No Jumper - The Baldacci Interview: Getting Shot 5 Times, Prison Stories and Becoming "The Face of LA"

Episode Date: February 23, 2021

Baldacci talks about being in the system from a very young age by trying to follow his Dad's footsteps, getting shot 5 times, almost getting 21 years for something he didn't do and finding savior in music. https://www.instagram.com/thefaceofla/ ----- CHECK OUT OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5tesvmDS8h50LkjnSAWMOs?si=j6sJD6DkR4mk5NZZWnlK7g FOLLOW US ON SNAPCHAT FOR THE LATEST NEWS & UPDATES https://www.snapchat.com/discover/No_Jumper/4874336901 CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE STORE!!! http://www.nojumper.com/ SUBSCRIBE for new interviews (and more) weekly: http://bit.ly/nastymondayz Follow us on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nojumper iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/no-jumper/id1001659715?mt=2 Follow us on Social Media: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/No_Jumper/4874336901 http://www.twitter.com/nojumper http://www.instagram.com/nojumper https://www.facebook.com/NOJUMPEROFFICIAL http://www.reddit.com/r/nojumper JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/Q3XPfBm Follow Adam22: https://www.tiktok.com/@adam22 http://www.twitter.com/adam22 http://www.instagram.com/adam22 adam22hoe on Snapchat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No Jumper, coolest podcast in the world. And today we're in here with the one and only LA Street legend Baldacci in the building. Much love, man. Thank you guys for having us here. We appreciate it. Oh, no, I'm excited to have you on here. You got a very interesting story.

We met in the back of the store a couple of years ago. Why were you there? Who'd you pull up with? I was there with China Mac when he came to do his interview with you. Okay, yeah. That's dope. Hell yeah. It's crazy, man.

That's how the world works. You know what I mean? It's just doors open. and it's a blessing. Definitely. And I kept seeing you on, because I did the Mr. Cartoon interview and then more recently did the Esteban Oriol interview.

And you've fucked with both of them over the years and stuff. Yeah, those are my bros right there. Stevan Orioles been, you know, like a big blessing to myself and my camp and just everybody that's been part of everything we're doing. And Stevan brings me along for a lot of stuff, man. You know what I mean? Shout out to Esteban, for sure. That's what's up.

You feel like you're kind of like his muse? Like he's always looking for something. shocking to take photos of and you're kind of like shocking by nature with the face tattoos and it's crazy because before i even met estewan like i had all these photographers hitting me up to take pictures of me and you know they were doing their thing and a lot of them more than one mentioned to me like hey you know what let us get our pictures out the way before stevan gets to and i was like what do you mean like i didn't get it you know they were like oh you know the big dog's gonna come look for you soon promise you and out of nowhere he hit me up and i was on an ankle monitor i was in doing

finishing up some probation time i had an ankle bracelet and he hit me up and was like hey you mind me coming to your pad because I told him I can't leave so uh-huh he's like I'll come to your pad take some pictures of you and I was like man let's get it so he came after that it was a rap bro we just we clicked and and took off since then you know yeah he when I look at his career it's just kind of amazing to me that he's somebody who like nowadays everybody knows like to to make content to film videos for YouTube to take photos for Instagram everybody's on that because you got a phone in your pocket everybody can do that but he's somebody that even in the 90s and shit was like mega early on being a fire photographer and then also realizing

the value of being on tour with these dudes and actually capturing that not to mention like the actual LA street culture on top of him just being on tour and everything so he saw the future like many many years ago so we owe him a very big debt you know sure for sure it's a trip when I see his pictures it's like I know they're his pictures without even knowing like it's insane I'll see a picture and be like, Stallone took that, you know, because it's like, it's classic, bro. He got it. It's a stamp in a way, because you just met Duno for the first time. And when I was looking through Duno's page, I saw that he had been shot by Estabar and

I'm like, there's a co-sign right there. It's like a good stamp. It's like a pyramid. Everything just ends up, you know, connecting somehow, you know? Everybody's shooting for the stars and everybody's going the same way, you know what I mean, especially, you know, there's people that are doing a little bit more than others, but at the same time, you just never know who you run into, who you see, like. Yeah.

Yeah, you know, definitely. So early days of you, let's talk about where you're from and what your very early years were like. Right. I'm from South L.A., from the Florence community, Florence District. Born and raised, basically, I was born in Inglewood, California, and took from the hospital straight to the street where I was basically raised on. It's called Converse Avenue.

That's why I got the Converse sign right there, you know, because I'm an all-star from that block, so I definitely had to get that. A couple of us have the stamp, you know what I mean? But yeah, man, early age, you know, I tried the whole school thing. And, I mean, it went well for me, I would say, but at an early age, you know, I started hanging out with a different crowd and, you know, getting introduced to a different lifestyle, which was a gang-like style, you know what I'm saying? So was that front and center in front of your eyes, like growing up the whole time?

Like, you always knew about this shit? Yeah, definitely, because my dad, you know, he's rest in peace now, but he was from Florence. So, you know what I mean? Like we were not like he tried to. introduce us to us, but it was there in our face, and there was nothing really he could do about it. You know what I mean? Most of the time he was gone in prison, you know what I mean? So my mom, she tried her best to take care of us, like, and keep us on the right track, but it was just, you know, my older brother and then my sister, like we were all part of, you know, we're all

involved in it. We had our hands in the cookie jar and everybody wanted to be like my dad. But when you say hands in the cookie jar, do you mean that you were just trying to be, like it was just your identity or you just wanted to be around all the shit that was going on? Is there actual, like, you know, money being made and shit that you were involved with from your age? No, I mean, like, what I mean by that is that, so if we wanted to not get jumped in to, like, our gang, it seemed like we didn't have to. You know what I'm saying?

Because we had those family ties like that already. We wanted to just sit back and be, you know, a normal person in that neighborhood. We still would have had the same amount of love and respect that we did, but we ended up choosing to, you know what I mean? your dad was known like that you could have like really just been a good kid and go to college and shit yeah and been cool you know what i mean because my pops has so much love like everybody fucked with my dad heavy like they love my dad a lot so but we you know we chose to still you know know be part of of what we did and it's like i mean now it's it's different it's a lot better now you

know what i'm saying because it's not i'm not out there living the way i used to live when i was a kid, you know what I mean? Now I'm doing more positive stuff in the environment and trying to get, you know, noticed in a different way. Back then I was trying to get noticed in a certain way. Now it's a different way that I'm working on getting this recognition, you know? Definitely, but it's like when you put yourself in your dad's shoes at that time, it's weird because it's like, you know, him and all the guys that he's around are all part of this life and they've all accepted that they want to be like this. And I'm sure that like to some extent, you know, your dad wants to hold you to that standard and see you sort of,

to take on the tradition that he took on, but then at the same time, you want a better life for your kids. You want your kids to maybe be able to have something different. But how did you feel like your dad thought of that for you? Do you think that he really wanted to keep you away from that stuff, or did he just sort of accept at a certain point? It's kind of hard to say because, I mean, like I said, he was really gone a lot of the time of my life.

So that, you know, our only communication really was through, like, letters. You know what I mean? He would send letters home. But he would definitely get on my case. in those letters, you know what I mean? Like, you better be listening to your mom. You better be, you know what I mean? He would definitely try to put me in the right place

when it came to, like, my lifestyle. And I think just at a certain time, he kind of realized already, like, okay, it's a little too late for me to try to pull him out of this water, you know what I mean? He's already in that water. But then does he sort of take on, like, a leader role telling you about how shit is and stuff,

or does he more let him? He schooled us since we were little kids. Like, he basically would, you know, lace us up and kind of give us, you know, the rundown on how, you know, things should be, like how you should live your life and go about without getting yourself in trouble, without, you know, crossing certain lines that you shouldn't, or just stuff like that that I feel like at the same time,

whether he's putting it out there for us, but it's knowledge. You know what I mean? It's stuff that got me through life. You know what I mean? It's stuff that helped me walk that straight line and kind of never get myself in trouble. Yeah, trouble, I mean, I've been in the system, I've done time, like, all that. But you get through the system a certain way, if you followed certain rules, like, and everything, you know,

is put there for a reason. Like, we didn't make these rules, you know what I mean? This is just stuff that you have to abide by. So my pops schooled me the right way. I really can't say that he encouraged me and said, hey, you got to go be from a gang or you got to do this. He never did none of that. But at the same time, he prepared me for prison.

