podcast? He said yes. And so he signed up and then you got Joe. So what went into it? Why did it all of a sudden you say, you know what, I think I want to do this? So I got a fear. So I'm a person. The reason I was so standoffish with the media and all that is because I was nervous. I was scared. And I was running away from son. So it wasn't me trying to be an asshole.

I just was nervous of what I was going to say. Right. And this was another opportunity. Like just out here like just talking right now in front of people like this, dude, if it was 10 people in the room, I couldn't put together two words. Like, and now, you know, I'm like, you know what, it's an opportunity. You know, let me see, you know, if I like it. It's not something that I'm really committing to, committing to. So I think I ended up doing it with TJ. Yeah. I ended up doing it with TJ and it went it went well I enjoyed it and I just really got to I got to say what I wanted to say without having to worry about what team I was on or what this person or that person you know is going to say because I no longer had to you know go and answer to anybody right and

you know through that process like you said talk with Ashley and she's like yo would you want it I'm like yeah for sure like you know let's try I will give a lot of credit to my manager, Risa, the lay on, she actually really talked me into it. She's like, come on, you can do it, like they want to hear what you got to say. You ain't even got to really, they just want to hear what you got to say. They want to see you, like, as a real person.

So I'm like, all right, cool, let's do it. And Joe ended up coming from just, I went to a charity softball game. Okay. And it was, man, we had been looking for somebody for, like, probably like two, three months or something. And nobody was, like, really fit and

and didn't like the people they brought up, you They didn't like a couple. Well, I had two people that I, and we just sat down, and we were sitting there playing in the softball game for camp, and we just chopped it up. Like, we had been knowing each other for 30 years, like, never missed time. I just saw you yesterday, and I'm like, yo, what about Joe Ate? And they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And in that process, he was actually, you could take off from here, but he was looking at trying to do a podcast itself. Right. So same thing. So I was Debo funny dude. We played on the same team. And he was very standoffish when I came to the Steelers, because this was 2017. T.J. came there.

It was more like, you know, him and coach, just the whole situation. So Debo was like Debo. He wasn't really talking to too many people. He wasn't being too friendly. So I would see him through the locker room, and I was just new to the team. And we were always cool, always respectful, always. What's up, Debo? How are you doing?

He was, you know, what up, Joe? Boom. All right. Eating his food, doing his workouts, handling business. So Debo was real cool. And when we met him again, we ended up linking up. Cam Hayward's thing. I just think he's just good dude, we just

respected each other, and we have two totally different perspectives on stuff. We got two different angles, but we have a common ground of respect, and I rock with him. I think that's why it works so well because I watch y'all sometimes. I wake up in the morning, and I don't appreciate y'all. Ignore me

when I be in the chat talking. Hey, I'll be spamming the chat trying to get their attention, and they just keep on talking. And I'd be spamming it. It really be directed at one person. And he ignored me, huh? It's hard to know you right now. You notice something.

Notice what he said is when he was playing, he didn't really talk to the media because there was a fear and he was scared and he would run from it. What do you think my middle name was in high school? Bullshit. Nah, my middle name was media. Media. So he was running from you.

Been running from you. Matter of fact, when we played it, when we played, I used to punk him on the field, Joe. Like that's, I'm telling you. Listen, man, he talking about me actually talking nice to him one time. After they were finding my ass like crazy, I was just trying to get some good conversation. Nah, no, yeah, no. If I did pop somebody and the ref heard the conversation I was having, I really wasn't the person that was aggressive.

I was, you know, I was going to be the person that was going to put him in the sleep. But, for sure. Other than that. Listen to what he just said. He was talking nice to me. Yeah. Talking nice to me. Like, I'll punked you.

What are you talking about? It's okay. It's okay. You don't have to be tough all the time. There are people tougher you. Yes. Like me? No.

I walked into that. This game, we're a couple of days away from the big game. The Patriots, Seattle. Seattle's been one of the top teams all year. I don't think anybody, I don't, excuse me. The Seahawks has been one of the top teams all year. The Patriots, I mean, you think about, They won four games last year.

