No Jumper - The Jack Harlow Interview

Episode Date: November 26, 2019

Jack Harlow takes us back to where it all started, from growing up in Kentucky, being a regular kid to signing with Drama and Cannon, the hip hop lifestyle and everything that comes with it, Harlow opens up and share about what he has coming up! ---- FOLLOW OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST! https://spoti.fi/2vi9lsD 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 and iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/no-jumper/id1001659715?mt=2 and follow us on Social Media: http://www.twitter.com/nojumper http://www.instagram.com/nojumper http://www.reddit.com/r/nojumper JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/Q3XPfBm follow Adam22 as well: http://www.twitter.com/adam22 http://www.instagram.com/adam22 and follow adam22hoe on Snapchat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sorry for my lateness. Oh, no, it's great. I take pride of my punctuality, so I apologize. That's true? You're not that late, are you? I'm a little late. 2.45 is supposed to be 2. Well, I'm going to be honestly, I'm so fucking busy that I barely even noticed that you were that late.

I shouldn't have brought it to your attention then. No, no, that's great. Let's talk about Louisville. That's what I'm interested in, bro, because back in the day, Louisville was like the mecca for us because they had the sickest skate park when I was like 19, and it was like brand new. We're so excited to go there to ride that shit. It's huge. I didn't know it was recognized on a national level like that.

We were geeked up off of it because there weren't that many skate parks that had like really good ledges and shit like that back in the day. The extreme park, huh? You ever heard of this brand shit luck? Uh-uh. And there was like this company metal bikes that were both based out of Louisville too and they were like really big BMX companies for us at the time. We were super into it. Totally unfamiliar. Damn.

That was our, I totally understand that. That was our main like cultural reference point for Louisville at that time. But what was it like growing up out there? Talk to me about this. Well, you know, I guess growing up in Louisville, just to get right into it, I think a lot of people had this association with Louisville. It's in Kentucky. People think you're from the country anywhere in Kentucky. We're from the city.

There's a million people in Louisville. I've harped on this before, and I'm going to continue to harp on it because, you know, we're trying to get it up there. But a lot of people in Louisville feel kind of misunderstood because they're boxed into this sort of, this Kentucky box of country. Is that weird? Yeah, it is. So that's one.

I was actually excited to talk about up here because my experience of Kentucky is different from a lot of other Kentucky is because I come from a city. You know, we got a we got a downtown. There's different neighborhoods. It's totally urbanized so exactly yeah you might. There's a fly culture going on like Louisville's got a lot of upcoming artists right now like we're tapped into what's going on like it's not some backwoods experience but you do smoke backwards out there presumably right some people do some people do not you so much it's kind of a swisher capital. capital oh that's holding them back man they got to graduate past that

No, man, it's part of the culture. You respect the Swishers. I respect anyone who respects Swishers given the fact that, like, these days, they do get a little bit of heat. When you got, like, smoke part making a song talking about fuck Swishers and shit. It's like, why? When the Swishers become the ops? I don't know. Apparently, it is horrible for you, huh?

Shit, I don't know. I'm assuming Woods are just as bad. Are woods bad for you? Hell, yeah. You said a big old piece of tobacco? It can't be good. Yeah, I don't smoke. I don't be none.

So you just don't smoke at all? I don't smoke. That's cool. I'll hit a blunt like every couple months just to see if I like it, but every time I don't like it. Every time you don't like. I feel it. How high do you get hit in the blunt once, though? Not too, but you feel it.

I feel a little bit. I've gotten high before and I don't enjoy it. When I think about how much weed I smoke now and how smoking way less used to get me so high like 10 and 15 years ago, it's like, holy shit, my tolerance level has really built up over the years. You think so? Yeah, but it's like I had to get way too high. You can't get blasted now? You can't get. I mean, I could.

But I'd have to go outside my comfort zone. I'd have to, like, smoke a ton of blunts. Or I would have to, like, if I took a dab, like, if I took one dab right now, you're going to feel like, you're going to be like, I'm talking to this special needs motherfucker. Like, who is this dude? For sure. This isn't the atom I was expecting. Yeah.

That's me. That's me instantly. I don't enjoy being high at all. That's the weird part about it is you kind of have to just do it over and over and get too high to eventually learn to like it. But, you know, what's the point? But you don't think there's a possibility that some people just ain't into it. Oh, yeah, yeah.

That's what I'm saying is that a lot of people just, that's just probably doesn't match the personality. It's not like you're saying if I got high enough, I could learn to enjoy it. Yeah, I think you would, but I don't think that there's necessarily a lot for you to gain from that. That's fair. That's fair. It's like that for any drug. Like, bro, if you did coke and you hated it, well, you keep doing it for a while. You're going to start liking it and then you're going to not be able to stop doing it. Fair enough. That's just how it works.

Damn, but, okay, is Louisville like the only city in Kentucky that's like sort of more urbanized like that? Or is that throughout the state? Now, we can give a little slice of that to Lexington as well. Lexington's got it going on. I mean, you know, it's a big, there's a lot of Trump supporters in Kentucky, and I would say Louisville and Lexington are kind of the spots where there's a little bit less of that going on,

you know what I mean? Like kind of more democratic cities. That's crazy. It's got to be more of a, that's got to be like a straight culture war in like the down south sort of areas because there's probably so many people that are so pro-Trump and then also lots of young people

that are super anti, huh? In a way. It's weird because it just depends on the, world you live in, I guess. Like to me, what I'm into is what I'm into, but you can step outside of that. And to them, the norm is whatever they're into. It's crazy. When you see the Trump hat in Beverly Hills, it's shocking. It's out here? I mean, once in a while, I'll see a guy wearing one. Usually it's like a Mexican guy or something, because I feel like they feel like they get a little bit more of a past or rocket or something, but you'll see it once in a while. And it's like, I'm not the type of

person that sees the Trump hat and gets mad or like assumes the person's a dick or whatever. I feel like, I'm very open-minded to other people's opinions, but in Hollywood, you see it, and it's, like, shocking. In Louisville, I'm sure it's a lot more common. Yeah, I guess there's a little bit of that. We walked into a cracker. I'm on tour right now. We walked into a cracker barrel and almost ran into a dude

with a big one on, so. It's going on. It's out here. It's definitely going on down. I wonder if he's going to win. Yeah, I do wonder that. That's going to be crazy. We got a whole lot of wild shit coming up over the next year, too.

