No Jumper - The Yung LA Interview: Being Ahead Of His Time, Getting Jumped on Video & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 No, John Burke, coolest podcast on the world. And today we got the one and only young L.A. in the building. How you feeling, man? Man, it's just a blessing, you know. Blessing to be here. I feel great, man. Energy, way up there, bro. That's good to hear.

Starting point is 00:00:12 You come out to L.A. very often, or is this like a very once-in-a-wild trip for you? Man, for me, throughout my career, I've been to L.A. frequently, you know, just on doing shows and doing work and stuff like that. But, you know, to be here, how I'm here now, on my own accord, you know what I'm saying? When I say on the accord is I'm on the independent grind, you know what I'm saying? So I say major label artists or a platinum recorder artist, but I'm moving like an indie artist. You know what I'm saying? So it's different for me this time because I really get the experience.

Starting point is 00:00:43 You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? You know, just take it in for real, for real. Yeah. You know, when you're independent, you can move a little different, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Well, that's interesting. Like we can just kind of dive right in.

Starting point is 00:00:54 But do you feel like when you were, you know, moving around as part of a label or more like having to be concerned about what the label wanted from you and everything. Was that when you look back on that, does that occur to you that that wasn't you and that you were always kind of having to try to fit in in a way and it just wasn't really you? Yeah, because I feel like when you're independent or like not only that when you're dealing with a label, you have management, you have different people who fill in roles for you. So these people feel in roles and this can be projected as your personality or who you are. Your manager can have a bad day and do something and it can rub a relationship

Starting point is 00:01:28 the wrong way. But you don't really know, but you're going to say Young LA because I'm the brand and because, you know, that's why protecting the brand is so big. And so that's what you get when it comes to that. But as independently, now when I come to meet Adam, I'm meeting Adam as Young L.A. straight meeting Adam. You know, I'm not meeting them on the businesses or kind of filtered through a label or, you know, you get to kind of touch me and get to see my personality.

Starting point is 00:01:56 And I think that's very important. You know what I'm saying? feel that for sure. So just to have kind of a basis of where you're coming from and everything, and I've watched a few different interviews with you, and I didn't feel like I really heard that much about, like, your childhood and sort of, like, those early days of your life. So can you tell us a little bit about your family upbringing exactly what the scene was like when you were coming up as, like, a child? Well, like my family, the origin of my immediate family, they're from New York. They're from Long Island, New York. My grandma came down.

Starting point is 00:02:28 to Georgia, you know, mom, all of them. So they was brought up in Atlanta. I was born in Atlanta, but I'm just saying that I have a bit part of my family that's on the East Coast. You know what I'm saying. That's what, like I say, where my grandma and them come from. Interesting. You know, yeah, that is interesting, you feel me. Coming up for me was, you know, inner city kid.

Starting point is 00:02:47 I did regular shit. I think regular shit. I had a regular kid did. You know, I did all the regular stuff. You know, being an inner city kid coming up in Thomasville. your heights. I definitely was, you know, you definitely had an influence, you know what I'm saying. Where you come from, I definitely, you know, things you see and where you come up from definitely plays the effect on you. You know, not saying it affects you or totally, but you get certain

Starting point is 00:03:12 things that you draw from that, you know, environment, you know. Was there a lot of music around the house? Yes. My aunt, my auntie Joe, I still tell this story to the date. My auntie Joe was a musician and, she, they had like a group, huh, and my auntie shorty. And that was, like, why I fell in love with music for real because I used to, you know, this is my auntie, so I'm young, I'm seeing her do hip hop, you know what I'm saying? And I just was a fan of my auntie, so my love for her just bled to like, she do music, I love a rap now, you know what I'm saying? So I grew up, but she was a big influence.

Starting point is 00:03:44 Also, you know, she wanted the ones who wrote my first rap, no cap. She wrote your first rap for you when you were real young? Yeah, I know, I know on the back going to say, oh, the homies on the side say, oh, go Lilo, go Lilo. You know what I'm saying? It was on some East Coast, but that was like part of the song. That I really remember. You know what I still remember that to the day.

Starting point is 00:04:02 Did you ever record anything back then? No, I never got you that far. She never got me that far. She just got me to the point where, you know, she wrote it on paper. I kind of learned it. So anytime anybody asked me could I rap, that's the only rap I ever said for like two years. That's funny. I was actually honestly thinking about that the other day with my kid.

Starting point is 00:04:20 She's three months old. So it's a far away decision. But I was thinking, I mean, like you would definitely very much want to encourage your kid to make music and have fun with instruments and have fun with singing or rapping or whatever they find interesting. Right. But then at the same time, when it comes time to actually record something, that's when actually you're immortalizing this moment in time. And if you were to record something, like, even as a young kid, it's like,

Starting point is 00:04:44 I would have to tell my kid like, all right, this is great, but we ain't putting this anywhere. We got to hold on to this. This ain't part of the rollout. Yeah, like, I got to be the one to tell my kid that. Like, hold on it. It's good, but it ain't ready. Maybe one day we'll find one. that we put out, but we ain't going to put the first one we make out.

Starting point is 00:05:00 Right, right. So as a kid, though, did you, were you really interested in being a rapper from real young, or did it set in early on that this was something you thought you could really do? Like I said, watching my auntie, Joe, you're thinking, like, I'm saying, just remember you, like, 10 years old, like 9, and that's like a big influential moment. So, like, she was deeply into music. You know what I'm saying? I'm raised by my aunties.

Starting point is 00:05:24 I'm raised by when my mom and my auntie. See what I'm saying? So our fans are niggas, you know, when you're growing up, you know, you want to be like somebody. You know what I'm saying? The closest thing of your family that you're around, you know, you observe that. And it was like my auntie is for me. And nigger, my auntie, a rapper, you know what I'm saying? So she was the cooler auntie in the world.

Starting point is 00:05:40 I can imagine. So just out of that, I just fall in love with music, you know what I'm so obsessed with music as a kid. But if I had had, like, a family member or some, an adult in my life who was really into it. I used to run to the dough. You know what I'm saying? When they used, Leland gone somewhere, I'm running to the dough. Jek because I got a hill, you know what I'm saying? Auntie, you know, you can't be in here right now.

Starting point is 00:05:57 I'm at the dough, looking up under the dough. You remember I used to really look under the dough like you really were going to see some. I remember trying. Or you hold the cup to the door until I listen. Yeah, like, so I was on that. But now, definitely. Auntie, very, like, she played a part

Starting point is 00:06:11 and it was just me, like, because from their own, I got, I wanted to learn how to do my own music. You know what I'm saying? As I got older, it was like, I wanted to write a rap. You know what I'm saying? To take them, Auntie Joe, like, I wanted to try to put the words down. So it kind of, I used to write, like, I used to listen to the brat.

Starting point is 00:06:27 And anything I was a fan of at that time, what I would do, I write the lyrics down. Like, basically, I listen to it on the tape recorder, write it down, and then learn it so I can rap it. Then when I go to school and shit, I got verses. So it might only be my verse, but I'm just a fan. I'm a music junk. Oh, yeah, listen to this new shit. There's somebody else's verse, but I don't learn that good enough to recite it.

Starting point is 00:06:47 In the early days, it's like just being able to recite a verse and do an accurate version of somebody The else's verse is definitely a good step towards then at some point, right in your own. But who are you really looking at as a kid, too? Like, at that era in Atlanta, was it a little bit too early for you to be a kid paying attention to GZ and Gucci and shit? Was it an era before that a little bit? No, that was my come up. I feel like that's what I was, that's what I came up on, on the TIs, the GZZes.

Starting point is 00:07:16 You talk about coming through middle school, high school boys in the hood, you know what I'm saying, when they had to run with GZ and Jody Bree. that was very influential. But yeah, like, even though going back, like, being a fan of music, I'm a fan of music. So I used to listen to Goody Mob. Like, I used to learn them niggas verses. Like, Sele-O-Green, like, the Gip, they had,

Starting point is 00:07:38 like, they was on some social awareness and, like, being aware of certain shit, you know what I'm saying? Like, back then, and it was like, them niggas ahead of their time. You were fucking outcast, too? I was fucking with out-cad, yes, sir. When we talk about Atlanta rap,

Starting point is 00:07:50 that's almost like the era that was before the part that everybody remembers. Everybody talks about Gizi and Gucci. Like that was the, and tip too, that that was like the first big era of Atlanta rap. People forget that, like, there was a whole lot of different shit going on down south and everything. Yeah, and you had artists that came from that,

Starting point is 00:08:07 like, you know, from the Dungeon family, from the moves, like Outcast, that was birthed, you know what I'm saying, through that if you didn't. You know, you probably wasn't a fan. I'll be like, damn, oh, that was bro who was on that track with, you know, so they birthed a lot of stuff. So that was definitely a strong era in hip-hop. Yeah, definitely.