They get a new coach, the second year for the quarterback, Drake May, and all of a sudden they just get better and better and better. The one thing about the Patriots, they're not going to beat themselves. It doesn't matter who the coach is. Obviously, Brabel, he's kind of like Belichick, but he's a more personal coach Belichick. And it seems the guys really, really love playing for him, and he's really ingratiated himself because he was a player.

So he knows how to get the players to play at a certain level. Who do you like in this game and why? I like the Patriots because of the coach. I've seen, you know, what he did from the beginning that he got there to where he's at now. I've seen in the progress of just the quarterback in the last two games where, you know, you see Drake, he's like, oh, I could take off from this. He's like, nope, I'm going to lay down. Right. I remember last week I tried to do that and I phone with the rock.

You know, it was situations like, oh, I could have made that throw, nope. Let me go ahead and sit down and take that sack because it was an opportunity there where if he had me. made that throw, dude, with a step in front of it. Right. So I think, you know, the quarterback is really growing through the process. They're trusting each other. Like, the team is trusting, the offense is trusting the defense, and the defense is trusting the offense, and special teams is doing their thing to

put in. And I just feel like, you know, with him there, man, I just, I can't go against it. I just can't, I just can't, man. He did a great job. That's just one year. Right. Great. around. Who you like, Joe? I like Seattle.

Okay. This is why I don't like you. I got, I got, I got, I got, I got, I got reasons. I got reasons. I just out here saying things to no reason. I like New England too, but going into the playoffs, I mean, Drake May and me hasn't been doing too good. Sam Darnold, when they beat, when they beat, uh, Rams, I didn't, I didn't know. I was up in the air with Sam Donald. I would always blame like, I don't know. They had no D-Bs, Joe. Debo, there you go. I'm talking. I wasn't talking when you. was talking. So Sam Donald

in that offense and now with Walker running the ball the way he's doing Jackson Smith and Jigba those DBs, yes. My man, number three, I call him, maybe Derwin James. Little Durman James, he's unbelievable. So the defense, they're balling. If Sam Donald is doing what he does

like he did versus the Rams, they're going to win. Because I mean, the Patriots, good, good, good team, but like Drake, I love him to death, but this playoff last week, you see them taking the knees. 8 and 6. The weather was bad, but 10 to 7. Yeah, I think the thing is, if Sam Darnel can avoid

what he's not done this entire playoff run, which is turn the football over. He takes care of football. They're going to be tough to beat. You turn the football over, you lose. You lose this ball game. There's a lot of new, there was a lot of being said about. They asked Tom Brady, who's he rooting for.

Tom Brady spent 20 years with the New England Patriots and everybody just automatically assume, man, I'm for the Patriots. He said, I just hope for a good game. I don't really have a a dog in the fight. His former team is like, what? What you mean you ain't got no dog in the fight? You got six dogs.

You got a whole kennel. Hey, he's an owner now. Yeah. He's the owner of the Red is now. He ain't got the dog in the fight. He's just trying to tell you. But I could see, you know what? I could see.

All y'all do is make noise. Y'all never make no plays. Yeah. I could see if he was calling the game for Fox. And you want to, you want to seem new. neutral, but he's not calling the game. I can assure you, if I was on live television and Leonard television, we talk about it,

I'm rooting for the Broncos. Yes. You're not supposed to. I know I'm not supposed to, but I'm going to. You know what? That creates unnecessary news for him, because now the headline becomes Tom Brady's rooting for the Patriots. That's too much.

Now he has to play defense. Let me ask you question. One, because of this position with the Raiders. Yes. Two, because the position as an analyst, it alleviates any issue. Dude, the position with the Raiders and the analysts should never have come together. That should even go together. That's a problem right there.

It's Tom Brady, so, you know, we're going to let it go. If I tried to do that, man, they'd be on my ass. Do you actually think, let's be real. Do you actually think Tom Brady is not rooting for the Patriots? He's rooting for the Patriots. Exactly. I would think so. I would think so.

He said to make it seem like he's neutral. Like, you know, I really don't have a dog in the fight, bro. You spent 20 years there. Your fondest memories. We got a trophy outside in front of the stadium. A statue, yes. I mean, he's going to stand brave up something if they win that thing, though, for sure. They want me to hold that before you put it on my best.