It's going to be interesting. But, okay, so talk about you as a young, man, like what kind of kid you were and stuff. I'm interested in how you completed the transition from adolescent to rapper. So I'm from the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville, and anybody from Louisville kind of knows it is kind of a weird, diverse area. It's near the center of the city, and, like, you can run into kind of anybody walking down the street.

It's black, white, Hispanic, there's a guy that walks down the street with a snake around his neck. It's just like a very eccentric area, and like in the 90s had like a punk scene going on. Every good city has a guy with a snake. Yeah, type vibes, you know. So you can kind of imagine what type of area this is, but that's why I grew up real pedestrian friendly, middle school, high school, I was walking around. So I think early on I just got to meet a lot

of different type of people. So that's kind of what it was for me, and it was right as hip hop was becoming a thing, man. Like, that's what it was. So I was grabbing early. Being just like, living in that kind of area where you actually have a lot of different types of people who just walk around on the street,

very like underrated thing for sort of building you. Like in New York, I feel like a lot of people really benefit from that is that you're just constantly around other people and a lot of people who live in the suburbs and stuff you just people go to school or work and then they come home and then they fucking watch TV and they get scared of people that are different than them because they got the news telling them that everybody's evil and shit 100% comfort zone gets to open up when you just are confronted by things right public school and all that so so is there like a lot of cool shit going on culturally it was a lot of like music and that kind of stuff for sure you grew up

there's a lot of time little like fun fact about kentucky i don't know if this like actually has something to do with it, but it has the most border states in the U.S. We're touching nine states. So we get influenced from a lot of different directions. Oh, nine. That's crazy. A lot of people like Detroit music, a lot of people like Atlanta and stuff. So there's stuff coming in from all over.

Right. Because it's kind of hard to pinpoint. Like, what region would you put Kentucky in? It's kind of in the middle. So I think we have a culture of our own. You know, we got our own like tempos we're into. We got our own sort of thing we got going on. And like I said, there's a lot of artists starting to bubble now from Louisville and from Kentucky in general.

So the culture is strong. It's never been this uniform. I'd say where everybody's kind of rolling together and like when you go home it's a party. Oh that's dope. Yeah. Yeah, that's cool. It's like I feel like you seem like you kind of grew up in the middle of a lot of different art and stuff. Like you never felt like an outsider. Nah, I guess not. I never felt too displaced. Because a lot of people like kind of just look at a white rapper and they assume that he's sort of attempting to get in on something else. But the way you're talking It sounds like you sort of grew up around so much stuff that it just, it maybe didn't even ever seem weird to you that you wanted to rap.

Exactly. It didn't stand out to you as, because like if I had decided that I wanted to rap in like 97 when I was like going to high school, I feel like it would have been like a way bigger thing. Whereas I think you coming from like a younger generation and like a different way of thinking about shit that it probably didn't feel that out of the ordinary for you. This was something I was passionate about. But even now, like I have enough perspective to realize why people are kind of still put off. out a little bit. It's not unheard of anymore, but people still will alienate you. I still walk in the rooms and feel like, yeah, I'm white in here. Do you feel like you have to prove yourself artistically to a level just because you want people to know how serious you are about the music?

I do. It gives you a little chip on your shoulder. I ain't know what. Even gives you a small complex. You used to affect the way I used to make music. Right. I wanted to be that kid that could prove he could rap. Now I was kind of moving into a space where I just want to make good music and show people that I'm a whole dynamic person. I don't feel like I had to be this one type of artist. But early on, it was like, oh, this is how they treat you when you're white? I guess I got to do this to show them that I can really do this. But definitely, it gives you a little complex, bro.

Like, people treat you different. That's interesting. But do you feel like you get love for the most part? Like, do you feel like you're always kind of in a position of sort of showing people? Like, nah, I really am what I'm putting out there. Yeah, the shock value that comes with it is beneficial in the end. So there's privilege to it. And then there's, of course, like, you feel like there's walls up.

But then you look at Post Malone and it's like, come on. How do you feel about Posty? I respect him a lot. I feel like he's a good guy. He has songs I like, too. Seems like one of the best guys. Yeah, that's how I feel. Nobody, you never hear anybody talking about he's a dick.

And being that famous, I'm going to be honest, it's pretty hard to not be a dick. I can see that. It seems like he comes from a grounded situation, so do I. He's still drinking Bud Light. Yeah. That's some shit. If you don't ever switch up and you just keep drinking Bud Light, I mean, she's probably making millions off Bud Light.

I'm saying I'll keep drinking for whatever they're saying right exactly what do you drink you know what's crazy so I'm a you know I'm a sarah boy I rock with Diddy I'm all about my sarahs but uh these last few days on two I kind of challenged myself to let go of drinking a little bit so I've been sober for like the last seven shows how's that going feels great really yeah I feel like I'm tapping into something different I don't know like I'm going out on stage I think for a while there it was becoming a bit of a crutch to go on stage and get that auto confidence off the liquor But is that what you're doing? Like, banging a couple shots

before you went on stage or something? No, I was getting faded. Like, I was getting messed up before I go out. And I think the last straw was D.C. I was gone on stage. And I felt like I did a bad show almost. Now, the fans there, they keep DMing me.

Because I'd be venting about this online. Right. They'd be like, the show was good. Don't worry about it. But I felt kind of iffy about it. So the next day I did Charlotte, sober. One of my best performances. So I was like, let me roll with this.

And so I think I'm going to finish the tour out like this. But to answer your original question, I'm a sorrock boy. Yeah, no, I hear that. Like, I feel like there's been times where I was drunk as shit, let's say, and I was like at somebody's show or whatever. And because I was totally out of my mind, I felt completely confident, like, going up to the crowd and getting everybody all hyped and stuff.