He prepared me for the system. And he kind of schooled me, like I said, and gave me the right tools to get by on a good stay. What was he in and out for? Like, was he, like, getting caught up for robberies? That was his thing. My mom used to get busted for robberies growing. You know, I guess when he was younger and that was his thing, you know.

He just, he was bad, bro. Like, my pops was a bad motherfucker and that, you know. I just, man, my heart goes out because he's gone and he ain't, he ain't able to hear or see, like, the progress and, you know, everything that I've got accomplished now. Like, before he died in 2013. So, you know, I was already starting my journey. It wasn't where I'm at now, but he got to see and he got to hear some of the music. And he was just, you know, he was really proud of me.

So I could imagine how he'd be now, you know? Definitely. Yeah. Okay, so, but did you grow up with like a natural sort of like, like, my dad did a year in prison when I was 12? And I remember the effect it had on me. It made me really, really angry towards the system and towards like, you know, just the idea, because I didn't believe that he was guilty. and I felt like the whole thing was so unfair

and it really like filled me a lot of rage at that age in particular you're 12 or 13 years old you're going through puberty for the first time and shit like did you feel anger as a result of your dad not being with you because of that? Yeah, I kind of did, you know what I mean? Because it was like I felt like we could only see him on a certain day of the week

for only for 15 minutes behind the glass type shit this is when he's in the county jail and my mom would take me to go visit him and then like, you know, seeing those guards come in and tell you like that's it, hang up to phone and it's like you know he's trying to get the last words to tell you I love you or be cool and they cut these phones off and they're treating them like an animal right and it's weird for you to see your dad being treated like that like you're used to your dad being the big man that calls the shots

and it hurts it's like man come on now like you know you guys got them in the cage whatever it is he did wrong I understand you know what I mean but I mean we all pay by by doing time or doing whatever you know repercussions that we have but at the end of the day let's do it fairly you You know what I mean? And I felt like at that time, especially me being that age, I didn't really understand the whole, you only really have 15 minutes to talk on the phone. You know what I mean?

Now, I mean, growing up, I had to learn that, because I had to be in the same position. Now I'm on the other side of the glass, getting visits from other people outside. And they're telling me, oh, you gotta hang up the phone. It's been 15 minutes type of shit. Now I'm seeing like, oh, this is what it is, you know. So when you were attracted to actually being put on

in the gang and everything, it's like, You know, one thing I've been thinking about a bit is how, like, all over the world, there's, like, different gangs, different states. But there's, like, different norms of what being in a gang is where you have some areas where, like, in Brooklyn and shit right now, like, when I read about all the gang shit going on there, it seems like it's primarily, like, these gangs basically exist to beef with each other. Like, it's not like, oh, like, we have a gang because we are selling drugs in this area and we need to, like, look out for each other and shit. Like there's different like norms of what being from somewhere is. What was like your perspective on it when you were growing up? Like what was it for you to be down? And it was crazy because, you know, me being young at the age that you still really ain't fully developed in your mind.

And, you know, joining, you know, my gang where I'm from Florence, you know, at that time, still to this day, like, it's crazy. Like a lot of people don't like, don't like us. You know what I mean? For whatever the reason be. years and years of history, you know what I'm saying? But at the end of the day, it's like, I chose to join this. I know so many people don't like us, don't appreciate us, and probably don't respect us because of whatever it is, you know what I mean?

But that's something that you chose to take on, you know what I mean? Me being a kid, I didn't think about it like that until, you know, I started hitting the system and going to juvenile hall, and juvenile hall is where it's at. You know what I mean? Like, you're sitting in there fighting the world, especially if you're from somewhere where they don't like, you know what I? I mean, if you weren't turned out already

when you're in juvenile hall, that's where you're just around a bunch of bad kids. If you can't fight, you're going to learn to fight. You know what I mean? Because people are coming to your door, trying to take your teeth, you know, your tennis shoes, trying to just to test you, bro. You know what I mean?

You'll wake up, you know, get up about to brush your teeth and watch your face. And right there, they make you leave your shoes and your pair of pants outside the door so you don't try to escape or whatnot. You leave all that stuff outside your door. So, you know, some people will wake up and come outside and see their pair of shoes missing

and then see a bigger dude walking to go eat breakfast in them. And you're like, what the fuck? You know, that's how it will get. Like, you know, it didn't happen to me, but I did see it happen a lot. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, you just got to respond, bro. Like, you know what I'm saying? You got to protect yourself.

You got to protect your, you know, your reputation, especially like, you know, you're young and you don't want to be, you know, labeled as that punk in there. That's for sure, bro, because it'll continue, you know what I'm saying? And then you've got different races, different people just taking your shit. And it's over for you after that. And then you're like socialized to all of a sudden understand that extreme violence is the only way that you're going to be able to survive in this environment with your respect, right? Yeah, fighting, bro.

Like that's how I was taught. Like, you know, like not even say, I can't even say I was taught. I just something that I picked up on in there. Like it's like, it's you or then, bro. You better fight back. You know what I mean? So I ended up, you know, in the box or whatnot a lot growing up. What was the first time you actually got in trouble and got, and got, I have to go during a hall?

though. What kind of stuff were you getting into? Man, it's crazy because I was 13 years old, and I ended up getting arrested for three stolen cars in the same day. So that was your hustle at the time. You were taking people's cars. We used to take them to drive around, bro. We weren't even selling shit doing nothing. We would just take them, driving around for a little bit, park them, and then let them find their car. We wouldn't even damage the car. That's like the definition of just a bad kid crime, you know? We were bad, bro. I ain't in the city of your life. And it was funny because, you know, the first

time they arrested me for that um you know they took they they called my mom basically and released me to her custody you know here get get your kid out of here you know type of shit and the second time was like like i explained it in another interview that i did it's like breakfast lunch and dinner the way that happened like lunchtime got busted for another stolen vehicle so you've got arrested got let out and you were like three times you've learned nothing you're like let's go do it again the same day bro like it was insane why was your luck so bad that day i don't know man it was crazy but i felt like i think it was just time for me to go to juvenile hall and kind of get to get the experience out the way time for me

to go learn because I was you know I was a non-stop train at the time man I was just going you know what I mean and it was like you're either going to get arrested you're going to end up dead or you know what I'm saying who knows what's going to happen do you think they're like subconsciously you kind of wanted to get locked up so you could really see what this is about I honestly do I really feel like when I was that age that because you know growing up we watched movies and we've been told by Like, you know, other individuals, oh, this and this and this happens in juvenile. So at the same time, I was like, I mean, not that I didn't believe it, but I was like, man, like, where does, you know, you being a G fall in?

Like, if you're a G, they ain't going to take your shoes. If you're a G, they ain't going to slap you around. They ain't going to do all this stuff that you see on the movies. That ain't going to happen to you, you know what I mean? If you're a real one and you're going to go in there and represent, like, that's not going to happen. So, I mean, at the same time, I took the fall going to jail for these stolen cars, and that was my time to learn, and I did, you know, I did. I got to see that half of the stuff they say about all this stuff that's going on

doesn't happen in juvenile hall. You know, they're saying, oh, these people are fucking raping motherfucking. Like, that wasn't going down. You know what I mean? Like, at least I didn't see none of that shit, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, the whole getting your kicks took in, the whole, you know, fighting against people you don't get along with on the streets, all that. Was it mostly about who you were getting along with on streets?

And was it primarily, is it become racialized there? Or is it still more about who's from where? Juvenile is different than, you know, the adult system because juvenile, they put you with whoever. You know what I mean? They sell you whoever your name lands with next to. That's who's going to be your bunky. You know what I mean? And it's like, it doesn't matter your race.