No, I don't. I don't. You all see that back. That's for sure. Man, congratulations to all the success, man. Debo and Joe, hey, your first year, you did unbelievable. It's only get big and better moving forward, man. Glad.

Congratulations. Joe. Huh? Oh, get right, people. I said, that ain't really what you want. What you mean? Is that really what you don't? You never know.

Huh? This face off is brought to you by Morgan and Morgan. When this is all over, someone certainly will need an injury attorney. So, maybe one of both. And what better way, the number one injury law firm in the country. country is Morgan and Morgan. And you know what? They happen to be a sponsor of this show, so we might can get one of you guys a discount. He talking to me. That's why I had to take that chain off. I don't know. Guys, who we got? We got Debo or do we have Ocho?

Hey, it's a lot of Raider fans out there. We know what y'all do. Y'all can't play just like this nigger can't fight. Appreciate you. Appreciate you. I don't know. I don't know, Cho. I don't know. He too little. He too little? Yeah, I mean, you are? Hey, he too, no, I ain't, I'm too, I'm too, I'm too, yeah, I show hope, uh, I show hope we still get that discounted, Morgan and Morgan.

Hey, see, hey, hey, listen, listen, now you know, you know in the Bible, they had a story, David and Goliath. Goliath was huge but David won That would be the same story in 2026 against him All that muscle don't mean nothing He throw two punches he tired Two

Two, he goes I can't breathe man Man, man Choke he not man All that don't mean nothing man Are you doing boxing or MMA? Listen, MMA or boxing He can't fight

He too big Well I don't think you'd probably need to find out whether he can or can. Oh, we're going to, we're going to set it up. We're going to set it up. Chat, wouldn't y'all like to see that? Yeah.

Yeah, man. All right, we got a very special live performance. Here he is from the Bay. rapper La Russell. I don't know, he might need my microphone. He might need me an Ocho to join. Hey. I should put spree wheels on a station wagon

on front of home of the East Bay Dragon a little up north where I landed, baby. I ain't had nothing handed, baby. I'm that who I'm from to be candid. I don't ask for respect, I demand it. Soon as to plain land, I be getting to the chicken. A fellow like me is slim picket. The man that you win, he's a bargain brand.

I'm Mountain Valley Spring, not the Target brand. Hello? Are you hard adhering? You have a hot out the car while steering. You have a geek tea, sweat it out your white tea. You have a cheese and took somebody wipe me. You have a ticket to the view, not the sight seat. I got flavor.

That's why the people bite me. Ugh. I got flavor. Y'all like me. I got flavor. Spriggle me, man. I do like this. Put a look on my face like I smell so.

Bounce to the beat till it starts to hurt. Then I dust hard and smirk off me. Dipped to the ground as I catch the bass. Then I wipe all the sweat off me. I back up and I start to slide. Popping my collar. I break the thing down and do the dust myself off like I just don't care. Come on, everybody.

Now's your chance. Fuck the hell. I'm shaking. Obviously the West Coast rap, we know the West Coast. The Bay don't get the love that they deserve. You know, you got 40. Rest the soul, Mike Dre. You got so, at what age did you like?

You know what? I'm going to give this rap finger try. I started rapping when I was like seven. Wow. But I didn't believe I could really do it until I was like 23. Okay. At what moment hit you? What moment hit you?

There was a moment for Unk that it hit him. You know what I can play it? the next level. There was a moment for me where I understood, you know what, maybe I can give this a shot because I can play at the next level. At what moment in life did it hit you this rapid thing and I could really do this shit? I put out an album in 2018. Yes, sir. And my pops, like, was giving it out. And one day I'm in the garage. I'm just working and the UPS driver pulled up, and he hop out the truck. He's like, nigger, what did your daddy give me?

And it was my album. You know, and it was one of those moments that was like, man, I might have something most special than I believe myself. Right. That was the moment that you knew. But when you talk about debate, obviously, everybody knows Forty Water. Have you had an opportunity to mingle with Forty Water? Did he give you hit put you on top of any game?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Water laced me. You know? Anytime I call, he asks him, he pick up, and he laced me, he connect me wherever I need to be connected. Definitely. So you with the 49ers, you're the bang bang bang gang or what are your favorite to you? I'm with the Ye' Area. You hear me? So you all things, yeah, are you the Warriors? You the A. All things, yeah area. Wow. So when you, when you perform, when you go to the East Coast, is the East Coast hip, they know. They know.

who Russell is? Definitely. I sell out every coast, coast to coast, north and south. Yada right. I love that. I love that. I love that flavor.