Starting point is 00:08:23 Okay, so you're in high school, like, when do you start to kind of make moves as a rapper or really start trying to do this? Well, for me, when I got to like the ninth grade, like I fucked up all the way, like in high school. Really? Basically, like, and I don't know, I was smart just on some, just knucklehead shit. You know, you get some teenagers who want to knock it. Mama send me to school, I don't go to school. Right. So I had like a whole fucking semester, bro, like, and I was good in sports and shit.

Starting point is 00:08:52 You know what I'm saying? And at that time going ninth and tenth, I was like, you know, how a nigga play basketball. You know, you're in the hood, you're active. You know, I had, you know, I was kind of a-a-a-a-a-it, you feel me? Right. Ninth grade, I ain't go to school for a whole semester. And your parents didn't even know? My mama didn't even know, bro.

Starting point is 00:09:05 I went to the cut and we smoked. Like, you know, we skipped school and we smoked. That's what we did, you know what I'm saying, in ninth grade. And so basically, long story short, that shit fucked up, like, kind of hot. It kind of, I was in the, almost in the hole when high school started. Like, I didn't get paid. Like, I stopped going. going to school, you feel

Starting point is 00:09:23 me. And that's when, for me, it was like, oh, I got to take this shit serious, serious for real. Because it was like, I can catch up, but it's like I got to get kept back. So when I come back to next year, I got to be in 10th grade home room.

Starting point is 00:09:36 Like, hell now. But when you look back at that. I ain't trying to do that. When you look back at that, are you like, damn, I fucked up. I didn't really appreciate the opportunities I had with the sports shit, with that free education shit.

Starting point is 00:09:48 But, you know, at the same time, like, you understand how when you're a young man, Hanging out the homie, smoking a bunch of weed, that seems pretty fucking good, too. Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, I'm just keeping it real and just saying at that time as a kid, you know, you're 14, 15, you just make bonehead decision. Not saying I ain't go to school every day,

Starting point is 00:10:03 but when the principal told my mama, I had missed substantial amount of days, bro, to what my mom was like, what the hell is you doing? I know I'm sending you to school every day. You know what I'm saying? Just being, you know, just mischievous. You know what I'm saying? That's called mischief, you feel me?

Starting point is 00:10:17 And I think everybody go through that, but that put me in a hole, you feel me? So it was like, I was always talented it with music though you know what I'm saying and um I think at that time though I really took it serious because it was like okay so you know you ain't gonna play sports so that that's you are ready then you ain't eligible when I come back to high school it's like oh uh you know last semester you can't try out or nothing like you know what I'm saying and I had the skills to actually make the team but I had made bonehead to say you know I made no decision so it was like

Starting point is 00:10:45 now that I look back at it like that's how everything was lined up the the kind of you know to go at that time, you know, because even now, like I said, I had my, I had my, you know, I had my high school diploma, you know what I'm saying. So I wasn't able to, I was able to obtain out of it. But you got the GED recently in prison, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was able to, you know what I'm saying, you know what I'm saying. For me, that was big, you know what I'm saying, you know what I'm saying. But at that time, I'm just, you know, as far as pushing what I wanted to push and this is how I wanted to do it, I was courageous enough and ambitious enough to kind of push at what I was doing. Right. But around that time, though, were you full-fledged getting in trouble, like real bad shit, running around with guns, all this stuff? Or were you just really chilling with the homie smoking? And that was kind of as bad as you had gotten at that time. At that time, like I said, that ninth grade. So I wasn't even that, you know what I'm saying? I wasn't even that bad.

Starting point is 00:11:37 It was like, I was hardheaded his head. Like, you know what I'm saying? Do what I want to do, get up. I might want to go to school today. I might don't. You know what I'm saying? And so at that time, I don't think I was running around getting into all the other trouble. But that was, you know, mischief and that led to, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:11:51 then you're not in school, so now you got a lot of time on your hand. That's what led to the street streets. You know what I'm saying? Definitely. I ain't got to go to school, no, it's just like, shit, I ain't in school. So it's like. So now you weren't in school, you start running around with a different crowd? Yeah, I got time on my hand.

Starting point is 00:12:05 So you know, my family, I got family out through Atlanta, you know what I'm saying? So I hung out in Thomasville, you know what I'm saying? That's why I really jumped off the poetry. You know what I'm saying? For me, so it was like, hung out in Tomavilleville. Tomaville is a neighborhood off of Moorland Avenue in Atlanta, South East Atlanta's on three. You know what I'm saying? all my career y'all heard me talk about it i heard me talk about being on the hill tummaville

Starting point is 00:12:23 you know so this is where i jumped off the porch at so that's when the street shit began for me for me you what what was uh what how much can you say about what the street shit was for you at that time you were running around selling drugs or robberies just a little bit of everything doing everything you know i didn't do some of everything you know what i'm saying jump out got down try to try to try to rob somebody at gunpoint at the train station. There's like this young kid shit, you know what I'm saying? A lot of young kids are like, like, you know, you're not going to get no money. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:12:55 Yeah. Like just the thrill of shit, you know what I'm saying? It's just the thrill of shit. I see that with young people still. You know, you're selling two for five Knicks on the hill. You know, just shit like that's how this shit starts. And you see it over and over with young kids too where they just, they want to like, you know, rob somebody and it ain't really connected to the reality

Starting point is 00:13:13 of like being able to get away with it, being able to make a smooth get way or even thinking that the person's going to have anything to take but it's like that moment when you realize like oh i can just take something from somebody without and they're not going to be able to do anything about that's a very that's a bad moment for a lot of kids yeah and just me just being like i say being young like you know what i'm saying being 14 you know and 13 you're trying to or you're trying to do something at a ain't know what the hell you think you're going to get at the bus though you just in it the bus stop you just in it's in the bus stop right they're on the bus because they don't have money like what you think you're going to get you know what i'm saying

Starting point is 00:13:42 and that's why i say just you know what i'm saying the thrill but i think you know a lot of young people can relate to that, you know what I'm saying? Even us, Adam, like we say, as we're talking, as far as, like you say, you still see it today, you know what I'm saying? Just things that you do, you know what I'm saying? Growing up, it's just life, you know what I'm saying? Definitely, but did you lose track of the music along the way, or were you

Starting point is 00:14:00 still grinding with the music? Uh-uh, I still was grinding with the music. Like, that was always like my hit packet, you know what I'm saying? Like, that was my, like that, like that was my baby. You feel? So, it don't matter if I'm in the hood, like, we'll just go in. I'll probably they'll put beats on our freestyle.

Starting point is 00:14:18 Like, I just love music, you know what you getting attention at that time? Or people looking at you like, damn, he's kind of hard. I ain't started getting the attention to like, I ain't started getting attention for real to probably I was like 18. Okay. So I was supposed to be like with a senior in high school. But shit, at that time I was getting like a lot of recognition. Because you know, like I say, you know you're in the street doing shit and then.

Starting point is 00:14:43 So you know we're going to clubs. We don't post a being in. We go in the club before we're 18. Right. So you're feeling like I'm the fly as hell for an 18-year-old. None of the 18-year-olds I know are doing all this cool shit. I'm going to the club at 16, no cap. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:14:56 Like in Thomasville, it was a club right on Moreland. When you come through the back of the cut, it was called a Libra. You hear Gucci, a lot of different people talk about it, but they mentioned a Libra. This was like a just a hood club. A spot you can go to a niggas going to have guns on them. It's just like one of them, you know, a hole in the wall, like a trench club. But you had fun there. It wasn't nothing like that.

Starting point is 00:15:17 This was our neighborhood. club. They still got clubs like that in Atlanta or is the shit too crazy with the cops and everything to run a real renegade club like that? I mean that you know that should be is it man like it's Atlanta always going to have like an after hour spot. Especially with COVID that really gave people a reason that they had to treat their own little hook like nooks you know yeah man they they're going to always have an after hour spot um that some shit probably will go on it you know I'm saying, it's going to always be a spot like that in L.L. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:15:51 For sure. So who discovered that you had talent? Was it dro? Okay, basically. Oh, damn, we had got out. Okay, so what we was on? Okay, yeah, so. You're just 18.