Doesn't matter your age-wise. They did kind of separate us. They had some, you know, 13 and 14-year-olds in one unit. and then another unit you got the 15, 16, and 17. It went like that. And then the matter also, like, if you had, like, carjacks, murders, if you had, like, a heavy case, they had a unit for, like, older dudes that were busted for more serious crimes and shit like that, you know?

And, yeah, like, they kind of, so it's more of what you're doing on the streets and where you're from, bro, you know what? I feel you. So, okay, how long do you do then, and then, like, what, you get out and you just end up getting locked up over and over? I actually didn't do a long time for these three stolen cars. So the first two times they released me to the custody of my parents, well, to my mom. The third time, they told me, you know what, don't even call your mom.

Like, you're good. You're going to jail. So I went, and I want to say I only stayed in there for like maybe a month and a half, maybe two months. And I ended up getting like a DA reject. I guess that's when the court don't even pick up your case or whatnot. They just throw it out. Such a common crime. Yeah, because I think that and I was a kid, you know what I mean?

They were just like, man. just let them, that little month in jail should be enough to shake them up. You know what I mean? So whatever, they let me go. But I came home and, you know, she just started escalating, bro. Things just got a little more enhanced. I went back to juvenile hall like a little bit after. I wasn't even home for too much longer.

And I got some real cases, you know. I went to jail for carjack, kidnap, strong arm robbery. How did that go down? That was crazy, bro. That was like some made-up shit, actually, bro. this family that, you know, had it out for me, you know what I'm saying? Like, and just basically, you know, put me in jail, bro. And I didn't actually even do the things that these people, you know, were saying that I did.

So it was like your enemy's family that basically like just... It was just a kid out there, bro, that, you know, a lot of, you know, a lot of people messed with, fucked with, punked, you know what I mean? And I honestly, what's funny about it is that I would see him, you know, certain liquor stores and just different stuff. And I would, you know, I knew him, like, just from seeing him around. And I would, I would back him up, bro. I would tell some people when I see them messing with him, like, hey, just leave this fool alone.

Like, little kid, you know what I mean, whatever. Well, he just, I don't know what took place in his mind. I actually caught him, you know, messing with some people's property or whatever, like, in my area. And I kind of went over there and told him, like, hey, bro, look at this, this is why people mess with you don't mess with people's shit. Okay. He did shit alone. the next day i was in jail for carjack kidnapped and strong on robbery what the fuck but they

didn't have no evidence or nothing but i was a gang remember i had tattoos on my face oh you already what age you started doing that i got my f-13 on my chin when i was like 13 going on 14 holy shit you didn't know anybody else who was 13 getting tattoos on the face right how old you now what you was this i'm 38 now i'm about to be 39 on saturday on february 13 well 13 year olds did not have face tattoos in 97 or whatever yeah Yeah, it was rare. And, you know, my homies, they tend to do that. They tend to write on their face at a young age.

We learned, you know, young at that kind of shit. So I had that tattoo on my face. So basically, I got a court. I had to end up getting a lawyer. You know what I mean? Because it was like, they were offered me 21 years. That was my deal. So I was like, no, I need to get an attorney.

So my mom, you know, begged, borrowed and stole to get money to get me an attorney. They got me an attorney. the attorney came and told me straight up. He's like, look, bro, I don't believe you did this shit. I told him, look, I don't even know how to drive. So I don't know how I can carjack somebody, first of all. And they mentioned some shit like chloroform and that I pulled a pistol and took like a dollar from the kid.

Like, it was crazy. They would have to have so much evidence. They had zero. The only thing they had was the kid and his mother. Right. So he must have went home and, you know, cry to his mother and basically, hey, you know what, help me out here, mom, this is this and that. So moms went abat for him.

Moms was like, I had never seen moms in my life. You know, but she was there ready to go testify against me, bro. Like, it was insane. But basically, my attorney told me, you're a gang member. You dropped out of school. He's a kid that goes to school, gets good grades. Like, who do you think they're going to believe? So he scared the shit out of me.

You know what I mean? He was like, look, you're trying to give you 21 years for this shit. Like, you really got to think about this. Maybe you might want to say, okay, I did the robbery. but I didn't do this and this and this and that. He's like, so they could give you a certain amount of time and not 21 years. Right.

You know, and I had already been in the system for a little bit, so I kind of was learning like how it worked, you know what I mean? So I was just like, man, like, I don't know. I didn't know what to do. I was a kid, you know what I'm saying? So I'm like, I'm going to leave it in your hands. You tell me what you think I should do to the attorney. He's like, look, man, take it, take a robbery.

I'll get you to go to juvenile camp. You'll probably be there for about a year. Right. I told let's go. Was there part of you that wanted to make something happen to this kid? I mean, Was that even on the agenda of like possible things that you would have done at that time? I was just like, man, like just the amount of trouble you can actually get me in just by saying some shit.

Like I was like, bro, I don't even want to see your face. Like just I'm going to stay as far as I way I can from this kid. You're like, I know damn well I ain't never done nothing to this person. That's crazy too because it's like in the areas like this is a huge stigma against snitching. especially for something that didn't even happen I mean that's how it works man and you know it's like honestly I had

nothing else to ever do or say or anything about the kid like I just you know left it alone they were you know they had even put like some shit on like oh if you if you give anything happens to him or you run into him or anything like you're we're coming after you basically so I just I left it alone bro

I was like you know what it is what it is you know maybe you know it happened for a reason I went to jail and I learned I learned what I had to do and how I keep moving and you know what I mean like it it's all a lesson you know what I mean I look at it it's just as a lesson right but so this was all like the local juvenile jail shit this wasn't prison yet no no this was juvenile and you know I got out anything is I so I was supposed to just be gone for a year I actually was in there a little bit longer because of fights and just stuff that carried out my time and gave me more. time, little small stuff. Right. And then I came home when I was about 17 years old, you know? I came home. When I turned 18, I got shot five times with an AK-47.

Right. Okay, so how did that happen? Where were you? I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all it was. Yeah, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Honestly, it's not, there's not really much that I could even say because it was a blur. Right.

Like, it just, I woke up two months later, you know what I mean? A month and a half, I was in a coma. Right. So where were you standing, though? I was in a car. It was a drive-by? Man, it's, it's, no, it wasn't, you know, people, we got walked up on and shot at. You know what I'm saying?

Like, it was, it was rough, you know what I mean? But, man, I'm here, bro, and that's what counts. You know what I mean? I'm still breathing. I'm talking. I'm not in a wheelchair. I'm not, you know? Yeah.

I'm here. man though that that right there must have really changed everything you haven't even hit 18 you can't even buy a pack of cigarettes yet and you get like like really this story in general I'm sure you were like you know putting yourself in situations and stuff but a lot of this sounds like just really bad luck like you know like even getting getting this getting shot like that in this situation the fucking false narrative that this kid came up with about you and shit like that you know I always think about that how like you know we all know people who like drove drunk once and got caught and we all

know people who drove drunk 100,000 times and they never got caught. It's like a lot of shit just but then it compounds upon itself because the more that you get arrested the more that you're in prison and you're around all these kids and you're fucking learning shit and figuring out how shit really is and it's taking you further and further

away from being able to be a person with a job did you even at a certain like did you even have an idea of what you wanted to be in your life at that point besides just from the hood? Yeah I mean I always like music like since I was a young kid. Like, music was just my outlet.

You know what I mean? Like, if I sat there and listened to some stuff on some headphones or if we'd be at parties listening to music, music always just caught my attention. And I knew that I wanted to do music, but I just never took it serious because I was still out there hanging out. You know what I mean?

And you didn't know anybody who was in the music industry? Not like that. You know, there was some people in my neighborhood that, you know, they did music here and there, but they wouldn't even look our way. Like, it was like, okay, little kids, you know? But now they see us in there like, oh shit, you're doing the damn thing now. But it happens like that, you know what I mean?

Sometimes it's like you got to pay attention to those little guys. You know what I mean? Like, I know I do. When little dudes hit me up like, hey, check out my music. I'll go check them out, bro, because I'm not cocky like that where it's like, oh, no, I can't check you out. You know what I mean? Like, what's going to take me a couple minutes to go and listen to whatever it is? I mean, I ain't going to lie.