Who you room for on Sunday? Who you got? Well, me and my homie's performing on Sunday, so I'm room for us. I got the home team with me. You're like, if it's not the Niners, I don't really care who win. We'll lose a draw. I'm good.

As long as I'm there. I'm in there. Right. Right. Hey, you said you started rapping at seven, right? Obviously, at one point you made an album, inspiration. We all pulled inspiration from somewhere that makes us want to do something, that gives us motivation. Who was your inspiration, especially here from the Bay Area? Man, I'm a major. Yeah, definitely Madgerie.

Everybody that puts some sauce in a pot, though, you know, I really took some from everybody. I was out the trunk hand-to-hand because of 40 and short. You know, and I was deep in life rap because of pocket. Everybody that put sauce in the pot, you know, I took what I needed from them. Right, okay. You recently signed to Jay-Z's label. How has that been? It's been incredible.

You know, I went to sleep. I went. I went to sleep one night, and I didn't have no songs on the radio, and I woke up the next day on 50 radio stations. Damn. Is that one of the reasons why it's so hard? And you need that machine, which is the record company, the label behind you to push. Because when you're independent, it's kind of hard to get that kind of airplay because you need people from coast to cold to hear you like, man, I like, I like a dude, man.

He's nice like that. But when you're independent, it's just hard to get that airplane. Yeah, the relationship is different. You know, when you're independent and you go to radio, that might be your first time. So it's their first time meeting you, their first time doing business versus with a label. They've done business for 100 years, you know? They already connected and respected. So it's just a different grind.

You know, and I'm still independent. We spend our own paper and we come up with all our own stuff. We put out our own music. We just got a partner now to help. Right. I like that. Give me your Mount Rushmore Bay Area rappers. Sheesh.

Toop. Okay. Pop. Okay. MacJ. Matt Drey. E40. Two short.

Too short. Okay. That's a solid ass list. Yeah, that's a good list. We're going to get you out of this. What advice would you give young and up-and-up-and-comer rappers that want to get into the game? Maybe take the approach that you took. What was some of the advice that you would like to give that you would pass along?

Be authentic as possible. You know, I really got this far because I connected and resonated with my community. People see me in a community. they see themselves. I'm not somebody that's up here. Like I'm, or people still get to come up to me and dab me up and talk to me. And I'm not trying to flex on nobody.

I'm really showing people the way I'm out in my community. And I think we got into an era society now where rappers is like, it's almost like we, it's just flexing. You know, it's just a whole bunch of shit that's like, I didn't grow up that way, you feel me? Like I can't connect to you and I can't respect because that's not what I've seen and witnesses.

It don't make sense to me. You feel me? So just being as authentic as possible, the best thing you could be in this world is you. It's only one. Yes. Authentic. I like that.

That's dope. LaRosso, ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Bro. He's a good man. Love. Yes. Thank y'all. Yeah.

Y'all good? Before we bring up our next guest, Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy, 100% on. online. You can get a quote in seconds, applying minutes and get same-day coverage. In as little as 10 minutes, you can get a free quote for up to $3 million in coverage at ethos.com slash nightcap. That's et-h-h-os.com slash nightcap. Application times and rates may vary. Now, we got- Hey, wait. You need to make sure the people

is good. Do you. Y'all good? You show? I'm going to say this one time. and one time only. Is there anybody that need a drink? All right. If you need a drink, your Loporte is back there. When you get back there, tell him it's sold on. All right, we got a very special guest joining us. I hadn't seen this man since he cut his dress. Legend. Here he is. All the way from the crib, ATL. Legend. P.I. Come on out, bro. What's happening? What up with it? You back at it?

You back at it like you never left? Hey, A-Town business. You hear what I'm saying? You stepped away for a minute. But you came back like you never left. I mean, you know, bro, I ain't going to cap you down. Like, I feel a lot of the stuff that LaRussle was saying, I think he was speaking, like, pure facts.