And when I'm fucking sober or when I'm smoking weed, that is so not, like, my personality to, like, run out on stage and get everybody all hyped up. I respect the fuck out of people, like, DJs and shit, who that's what they do. They just go out there and get everybody hyped up. And they can do it. they don't have to be fucked up at all, but they get the energy going crazy with the, with the audience. I mean, that is such like an underrated skill. I agree with you. It's like a switch you have to hit. The thing I've enjoyed about being sober

is I feel like there's more control. Like, I get kind of mood swinging when I'm in a different state of mind. So when I'm just on that sober vibe, I feel like I can control everything and really tap into like doing a good job for the crowd, make eye contact, you know, talk to them. So I like you don't sound like you have that like alcoholic gene where like some people, People, they just start drinking and it's over. Like, they're just going to be a fucking alcoholic for a life. Were you ever like that? No, I was never like that.

In fact, I didn't even drink in high school. I was kind of late to the party. Atlanta's when I got introduced to even most of my vices. I think I'm just, like, self-aware, so I'll be trying to make sure I'm not going over the edge, you know? Definitely. So what was high school like in terms of, were you recording or at least rapping from, like, a very early stage? Yeah, everybody knew me as a kid in the city that rapped because I was passing out mixtapes. and I was dropping songs online.

It was mostly just bubbling in my hometown, but I was well known. Like people either like me or they hated me. Like, a lot of people thought I was a lame. Yeah, but I had it going. But how did you feel about that? Did you feel like you kind of looked like a nerd or something and that you were like trying to just convince everybody like not?

Did you have that confidence to just be like, nah, I'm not a lame? Like what was it like fighting against that? 100%. But it was another thing to give me one of those chips on my shoulder. of like, you know, got to prove something. But I think I've always had like a certain level, like knowing who I am regardless of how people see me, even though I can still take into a new account. But I knew in high school, like, I was tight. I knew I was fly.

Like, I knew what I had going on. I was feeling myself early. So it was cool. In high school, I enjoyed it. That's a crazy thing about being a rapper. Like, when you are starting from nothing is that it really is so much about, like, that confidence. Even though you don't really have that much to be confident about, like, you don't have fans. yet like that many fans you don't have like the money and the whatever that you want

but you still have to like go out there and exude enough confidence to convince everybody that you actually are capable of being this thing just got your balls and your word you just you're either you're either that or you aren't you just be feeling yourself whether you do or not but I totally agree with you it's all about do you really love yourself and that's the number one thing when I'm looking at new rappers when I'm on stream or whatever is like do they seem like they really believe it. It's probably like one of the biggest things even beyond just the musical ability and stuff is like do they seem like they believe or they're confident enough to really

embody this? That's the number one component. That's the number one thing. Sometimes I'll write something and I'll be in a wrong frame of mind like whether whatever's going on. I ain't feeling myself that day. But the bars on paper, hard as it gets. I go in the booth, spit it. You can feel my voice that I don't mean what I'm saying. Happens to me. I make songs that ain't like that. Really? And you go in and you know But then sometimes you're in that mood today, but it's like you said, it's all energy. It don't matter. The bars are second to everything. The bars are how you use your voice.

Do we believe you? Exactly. Do you believe yourself? You can feel that. And that's why everybody starts getting fucked up in the studio, like what you're described when you moved to Atlanta or whatever is because you're trying to just recreate and recapture. You're looking for energy. And, yeah, to get it artificially.

The problem is that it's subtracting the energy that you will have the next day and that that compounds upon itself and all of a sudden you're fucked. It's a trap. But at the same time, yeah. You just are doing anything you can to tap into that magic that makes people say that. And because we all know that there's futures, there's little Uzi's. There's all these people who, when you listen to their music, certain songs of theirs, that you can tell that they were fucked up and that that made the song better.

Three Sixth Mafia is like, I'm sorry if they never did drugs, they might not have made a lot of that music. And, you know, it's like, we know that that shit was inspired by that. So you can't blame rappers for thinking like, damn, I got to, I got to fuck with see what's up with this lean. See? I don't even try nothing outside of the studio because that's where I want to find something I want to tap into something That's the lab

That's where people end up experimenting At least there's a purpose there I mean it's better than just like sitting in your house Watching Sports Center So you're in high school And how far like Or like when do you start to feel like it was really Starting to come together

Like you were getting a fan base together Was it happening online? It was like a hometown thing completely Everyone in Louisville was starting to know about me but I realized I needed to keep it moving. So I went to Atlanta and got it jumping. Met drama shortly after I moved, but me and my boy, we had actually gotten a job at Georgia State,

but I originally moved down with my homie Urban, photographer, and my boy, too for one, my producer. So we went down there together and just went in. We tried to work, and we were down there with KY engineering, and things just slowly came together. Like I said, I met drama, and he said he wanted to sign me, put me in a better position since. Atlanta is what I owe a lot of the changes to.

It influenced how I was making music. It introduced me to those horrible vices. It put me in this new space that I was never in in Louisville. Were you sure that you couldn't do what you were trying to do or make it in Louisville? I mean, almost everybody ends up with that conclusion that they got to go to L.A., Atlanta or New York. It's funny because it's hard to say because the Internet now you can do it from anywhere. But there is an argument for just putting your face in another room. When I moved to Atlanta, I just started meeting people.

producers and people that I had grown up idolizing and knowing about. You know what I mean? So it changes everything when you just are showing face. Atlanta is such a place where you can just go there. And if you have any degree of like connections or whatever, you could easily start just bouncing between different studios and just meeting all these different people. It's like there's an insane energy out there.

Out here, there is some of that. But it's also like, this is Hollywood. Like everybody's super business focused. There's labels out here. Like people are in their own sessions. They're working on their own shit. Atlanta feels much more collaborative.

Yeah. Very collaborative and accessible. And it's six hours from Louisville, so we were just bouncing down there before I moved. That's tight. Atlanta changed things. I went actually, like the majority of the time I spent in Atlanta was with Shoreline. I remember that you were at Me Street.

Right, yeah. And they were recording with like at Drama's spot. So is that how that happened? Like, do you end up going there to record one night and then you sort of started getting on drama's radar? So I was brought there to meet drama. You know, he'd be there. It's his studio.

So he spends his evening. there. So when I came, I was introduced to him, and that night he had me just record, and I was showing up, showing up, and then when I signed, I've been in there every night since. Wow. So you just basically ended up making a song or two

in front of him, and he was just sort of just watching you and, like, paying attention to him? Not in front of him, but I, like, shook his hand, and then he, like, left the room, and then I recorded. Right. But we got cool just bouncing around being in the studio. Right. That's tight.