If I listen to something and it's like not what I'm expecting, then I'll get up out of there. Like, okay, cool. Right. You know, but there's something to catch. my attention and I'm like okay little kids he's hungry for this you know what I mean so my music just like

it formed on itself like I started writing only because I would go when I was younger to like my neighborhood parties and rap and you know I would see the people dancing to this shit and I'm like I'm sitting there like damn they're actually filling this music like it's something that I'm doing for a hobby but they're they're getting their buggy onto it so I'm like okay it must be something

that's there you know what I mean what was the dope shit to you at that time the shit that made you love hip hop and was it only hip hop or you're fucking with other shit as well i pretty much listened to everything but i think when i started listening to everything was when i grew up a little bit more being in the system because you know sometimes they send you far away where you can't get no radio stations so the only radio stations you get are playing these chick songs or these other stupid songs but you listen to some country and shit everything like everything that comes through that you can listen to it's like okay i like this this bumps you know what i mean

That's interesting that that kind of turned you on to shit you never would have heard otherwise. Never, bro. I would have never even ever thought of listening to any of that music until I was sent places where that's all I can listen to, you know? Once in a while you hear a rap song come out and you're like, oh shit, you know, but yeah, it was mainly rap growing up. Like that's all I really listened to was like, you know, the old...

Big artists or like local L.A. dudes that you were looking at? I think I did a little bit of both. Like, mainly, like, I would, you know, listen to like Tupac, Too Short, Easy, like, those artists. But I did have like a local selection of certain artists that I'll be like, okay, I like dudes and music. You know, there's a couple of, you know, people like from San Diego, like Mr. Shadow. And, you know what I mean? Certain different ones.

There was different artists that I would actually sit there and be like, okay, you know what I mean? Like, I could listen to this. It was a lot harder to get your shit out there if you were an unsigned underground rapper back then. It was kind of like you had to get a label behind you because people really found out about music from MTV and the radio. And now they got social media to do it for them. Now you can be like the coolest rapper from some neighborhood in L.A. And you've got 100,000 followers. There's 100,000 people that know all about you,

but nobody else knows who the fuck you are outside of the little L.A. bubble. That's the struggle, man. You know what I mean? It's crazy. It's just, that's why we just keep pushing and keep striving to get to the next level, you know? Definitely. Okay, so you're writing raps like while you're in prison and stuff too? Are you really kind of like still thinking about this idea as you're locked up and everything? Yeah, because at the same thing.

You know, we got a lot of free time on our hands. You know, you get locked down or whatnot. You got to stay in your cell, you know. Only thing to do basically in there is either workout, you know, bird bath, take a shower, basically with your sink right there that you got, you know what I mean? That's got to be a challenge. Yeah, yeah, it's a little, it's a little miss. You got to learn how to do it.

You got to learn how to roll up your towels a certain way so the water don't fly off into the tier. You know what I mean? You just roll them up a certain way. Some cells are different, just depending on, like, you know, the way they're angled or they're lopsided a little bit. you just got to find out where the water pushes when you're showering, you know? Right.

But yeah, I was writing raps while I was on lockdown and just, I kept on. I got stacks and stacks of music that I still haven't recorded out here to today. Like, because once I got out and I had a phone and I learned how to use the notes, then it was like, okay, I don't need this pen and paper no more. Like, I could use this, you know what I mean?

But I still have stacks and stacks of music that I wrote while being down. And all of that, I feel, is going to come into play. You know what I mean? All of that, because that's a certain time of my life. that's on paper. That's, you know, what's going on with me at the time at the moment. And you held on all of it?

Were you sending it back home or you just had notebooks in prison? I walked home when I got out of the joint. I came home with duffel bag. No, I got a gate pick up. You know, family came to pick me up. But when I walked out, I walked out with like these duffel bags that they have for, like, workout bags full of music. Really?

You know what I mean? Like it was just notebook after notebook after notebook full. Some of them I'll go and read and I'll be like, damn, I wasn't even making sense this day. Like, what was I, you know, but it's there. And there's some parts where I'm like, oh, that's what I was, that's what I meant. You know what I mean? I go over it and I'm like, and a lot of it's like scribbled down paper, but I trip out because, you know, an older dude once told me he passed by me and I had a bunch, like, I was working on the song,

but I had scratches throughout the whole page. And he walked by and seen it and he's like, hey, I don't mean to be in your business, but you caught my eye with all those scribbles out. you know and I was like oh I'm just writing some music and he said a real artist scratches everything out and goes back and corrects itself so he's like I see what you're doing and that's what you're supposed to do like I just kept on because I just kept getting signs bro like I felt like there was signs from the universe or wherever you want to say these signs came from but they kept telling me to keep going and don't stop and that's where I'm at wow you know that's dope

Yeah, because, I mean, it's got to be hard to be motivated to write a verse when you haven't even heard a fucking beat in two weeks, never mind, like, ever. Like, you know, like, I'm sure there's a bunch of people who, like, rap in prison and stuff, but it's not like that experience sitting in the studio with a beat playing over and over that easily allows you to sort of think about how you want to rap on the track or whatever. That's so crazy because my mind got so used to a certain tempo in my head that I was like, you know what? this is my BPM. This is the time. This is how fast I got to rap on this beat. Like I just played my own beats in my head and I was able to write, you know?

And then we also had a bandroom. I was in the feds too. I've been in the feds and in the state. But when I was in the feds, we had a bandroom where we would go and we had like the Chronic 2001 CD like the just the like the vote, like just the beats, you know what I mean? It was instrumentals.

Really? And we wrote and wrote and rapped over those beats. Like you would hear everybody had like 10 songs to every different beat in there because it was like six of us that actually kept that band room like live, you know? And each of us had like 10 different songs written to every beat on the chronic 2001. But still that's cool because you could come home and put that on another beat. Right.

You know what I mean? That was just us having fun and, you know, doing what we wanted to do with the music. I'm just getting to practice because I think that when I look at rappers, even rappers that people don't consider like lyrical or whatever, like, if you make a song, if you make one song, it's probably gonna suck. You make a thousand songs,

the thousand song could suck, but chances are you're gonna keep getting better. It's like anything else. If you just keep doing it over and over, you're gonna get better, or you weren't meant to do this in the first place. Right. That's what I tell my homies.

I got younger, younger homies that always hear me up, like, hey, you know what? I want to, you know, I want to get into the music. Like, what do you got any kind of, like, advice for me? And I just always tell them, look, bro,

you can't get no worse. You're only going to get better. So just keep with it. Don't give up on it. You know what I mean? That's the main thing is not giving up because I've seen so many, you know, throughout my years and, you know, kind of give up on whatever it is that they're shooting for. And it's like I understand.

It feels like it's never going to pay off. You know what I mean? It really does. It's like we're tired. You know what I mean? We're tired of running at this dream that feels like it's never going to be there. You know what I mean? But I just feel like there's, you know, there is something out there.

And that's my reason that I haven't quit. And I feel like every day I do something productive or I make something happen that encourages me to not stop. Definitely. So that time that you were locked up, though, then you come home for a little bit and then you catch this Fed case. Is that basically how it worked? Well, I went and did close to six years in state prison. After I came home from doing six years, like I got out. I was out for like two and a half years.

but the only reason I was out for two and a half years because we were already being watched or whatever and shit and I ended up getting caught up bro And you knew that? Were you like phones tapped and shit? Yeah they had like you know phone Taps fucking shit like that You know what I mean? And it

I came home and just walked basically into an indictment Bro and I ended up going to jail You know? Were you coming home thinking I'm gonna stay out of trouble and I'm gonna change my life now And I'm or was that even an option to you? No that time when I was still I had barely turned. So I went to jail when I was 18, and I got out when I was going to be 24 or something like that.