Starting point is 00:16:00 You're rapping. You're doing good. You're going to the clubs. So basically, you know, people in the neighborhood know our rap. As you know, if you're around your friends and you're a rapper can rap, you know, people know you do it or whatever. So it got to the point where it was like, LA, man, we got to just stop being in Thomasville every day.

Starting point is 00:16:14 You know what I'm saying? We did everything just in the neighborhood. You know what I'm saying? We ain't had no money, you know what I'm saying? Like, you struggling, you're selling two. Yeah, you really got a lot, you know what I'm saying? So, basically, we, you know, you get born, you just hang out in the hood. But it was like, bro, you're too hard to just sit in the hood.

Starting point is 00:16:29 Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, we got to start going out. So basically, Michael Mack, which I call her Uncle Stink, he started convincing me, like, bro, let's go to the Libra and do open mic. You know what I'm saying? Just go up there and do one of your songs. Like, and that's where it kind of started for me. We would walk from Tomaville to the Libra. You know, pay out of little money to get on the little list,

Starting point is 00:16:47 to perform. I might be like, number, whatever, go in there, do what we do. That's how I kind of got traction, you know what I'm saying? I was already good, like, in the neighborhood, but not to, like, the public people who come to a club, because I wasn't performing for real like that. I was just had skills to put it on paper and wrap it. Once I went to start going to the Libra, I ran into Zatogne, you know. Oh, so he was the first successful person you met like that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. One of the greatest people in the rap game period, never mind Atlanta. That's my amazing human being. A great guy, bro.

Starting point is 00:17:18 A great guy. Fascinating. When you talk about, man, Zaytoe, I mean, just all the way through class at class at all the way through, bro. Been a great friend of mine for years to this date, like my brother, my brother, my brother. You know what I'm saying? But, yeah. You know, so I had that incurred. Like if Michael Matt went to talk, hey, bro, we got to go, you know, and that's what, you know, you step out and you move around.

Starting point is 00:17:41 And that's when I think my talent lined up with just, you know what I'm saying, stuff they were supposed to be my desk. And I met Zay. I killed the club that night. I met Gucci that night too. You know that night, okay. You know, that night you had like, S-Y-S-D's neighborhood, like, you know, clicks and stuff like at this time,

Starting point is 00:17:54 zone six, zone three, like we go to the club together. Like, you know what I'm saying? Before Gucci part, like, you can see all of us like in the club, OJ the Juice, man. You can see him at the night, like, you know what I'm saying? You can see Gucci perform. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:18:08 You know what I'm saying? Right. But, yeah, I saw I ran into Gucci that night and I ran in the Zay. But Michael Mack, who I told you, my uncle, he already had a relationship with Zay Tovin. Okay. That's what made everything in jail.

Starting point is 00:18:20 So Michael Matt was basically like, look, bro, did L.A. shouted hard. He's from Tommerville. He'd go in. Zay seen my performance. Blasey, blah, blah, Zay. He wanted me to come to the house. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:18:29 And get beats. Like, he basically, you know, like he wanted to work with me now. And so did Gucci come pick you up in the hood at some point? No, Gucci pulled up in the, yeah. Yeah, yeah, Gucci pulled up in Tommosville. This was after, though. I had already met Zay, this down the line now. Oh, okay.

Starting point is 00:18:45 This after I started recording music with Zay, and now the music that I'm recording with Zay, this shit's starting to hit the streets. So Zay working with like Gucci Man at this time. He working with like, yo, he working with everybody who hot. Hottis producer in Atlanta by far at that moment. If you was regionally hot, then he probably was working with you,

Starting point is 00:19:04 even if you were from Alabama, the southeastern region. You know what I'm saying? You could be from Tennessee. He worked with all those kind of people. So basically like, you know, you go to Zayhouse. You can hear L.A. music when you go to the basement now, because I'm working with him.

Starting point is 00:19:15 So you have an artist like Gucci come down there or a person here's something they might like or like, damn, who brother is? And I think that's how it started for me, you know what I'm saying? So was Gucci trying to sign you? Or was this before he was really trying to sign artists? It was just like the store was like Gucci was fucking with me. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:19:30 When he go down there and hit my shit at that time, like who the hell this little young nigga is? You know what I'm saying? They're like, but this little nigga, L.A. You from Tumberville, you know what I'm saying? And I think from there it was just like, you know, Gucci would come to Tumberville and pick me up, pick me up into all white hummer and shit you know what i'm saying right we'll pull off go to patchworks

Starting point is 00:19:48 and got down all the studio went from patchwork uh hot beats you know wherever here have um a set like any kind of requiring sessions that and you know young ralph another alana artist you know what saying um you know we you know we were all artists on the rise like o j the juice man all of us Gucci had already kind of stuck his foot in the dirt you know what i'm saying with the biggest name out of the city pretty much from that world yeah with the whole so icy you know what I'm saying going crazy at that time like that was like it you know what I'm saying and so you here you got me Ralph OJ Juice man Gucci go book a session he called a Nala to the studio hey y'all boy come through you know what I'm saying we now we were calling like I said I'm 18

Starting point is 00:20:27 19 going and shit is starting to move like I'm catching traction you know what I'm saying and um from there it's just you know it's just elevated bro was there anything being around Gucci though is anything he said that really stood out to you or did he give you any kind of like career advice or life advice around that time that stood out to you and that really stuck with you like damn that's some real ass shit that he just said that I would not be able to figure out on my own being around Gucci at that time like you got to think us looking at Gucci Gucci was already a superstar of us like a Jay Z like Gucci was wearing jewelry like when we seen Gucci like that was that nigga you know what I'm saying because he was already wearing the jury like

Starting point is 00:21:04 ahead before all this stuff you know what I'm saying like you can see Gucci at the motherfucking Texaco with this shit on you know what I'm saying so it's like when you see it you So he was kind of, man, just to be around him and see him move, you took so much good stuff from him as far as his work ethic. You know what I'm saying? Because we, like I say, we're up-and-coming artists always saying Gucci-Go, like just seeing how he gets shit done, how he approached shit to work ethic. A lot of that shit just talked for itself, you know what I'm saying? Definitely. Because it's one thing to make some dope music.

Starting point is 00:21:31 It's one thing to be a good rapper. It's a totally different thing to actually turn it into a business and to be having the shit around your neck that indicates that you made enough millions of dollars that you can have a whole. big chunk of that on your chest. That says a lot to a young kid especially. So, you know, he's speaking volume. So, you know what I'm saying? For us, we, we go into the studio. And, you know, for me, I'm like, damn, this shit, you know, I'm soaking it in, you know what I'm saying? But I know, like, okay, I always felt like I was good. I'm not saying, I knew I was hard. You know what I'm saying? I felt like I can do this shit good as hell. You know what I'm same before I got to Zay, I knew I could do this shit good as hell.

Starting point is 00:22:09 When I got to Zay, that was confirmation that boy, yeah, you on the something. And then I just was confirmation from confirmation. Definitely. So how come you didn't sign with one of them guys, and it didn't happen until you met Drell? I'm assuming is when you actually got into a label situation? Why do you think it didn't happen with, and was Zay trying to sign artists at that time as well? Well, just like I say, when you say at that time, you're thinking about growth. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:22:30 You're dealing with Zay. You know what I'm saying? You know, he got it so icy, but he's growing at that time. I'm saying, still making beats. I don't think he was probably in the position where he could just, you know, or even had the experience and knowledge of the game at that time. We just are kids doing something we love to do. Now it seems so obvious.

Starting point is 00:22:47 You meet an 18-year-old and he's really talented and he ain't got shit going on. You're like, hey, you know, I can help you out. Get signed. I could show you to these labels, et cetera, et cetera. Right. It might have been a little early for him to be thinking on that level, huh? Yeah, yeah. And like I say, he's just in love with his craft and I think knowing how to do it

Starting point is 00:23:03 and just knowing how to do it the right way. So I think at that time, the knowledge probably wasn't out of the way there from, you know, anybody's like I say, like I say, we changed like, you're just doing something we love to do. You know, probably have people around us who knew more about the business. But as far as for us, you know what I'm saying, not at that time because you don't come in anything just knowing the business. I don't give it down what you do. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, but I think at that time, you know, but I think at that time, you know, but I think at that time, you know, he, he wasn't having a lot going on with his solo stuff. You know what I'm saying? And I don't think he was really signing artists at that time. Right. It's kind of, but. Because then you find out about like, you know, he, he wasn't. He wasn't. He wasn't. He wasn't. He. He happy with the shit the way the shit went with OJ for example and he I don't think he was a really solid a a label with a foundation at that time because they didn't really have a label and Gucci was you know you know doing his situations but it wasn't like how 1017 grew to being where they manifested you know what I'm saying but on the other hand you know what I'm saying like I say going in you was asking about dro or that's like that situation at that time he signed the grand hustle he signed to the king so

Starting point is 00:24:05 For me, you know, in Atlanta, it's like with the King, they had a label that was really established. Like, you got to think at that time, like, Tia was multi-platinum, like, all his, like, everything that was coming out. Like, Tia was one, like, that was the, like, down there. We're talking about Gucci, like, the hottest rapper in the city at that time, but Tia was a legit pop star at that time. He had reached a different level that Gucci was yet to reach. Right. And everybody, you know, for all of us looking at Tia, you know what I'm saying, at, you know, at that time in St. And so, I mean, withdraw, I think.