What was the, vibes like over there on average because drama is like he's super tight but he's also kind of serious huh like so serious I love it about him because I'm I'm kind of serious too and I feel like some people don't ever want to be serious right and I like to joke around a lot and you know I'll be looking forward to showing that side of me to people but also like I'm about my business too and that's what I like about drama is he's like so on it bro um he's such an artist but me and him have gotten so close. I remember when I was six months into being signed to him and I, like, I felt like I didn't really know him though. Like, I didn't feel like we had like a real relationship and I

asked him to go to this restaurant and the restaurant had these hors d'oeuvres that they were bringing out one by one. It was like when I was restaurants that brings out a little tastes, played after play. It was whack to me, but he loved it. But we had a great combo. Like we just got super cool after that. And so I don't know. I look at him as like a legend, bro. Yeah. Like I hold him up there in that regard. Like I grew up hearing his voice on mixtapes. So I love having a relationship with drama. Is that why, is that familiarity why you still like having the gangstic Brazil's drops on your songs and shit?

That and it's classic. When people hear that, they're anticipating something amazing. So that's what I want. And first time I asked him for that, he's like, bro, you don't want that? I'm like, boy, I got the file. Now I can put it on anything. I'll be doing slow R&B ballads putting that on there. Right.

Yeah, I can do whatever I want with the Gangstic Girls tag now. I love it. And if anybody else were to use it, are they going to end up having to pay drama? Ain't no telling it. Maybe so. I don't know. Is it work that way? He's got it.

He has to be the one that places it. It's like a fucking sample. Yeah, exactly. I don't know. I saw drama like almost get heated at, somebody I was with at the studio because he was doing like the radio show thing. And he's supposed to do a drop and he's like,

I don't want to do a drop. Drama was not going to let this fool out of there without doing the drop. Like he just wanted him to say like, Oh, your homeboy didn't want to do the time. DJ drama, gangster girls, blah, blah, blah. My one homie was like, I don't do radio drops. And they were like, drama was like, nah, you got to do the drop. And it was like, aw.

awkward tension for a minute, bro. See, that's fire to me. I love people that are okay with making other people uncomfortable like that. Yes. Oh, my God. I totally agree with that.

On a traditional level. Like, he's just, you're in my studio. Like, I don't know who it was, but that's one thing I like about drama. He does that to me. He made me feel bad about myself sometimes. Really?

And then 20 minutes later, I feel good because he did that. That's so interesting because, yeah, a lot of times when you're in the studio with somebody, it's like, let's be real. Like, he knows a fuckload about music and his opinion really matters.

And if he were to tell you, like, yo, I don't like this bar and this bar, and she used this word different, and she rap differently on this part of the song, whatever. A lot of people aren't going to have that kind of conversation with you because realistically, they just don't give a fuck. Being around somebody that actually will risk offending you or, like, challenging you is something that, I mean, you don't get that from a lot of people in this music industry because people just don't give a fuck. He checks me all the time. It checks me all the time. Really? Yeah. That's interesting.

Yeah, it's like, and he tells great stories. It's like having a dad, you know what I mean? I have a dad, but it's like having another dad that's mixed. That's got to help. Yeah. You ever talk to him about the, that's what I want to interview him. I'm sure he's talking about it mad times, but I want to talk about that Fed case, bro. That's what I would love to hear him talk about that.

I could probably search and find it on YouTube anyway. He's took me a little bit about that. I haven't dove into that a time. The fact that he survived that is the craziest shit ever. Legendary. That's crazy. That's like. Can I be talking about that too.

Yeah. Crazy times. Yeah. What's the relationship? With Canon, like, is he a little bit more hands off? He's a little more hands-on. Like, what you were talking about in the studio, about making. Drama don't really do that to me.

Drama talks to me on, like, a different level. Canon is more in the studio, giving me his opinions on my music, telling me what I should do about this and that. Right. So he'd be looking out. He helps me craft the songs. I mean, the first song, for example, on this tour, the song I come out to on my set. Every night I come out to the same song, right?

when I made the song, Cannon told me, he's like, this is what you're going to come out to on your tour. I can hear it. It sounds like it. I didn't feel that way before he said that. And so we put it first, and it's been crazy since. So just little stuff like that, he has, he's got a lot of musical knowledge. So he gives me a lot of game.

When you look at where you were at when you signed with them versus where you're at now, like how much do you feel like you've grown as an artist in terms of really learning how to put a song together? A ton. I feel like since three months ago I'm way better I don't know it's just I'm into it I'm into getting better man I just want to I just want to be like on the rushmore

I really want to be one of the goats bro I really like care about music so I'm into it and any game they can give me I'm taking it yeah because I hear you like sort of I forget what song was but I was listening one of your sons and you're sort of expressing that level where you're like not 100% sure

of like if you're going to get where you really want to go. And like, I appreciate that you'll actually talk openly about that because I mean, everybody clearly thinks about that in the music industry. But I just like heard you talking on songs last night about how you're actually aware of that. And like you're like is that sort of this crushing, overwhelming feeling that like you just have these things you want to accomplish so bad

and you just have to fight for them all the time? It's some of that. And like majority of it is sometimes I think my fear is that I want so much that I remember when I wanted what I have now. I remember when I wanted to do an interview with you. Not that I stopped wanting to, but I'm saying, I remember wanting this. Right. And now I'm happy I'm here, and now I want even more.

But you're living your life and you're not thinking about the fact that there was a moment in your life. Like, there was a moment in my life where I would have a fucking killed to, you know, do any of this. Like, I fucking just did a... I went on Sway's show. And I'm like, but I never stopped to think like, damn, I would have fucking killed to have that opportunity a couple of years ago. You forget about the fact that you've accomplished all your goals. And because of that, sometimes I think my... My worry is that I could get to where a post Malone is, a Drake is, and still be, why am I not king of the world, though?

Right. Because a man's greed is powerful. You always want more. You're always seeing what else you can have. So that's the thing that I fear is, like, am I chasing the right things? I think it's good to achieve something, but am I chasing the right things? Because will I ever be happy if this is what I keep? Because I'm not 100% happy yet.