So I was still young. I already knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to get home and party and turn up, you know what I mean? And I did, and that was basically the wrong move because, you know, we were already having, you know, problems on our hands. So I ended up catching this beef and ended up getting sent to the feds for like conspiracy, you know. And didn't you not really even do anything that significant? again in the this time that you got arrested wasn't it just like a phone call you have with some girl or some shit no well like you mean like when i went a feds yeah feds it was just part of this

conspiracy case they didn't have anything crazy on you right nothing at all bro really to be honest with you i mean they they had calls where they would say oh you know he's talking about such and such narcotics or whatnot i was partying bro right you know what i mean you're a copped some drugs like i'm chilling that's different right i mean yeah i was chilling bro like i mean at the end of the day, you know what I mean? I had to roll with the punches like I've been doing since I was a kid. Like I'm not, you know what I mean? I'm not going to cry over spilled milk. Not going tell on nobody. So that's, you know what I mean? That's part of the game. You've got to roll with the punches and I did. Have you been in that situation? I haven't a cop sitting across from you saying

tell us this, this and this and you get to go outside today. That's happened forever. They always attempt. You know what I mean? It's like, bro, you got to look at me and kind of figure that, you know, you got to go to the next door or something to go ask the next guy. What's your actual reaction? Like, what do you actually say when they're trying to put you on the spot? It's not happening. Come on. I had an attorney, and that was his thing.

Like, I just, I fired him, and everybody laughed at the court in the courtroom because they were like, you fired him. Like, you paid for him because I didn't pay for him. It was like a court-appointed attorney. But that was his thing, bro. Every time he'd come in to see me, he's like, hey, you know, the government feels like you have very valuable information. I'm like, bro, I don't get a fuck about you or the government. Like, get the fuck out of here, you know? bro he left one time from that meeting that I told him that

he was shaking with his suitcase and I was like what's wrong with you bro like why are you tripping like then he's like because you're gonna kick my eyes and I was like I'm not gonna kick your ass just get the fuck out of here with that shit like what the fuck's wrong with you like I'm here for me yeah you know what I mean anytime I've been in the system I've been in the system because of myself and nobody else right you know what I mean have you seen a shitload of people like from your area or just people that you previously were cool with who snitched and like what's the full of you

fall out normally like it's crazy it's everywhere bro like it's not just necessarily you know it's just everywhere it's the world has changed so much nowadays and it's like man that's why only only thing to do now is basically fly fly straight bro because motherfuckers is out there and you don't know who's who you don't know what's what and it's like you don't know what to do bro you don't know who to fucking confiding you don't know who like is your boy like it just it's out there you know what I mean people do that. So you're paranoid? I'm not paranoid. I just watch everything I do, everything I say,

and who I put my trust into, because I already know people out here are phoning, bro. But when you look at the shit that you were doing in your teen years and shit, and then you think about it now from your adult perspective and also how much the world has changed in the sense that we have seen a shitload of people snitching.

We do have fucking cameras on every goddamn street, so if you shoot somebody these days, chances are they're just going to fucking keep going through these cameras. You see people, you see people get caught from having a phone in their pocket when they go shoot at somebody, etc. Like nowadays, sometimes I'm reading the news. I'm like, bro, anybody who's trying to live a life of crime, just do not do it these days.

It's not possible. Like, there's too much information. I'm going to be on the first 48. Yeah. Unless you really want to be like a rebel who doesn't have a phone and doesn't have social media and it completely is off the grid, maybe then you'd have a chance. But that's just not how people are now either. They want to do some shit and then also flex that they're that kind of person.

Right, right. It's walking cameras out here. bro like everybody it's like people feel the need to you know they see somebody getting beat up or something they want to record instead of jumping up and helping the person it's like let me give my likes on this instagram post real quick first you know what i mean like i know a bunch of people who either got killed or overdosed famous people and not that famous people and i've seen them all dead on the internet because that's just people's reaction like people that i was close to who died and I got to see the video of them laid out

in their fucking car bleeding out with a hole in their head. Multiple, like a whole bunch of times. It's kind of trippy that this is that consistent. The motherfuckers will always film this and put it online. It's wild. People trip out on me because they're like,

bro, like, all you post is food and weed. And I'm like, that's my life, bro. Like, what do you want me to do? And they're like, why do you always post it? I'm like, why do you always watch it? You know what I mean? You're watching it. You're inspired for something.

You like what I'm eating? eating or what I'm smoking, like one or the other because you're here, you know, faithfully every day. I see you on my timeline or my, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, that's what I trained myself to do. Like, I don't need to be posting anything else that's negative. I'm poised. This is what I do, you know, I smoke weed and I eat. Do you, but so, okay, you get home from doing that fed bid and has this one you actually really decided that you wanted to turn your life around? Yeah, this is, this is, what's that look like? I think this is when I kind of figured that I want to take the music serious and see where it goes.

You know what I mean? Because, you know, I've been, I lived the whole, the whole life already. Like, you know what I'm saying? I've been shot. I've been to prison. I've been to juvenile. I've been pretty much everywhere you could imagine. And, you know, I'm not getting any younger.

So music is basically my outlet for my mind, for my family, if I want to start my family and keep, you know what I mean? Keep progressing. I have kids, you know what I mean? So at the end of the day, it's like, I want to be able to take care of them. You've been having kids all along through this whole story and shit when you first have a kid. Yeah, 2007, because I ended up going in, yeah, 2007 I went in. And right when I got to the feds, you know, the girl that I was with pulls up and she's like,

I'm a weak pregnant type shit, you know what I mean? And it was like, fuck. So he was born while I was in the, you know, in the system. or whatnot. That's my son Joshua. And then I had another son. I named the music, Don. He happened a little bit after I came home from the feds. You know, I was involved with a female that was at the halfway house where I was at. Wow. And yeah, we had a son, but, you know, she took off with him or whatnot. Then I have a baby girl that's three years old. She's a baby still. So, yeah, it's been like, you know, they're from different mothers or whatnot.

So it's like it's been a little rough for me, you know, but I want to be able to, what I was getting at was that I want to be able to take care of them with this music with what I do with myself and my life and everything that I'm, you know, like I always tell everybody, I feel like it's a piggy bank that you just stuff. And I feel like eventually from stuffing this piggy bank is going to burst. You know what I mean? it's like only certain amount of money could fit in there eventually it's going to bust and then we got we got it you know what i mean so i always tell myself that and i've i've been faithful to stuffing this piggy bank as much as i can to hopefully one day this shit just explodes and we're good you know what i mean yeah it's like you realized when you got out that you just had to keep doing shit but were you getting a reaction at first or like did you feel like you were kind of just

starting from scratch i feel like i know so many people that when i said i was interviewing you they didn't know who I was talking about. And then I showed him a picture. And they're like, oh, yes, I see this guy everywhere. Like, you've been really grinding. Right. Yeah, no, a lot of people tell me that. You know, a lot of people will be like,

hey, I've seen you such and such and such. What's your Instagram? And so I was like, okay, they know only what they see, basically. You know what I'm saying? And then when they get to talk to me, when they get to see, you know, a lot of people will see me and either be intimidated or not necessarily intimidated. They just might not be like, okay, that's not my cup of tea.

You know what I'm saying? And then they talk to me and they see what my life's about, what I've been going through like my whole struggle and everything and they're like they're just immediately become attached bro I don't know how it is or why it is but it's just like that it's insane

no I mean really like the way that you talk and shit it's not like you don't really get like a menacing vibe like you're very like you're a smart guy and you're easy to talk to it's almost like you know somebody who's a real dumbass would just get go through your life and just never change it's like you

you kind of got into shit at a young age and then but you were smart enough to realize like that you could do something more with yourself. So you have a different perspective, you know? And the good thing about that, man, honestly, in all reality, is that my homies, they love me, they respect it, and they, you know, they show love,

and they're by my side. I don't want to say they're behind me because they're beside me, you know what I mean? And it's like, that's a good feeling, you know what I mean, to be able to have that love coming from your home. Some people can't do that. Some people, it's like, nah, fuck that, you know, but with me, it tended to work out,

you know what I mean? My homies love me, and I love them back. So it's like, man, all day, like, we're pushing at this dream together now. You know what I mean? And if I can help out a homie in the process, if he wants to, you know, join that, that positive note, then come on with it, you know?