Because at a certain point, you know, we got in this, you know, the change, the standard of the, living for our families and, you know, to make a better life for ourselves, our children, but we ain't really asked for all the fame and shit, you know what I'm saying? You wanted to force it, damn the fame. You know what I'm saying? Like, but, I mean, and when I say that, you know, it takes a while for us to get used to it. Yes.

It takes even longer for other motherfuckers to get used to. Yes. And sometimes, man, it'd be hard for us to enjoy ourselves and just be, you know, like us and normally about it because other people is so, like, you know, Like, oh, what the fuck that? Like, my nigga, just chill. Yeah. So I respect, and I appreciate that you appreciate, man, cool, but my nigga just chill.

And, like, what caused me to want to step away is because I just started to see, the motherfucker just started to act like funny and just start making me feel uncomfortable. Right. So I'm like, man, let me just fade back for a little bit, you know. but I can't just stay away forever so I think now it's time to just kind of reintroduce myself How have you been able to manage

and be consistent and have that level of consistency with success for so long? What do you attest that to? I think, man, I'm a fan first and I really, really love I love the culture I love music and I myself know what I want to listen to.

So I'm going to remain consistent because I'm not going to put no shit out there I don't want to hear. Right. And that's just always been my key and just, you know, I stay grounded because I have a strong support system. I got real people around me.

You know what I mean? They go and got, you know, call them my unfuck like it rolled, you know what I mean? And that allows me to stay true to myself and also stay true to what's going on out there so I can represent the people. See, that's a good thing. You heard what he said, huh? Yeah.

You heard what he said, right? He stayed true to himself. But also, when I think about the rap game, when we was growing up, when we were about the same age. Now, the sound of music has changed. Okay. How have you stayed true to yourself when music has evolved and it doesn't sound the same way it did when we was younger?

I mean, bro, like, man, I still know what the fuck he pulled the sound like. I'm saying, man, this shit of feeling, bro, it ain't just it ain't just like, oh, let me make something that sounds like something. Right. Like, I'm going I'm going to look for

one when I walk in the studio, I'm going to look for a track that represents what I'm feeling right now. My mood, right this moment. I read somewhere that Sabaski, I said, art is how, you know, we decorate space.

And music is how we decorate time. You feel me? Hold on, hold on, hold on. Let me write that down. Hold on. I'm doing right there, bro. Nah, for real.

And so, shit, I'm just using these songs to decorate the time that I'm in. You know what I mean? Like, I can listen to songs that I did back, you know, in 2001, 2003, 2006, and I could almost, almost taste the time. You know what I'm saying?

Because I remember what I were going through. Right. And I think that's when the shit is done correctly. You can taste the time. You know what I'm saying? Like for an instant. You close your eye right now and just think about nothing but a G thing. You feel what I'm saying?

If you was like, you can smell the refo. You know what I'm saying? because that's what the shit is that what we do that's what it's for and that's all I aim you know that's my that's my aim you are this final project or let them know um which you said it's going to be your final album mm-hmm it's gonna be your final album 26 or we're gonna see you back again in 27 or 28 are you fine are you done with music I mean to be honest with you it's not that I'm done with music it's just like when when I came into this shit I had a vision and a dream.

Okay. And I didn't damn near did all of that shit. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Thank, you know, due to the grace of God, you know what I'm saying, thankful to all of the people who've been supporting and, you know, just been by my side. I've had the opportunity to do that.

I ain't stopped dreaming. The dream wasn't to do the shit then, do it over again. Like, okay, so now God has sent me here with gifts. many gifts. This is one of them and I also have others that now that I've done what I intended to do with this I got to allow it to open the door

for me to do what I intend to do with the others. I don't want to go back with no gifts, you know what I'm saying? I want to make sure I used everything that he gave me while I was here. And it's just other shit that I got plans on doing you know, producing, directing, writing films

real estate development Yes. You're going to do acting again? You're going to get back into acting? Because there was a stress that T.I.U. You were doing more acting than music. Absolutely. I got a film coming out right now.