I'm not depressed. But I know I still want more now, and I used to want to kill for this. So how much more do I need for? I'm like, ah, I'm good. The thing you want to- and not the right things. The thing you want to be in love with is the actual creation of the art, of the content,

because that's the one thing that can never be taken from you is just to continue to work. And it's like when you get too married to being in love with the success or with being in a certain position, that's like, that stuff is out of your control. I know so many people that are still making music 20 years later, and it's like, yeah, people aren't really checking for it like that, but it's still a possibility.

And it's like, I really respect the fact that they've stayed true to themselves, regardless of the fact that it might not be represented through the plays or whatever. I agree. I agree. You can't get in love with the numbers because it's one out of your control. So that's why something is better than fucking to me. I like it more than sex is making a good song.

I swear to God, it feels so good. When you make something that you think is hot, it's just euphoria. You just feel so good. So that's what I chase every time in the studio. When you drop something, how much are you thinking about the public reaction? Like is there are you because like I know for me like when this interview comes out, I'm going to be glued to the comments reading the comments and I've been doing this for a long ass time and I'm still like excited to see what people are going to say about it. For real? Yeah.

I don't read YouTube comments anymore because I'm kind of sensitive. So I could read that and it'll stick with me like somebody did a pitchfork review of confetti. I got a 5.6. Okay. Not what I was hoping for. And I made the mistake of reading the article. a really well-written article about how subpar of my music is. Really?

And like when somebody goes into detail so well, it sticks with you. You start to consider those things. So me being so receptive to people, I try not to read too much of it. But I mean, I read what's going on. I read my messages. I check my Instagram comments. So I see some of it, but YouTube's a dark place. So I won't be reading the comments on this video.

But I mean, that's the thing is that, dude, if I read a well-written pitchfork review, ripping apart my album, I definitely could imagine that affecting me. Whereas, like, the comments, like, what are they going to say? Like, you're gay, you're ugly, like, whatever. I'm like, okay. Exactly. That doesn't bother me. When they're good.

Yeah, and they're a good writer, you're like, damn, maybe I'm ass for at least five minutes. But you know that, like, a big part of what's going to make you successful as a public personality and a rapper is just being yourself regardless. And a lot of people who have been absolutely slammed by pitchfork or various media outlets are huge. Like, I remember fucking Post Malongan destroyed and reviews and shit. back in the day. Like, nobody believed that he actually was going to be able to do it. They thought he was just this weird wigger copycat, whatever thing. And like, look at how much that opinion in the press did not matter.

It means nothing. And, of course, that's where you come back to is at center. Because rest and peace, Mac Miller's first album got a 1.0 on there, bro. And his next one went to a 7.4. Point is, I'm going to read the next review. My next album, I'm going to read that review. Hopefully it don't hurt my feelings by them. But you check for those things.

As a human being, you want those validations, but it don't. matter. You're right. In the end, it don't matter. There's a level to which it's good to know what the most negative person, the person who hates you or like really is the most critical. It's good to know what they would say, but only if you're like confident enough to be able to

weather that and to not really let it get to you. For sure. Because I mean, this is a part of my personality is a little bit of a people pleaser. So me, I like everybody to be happy. I want to be loved by the world. That's just part of who I am. It's in my nature. My mom's like that. So that's kind of who I am a little bit. So

those kind of things that get to me, so I try not to even see them. How do you feel about your fan base? When you're actually doing shows and shit, who do you see as your average? Compared to the first tour, surprisingly diverse. Really? Diverse crowds. You know, I figured being a white guy that only white people would be able to tap into me, and I know white people are the main buyer tickets, but my crowd's a diverse.

There's a lot of beautiful black girls in my crowd. There's a lot of beautiful white girls in my crowd. Black men, white guys, Hispanic people. just left Arizona. So there's a lot of different people with my shows. And like I said, I thought at first that only white people would be able to see themselves in me. But apparently I'm connecting with a lot of people because those are who's coming out. So it's a beautiful thing for me. Yeah, man. I mean, if you can be a white rapper that black people fuck with us. That's saying a lot. That's not the easiest thing to achieve. To say the least. So like, okay, I kind of missed this

earlier though. You mentioned Mac Miller. Who are your early people that you were looking at that you were inspired by or they were motivating you to get in the game. I remember Nike's on my feet came out. I was in fifth grade and I was just like, yo, this is it right here. I thought he was hard. And a lot of times when I catch flack, like, I think about how much flag he used to catch. So I think a lot of people have forgotten that. So rest and peace to a legend off rip right there.

That shit is crazy because you're looking at somebody who in that early stage got so much backlash and hate and then by that time, but then became so beloved. And then when he passes, it's like you couldn't find somebody who had something negative to say about him. It was 100% all love from mad people that you would not have ever even thought. What's he's saying? Something about him, you know? And that's why you got to, I guess part of me is like, you got to get over the desire to be loved first off.

Because that's something that I was already talking about. But anyway, other influences, Andre 3,000 is one of my favorite rappers ever. I think just as a writer, he's incredible. I tapped in with Eminem early, of course. But Drake's like the goat to me. I love Drake, just how he balances everything. So that's out there for me. Jay Z, Wayne, all them.

That's a pretty good lineage right there. Yeah, Zer. For sure. Andre 3000. I guess I could see that because I was watching a little bit of interview where you were saying that you feel like your music has gotten more groovy. And the host seemed like somewhat skeptical about exactly what was going to be groovy about it. But I see that vibe though for sure.

And Andre had that. You know, it's like where whatever, or Outcast in general, like they just would bring like the dancey, like, fun element that didn't, like, completely overwhelm it and make it feel like it was some musical ballad type of shit. That's what I'm into. I like, like, my shows are sing-alongs, like,

people are grooving in there. There's a little bit of moshing here and there, but that ain't really the nature of the shows. It's more a vibe. Everybody gagging together. It's supposed to feel good. Yeah, it's a feel good time. So there's a little bit of that.

I'm so curious about this interview now. Look at me. I'm like, who the fuck said that? Who was skeptical? It was like some hot night seven thing or something. It was only like 10 minutes. I'm very, like, skeptical about watching interviews before I interview other people now because I don't want to, like, find out all the good stuff beforehand.