For sure. So how do you actually start working on your career when you get out this time in terms of music? Like, do you hit the ground running or did you just kind of have to slowly start figuring shit out? Yeah, kind of like, I mean, I honestly, I did hit the ground running. I was in the halfway house,

and they only allow you a certain amount of time to get out of there. You have to have a job to get out. So I would say I'm going out job searching, which I was full of shit. You have to take them back like these business cards to let them know. Look at, I went to go look for a job here at this furniture store, here at this Burger King here. You got to take them back business cards.

Okay. So I would pay dudes to go get business cards for me and I'll go studio and record. Because I knew that I had to get this shit done. Like there was nothing that was going to stop me from doing what. what I had to do. So I was in these studio sessions. I knew what time I had to be back. I'll be back.

I'll meet the guy in the corner, give me the business cards. Boom, here you go. This is where I was searching at a job for today. They'll tell you, oh, we're gonna call them. I'm like, that's fine, tell them, I said hi. Well, here you go, you know. And that's how I knew that I was determined

was that I was risking my freedom again to actually go and do something positive. You know what I mean? Like I'm recording music, I'm shooting the video. That type of stuff, to me, was more, more worth getting violated for them for me getting something violated for something really that makes no sense. You know what I mean?

Like that made more sense to me like than anything. So I knew at that point that I was in for the long run and then this was going to be a positive run. You know what I mean? No offense, but where did they think that you were going to get a job? Because realistically, I don't think like enterprise rental car is going to hire you. I'm telling you. They had faith.

They had a lot of faith. So I got to give them that. You know what I mean? Like, they definitely were, I mean, I guess it's just part of their job. They have to do that, you know what I mean? So it was like, I'm sure some of them knew, like, oh, he wasn't looking for no job. Sometimes I would come in with bags from, like, certain stores in the mall. And they were like, oh, I stopped there for a second and got me a hot dog and got me some food.

Like, it's just, you know what I mean? But, you know, they would trip out because I had, you know, people trying to help me out with the music that I met, you know, from before in the system or whatnot. Some of these were wealthy people, you know what I mean? and they offered their hand to help me get my foot in the door with this music. And I would have Bentley's pulling up to the halfway house to pick me up. And, you know, the staff would be like,

hey, like, you're living above your means over here, and I'm like, bro, that's not my car. Like, it'll be different if I'm pulling up parking this right here in your driveway, like I'm not. You know what I mean? Like, if they're picking me up, I can't tell somebody, hey, don't bring your car that you own. The last thing you want is the employee at the halfway house

thinking that you're driving around in a Bentley because then they're just going to be like, man, fuck this guy. That's how they were. But some of them were happy, like, to see it. You know, I got to give them, you know, there were certain ones. They would be like, that's right, get it, you know. And then there was the ones that you could see that little bit of envy that.

They'll come to my cell or whatever you want to call it, because we had a room with, like, six different people in the halfway house where they'll come and look under your bunk and see if you got any contraband, shit like that. So I would notice the ones that were kind of easy and easy because they would see that we're doing decent. And then I would see the ones that would be like, oh no fuck this guy like he's doing too much

he's got to be doing something illegal but they were coming search and find nothing because I wasn't doing shit you know what I mean but music you know what I mean so it's like okay cool you look all you want look for what you're what you're trying to find and you know good luck so did you start doing numbers like how did you start

putting your stuff out because I feel like you've gone viral on World Star a couple times right we've had a couple videos on World Star we took one or so we took one off I believe really how come yeah I honestly forgot. I think it was just certain things in the video didn't match up, you know what I mean? So we kind of

wanted to take it down. We took it down. We were supposed to put it back up, but the same, dude that shot my video, I couldn't get in contact with them or something like that, so we didn't mess with it, you know? Yeah, like, I think just with my social media, it's funny because I got to a certain point on my Instagram before where I was like maybe at 14,000, 15,000 followers, and I lost my page. Like, somebody hacked it or whatnot, whatever happened. It was lost. And I told myself, you know what, I'm not even going to do this Instagram shit again. It's too hard to gain these followers.

People don't give a shit. You know what I mean? Like, you got to really be out here doing backflips for people to be like, oh, hey, look at this guy. Like, you know what? And I said, you know what? I'm going to give it one more try. And if it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

So I made a new Instagram. I started doing videos of myself just rapping. Like, because I was, like I said, I was dealing with the whole ankle monitor and shit. So it was hard for me to keep the people's attention. for so long with only throwback selfies that I was posting. I couldn't go nowhere. So I wasn't really doing shit but staying home. So I had my homie coming and recording me at the house,

like on the table just like this. We were recording music. He was sitting there with, you know, and he would make it sound like if we were in the studio. So it sounded good. So I said, you know what? I'm going to do this until I get off. But the thing was keeping the people's attention,

the people on Instagram because they don't want to just keep seeing throwback I've seen this picture already. I've seen this picture already. I've seen this, you know what I'm saying? So I didn't have no way of keeping their focus. So I started doing these rap videos of myself just doing rap. And it was crazy because I had like maybe 3,000 followers, but my views on these songs were getting like 50,000, 60,000.

And I'm like, how if I have 3,000 people that follow me? Like, where are these songs going that these people are all just seeing them? So I just kept doing it, you know? And then I would take some down and put a different one up just to see how, like, what is it called? like the algorithm algorithm like i would try to see how what is it that is it a certain time that i have to pose is it a certain thing like you know what i mean so i think i kind of learned it more or less what times and then after that i stopped giving the shit i just started posting shit whenever i wanted

and they just they kept going like and my you know my following my is still pushing still moving up you know i mean it's kind of a gift especially when you think about like you know you you started getting locked up before there really was social media and then you really really like only been like free for a couple of periods of social media. It's like if I were like to just be dropped down on earth right now and told, hey, here's Instagram. I mean, what are the odds that I'm going to be able to figure out how the fuck to really actually utilize this platform? I feel like it's only because I've been using it for 10 years that I know how to go do it properly.

You know, it must have been kind of overwhelming at one point. Yeah, no, most definitely. I didn't even know how to use the phone when I came home. I'm sitting there looking at it like, what does this mean? What is this mean? How do you do this? Like, how do I turn it on? Like, you know what I mean?

It was rough. But, I mean, it kind of like, I feel like anything, bro, once you learn, it's like, it's up to you to keep, you know, going with it. Like, if you like it, then do it. Right. Go for it. So, you know, I kind of caught the wave of how everything worked. I started off with the whole Facebook stuff.

And Facebook kind of was too family-orientated for me. Like, you know, I was like, the Instagram was just pictures, pictures, pictures. I said, okay, I can do this, you know? Right. And it worked. And, you know, I just started working to my benefit, too, especially after, you know, I started, you know, we built the effort, which is my, my record label, along with my boy right here. You know, we, we started that, and it's been, like, all business, you know what I mean? Like, now we, we got an LLC.

We got, you know, everything in place, got a whole bunch of stuff going on. We've been on CNN, you know what I mean, with Anthony Bourdain. A lot of stuff through my brother, Stevin'Orio, you know, back to my boy, like, he's put us in place. positions that only he could have done. He's really kind of looked out for you. Because I was thinking, I'm like, there's not, you know, most rappers to come up from the underground and stuff at a certain point, unless they just have, like, one song that's going super crazy or whatever.

Usually, like, they have to, like, bigger rappers will end up looking out for him and stuff. And Esteban's kind of that for you. Like, he's really kind of helped you out a lot. Yeah, he's definitely been a big, you know, helping our, in our journey right here. You know what I'm saying? He's got us to places that I'm sure that we probably wouldn't have been able to without him, you know what I mean? He's hell of appreciated for that.

You know, I got tracks with my boy Yellow Wolf now, you know what I'm saying? And that's all part of that. Like, Stevin, you know, plugged us up, brought Yellow Wolf to my neighborhood, and Yellow Wolf had a hell of a time. And he loved my homies, my homies loved him. And, you know, that wasn't Estabwein saying, hey, do a song with him. Like, Stevin didn't even mention anything. He didn't even know I did music.