Starting point is 00:24:40 What, you're going to ask me? Well, I kind of got ahead of the store. No, no. I'm trying to break it down. He saw your talent, but he actually had the infrastructure of like, oh, we could actually do business with this guy, right? Basically, like, the mixtape that me and Zay did had like 12 or, I had like 15 songs on it.

Starting point is 00:24:57 So this is when I'm recording was there. So I dropped this mixtape. The mixtape just come out in the neighborhood, like 600 copies. We didn't really have a lot of CDs. We spread it out. And then the music got around to just these little neighborhoods. Droh hang out in the same spot where I'm Front Zone 3. And I think he got the CD from, like it was Kent or one of the guys in Somerhill.

Starting point is 00:25:19 You feel me who had the CD. And Drew heard it. And then he fucked it with it. And now Drew was pulling up in Tumsville coming to fuck with me or, you know, trying to salt after, you know, want to put some shit together with me. And that's how everything kind of started. Definitely. And at that time, it's like, shit. I felt like that was the better fit for me.

Starting point is 00:25:36 You know what I was trying to do as being a real artist and trying to go to the next level. Right. You know. And up to that point, you had had, what, some, like, songs that were popular

Starting point is 00:25:45 on a local level, but you hadn't really had a breakout hit that kind of went crazy on YouTube even? I was already popping in the city from the, like I said, Young Ralph had the look like Money record. And young Ralph was, like, on fire right then. It was like one of the biggest records

Starting point is 00:26:00 when he dropped it. And so when I dropped my mixtape, I had first I filed back, Then I leaned down. It had young rap featured on it. Just like the hottest song in the city, like as far as the local clubs, them holding the walls I was telling you about,

Starting point is 00:26:12 the trench clubs, this was like one of the hottest songs going around. And then I had, I got it. So I was already, like, popping in, like, the hood club. When you play my shit, they already knew all the words to my shit. Right. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:26:25 That's just come from, like I say, putting my music out, being in the hood and people knowing me from my area, you know what I'm saying? Right. To where it's like, shit. If people know you in your area you got some good shit these same people gonna be in these venues you feel

Starting point is 00:26:36 me so it was like the shit was going up so ain't i didn't exist until after you already signed with grand hustle yeah ain't i never came i i made an i after i signed with grand hustle okay and was that like a time period in your life where you were just really working trying to find the big hit that was going to take your career to the next level and that ended up being the one and i just got signed with like grand hustle it was like in the beginning so i got to find a single right You know I'm doing records with other artists, but I'm trying to find a one, just like you said. Hey, you just did a deal. You got to lock in and go get you one because that's when they, and, man, I mean, it's like, I promise you, bro, like, not too far in that shit.

Starting point is 00:27:16 Probably a couple months that motherfucker came out, you know what I mean? Right. And it's kind of crazy to think about it because T.I. Somebody has had a lot of success with signing artists. It's obviously signed some of the biggest artists right now and some other huge artists over the years. Yeah. But at that point, Drowe was probably the only artist that he had signed and really put on until that point. And he had obviously Shodalene.

Starting point is 00:27:36 He had a bunch of... Dro was really killing it at that time. He was murking it at that time. He was murking it. Like, best thing smoking was like this shit. Like, when he brought a whole new flavor. So, man, he was on fire at that time. And you, I could see how they were probably looking at you.

Starting point is 00:27:51 Like, Droo got all this real creative shit. Like, he's doing gangster rap, but he's putting all this fruity colored swag type shit on top of it. thing and then they're looking at you like you're an even younger sort of more exciting new version of this like you could be an even more fresh face to put on this label right right right um i think uh i came i think i think just the sound like and i think it did miss with what droll was doing like you say you say stupid fruity colors and all the fruity colors but i like how you say that from the dressing that's what my sound was right you know what i'm saying it was like my whole sound was like so finesse and just like melodies and melodic fun.

Starting point is 00:28:30 It was youthful. It was sort of like intended. Like this is before people realized that if you made records and sort of went with that youthful energetic sound that the kids would react to it. Now people get that. But now people really get it like they not even knowing like, dang, like seeing it like, oh it's okay, but what is it like but not knowing that this was going to be the sound. Like this was going to be what was going to, you know, as far as just changing the sound to a new direction.

Starting point is 00:28:54 because everybody know I came right after the trap music. Like I came after like, you know, like you say, the T-I, the G-I. Gucci, G-Z Super Serious. Even Gucci was like able to laugh at him. He was able to laugh a little bit. He was able to put some funny shit in his songs, but not that often. Like, especially G-ZZZ. You think about G-ZZZZZZ was not playing around.

Starting point is 00:29:12 It was straight-up gangster music. Like, there was no humor to be found there for the most part. So if you think about Futuristic Leland and you think about that sign, that's like a total night and day, bro. And I feel like that's where it started. Like that was the start. oh, this shit changing over. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:29:27 As far as just a new sound, you know what I'm saying? Something different, you know what I'm saying? Definitely. Okay, so you make that song, and it's just you at first, and then at some point for the video was where it was made the decision

Starting point is 00:29:39 to put T.I. and dro on it? Yeah, it was, like I say, with that record, it was actually Shea was on that record. And Shea is a close friend, like a dro in our circle. We were trying to do, like, this thing called the Cartier Boys,

Starting point is 00:29:53 make a long story short. We was going to Thomasville one day to shoot a video. Well, the police and the red dogs and shit was at the gate in the gate. You see what I'm saying? So I'm going to shoot my video in my neighborhood in the bricks. You feel me? So we get to the gate. Twelve is up there.

Starting point is 00:30:06 So some shit go on and Shay got his fight. You know what I'm saying? And goddamn She had like a warrant, boom. So Shay get that situation if he get locked up at that shit. Oh, wow. So now I got a record that's going in the streets and Shay on it. So it was an executive decision made through Grand Hustle. It was like, we,

Starting point is 00:30:24 can't keep Shay on it because he gone he can't perform. He was taking off, you know, like I say, and then Big Country King was putting on the record. If you remember, the first ain't I? Right, okay. That's where it started it. So it was like the evolution of their record. Like, you know what I mean? Big Country King.

Starting point is 00:30:38 And then from Big Country King, that motherfucker grew so crazy that it led up to dro and tilt coming to do their first. You ever have that conversation with Shea about the fact that that unlucky arrest basically cost a very big opportunity? Yeah, like I spoke to Shay, Shay DME probably not too long ago, but that's my brother, because at that time, like, you know what I'm saying? He really, like, man, Shay had nothing but some love for me,

Starting point is 00:31:04 you know what I'm saying? And he was one of them older guys who took me under his wings, so I fought with Shay, you feel what I'm saying? And, I mean, some things happened that we can't change, and I think Shay know what I'm saying? And, you know, when he came home,

Starting point is 00:31:17 I was able to be in position to pull up on him, you know what I mean? You know what I mean? Some for his B-Day, like, that shit felt good, you know what I'm saying? because when we was trying this shit, we didn't have, you know, you know, so basically, like, Shay understood, you know what I'm saying, that way it was just a bad time. And then sometime in life, you don't know why stuff happened at that reason or at that time, but sometimes stuff happened.

Starting point is 00:31:37 You know what I'm saying? That's the point, and that's the period of time that Ye was in his life, you know what I'm saying? Definitely. So around that time, too, I remember just, you know, being on one of the rap blogs of the time and realizing, like, oh, my God, young L.A. Drell got a tape called Black Boy, White Boy's Swad. This is crazy. Like, I'd never heard a rapper, like, joke around, you know, especially like a real street rapper. No, I meant that.

Starting point is 00:32:02 Joke around about some shit. Like, you know, put it out there like that. Like, yo, I'm like kind of like a white boy with the crazy-ass outfits. Or Drow was more representative of the white boy thing because he was wearing all the polo and shit at that time. Well, it was just like Black Boy, White Boy was birth at the A&I video shoot. Oh, really? So basically, if you go back to the A&I video shoot, you'll see me with the gloves on, with the fingers out. It's rock star.