But then I also want to be well-researched and no shit, you know. Well, you're doing a great job of that, bro. I'm enjoying this interview. You are? I yeah. What is the – this is, like, the hardest question to answer, honestly, though. What is the most interesting shit that nobody ever asked you about or that you don't ever get a chance to talk about?

Sometimes I'm like, damn, maybe I need some more bullshit in my life because people are – People ask me about music. People are very cut dry with me. They don't get into none of that funky shit with me. And me, I'm like down to talk about that. But I guess I'm just too straight-laced with what I got going on in my life. I ain't in no beefs. I ain't in no public relationships.

But I'm about to get all that stirred up soon. So next time I'm here, you're going to have a lot to dive into in that regard. It's weird to think about that. That's part of being a part of personality. Like when I go into do an interview, it's like, let's talk about fights you've been in, friends of yours who have died, people that talk shit about you.

It's just all like crazy as shit. And it's like, it's okay. Like I've done like a million interviews and people always want to ask about boom passing out. And it's like they always want to talk about the one time that somebody came through

on that drugs and passed out, which I get. Like I get that. And that's like in a weird way, it's like you need bad things to happen to you so people have a fucking thing to talk about. 100%. All the legends have bad things happen.

I'm about to get some bad shit, brewing so. You gotta be careful, bro. You wanna like shoplift like a candy bar. Don't join the Bloods. Don't go six nine on us. Could never do that. No.

Got to know your place for sure, yeah. There's always gonna be somebody who wants to fucking try to offer you some sort of weird level of protection or something though. You gotta be very careful about that. I don't even know what you're talking about now. I mean, like, I've seen dudes come to L.A. And then basically have like gangsters

convince them that they're their friends. and then all of a sudden they're like extorted money out of them and like you're not allowed to come here unless you do this or all kinds of it and in a long term way that's basically what happened with the six nine thing is that he like got in bed with these criminals and then they fucking wanted the world from him or wanted shit he wasn't willing to give and that shit is messy

for sure I keep eye out like offering this weird warning to you it's valid um so do you feel like on average when you make music Do you just follow where your sort of mind is at? I notice you end up talking to the ladies a lot. You find that that's just sort of where your brain ends up gravitating towards?

Well, I look at it like this, and I think it happens naturally, but, you know, they say there's three pillars to entertainment. There's violence, there's drugs, and there's sex. Wow. No, I ain't too violent. I have potential, but I'm not very violent. I ain't too into drugs. So the sex pillar is the one I usually end up leaning on.

lot. And also because I'm a big fan of women. I always have been my parents tell me that since I was little I just have had an affinity for women. So I like women a lot. And I've met a lot of women. So that's what I like to talk about for sure. That's kind of where my heart like resides for the most part. You in a relationship? Are you juggling multiple women? I'm chilling right now. I ain't in no relationship. Right. Yeah. The thing I realized about myself, though, after I haven't been in a relationship for three years is that when I am single, I'm like a fucking heroin addict with girls because it's just I end up just hanging out with way too many girls and it spirals out of control and I just can't like it's so much safer from me being a relationship because when I'm not in a relationship I end up just like trying to basically create the feeling of being loved or accepted by somebody and having like that closeness but I'm trying to get that through like a lot of different people at one time instead of one person god damn you know what I'm saying I know what you're saying and I ain't just

saying that to agree with you. I know what you're saying. Yeah. I feel you. Because a lot of times I think intimacy is what we crave, you know what I mean? We can be thoughts if we want, but at the end of the day, it's just nice to be close to somebody, so I feel you 100%. Me, I like to talk to women, but that's what I realize I like. It don't have to be, it don't have to be heroin addict vibes. Right. It can just be what it is, so I feel you 100%. I feel like I'm like the Drake type, though, where it's like I can't help but like really like every stripper I mean I can't help but I have a little bit of that I have a little bit of that I'm easily convinced that they like me yeah for sure I believe it for sure if I'm so full of myself I'm like of course you likes me

well yeah because I definitely had that that I'm different complex so I'm like yeah I know you really feeling me like this is different between this I actually sheesh I was in magic city a little while ago and there was this stripper in there I was talking to and I could have sworn By the end of the night, like, she was ready to leave with me. That's what I felt. But these motherfuckers are good at their job, bro. She's genius. But she don't text back, nothing.

She ain't on it. She's on her business. But that night, I could have sworn we were about to be in a relationship. Wow. Seriously. That's crazy. So I go through the same thing. Especially when you're fucked up.

You might just really believe that. Oh, you're just surviving? Yeah, we're in love. I mean, but I've been there, too. I've been in the strip club and, like, started to talk to a stripper, and it had her like really be into me so it's like or like you know and it actually worked out so it's like that is the weird thing about but you know so you've had success stories oh yeah yeah well then i don't blame me i have yet to have one of us oh really is i had this friend back in texas like 2008 and he

we used to go work out together in the morning and then we would go to the fucking strip club afterwards and eat like the strip club like brunch or whatever after our workout and one day like we get in the car and i realized that he didn't even shower after the workout and he's like trust me they like it was he right they like he'll just I mean he was pulling chicks out of this fucking strip club number one he knew every girl there

so I don't know how much fucking time he was actually spending there but he was way too like comfortable in the strip club and I had never seen a dude act like that before where he walked in there with like the attitude of like y'all should appreciate me and then they actually went for it and he remember he told me he goes you gotta keep in mind

everybody here is some fucking loser who works at a desk all day or a fucking you know a day laborer or some shit he's like we're the only ones in here they have tattoos and shit so like these girls like trust me like you're there type and I'm like damn I never heard somebody to grab a strip club like that but I guess that's a pretty good point he broke that bitch down but there's a lot of strip clubs in Atlanta and shit where you walk in and you are definitely not the coolest dude there you ain't lying patch that's why I only go with drama and kenner for real

right yeah I sit in there section throw their money yeah and once you get to that once you've gone to the strip club in that way can't go back on your Gary, can you flick that switch for me and my man, we go sometimes, but it ain't the same as when we go with drum ring canning. We'd be over at our low table. Yeah, sorry. Did I hit a switch? We really have to put this somewhere where that's not going to happen anymore. What's that switch?