Okay. I got one on Tubeb that I directed, wrote, directed. It's my film that I partnered with D.C. Young Fly. And Carlos Miller and Little Duvall is called Departments. It's out on Tube right now. I got the sequel in post-production coming soon. I got another film. that is a romantic comedy.

And it's a film that I also wrote, directed. I actually starred in this one. It's called Thought She Was the One. It's about, you know, you know, nigger trying to find love in Atlanta, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And, you know, that's also a post-production. I got a...

You got the fish spot? You and Killer Mike? Yeah, me and Killer Mike. We got Bancid seafood, absolutely. So y'all come on, get you a fifth sandwich, you know what I mean? Hold on. I know what I want to talk about. I got a trap music museum.

I can't go, I can't blow past that. Comedy. Yeah. Tell me about the comedy. Man, comedy is peace. That's why I find my peace. Your song. That's where I do, that's why, you know, I ain't really got to be TI.

You know what I'm saying? That's where I go and I'm just another comic. just aiming to make people laugh. It ain't about celebrity. It ain't about none of that other shit. And I go up there and I find my peace. And I enjoy it. I don't give it down how much y'all enjoy seeing me do it.

This is for me. Right, right, right. If you don't like it, don't look, niggins. Yeah, let me ask you this. How hard is it? Because I could see like, okay, you're a rapper. If you wanted to do R&B or you want to do country or you wanted to do, you know, tech,

whatever the case may be. Okay, Beyonce, she's a singer, she did country. You went to a whole different arena and said, you know what? I want to try that. Because normally... It really wasn't that I wanted to try it. It was that I fell in love with it. You know what I'm saying?

Like, I didn't intend on doing comedy. That wasn't like, you know, on my to-do list. One of my partners, I support comedy. My wife and I, we go on date nights and shit. And what we go do? We go to comedy club. Okay. We, you know, we spent a lot of time going to the Mike Y'Up show, the Cat Williams show,

the Dave Shapel show. You know what I mean? 85 South Show and I just happened to be at an open mic night and one of my best partners named Kdub and he he was hosting the open mic and me and him arguing talking about why the nigga on stage wasn't funny so he was like well you mad well get your ass up there since you know something you know what I mean so he introduced me and brought me on stage one day just like he didn't think you're gonna get up there huh you know what I'm gonna get up you know what I'm saying and I just kind of just told the story of my day really

talking about shit me and my wife had gone through and I got like my first laugh and I just was hooked. Right. And I started going to comedy club asking to get on stage thinking the new shit ever since then. I did that shit every motherfucking day for about three, four months.

Just because I loved to do it. I wasn't getting paid. You know what I mean? The money came a little later but you know what I mean? I just love to do the shit. Yeah. Where do you see at Lano? And guess what? And when when comics find them in the studio recording

records because they just love music ain't nobody saying shit to them you feel about he ain't funny nigger your shit don't sound good we just roll with you because we fuck with you you know what I'm saying where is Atlanta where is Atlanta's

rap R&B hip hop scene where do you see Atlanta because it's different like you said the early 90s 2000 and here we are headed to 2030 where is it where is it I feel like the music scene in Atlanta, it's a mid-metamorphosis. Hey, that's a big word there, what? Okay, so if...

You know who the fuck was on stage? You knew who the fuck would go happen. You knew the shit would go happen eventually. Is the metamorphosis going to happen expeditiously? Yeah, well, we don't know. That's what we don't know. But we're mid-metamorphosis. You know what I'm saying?

Like, we're at a point where, you know, when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Yes. It's an ugly face. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? When it's in the cocoon, but you know, we got to bear with it. If you believe in it, you'll stick around long enough to see the beauty of the transition.

You know what I'm saying? Yes. And that is where we are. I like that. I like that. When they mentioned Atlanta rappers, and we've got a bunch, you know, obviously yourself, Jeasy, T.I., Gucci. Luda, Future, Outcast, all the Dungeon family.

If, yeah, you got gun and thug, savage, if somebody would say, look here, T.I. We ain't going to let you off the hook. Give me your five greatest. Your five greatest Atlanta rappers. Who are we putting up there? Well, I'm going to ask first, I'm going to ask why. Why am I doing this?