Starting point is 00:32:23 I'm in there with the Mohawk on. Just different cultures of, you know, rock star and rock and we know, blend and meshing two different genres together. Not through my sound, but through my look. I'm already on there with the chucks on. I got the fitted tape. You know what I'm saying? Skinny pants then.

Starting point is 00:32:38 You see what I'm saying? And that's what black boy white boy was. I remember the woman came in. I had the gloves on. She was like, you got the gloves on. She was like, and so I said, I was like, oh, yeah, did that black boy white boy shit. And from there like when, like, me and draw in the room, me was like that shit was birth. That's where it got birthed. You know what I'm saying? Popping

Starting point is 00:32:55 lingo and talking shit. You know what I'm saying? Black boy white boy is stuck with me. You know what I'm saying? When people see me in Atlanta, it's black boy white boy, Leland Austin. I feel like that was something that was one of like one of my biggest statements. You know what I'm saying? Futuristic Leland, black boy, white boy Leland Austin. You find a lot of white kids really liking the idea that. Yeah. Like, damn he's talking about us. We don't get disgusted rap music too much. Yeah, liking the music. You know what I'm saying? We're going in Hollister. They're rocking a hollister. We're going to America. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:33:22 We were making it cool, you know what I'm saying? Because at this time, like, that's not what was getting worn. You know what I'm saying? And so we just tried to, like, me being a creator, right? How can I mesh these genres? You see what I'm saying? And get, you know, a fan base. Because you can gain a fan not only through what you're saying,

Starting point is 00:33:37 but through your look, you know what I'm saying? If I look a certain way or a little bit like you, you know what I'm saying, I can gain it because we have a common interest, you know what I'm saying, through what I see or through what I hear, you feel what I'm saying? And that's how I built myself. Now we're so used to seeing rappers. being obsessed with fashion and taking weird wrist, painting their nails, all kinds of crazy face tattoos, different colored hair, et cetera.

Starting point is 00:33:58 And that was all new. Like, you having a Mohawk was shocking at the time. The little baby Mohawk, too. It wasn't anything too crazy. Now you got rappers with a two-foot Mohawk. Mohawk with the colors, you know what I'm saying, just being different. You know what I think that's where the superstar is. I think this.

Starting point is 00:34:12 I mean, like, you know, you got to be able to stand out, you know what I'm saying, and be comfortable in your skin also as you're doing it. You know what I'm saying? This is really me, you know what I'm saying? And so it wasn't like a gimmick, you know what I'm saying? It's still in here till the day. You see it's all tight way. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:34:25 Like, this is my style. You know what I'm saying? So, you know, you got to stay true to yourself. It is crazy how much of that shit just sort of became the norm relatively quickly where all of a sudden, you know, everybody got some low crotch pants, some super tight leather-looking patches all over the shit. Like all kinds of different stuff. It became very quickly. It became the cool thing to experiment and look different and want to stand out.

Starting point is 00:34:50 told them it was futuristic. They didn't believe, you know, futuristic Leland. We told them them, then, you know what I'm saying? In 2009, 2010, you know what I'm saying? And now we see the culture and the trends as strong as they ever been. You know what I'm saying? And so, you know, it's dope to see it and it's dope to see that, you know, your time, I mean, just everything you're doing is staying a test of time. You feel me? Like, the same way we're popping in, it's the same shit that's going on, you know? So. And just trying to stay recent, man. You know how that it is. Like, yeah. You got to stay trendy. How you present yourself is just a huge part of getting people to pay attention these days in particular.

Starting point is 00:35:23 But so, okay, now all of a sudden, you're not just young L.A. You're young L.A. who has the potential to be the next big star on Grand Hustle. So do you feel like everybody at the label and stuff? Do you all of a sudden have label people trying to get in your ear, trying to switch shit up? Did it change the feel once you had a whole bunch of people in your ear trying to tell you what to do with your career as opposed to just sort of doing your own thing? I think when the situation like that, it always switches up, and then I think, too, you know, taking into consideration, like I say, you know what I'm saying,

Starting point is 00:35:54 doing it as a baby, you know what I'm saying, and being naive, being immature, not like, you don't know, you know, you're just, you know, just saying that. So at that time, you can be persuaded or, you know, you can be manipulated when you're young. That shit happened all the time. Like, it's just, you know, that's the thing of immaturity as being naive and that's, you know, you only conquer that with growth, you know what I'm saying? So I don't think it really changed, like, I just, think I start to just see shit differently, you know what I'm saying,

Starting point is 00:36:18 and see different things, you feel me? But it didn't really change because, like I say, no one can make you do something, but you can be persuaded in situations, you know what I'm saying? And you know people use certain things to play on you. You know, you sign you in business with them. Everybody don't really have you, you know what I'm saying? Best interest, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:36:35 And that's with anything you're doing, you know, any job you work on, you know, so. Like the story I heard you put out there was that basically A and I went ridiculously huge But then your next single didn't perform as big as that one And they sort of shelled you just off that Which is pretty crazy when you think about how rap music is these days Where it's like if they have a hot new artist

Starting point is 00:36:58 And you know the second single doesn't work It's like all right single number three single number four What you got to do? You keep going You pump it out to streaming services You make a video and that's it like you got to just keep pushing You're not going to give up on your investment just because one single Didn't work right? I mean ain't as a platinum single like this was

Starting point is 00:37:13 before the curve of streaming before, you know, we came before that whole wave before all the manualism switched up as far as shit going to streaming. It's not downloads no more. It's not ringtone sales. Like, if you, then if you sold a million ringtone, that mean a million motherfuckers bought the ringtone. You see what I'm saying? If you had a platinum single, that mean got them a million motherfuckers downloaded the single for whatever it cost it. But at that time, it was like a song had to be huge for them to really be. making money off it because now you could have you could be like a mid tier trap style artist and just have a dope catalog on Spotify and then you do YouTube videos you do shows boom you got a career yeah

Starting point is 00:37:54 you cool yeah yeah like the label like at that point it was either you were huge yeah or you were nothing yeah people had to physically go do it you know what I'm saying you know I'm saying like you say a stream like a couple seconds is a stream so they don't even got to listen to the shit you know I'm saying um but what I'm saying is like then it was you really had to do that you know I'm saying so I came in in that era. So I feel like, yeah, you're supposed to keep pushing. I showed you the hard work, you know what I'm saying? I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:38:22 They bind on it. How did it single going right now? And second single really wasn't a, it really didn't do bad if you look at where it ended up and where it charted it. You feel me? I feel like that was a success. I feel like both of my releases, like on Allman's Stream release, I had nothing but success because their record sitting at goal right now.

Starting point is 00:38:39 You know what I'm saying? Right. So it wasn't bad. But, you know, at that time, too, you had. Michael Jackson. It was a lot of different things that factored into that shit. Michael Jackson. Yeah, you know, he had passed away. You know, like, when the big artists passed away, like, they locked the airways down. It's just straight Michael Jackson. When you're trying to get a record to go for ads at radio, that means the record,

Starting point is 00:38:59 that record has to be getting played. But we dropped the record getting added, looking to pick up steam in the middle of that. And not only saying that, remember when they did all the cutbacks, I think in 2008, 2009, and all these big labels, where everybody who was working of my album just got fired. I ain't having really, that shit was crazy. But what I'm saying, that things happen and they post, you know, they're supposed to happen. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:39:20 When I was speaking to Travis Porter the other day, their story is super similar to that too, where they had a label, give them a million books or whatever, and then all of a sudden the label just decides that they're going in a different ways, and all of a sudden, the people who own your contract don't really care about you so much, and they're just not really trying to go crazy pushing your shit, right?

Starting point is 00:39:37 Right, right, right. Yeah. But so that was one interesting conflict you had back around that time, I was with Travis Porter, though. How heated was that? And do you think that they just heard the black boy, white boy thing and just decided they thought it was hot and wanted to run with it? Or you think it was intentional? What was that about?

Starting point is 00:39:51 I mean, you really can't say at that time, you know what I'm saying? You know, you know, you can't say if it was intentional. But we know, you know, definitely we know what we was doing and saying was very influential. You know what I'm saying? And at that time, it's like when you hear that, it's so new. Like, we just had said this at the video. So it's like, whoa, that's stealing. Like at that time, just how that, you know, that's how you're going to feel just off the real.