But it was the love and the, you know what I mean, relationship that we built that day that just carried us on. Now I got two tracks with Yellow Wolf now, you know? Right. I got two tracks with China Mac. Like, I got, you know, all these things that are starting to come in place. Like, it's really a blessing and really dope, you know? That's dope, yeah.

I mean, in terms of, like, what kind of music you make, how would you describe it as somebody who hasn't heard you and what do you aspire to do when you do make a song? Like, I mean, I do gangster rap, basically. You know, I don't sit here and get into the whole Chicano rap or the, you know, that type of stuff. Like, I do gangster rap. It's like, if you're a Chicano or you're a black

or you're a white and you like it, that's what I do. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's like, that's what I, you know, I learned to listen to, like, I grew up listening to as gangster rap. You know what I mean? It really didn't matter who it was coming from. It was like if it sounded good, and that's what made my head vibe to the music,

like I'll definitely listen to that. So that's how I feel about that. You know what I mean? Like with myself, like I do gangster rap. that's what I do. Right. It's kind of interesting because, like, I feel like you talk about stuff in the music that you probably wouldn't sit here and talk about in an interview.

Like, you kind of go more into your past or, like, you know, what the gangster lifestyle is all actually like. Like, to a certain extent it would feel like you were snitching on yourself if you said some of that shit in an interview, but in the music, you can just kind of let this out in a different way, right? I feel like in my music, I talk about myself. Like, I don't mention other people. I don't, you know, throw nobody under the bus ever.

Myself, I talk about what I've been through, my struggle. And that's why I kind of explain as well as that I'm not, you know, some people will sit there and be like, oh, he's glorifying that lifestyle or he's this. And at the same time, it's like, no, this is me telling my story, what I've already did time for, what I've already been through. And for the kids to see and say, hey, if that's, you're going to go through all that to be, you know, a gang member or to be where he's at now, like, this is what I got to go through.

So I'm kind of explaining to them, like, now you got a choice. You could do all this and end up wherever it is. It might lead you. It might lead you where I'm at. It might lead you somewhere else. So you got to kind of, you know, play that out by yourself. But at the same time, I'm trying to give knowledge to people, like, to understand, like, okay, look, there's other outlets out there.

You know what I'm saying? Music is definitely one of them. And I chose, that's what I chose to do, you know. Like I said, if I speak about something that's speaking about myself and nobody else, basically, you know what I mean? I'm talking about my own life that I've lived and, you know, everything that I've been through. Mainly it's talking about my, you know, me getting shot, me doing time. And the rest is all smoking weed. It's the normal stuff.

But at the end of the day, I put it in a form where it's a story that people like that shit. You know what I mean? People, they're drawn to it because it's like some people have lived. that. And then there's some people that haven't but are intrigued by it. You know what I mean? So it's like it's a win win situation. Especially if you're not throwing somebody on the bus

or putting people on blast and you're not getting nobody in trouble in the process of you doing what you're doing. That's one of the easiest ways to blow up and rap is basically to air out another rapper or to say, hey, fuck this hood, fuck all this shit. We've seen a million rappers like basically, like if you

put out a song right now dissing some neighborhood or whatever, I mean, Millions and millions of views. No problem. You know that. Yeah, no. What keeps you from, like, you're from the old school to a certain degree, right? Yeah, I just feel like, I feel like that's giving people too much credit. You know what I'm saying? Like, when I first started rapping, then yeah, I might have tried that, you know what I mean,

and try to start. But growing up and me now, seeing how much different my music is from other people's music, it's like I don't feel like I didn't even need to do that. You know what I mean? I feel like I let my lyrics and my music speak for itself, and that's what it's been doing. and pushing me further above in the game has been only because of my music

and like you said, because of help that we get, you know what I mean? Because my brother, Stefan, recognizes, you know, real love and support and real L.A. street stuff. You know what I'm saying? If you, you know, had a show and you just happened to be talking to a young fan,

you know, I said there's like a 15-year-old kid who is fucking with your music and you look at him and you see yourself when you were 15, and he's kind of at a crossroads. Like he's fucking with the gangster lifestyle, but maybe he's still in school and shit. Like how do you approach a conversation with him

given that you want better for him than what you have, but you also understand that he's in the same situation you were, and he wants to, you know, have support from a network of people and stuff. He don't want to feel like he's alone in the streets. How do you speak to him? Well, it's crazy you asked that because I, um, a couple years back, you know, when I was home from the feds or whatnot, I was going to the schools and talking to kids, excuse me, at the schools, through this company that I used to work for,

they would have us, you know, on our little free time that we would have. They would take us to schools to go chop it up with the kids. And, you know, I would basically explain to them, like, at the end of the day, there's a different way to go about everything. Like, at the end of the day, there's somebody to answer to when it comes to, like, you're in class. Your teacher got to last say-so. So you're sitting there talking or bullshit and she says, hey, be quiet. instead of, you know, actually arguing with her or going back and forward, just be quiet and you won. You know what I mean?

At the end of the day, it's like they're always going to win. So you don't want to do that. You know what I mean? Like I would be in the system. It's so funny because, you know, sometimes the sergeants or whoever would walk in and be like, hey, how long you've been here? I've been here three years. Hey, I'm like, why haven't I seen you? Like, do you got any write-ups?

Have you been, you know? Nope, I don't got none. You figured that out early on? You had to. You know what I mean? It's like that's how you get through your system time without actually fucking getting yourself in more bullshit. That's the thing that I wish I got as a kid is like,

just don't put yourself in these situations of getting in trouble from doing some allowed-ass shit. If you're going to get in trouble, have it be because you were doing some fucking criminal mastermind shit behind the scenes that you just somehow ended up getting pop for. But like, just making shit hot for yourself is like the ultimate way, if you want to finesse your way through high school and shit is do good in school,

make it so your parents don't give a fuck about, like, aren't worried about you because you actually are getting that shit done and then take all the rest of your time and actually be able to do whatever. And meanwhile, the heat is off you because you are getting your shit done. Stay out of the way. That's the smarter way to handle it. Yeah, when I first got to like the system, you know,

like one of my boys that was, you know, also in prison with me, you know, because I ended up going like straight to a level three and later on I went to a level four, but usually you start at a level one, two, or like it goes like that, you know, that's the severities of the, I guess, your crime or how much time you got, like they got levels, you know?

So I started off on the level three, and, you know, I kind of liked the structure of the program, you know what I mean, the way things ran, like it was, you know, you feel like you got solid people around you, so that's the type of time you want to do. And, you know, a lot of people would be like, oh, you know, to stay on this level, you got to get write-ups.

you have to get in trouble. Like, because if not, your points are going to drop and they're going to send you to a level one or in level two where people are doing stuff that you're like, oh, shit, you know what I mean? This ain't the program that I was taught. So that being said, you know, the homies were telling me, oh, you need to get in trouble type of shit. But then there was one homie that said,

nah, don't get in trouble, bro. The trouble's going to come to you. Don't even go look for it because, you know, that's just going to add more and more bullshit to your shit. So just let it come and they'll come to you. And that's what happened. And I took that advice, bro. You know what I'm saying?

And the trouble did come regardless. So it's like you didn't have to actually go out there and look for the bullshit. It's going to happen regardless. You know, it's part of being in the system, part of life. I feel you know. What about your brand? Effort is how it said? Yeah, it's not E.F. Fort.

Okay. Well, it's the effort, right? It's the effort music. But at the same time, it's the F. Fort. Gotcha. So I did it like that. So where, you know what I mean? You got on your face, right, too.

It's on the side that they can't really see as well. but when did you come up with the brand name and your homie has a tattoo on his head too so you guys take this real serious huh? Yeah well that's that's all we you know we're putting everything into the effort music and it's like everything requires effort

anything else is just effortless you know what I mean it's like I don't understand when people be like oh you know I did this and that with no effort type of shit like no there's no such thing as that bro like to get up and get a glass of water you gotta put effort it's not gonna walk to you know what I mean

like everything requires effort and I look at it like Like, at the same time, it's something that my homies can be proud of because, you know, we're from the F. You know what I mean? So at the same time, it's something, it's an outlet. You know what I mean? So that, you know, they can't say that I'm out here representing my gang with this. This is my record label.