Because that's just like, why would I do this? You know what I mean? Because it's like, give me your five greatest actors, actresses. Give me your five greatest comedians. That's what we do. But see, this is why I feel like that is dangerous for us to do. For one, for one, as black people who've been fighting to get out of a certain cycle of... A comparison.

No, not even just comparison of fighting for a position like only one of us or two of us or three of us can hold in a position. And many of us It deserved a position Can hold it Why we got to stop it at a number Like now it's just us You can't get in Like everybody contributed

Everybody built this shit Everybody made this shit What it was So why I'm gonna stop it at Now I ain't gonna let you in Because these are the ones Is that how you look at it? That's how I look at it man

And for one I ain't just no Atlanta rapper nigga I'm in you know what I'm saying Man, man, I'm, man, the earth is my turf. You feel me? Shit, I put down in it well. I'd be out back there with the rustling hit back yard. I put down out there.

Okay. You know what I mean? I did hear you say versus. Yeah. So who you tried to, who are you trying to see in a versus? Can't nobody fuck with me, Shannon. Hold on, hold on. Hold on.

Can't nobody fuck with me. Tia. If you were to do a versus right now. Mm-hmm. none of the top rappers that you believe would be able to fuck with you. No little Wayne Well, listen, that's exactly how I feel

and I'm gonna tell you why I say that. Talk to me. I say can't nobody fuck with me because I am the absolute best at being me. Ain't nowhere else you can get this shit right here, but right here. You feel what I'm saying? Come on, man. And shit, I ain't getting on there

trying to do them. I'm gonna be doing this shit right right here and I'm the best to ever do this. So have verses reached out? Obviously that, that's whiz. Yeah, they're the homies. I mean, they did, but you know what I'm saying? Ain't nothing that made no sense. Like, for instance, me and young were supposed to go, right?

No, no, no, no, geezie. Okay. Me and young were polled to go. Hey, that would have been nice. That would have been nice. Yeah. Me and young were polled to go, and then, goddamn, when I were talking to Swiss, you know, I would like shit, man.

Yeah, I'd do it. But, you know, really the motherfucker that really would be. the one, it ain't going to happen, but if you, if Gucci, you're young and Gucci, that's the one. And then he hit me back. He was like, shit, don't even trip. I got, I think we're going to get Gucci to do it. I said, well, you don't need me then. But that's the one.

Hold up, but didn't, uh, G's in Gucci already? No, they were before it happened. Oh, okay, before it happened, they were talking to you. Okay, okay. But I'm saying, so right now. And then I called my man. I said who I wanted. You won't wheezy?

No, I said I wanted 50. That's what I said. He don't want no smoke, though. Oh. low. I caught my man. He don't want no smoke. He ducked smoke. It's cool. So now

so now here we are trying to think about other people who would do it. You know what I'm saying? Damn. You know, we mentioned Wayne and Wayne wouldn't be bad. I respect Wayne. I'm a hot boy fan. I feel like that would make

some sense. I don't think Wayne really into it. But, you know what I mean? I think that would make some. I don't think he into the idea of doing it at all. Right. And, you know. That T.I. 50, that'd be the hey, that'll feed families, boy.

That's a good one. Damn. Yeah, but I ain't in the hurry to do nothing, bro. I'm cool. You know what I mean? I'm chilling. I mean, because we've had, we've had some good one.

I mean, we had earthwind and fire and we had the eyes with. I love that one. We had, uh, hold on. Who else? What? Yeah, Fault and Shout was a dope one. That would fly. I just was out there with,

Snoop and DMAC. Yeah, Snoopy DMETW. I just was out there. They did Mike Will and Mike Will and what the boy name? With cash money and what you call him, dear. What the man named then? Huh? Hit Boy.

Mike Will and hit boy. Yeah, that was a home. Oh, you were in Vegas for that? No, it wasn't Vegas. It was in LA. Yeah, we were there. That was smooth. Damn.