Starting point is 00:40:11 Like, whoa, that's too new. you know that this it. You like, like you know this lingo got ringed to it. Like you know like this, some shit you can pop and people can kind of got down, draw to it as you can see. Right.

Starting point is 00:40:22 When we dropped the Black Boy White World album, like one of the biggest street albums of my career. You know what I'm saying? And it's crazy too, because now we're sort of used to everybody jacking each other's adlips and slang and shit. Like if one rapper comes out saying some, some hot shit, it's like none of us are even surprised when there's 10 other rappers

Starting point is 00:40:37 saying the same shit a week or two later. Oh yeah. No, definitely. Definitely. And, um, I think, you know,

Starting point is 00:40:42 that's something you learn too as you in the game like mimic it and mocking like it's part of it um no matter how you like it and you want to say oh i'm original different sound like this that's just what happened when you got a good sound and i mean people gonna do that i mean so you know you know you understand that though as you go you know what i'm saying when you don't want to hit that shit oh he bane hell now right you know what i'm saying but you know like i say as you get to a different level it's like okay yeah okay you know okay you know i'm the wave i'm starting a wave and as when a lot of people do it with you it make the wave stronger you know what I'm saying like for real for real so I mean, it's just something you got to deal with in the game. If you hit, niggas gonna bite, niggas gonna try to sound how you deliver it like you. They might not do it all the way, but, you know, they're gonna try to take bits and pieces, but that's how music go.

Starting point is 00:41:24 And I think everybody have done it or do it, you know what I? I feel it. So where exactly were you at in terms of your relationship with grand hustle and everything when the situation with duct tapes started to unfold? And how did you actually end up being around those guys and starting to get cool with them and all this shit? Because this for me, like, I was already a fan of the music,

Starting point is 00:41:44 but this was around the time period where, you know, me and a million other people were all just staring at a world star. Like, holy shit, what is unfolding? We weren't really used to seeing rap beef shit sort of turn street shit unfolding on the internet at that time. It was kind of new to us at that time. All right. So basically in the relationship with Grant Hustle, I had already like kind of several the ties,

Starting point is 00:42:04 you know what I'm saying? So I was on to, you know what I'm saying? While I'm still got, I still got, you know, I'm still buzzing. You know, I got, you know, name I already built, got one of the big. and ain't I still, like you say, thriving. So I'm going on to, you know, make my transition. You know what I'm saying? Severn't times from Grand Hust.

Starting point is 00:42:18 I'm going into the next chapter. So you had already kind of got disgruntled with this. Because the narrative that was sort of put out there at times was. I had already distanced myself from, you know, from Grand Hustle as far as, you know what I'm saying, where I'm going on my next step and how I'm doing business. So I had already kind of made that pool. Interesting. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:42:35 And so with the duct tape, like, those my, like, real, like, real shit. Like, I fuck with black. Like, I fuck with D. I fought with soaping in them. I fought with Dave, like these personal guys that I, you know, that I really know. So at that time,

Starting point is 00:42:48 when they came to Pittsburgh, which is Zone 3, on Front Zone 3. So when they had a Spotted Pittsburgh and I was running into Dave, like, it made perfect sense for me for what I was trying to do. I had big movement.

Starting point is 00:42:59 Don't take big crazy movement. You know what I'm saying? Already, like I say, had the relationships in Rocking. So I'm like, I'm looking at my star power. I'm always a thinker. So I'm like, damn, that'll be too hard.

Starting point is 00:43:10 got to stop, I'm already gone. They having a real movement put that shit together. You see what I'm saying? And that's what they were supposed to be. It's just simple as that. Was the movement at that time? What artists were they really pushing? Was trouble even really out yet at that point?

Starting point is 00:43:24 No, trouble was just coming home. Okay, right, right, right. But you know, they had Ali. You know what I'm saying? Me and Ali already had records prior to all that going on. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like I say, in the city, we say some shit like this, if you know, you know what I'm saying.

Starting point is 00:43:37 But, like, me and bro had already had records, like, and all that shit. Like, I'm on the big record. if you go look up B, me, Allie, got records with me and Super and Alley. Like, we was already fucking around then. So it's a comfort zone. Like, I'm fucking these, I'm fucking these folks. But I don't know.

Starting point is 00:43:51 I think that shit kind of escalating you do something. Like, when I got the tech, I just feel like, and this was something that was all right. That was chalked up too, like with Dave and Black. Like, oh, boy, I'm fucking with y'all. We're trying to go and lock this shit in for real. Right. But I'm going to go get the ink. You feel me?

Starting point is 00:44:07 And I think as it kept going, it just didn't sit right with this. individual and he just was on you know what he wanted to you know what I mean well a lot of times I feel like we're rap labels there's like the business side of things and then a lot of times there's like the street side of things and it might kind of be like a blurry line between like exactly like is this a label is this just a crew is this you know the business side of things but then there's also a bunch of hard-ass dudes who are looking at this thing like this is their whole identity and they don't really take lightly to somebody claiming that without necessarily going through the right protocols You think it was a little bit of that confusion that started this up?

Starting point is 00:44:42 It wasn't even no confusion because protocol. Like I'm talking to like, like I say, when I say black and I say like despite I'm in with bank, when you talk about Delta, like that's the guy, you feel it me. You know, you talk about Dave. Like these are the guys, you know what I'm saying? So like it was already a mutual understanding. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:45:01 I just feel like, you know, sometimes you never know what person in life. Like it feel like, damn. I built somebody trying to come take it. Stop and saying at this time. big-ass artist, you know what I'm saying? I'm not trying to eclipse. I'm just, I got a thought and a vision, you feel me?

Starting point is 00:45:13 Right. And I don't think, like, the, you really seen the vision, you feel me? Mm-hmm. But. Around that time, there was, like, one of the narratives that was kind of put out there was like, oh, young LA's all fucked up on drugs. That's why he's tripping.

Starting point is 00:45:26 He got this crazy face tattoo. Was that a real issue for you at that time? And is that something that you could blame for that situation part of us, really? No, I can't even blame it on that. And I don't even say at that time on, I think we all deal with what we deal with um and i think you know i went through a phase to where yeah like when i look back at what i was doing like here y'all was abusing shit like you feel if you drunk a pint like when you

Starting point is 00:45:49 just look back like damn i bought a pint about two pint drunk drunk that motherfuck in a week or two like yeah like i were going you see what i'm saying but at that time i don't think that played anything to do with the situation because like i said i used to be at the spot down there every day you know what saying rocket with default like we was all rocking like you see recently like i just did the bit fat podcast interview with Black, you know what I'm saying? You just see the genuine and it's in the love. Like I just feel like, you know, you can't control, everybody can't control one person or what

Starting point is 00:46:16 one person want to be on the field, you know what I'm saying? And I feel like shit, when you're in the streets, like street shit do happen, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, that's all, you know, shit get kept in the streets, you feel? But that situation could have played out behind the scenes, but it definitely didn't. It was on World Star, had everybody talking about it.

Starting point is 00:46:32 What, in that video that we're seeing, though, was that a setup? You feel like, was it fully like you got set up? Like somebody told you or you're going there for a different reason? No, I just feel like what supposed to happen. Just sometimes just happen. Like I say, when you're in the street, sometimes you get the short end of the stick.

Starting point is 00:46:46 You don't win every battle. Like, I don't know. No street ain't really like won everything. Like sometimes you get caught down. But like you get, you got the ups. You get the short end on the stick. That's just how the street you go. You don't really know.