So you were really thinking about that when you named it? Like, I want to make sure that they don't think that this is like me straight creating a whole new gang. Right. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, it's like somebody told me you need to do a mixtape called the effort. And then they just basically said, they didn't tell me about this whole little X in the middle. They just said, do the effort.

But at the same time, it's the effort. And I'm like, okay, but I'm going to put something to separate that. Because we're a fort. We're a family. You know what I'm saying? And I feel like that's, you know, it don't get more positive than that, man, trying to gain, you know, people to follow your positive journey. Like, there's no, how can you hate on that?

You know what I mean? That at the end of the day, you know, me and my, my boy, that's all we do is put out positive stuff now, you know? And I mean, it's like it's been working for us. That's what's up. Definitely. We see the growth. And is this a business that you are involved with or something?

Yeah, this is the billionaire hemp wraps. So we have an endorsement deal with billionaire hemp raps. They're really good. These are tobacco-free. They're making my actual phase. They're making a few like different flavors. with my, that are going to have my face on them. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, so it's going to be like Baldacci Black and Baldacci Gold. Oh, that's what so. Yeah, it's going to be sick. It's, it should be coming soon. Like, that's another thing that's a positive thing going on in my life. It's like, I don't see a lot of people, even big names that have that. You know what I mean? But, I mean, God is good, bro.

At this point, your face tattoos are kind of like your real signature. Like, you kind of, like, even, like, reference it on the doll or shit like that. Like, has there ever been a time that you regretted getting that many face tattoos? And how do you think about it now? You still get tattoos now? Yeah, no, I still do. They just hurt a lot more now. Before they, it was like a piece of cake.

Now it's like, damn, you're almost done. You know what I mean? Like that really did change. But I don't regret any of them, you know? I just feel like if there's one there that I don't need, I could stamp over it. You know what I mean? Like, it's just like a canvas now. You know what I mean?

I basically did this to myself, but at the end of the day, now I feel like we're branding this. Like, it's not something that was done for nothing, you know what I mean? Like, though I'm full of gang tattoos and I'm from a gang, I'll never say that I'm not. You know what I mean? Like, that's, at the end of the day, I'm a gang member that's out here doing positive things. I'm not sitting there running around doing the bullshit I did when I was a kid. Right. I'm doing positive things.

So, like I say, how can we hate on that? No, definitely. Do you feel like, are you still on parole or probation or whatever the fuck it is? Or anything like that? You're a free man? I'm free. I'm off all of that. No, I just been.

That's dope. That was my main thing, too. That was my problem. I couldn't sign no deals with no labels. I couldn't do nothing because of the federal parole. Really? Federal parole, you can't sign a record deal? Unless, like, say, these people are telling you, they're going to give you $50,000 to be

recording in the studio. I had a probation officer that, you know, he had it out for me. He, um, that it seemed, I'm not. I don't even want to say that he did, but to me it seemed that way, you know. But, you know, I brought him a couple of, like, contracts, you know what I mean? And basically he would tell me, look, if they're not offering you money or telling you they're going to pay you this much, because some contracts would say we're going to attempt to make this much with this and that. You know, they wouldn't give you the money up front.

But you had to ask him just to sign a contract. Oh, yeah. It had to go through him. Like, my name couldn't be on nothing unless the probation office or them knew about it because they would, definitely run upon you and they took me back for they violated me for making an album while I was on probation yeah they made it they just for making an album not because of anything in particular you said or whatever he you know my probation officer try to use that but the judge she threw it out because she was like man you're you're talking about you brought him here

on a different type of violation now you're bringing this up while we're in court no like it's not going to fly you know but he's like oh but he talks about this and this and that So then the attorney and people on my side were like, oh, so you say you know his music. Like I know every single song. Okay. So you know this song? Yes, we know this song. Why didn't you bring that song up when he's talking about the struggle, his family, like the positive stuff?

Oh, I didn't feel it was necessary. That was like the key word for my judge to just be like, you didn't feel it was necessary. Well, I don't feel the rest of this is necessary. So we're throwing this out type of thing, you know. But it was attempted. The violation was definitely. attempted like they wanted to violate me for that you know yeah just didn't it came out of my favor you know what do you do now to stay out of trouble you just like really avoid putting yourself in these kind

of situations do you still feel like you go back to the hood and stuff you just try to keep your nose clean or yeah i keep i keep myself out the way you know what i'm saying i definitely stop by my area like you know that's that's that's my people right there like i can never be taken from there like at the end of the day it's like there's still my people like but i don't go over there and hang out the way I did when I was a kid. Like if I'm standing on a corner for eight hours. Yeah, I can't do that. You know?

None of that is going down no more. Like I was a kid when I did that. So now it's like I stopped by. I say, what's up to my people, show love, you know what I mean? Get some flags,

get some food. And then, you know, I go about my business. And then it's back to my work. Back to me in that box and trying to figure out something positive to get done to make these people continue seeing that I'm out here

chasing a different dream. You know? Definitely. Yeah, it's motivational, man, for real. And I felt like, you know, probably, hopefully a lot of people will see this interview and it'll fill in the blanks that they, like, they have heard some songs and they've seen you with the face tattoos and shit, but they maybe didn't necessarily know what you really were. You know, I hope this interview opened some doors for you.

That would be, like, the best thing that I could imagine. Right. No, thank you, man. I appreciate you guys having me here. Like, it's definitely a blessing. And it feels like it's another step in my career, man. I just feel like every, you know, everything. that we get done and that we accomplish is just

it's a better day. Definitely, man. Yeah, it's been inspirational. Anything that they should keep an eye out for that's dropping in the near future? Yeah, my birthday's on Saturday on February 13th. I'm actually dropping a birthday. Thank you.

I'm actually dropping a video that we just shot with China Mac, my boy, Miss Fitzsoto, shot by concrete. So we got that coming. Just so many different things, man, these hemp raps, like I'm definitely I got

oh actually I got a documentary with a Stele on Oreo too there's going to be coming out it's about my life really yeah because we came out on LA originals on Netflix with them that's a big look for you that's probably like a large percentage

of people when they say yeah oh I know that guy that's probably a lot of that's the main thing they think of and this is like a follow up to it like he's gonna you know put it all together we already shot basically everything already a lot of interviews in the documentary like a lot of my people

like you know they grew up with me me they know me since I was a kid like just really good looks you know what I mean and and step one definitely made that happen again you know what I mean so that's that should be coming soon as well definitely do you um did you get most of your tattoos done in prison or have you have you have you been tattooed by cartoon no I haven't got tattooed by cartoon but he definitely said that he will eventually so we're waiting to see when we get around to that what kind of space do you have left you got anything man we could four by four some shit I ain't even tripping you know what I mean like that's that's you I really I mean if I got spaces like on my legs I still got my

my whole back and I was thinking about tapping in with him for that but then also that's a lot there's a lot to bite off right now right right yeah walking around with a bloody ass back for a week or two would be kind of shitty yeah see the good thing about it in prison is like they they can only tattoo for like a couple hours and then it's like okay i'll see you tomorrow they'll go back to you know and then you run into them again it's like hey let's do that other piece and it's like piece by piece so you can just sit there and complete your whole back you know when you can out here but like for me like timing wise that is how i'd want to do it is be like all right I'm going to pop a park a set or two and I'm going to get my whole fucking bag done. Let's do 10 hours right now and I'm going to be fucking passed out and let's get this shit done.

Yeah, no, you have to, man. Sometimes that's the best way to go about it, you know? Yeah. Get it out the way. For real. Yeah. All right, Baldacci, man. It was great having you on the podcast.

I appreciate your time, man. Thank you so much. For real. For a blessing, man. Baldacci. Thank you. No Jumper. Coolest podcast in world.

Check us on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, like, like, comment, subscribe. And hit up Nojumber.com if you want to support. appreciate all you guys and follow him on Instagram as well it's on the screen yeah face of Los Angeles out here with my boy Adam 22 no jumper hey appreciate your man