Yeah. Tipsa, he won 50. I like that. Yeah. I mean, you know. So let me ask you quick. So it's Twitter. So it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's,

20 songs. Yeah. It's 20 songs. So let me ask you a quick. So if all your songs, there can be something that you were featured on. I mean, I believe it could be anything that you had something to do with. Okay. Hold on. I ain't tripping. I don't, you can. Hold on. Do you finish the album already? I could be finished, but it ain't finished till it's out. What? Hey, Tim, you know, you know I rap. Put your boy on now. I hear you. Yeah, you know, I can. I hear you. Oh, Lord. That's your point. Tip.

Till, come on. Tip, I'd have to leave Georgia. Hey, get away. Hey, check this out. Leave Georgia. Pull on up one time, man. I did, man, I just, I got, just for the behind the scenes. Right.

You know what I'm saying? No, you know, I can rap. I mean, well, come on and do it then. Yeah, all right. Come on. Come on. We, we have to diso on you, Tip. Man, pull on up.

Man, he versus Hill. Yeah. He said, we good. Don't do him like that. You never know what he got. Never know what the man got to say, man. Don't do them like that. Because the man got 100 jobs.

He got 100 jobs. Shit, one of them got to pay eventually. It's it, right? This is the one that paid right here. Who you got winning the Super Bowl? Ah, man. The Beyond the Witcher, man, I think the Seahawk going to get it. That's what I think.

That's what I think. You know. Well, he didn't ask y'all. You feel it. Oh, I know what I want. Your Falcons. You got a new head coach? They do.

You like that. hire? I don't really know, bro. All I know is he bent Shadoura Sandals. That's all I know about I don't really know nothing about, bro. But at the same time, that's not enough for me to form an opinion. Right. You know what I mean? So I got to at least give him time to, I got to allow him to fuck it up. I can't. So how soon can we expect the Falcons to be playoff contenders and make a deep playoff run? Amen. I mean, because you look at what you got. You got a You know what the Falcons, the Falcons fans, every next year, that's our fucking year. You hear me, y'all enjoy it because next year, that's our fucking year.

But, you know, we beat New Orleans two times this year. That's all that matter. Hey, man. We swept the Saints, we find, man. We straight, man. Because when you look at your team tip, you got Bejohn, you got Drake, London, Kyle Pitts. Lots of talent. Your defense got better and better.

They got a lot of young talent. I mean, but you realize the NFC is becoming more and more and more competitive. So it's time for you guys to take that next step. Do you believe your quarterback? Matt Ryan was unwilling Michael Pennix, Jr., coming off that knee injury. You believe Pennix is your guy? I mean, we need help. You know what I'm saying?

We need some help. I think we need some help. But more than anything, what we need is we need to make better decisions within the executive staff. You know what I'm saying? we need to make better decisions. I think with better leadership and us enabled to make better decisions,

I think the talent would be able to speak for itself at that point. Tip, what's next? You've done directing, acting, comedy, music, left at peace, came back at peace because you love it.

What's next for tip? I'm going to put this album out, man. And then, I'm going to kick shit, man. I'm going to continue, you know, to just find out what the people looking for and find a way to give it to them. I'm going to also enjoy the time that I'm going to be able to spend, you know, with my wife, with my children, with my grandchildren, you know what I'm saying?

It's time for me to really be able to enjoy the things, the simple things in life that we worked so hard to earn enough money to be able to enjoy it. I like it. I want it. You know you put an album out, Tip, you got a tour. You got that kind of energy to get... Man, stop, see, now.

Man, shit. You got that kind of energy to tour, Tim? I'm gonna do about two, three shows, man. Come on, Tim. No, I'm just boo'bushin, bro. I mean, you know, I'm gonna do all the work it takes to make it happen, man.

I'm gonna do what it takes. Hey, are we going to be on tour? my boy baby baby baby fiance oh I speak

Michelle wee wee wee y'all mercy do you do you still get the same excitement when you go into the booth

do you it's still like the first time you went into the booth yeah are you still excited two decades later man it depends

on the beat it really do I'm more excited about some beats than I am about others Right. But, you know what I'm saying? But I still accept the challenge of getting it done. Right.

Yeah. Man, congratulations. You got a beautiful family. And you mentioned the kids, the grandkids, all the best. That's the home boy, T.I. MC Ocho. Yeah. That's all. Appreciate you, bro.

Love and respect. Appreciate you, bro. Y'all get ready for our album.