Starting point is 00:46:55 You know what I'm saying? How's going to play out? But no, I don't, I don't think that because, like I said, I used to be at this spot every day. You know what I'm saying? This was my first time ever seeing, bro. like I said I'm over here every day so this day coincidentally like you over there you feel me like and I want to announce a name I just feel like you was supposed to be over there

Starting point is 00:47:15 that day you know what I'm saying and this was supposed to you know we had nothing built it up going back and forth blah blah so you've been going back and forth a good amount before all that yeah we had already been you see what I'm saying and you know some you know some shit come to a head you know what was supposed you know whatever expired that was what transpired you feel me behind it but like I say street shit shit shit you feel so only thing about the thing I had a big name, so mine was publicized. I understand it. But shit, if I was still in Tumerville, which we, nigger, goddamn jump, nigga getting out of the bus, all that I come from them kind of neighborhood. You feel what I'm saying? But you come from the world where that

Starting point is 00:47:44 happens, and it just happens. It's whatever. Nobody sees it. Pre-camera phone era. All I'm saying, it's regular. You know what I'm saying? From where we came from. You know what I'm saying, niggas got junk and hate like that shit just regular. So basically, but I understand, though, with my, with my, with who I am and everything that it gets magnified. So it's all, you know, that's just what comes with it. Yeah, and especially, I mean, just, you had rabid fans that were like hungry for rap gossip at that time and they weren't really they weren't getting that much versus nowadays is non-stop there's always a different beef a different fucking crazy-ass video coming out of some somebody getting a shootout whatever it happens every couple days now

Starting point is 00:48:19 at that time though like how upset were you when the video came on a world star and what what was going through your head in terms of how like how do i say face from this or what do i got to do to to make the situation right. I just know who I am and I was like, say, shit, I got to figure it out. You know what I'm saying? Like, what's done and what's done? Like, at that point, when that transpired, that shit,

Starting point is 00:48:37 I was really done. When it hit the internet, it was like, okay, I felt that that way, that went, like, damn, who the head recorded it? Like, that's what part I ain't get, like, we really getting to who they're doing to it. Who the hell took it? If I want to record this shit, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:48:50 Right. But it's already done. So, you know, you know, you deal with it. Hey, and you keep pushing, because one thing about it, you can't soak in no situation. Like, man, two, three days later, the same day, I'm down there back recoring, like, I'm back pushing because, like, I can't, you know, this shit, this, what happened is shit. Like, nigga got, okay, we're moving on to the next, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:49:09 Like, you know, so I think that's where I was with it. Like, you know, it was really like, now for me, for my family to have to see it, you know what I'm saying, that's the different level at that point. You see what I'm talking about people who love you, you know what I'm saying? Like, you got your mom, got to see you. So for me, if I can. handle it, but I don't know how they can handle it. You know what I'm saying? So that's a whole different story when you see somebody who love, you've got

Starting point is 00:49:33 to see it and hurt from it or got to analyze it or, you know, your little brother got to watch it, your little sister guy, that's different. Because if that situation happens and there's no video of it, then it could just be a little problem between people who are friends or people who fuck with each other, people who do business together, and you

Starting point is 00:49:49 could squash it, you know, shit goes back to normal. But then you have the fans all viewing it. And the fans who obviously are not about this life basically feel like somebody has to die in order for the situation to fucking be all right right like i'm sure you saw those comments they're killing shit and they ain't killing shit exactly yeah but nah but i but i but i understand though exactly what you're saying but they just have like you know once there's that many eyeballs on it they have like a very

Starting point is 00:50:14 different expectation of how this is supposed to play out right yeah everybody gonna have their own opinion you know what i'm saying but who really you know everybody ain't you're saying it until you got to go sit your head down on the wood you know i mean i go lay it down but you know but that's what the that's what media for that's what entertainment is for and i mean sometimes hey this shit got to you know you you got to mesh it together um definitely um yeah so when timeline wise did the situation evolve in which you got stabbed by your girl a bunch of times was that after all this or was that before all this that was like down that was down the line right yeah that was down the line i just remember seeing a clip where you basically said

Starting point is 00:50:56 that that was like when you really fell out with Grand Hustler was when you got into a bad situation like that and you didn't feel like you got the support that you needed at that time from them. Right. Yeah, that came down the line that was down the line after like after that whole ordeal right there that was like in the same time. But like I had told you, I had already kind of with that going on had I already kind of been distant. So, you know, as I'm in my distance, that happened too. You feel? Interesting.

Starting point is 00:51:22 So did you keep a relationship with Dr. Or T.I. at all? Or was there any kind of friendship there? still around? Like, me and Tia, I have no relationship. Really? I'm just saying, like, we don't talk, you know what I'm saying? But did you ever even back then? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for a little while. Yeah, you know, for doing business, you know, we associates and we being this partner, so we're around each other, it's going to be cordial, you know what I'm saying? You know, so at that time, I don't really know them, you know what I grew up with him, and that, so we all knew learning each other,

Starting point is 00:51:49 you feel? Definitely. What about DRO? It was a little closer with him? It's a little bit more personal with DRO, you see what I'm saying? Because I really know DRO, Joe really pulled up in Tommerville, Joe really come and pulled up in the bricks and sat down with a nigga, come get me out of the hood. Like, he's the one, you know, like I say, put the situation

Starting point is 00:52:04 as far as bridge in the gap to get me over to Grand Hustle because he was in a good situation over there. So, you know what I mean? Like with Drew, it's a little bit more person. Me and Joe still talk, you know what I'm saying? That's my brother. That's when I would be my brother for life.

Starting point is 00:52:16 Definitely. Did you, through all this, was there ever a point where you got disgruntled with the music or where you just didn't really care about being a rapper as much? Or is your mind state always stay someone consistent? Well, no, you even going through life, you know, you got phases where you're still trying

Starting point is 00:52:31 to figure it out, you know what I'm saying? The talent don't never go, but it's like, okay, let me invest in. Let me just figure it out. Like, what's the angle? You know what I'm saying? Like, how I'm going to go back at? Like, and that's the part right there, you know what I'm saying? I think that's where you find the most about yourself, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:52:43 When you figure it out, you know what I'm saying? As far as like, without it's going on, staying consistent on. Still being tired to your passion, still being tired to your craft, still being able to, you know what I'm saying, work on, you know, like I say perfecting, what you're doing. You know what I'm saying? Through all that, you know what I'm saying? So it's not easy to do, you know what I'm saying? But a motherfucker who can do that, that's a motherfucker, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:53:05 I'm one of the motherfuckers, you know what I mean? When you look back at like your early days making music, it's like, you know, when you're a fresh slate, it's easy to just be creative and stuff. To actually stay working in the game for all these years, that's actually a real challenge in comparison, you know? Yeah, no, for real, for real. Just like I said, when we just said, like I, you know, I'm one of the motherfuckersers, you feel me? And I mean, like, you can't stay stagnant.

Starting point is 00:53:27 Like, whatever happened got to happen, and then you got to keep going. You know what I'm saying? You got to keep walking, you know. And so it's multitasking. But like you say, you still got to, like you say, dealing with life and putting everything together, still being able to stay connected to your craft. To the zeal of it, to the passion of it, to the want to get better. And, you know, that shit just come from loving that shit. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:53:47 Like, you know, just really having love for your craft and really what you do. And, like, nigger through that, you go goddamn stick. with it, nigga, through the highs and the lows or whatever, you know, like, for real, for real, passion and love, bro, gonna take you through all that, you know what I'm saying, it's going to drive you through it. It might be uncomfortable right now. It's like, damn, how do I get through this? I'm going through this in life.

Starting point is 00:54:08 I've got to get this done. How do I get over here to even wrap? You know what I'm saying? But it's all, you know, as you keep going, brus take a sister, it, sometimes it just sort itself out, you know what I'm saying? But you got to keep that, you know, you got to keep that driving and energy. You can't let nothing kill that. Right.

Starting point is 00:54:25 Because you recently did, what, two years in prison? Yeah, I just came home in 2019. 2019. What happened in that situation? Man, you know how you go through shit in the street. Like I say, being in front of the street, like, doing what you're doing. Some things don't go away. Like, some shit just catch up with you.

Starting point is 00:54:39 You know how you got shit going on. Might be on probation or, you know, how shit go. And you might do some shit early, you know, and you be fighting, trying to keep it down or shit like that. But some shit just, you know, you got to do it. You feel it? So it was one of those cases that kind of situation. That was, like, a long-ass time.

Starting point is 00:54:54 Yeah, that was like a situation. situation where that case was following me. Probably like before I did the time, 2017, I probably were dealing with that situation for like four years. Wow. Three and a half years. You know what I'm saying? Like 2014. Because we keep, like, you know, there's tons of rappers. Like Casanova's the latest one where it's like he's a rapper. He's well known now.

Starting point is 00:55:13 He ends up getting a Fed case and it's primarily about shit that was happening years and years ago before he was even successful. Yep. So that's a, you know, like I say, back to speak what we, like just like what we just saying. Sometimes, like I said, you make a decision and you can't put it away. So you got to just, you know, when it's time to do what you got to do, you got to face it, you know what I mean. But I hear you being like super motivated when it comes to the music. Still, like you still just seem like you have that energy about it where you really believe that you're calling.