Let's work on that today. It just turns off the headphones, so I can't hear anything. Okay. But everybody keeps hitting it with their knee. But you haven't hit it as much as Hoodridge Pablo Wong was yesterday. Oh, Hoodridge hit it a lot? Pablo, he got the longest legs in the fucking country, so he's just poking that thing with his knee. He does have some long legs.

He does. He's a big guy. I like a tall rapper. I love a tall rapper I'll tell you 6-3 Nice Yeah you got to love it

I know I like to Yeah we actually met in Chicago At the club I remember that Nice and brief Isn't that a great way To meet somebody As opposed to just like

Twitter 100% Because we'd have You know We'd have a little Back and back and back But when I ran into you It was a nice

We both shared a smile It was a beautiful thing And I was like That was a weird club To be in Because it was like that lyrical lemonade weekend. So it just had every, it was like the internet come to life. So many people that you just see in Col Bennett's Instagram comments were there.

Everybody. All of them. Facts. So you were nominated for a BET Award. That is something that I want to acknowledge. Thank you for acknowledging. Was that shocking? How did you feel when you found out about that?

It was slightly shocking. Didn't even, didn't believe it. Didn't know why the hell it happened. aside from the music being excellent but that hasn't really done anything for me yet just having excellent music so I was shocked to get recognized for being good at this shit

so it was amazing it was super validating I was up against Megan Nostalian so I was just cool of being nominated but it's crazy bro it's gonna be on my Wikipedia so I'm happy about it damn you pay attention to the Wikipedia

that's good I don't know if I grew up reading Wikipedia so I know those shit be down there I stay consulting Wikipedia's before I do interviews I mean yeah but then sometimes you'll have a rapper who will have like everything he's ever done documented in their Wikipedia and then sometimes you'll have somebody who's pretty legendary pretty well known and they got like one paragraph yeah I think I'm on that latter half legendary with one paragraph but you know that that's that's like a good like PR person or whatever is supposed to actually do is like keep that kind of shit moving add to it

I mean I don't know though because you're not supposed to be like updating your own Wikipedia but then at the same time I'll look at my Wikipedia and it'll say some shit about them like famous for like farting or something and I'll be like I'm like I'm like I can't even like can I change this like I need somebody to like consult to like change weird shit that people put on there you hate to see it brother and I'm really asking for it right now you hate to see it you do hate to see it um so yeah do you feel like uh oh yeah this is the one thing we had to ask about how did you feel about uzi putting a clown emoji over your face on on instagram as soon as I saw it I got butterflies in my stomach why just because he was

acknowledging you well I just couldn't believe it I was just shocked I didn't think he would acknowledge me right and why why was he pissed was Is it just because you're assigned to drama and he's having his issues? I think it's because I align myself with drama during the situation. I posted a photo with my arm around drama, and I said, double tap if you can't wait for a turn or take. What made you want to do that, though? You just feel like you had to sort of have that sense of solidarity with the team?

Yeah, partly that. And part of it was there was a genuine side to it in that, one, I wanted to show, I'm with drama. There was a lot of shit being talked about drama. And he's not really responding. And meanwhile, like, the person talking about him is, like, a mega famous superstar rapper. So it's kind of a weird thing where he doesn't seem like he's super interested in being all that public with his side of the story. They'll only put it out little bits. And I was feeling especially close with drama because all this went down the day after that dinner I told you about.

Oh, okay. So we were vibing at the time, you know what I mean? So I just wanted to align myself with him. Me being a Uzi fan, I didn't think it was going to be taking how it was taken, but that's how it went. Right. And now Uzi don't like me. You never heard anything else after that? Never.

No. Uh-uh. Yeah, he probably don't care that much. Ain't been nothing since. Do you know more about the situation with Louisiana drama and shit than the average person reading the news?

And is it, does drama get a bad rap in this whole thing? I don't want to speak on it, but I know a lot more than most people. Right. Yeah. Interesting. How excited are you for eternal Ataki?

Can't wait to hear it. He's an aspiring artist. He's a great artist. Can't wait to hear it. It'll inspire me to make some good music. Yeah. Do you feel like, does it ever worry you that like having somebody like him having like an alleged rift with somebody like him that the

fans might end up siding with him or some shit like that wasn't that serious that his fans are going to side with him yeah oh i know his fans are going to side with him right that just is what it is i was happy to see a lot of my fans ride for me during that and my fan base is smaller than his but it was a beautiful moment to see all my fans say i'm riding for my boy but was there like a oozy hive that showed up in your dm's telling you they hated you and shit yeah I gained like 30,000 followers. For real? Whoa.

That's crazy. A BS, man. They don't care about good music. See, exactly. They want that BS. The question is, like, how much you can create in terms of actual interests or people actually listening to your shit out of the bullshit. It's a good question because BS doesn't equal longevity. It doesn't always equal.

So, I don't know. I think the key for me was when I knew that was about to pop off, I was about to post my music. I started dropping my videos that I'd already had out. And it was like, so when y'all show up, y'all see, I'm actually hard. Yeah, like, okay, it's time. It's time for you all to learn. Time for people to see. People are going to hate no matter what.

So as long as the conversation is going. It's funny, though, because a lot of people, their way of getting people to actually engage with their music, in that situation would be to do a disc track about the person or, like, really say something in the song. Do that cross your mind? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Figured it wasn't time for that yet.

Did drama tell you nothing to do it, or was it just? Drama let me do my thing. He didn't give me no advice. None of them did. He didn't try to sit you up and be like, yo, like, you got to be a soldier. You got to go out there and take shots at him, man. But it definitely, I think it brought us closer. But he didn't give me no, I think you should do this.

Right. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like, I mean, a lot of rappers will do a diss song that overshadows their whole career. Yeah. You know, where that kind of becomes like such a lightning rod for what people to talk about that they don't really care after that? Part of me considered it.

There were some other things that we considered, but at the end of the day, I knew I wanted to be known for good music. I wanted to come out and be that that's not how I wanted to get my name out here. That's not why I wanted academics to pose me. I wanted motherfuckers to see me first. So we did our thing. We got what we needed out of it, and now we moved on from it. Muffugers have almost forgotten.

Yeah, that's true. I was curious before I came in this interview if you were going to bring it up because it's been so many months, but that kind of stuff sticks. But you know what the thing is is that with your career, it's like you have, you're like an interesting guy who you're good to talk to, but there's not like that much crazy beef type shit. So it's kind of like that being like the one thing. It's like you kind of want to dig in on it. But I mean, you also see it like, you know, actually. I've seen Action Bronson like flip out in an interview because they're asking him about his beef with ghost face. And that was like nine years ago or some shit. And it's like he gets pissed because it's like, you know, he's kind of like you actually, whereas he's had this really good career. He's made a lot of dope shit with the. TV shit, a lot of good albums and everything, but then people just always want to come back to the one time that he had a beef with a legendary rapper. Much more interesting than a good song. He did such a good job keeping his career positive that the thing just really stands out,

which is kind of like the same shit with you so far. For sure. But we got more beefs coming. That one's going to be forgotten. You ever think about like faking one? You down? I'll be down for something like that. Because Bunk just was calling me telling that he wants to do another interview.

And I'm like, listen, Bunk, if you want to do another interview, go on Instagram, right? now and say that you want to kill me and then we got something to talk about how much have you ever orchestrated anything just just stuff that was openly like a joke like when fat boy like throws the drink on me or like throws the hamburger at me and shit that i'm saying everything you've orchestrated the public is fully aware you orchestrated it yeah like because i i like the the whole thing where the dude trying to rob me or whatever like that was 100% real and that if anything just made me even more sure it's like i don't want to joke around about serious shit because Because if you fuck around too much, people are going to think there was a joke.

Yeah. So it's like a lot of people didn't believe that. Just off rip because they thought it was the kind of thing that I would mastermind. Even though in reality, that's totally not true. It looked very real to me. Not for a second that I think it was fake. Felt real to me too. Seesh.

Real question is why we got these little chode arrowheads in here. People don't finish their waters, man. I don't know. You fuck with Arrowhead? The brand? Yeah. Any particular water that you gravitate towards? What we drink. Louisville taps as good as it gets.

We got the number one water in the U.S. Really? Louisville does. Wow. That's actually good to know. Maybe I'll go there and just, I used to drink a lot of tap. You save a lot of money that way. I like Desani, though.

Mm. Do you, you really like Desaani? I don't like Evian. Mm. No, yeah. I'll take Arrowhead. I don't fucking mind it. I'm going to be wholly honest.

Everybody complains about it. I think it's fine. Do you have any sort of particular affection for Kennedy fried chicken, or, excuse me, Kentucky fried chicken? For KFC? Kennedy used to be the shit that we would eat in Brooklyn and shit. Yeah, I just need to know if there's anything, any special feeling you have towards that place just because of the name.

Yeah, I like it. I think a lot of people in Kentucky, they try to, because people reference it so much, they act like they don't like it. I think KFC's delicious. Right. Are there local chicken spots that are better than me in Louisville? Yeah. But I love KFC.

We had it last night when we were in Arizona. So, really? I ate it anywhere. A famous bowl hits different. Famous bowl. Those things are sick. I used to eat those all the time. Delicious.

Yeah. Yeah. My problem with KFC is that one time I went there and it gave me food poisoning and I had to, like, miss a whole trip and a photo shooting stuff, so I'm still kind of salty about it. He ain't had a sense? I have, but, like, very minimally, which is weird because I'll, if I see a Pop-Az or a church's chicken, it might go down. But KFC, I just kind of stop craving at a certain point. I can't, I'm not about salmon. You'll go Popeyes, though?

I'll eat bobbots. No, no, no. No? That's brand loyalty. I'm a KFC guy. Have you had that, the Popeye sandwich? I had it. I had one, but it was like when it first came out and there was a dude who bought like 30 of them and was just like going around selling them for like $10.

So I ate one, but it was like two days old and he had been trying to like keep all these. How did you eat that? I took one bite. Jason over there bought it. Actually, I think he got it hooked up for free because they wanted us to talk about on the podcast. But this dude was really hustling Popeye's chicken sandwiches. I'd want to know what a free one tastes like. I can't believe you took a bite out of that.

I know because like with fucking with fast food, it's not good after like, five minutes. Never mind like two days. Yeah, you're wilding, man. I don't know what you were thinking. I just took one bite. It was dry as fuck. I'm like, fuck this shit. But I'm sure if I was, like, there's a publice near my house. I swear to God, I must live in the fucking corneous area because it's not even a line at this Popeyes. Where do you live? In the valley. What's your address? If you live near our Popeyes and it's not cracking, your Popeyes is not. It ain't like that, especially right now. Maybe they don't have the sandwiches. I don't know.

Anything else we should know before. You got any, you're just pushing this confetti project, nothing new in terms of an immediate project on the horizon or anything? We got some new stuff coming. Confetti out now. Just dropped the Warsaw video. Through the night featuring Bryson's Tiller's still booming, so everything's moving, man. Just so we're pushing good music. That's the truth, ain't it?

L.A. tonight, the Rocks he sold out. Oh, word? Yep, Jake Paul's coming. It's going to be a shmovie. Jake Paul's coming? How did you orchestrate that? DM, he said he wanted to come. I said, come on.

For real? That's crazy. wait to say it on here. I'm going to the Logan Paul fight on Saturday and I'm very excited about that. He's fighting again? Yeah, he's fighting KSI at the Stable Center. Didn't he fight him already? Yeah, and it was a draw. Oh, that's bread. If this one is

a draw, I'm going to be so fucking mad. I would be so let down. Did you go to the first one? No, but I watched it and it was, I mean, shit, I feel like Logan has gotten so much bigger and better at boxing that I'm just like... So they're really boxing? Like, I'm saying they've been training. Yes, like...

I feel like they're taking about as serious as you can, because this is professional fight too. It's at the stable center they ought to. Yeah and they and they are doing this one without headgear and smaller gloves so it's like way more likely we've seen somebody get knocked out. Incredible. If we've seen Logan Paul get knocked out I mean we might never see another meme again that's going to be such a viral meme incredible I can't wait shout to the paul family though um shit jack it's been a pleasure man coolest podcast in the world check us on YouTube SoundCloud iTunes like comment subscribe nojumber.com tell your local dispensary to get this nojumber kush

And go back and down it too. Salute. Skirt.