Starting point is 00:55:40 When you're locked up behind those bars for all those years, is it just nonstop in your head? Like, just thinking about music, thinking about what you want to do, thinking about what you're going to do next time you're in the studio? That's when you really know how much you really love. the shit you know what i'm saying when it's ticking out of way away from you know i'm saying that's when you really like measure like what that shit mean to you for real for real like when you can't do something like you love and not even like this something you have fun i love doing i do this like when you when that shit took it all the way away from you then you really know how much you're really tied to that shit how much you love you know what i mean so not being able to book a session or go

Starting point is 00:56:14 to the booth like you know what i mean and just even just uh be around it you know what i'm saying the festivity like you know like okay yeah this is the shit i really love like you know what i mean Yeah, no, definitely. To what extent do you feel like you're still, you know, obsessed with and in love with, like, hip hop in terms of paying attention and what's going on with the new rappers, listening to people that you've been around's albums and stuff? Is it just never really left you? And, like, how excited are you about, like, the new generation and all the shit that they bring to the table these days? I just like where music going. I think now you like, I mean, being unique is, like, one of the biggest things right now.

Starting point is 00:56:52 You know what I'm saying? Being able to differentiate or, you know, have your identity. You know what I'm saying? You see more artists being comfortable in their skin. Like, you know what I'm saying? Going outside the box, you know what I'm saying? That's what, you know, that's what I feel like. That's what makes a real start.

Starting point is 00:57:05 Now the biggest rappers are the ones like Thug and Uzi who are weird as hell and they're pushing the limits of what they can get away with in terms of clothes, in terms of new sounds, in terms of all kinds of shit. And that's what I say, you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? And being, like I say, even with me coming out of blackboard white, but being comfortable in your skin to weather mohawk. So being comfortable in your skin,

Starting point is 00:57:25 the goddamn, put the designs in with it. That's just being comfortable in your skin as far as being original. And that's something that I prided myself on. So, you know what I'm saying? Those are two guys, I definitely, you know what I'm saying, feel like they are pushing the limit on there. And so when you see guys can be creative and go outside the box, like, shit, I'm all for it.

Starting point is 00:57:42 You know what I mean? And when you being a trench setter, it's all about knowing what the game is, too. Like, even with me seeing the game, knowing what the sound is, knowing what my fans love me for and going back in the bowl again you see what what I'm saying we're gonna whip this shit up you see what I'm saying because once you said trends and known as a trend set that I feel like you always be on the next curve and that's

Starting point is 00:58:01 something I pride myself to so that's why I listen to the new artist I'm always on the music and what's going on as a now you know what I'm saying 100% no yeah I mean it's it's just crazy when we really look back at like the however many years of rap music that you know like there's a very critical time right there and it sucks to think back that like A&I might have been a number one single you know? Right. If they had been calculating the sales the way that they do now

Starting point is 00:58:28 Number six, that's what they say. You know what I feel like it was the number one in the country you know what I'm saying? I feel like it did hit number one but like you say if the logistics and the systematics was probably like how it is now. The TikTok's counting towards the streams and the fucking YouTube shit counting towards the streams

Starting point is 00:58:43 all this stuff. That stuff didn't count back then it was only radio and sales. Yeah, It was only radio on sales. So, I mean, like I say, at that time, you know, have a single-go platinum where you got to, like you say, have radio behind it, and you got to make the sales, you know what I'm saying? But you didn't have all the other outlets that you name. Basically, you only had ringtone at that time.

Starting point is 00:59:04 Ringtone is a big business. It didn't last that long. But it's huge for a while. Yeah, that was like the new outlet that you've seen shit grow. That was the thing, you know, around that time. And then, like you say, when everything converted, as far as kept growing, going into the streaming, the only thing you had back then was ringtone. Alamo said it was ringtone.

Starting point is 00:59:21 I mean, you know what I mean? 100%. So what is the day-to-day life of Young L.A. like outside of, you know, obviously we talked to shitload about your music career, what you've done, what you're trying to do, what's like your day-to-day life like and what makes you genuinely happy? You got kids now at this point too, right? Yeah, man, I was just from the touch on that. Just, man, just having that time when I'm not on the road, you know what I'm saying, traveling

Starting point is 00:59:45 and working. Just having my boy, you know what I'm saying? Beating PEP on 2K21. You know what I'm saying? That's one of the highlights of my day. You know what I'm saying? You know, they think and feel like they can beat me for some reason. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:59:59 Wait, how old are your kids now? My youngest is 9. Oh, shit, okay. My youngest is 9. My oldest is 13. Right. How hard was it to go away for those two years with the kids? Like, was that particularly brutal?

Starting point is 01:00:12 Like, what kind of conversation did you have with them to lead up to that? And, you know, that was super dupe? but, you know, how about you, you know, you got to handle the situation. They used to me going out of town and traveling and stuff like that, you know what I'm saying? So basically I had to pull that card, you know what I'm saying? Really? You didn't try to explain prison to him? You were just kind of like, this is not so different than me going on tour, right?

Starting point is 01:00:34 No, they end up finding out, you know what I'm saying? But I wouldn't let them visit me, so they didn't really, you know what I'm saying? Like, I ain't want them like the cone, you feel? Because my boy at the time, like, at that age, it's like, this shit can really affect them. It's not like they naive babies. They like boys who know shit. You know what I'm saying? So I ain't want them coming to no prison.

Starting point is 01:00:53 You know what I feel that. You know, so I let mom come, you know, sisters or stuff like that, but I ain't let my boys come. So I had the portal. You know, I'm moving around, called, doing this, doing that until they found out. But they still end up finding out. But that was my initial going.

Starting point is 01:01:06 When you got home and all of a sudden you're able to be around them a bunch, did you feel like it took a little while before you were able to really have that same father-son relationship or did it kind of snap right back in the place? No, bro. It's not right back in play. The first day I had a barbecue at my mom's house. I had all my boys, my cousins, my aunties, just, you know, just immediate family. People who really love me, mean a lot to me. And it was just like, man, it was exuberant, just the feeling, you know what I'm saying? It's like, I can never put myself in a position, put them in a position to ever even go through that or the field at the game, you know what I'm saying? So just wanting better, you know what I'm saying, and knowing better and just, you know what I'm saying, just pushing on, you know what I'm saying? pushing on thriving and doing better and knowing better like never do that shit again like that shit was a never like yeah no that's got to be a huge factor in terms of just like changing how you live your life and everything as soon as you pop the kid out you start thinking about like what life would be like for them if you weren't around and shit it just completely changes your priorities

Starting point is 01:02:03 no definitely definitely make you suit all the way up you know i mean and so you know the focus level different but um like i say bro like how you say yeah i still got a lot of in like with the music like It's just like, I mean, is this what just get me gone? That's your guiding life. Yeah, bro, and I feel like right now, bro, I'm making like some of the best music. Like, right? It's like, I'm going crazy. Like, I'm in my bag.

Starting point is 01:02:24 And it's like, I'm still, I'm still creating the sound. Like, it's crazy. The range is crazy. Like, I can't, you know, so I'm just excited about that. And being out and being home and actually can do this shit and put it together. So, you know. No, that's amazing. Are you building up towards like a release or an album or whatever?

Starting point is 01:02:42 Is there a big project in your mind that you're sort of getting ready for right now? For this year, for real, for real, we're just working on all my fans who've, you know, me and fans of my career, you know, 2020, like, was a big year for me as far as releases. Like, you know, I released like four, five projects last year. Right. And so that's just, that just was me getting my feet with because I'm back home. So it's like I'm eager. Like I release like I say, five projects.

Starting point is 01:03:08 But 21, we're getting the game playing together. Me and my big brother, Sean, you know what I'm saying? We're moving around. We just came from Miami. I got good people around me right now. You know what I'm saying? Just banging out records and just feeling the energy as we just kind of see what we're going to go. I don't know what the single is going to be right now, but we work in its top of the year.

Starting point is 01:03:25 You see, I'm out here with you, you know what I'm saying? It's January. So, man, we're moving around and we putting it together. But I know I got tattoos and jury dropping. Okay. Been doing like, I got to do some recording while I've been out here, you know, got to do some recording in Florida. So just moving around. catching different vibes, recording, living life, man, and the shit going up, 21, you know, it's going to be big.

Starting point is 01:03:49 I know I'm going to be working out you. I know that guy, you know, guy for being, I'm working out of you. No days off. So you didn't like COVID slow you down too much? Nah, really, man, you know, you had to slow down. Like, it wasn't like you couldn't slow down. You had to just kind of stop and reevaluate and see how to hear you were going to move. You weren't even home from prison that long before the shit kicked in, huh?

Starting point is 01:04:08 No, that shit kicked in like six. I mean, it was like, whoa, damn. You know? Yeah. But just had to regroup, like I say, on how you move. I thrived on just moving around and doing a live recording session where I just go to these different, go to cities, work with artists. Lock in the studio, me, the artist, the engineer. It ain't a lot of people around.

Starting point is 01:04:28 We can social distance, but you can still put your paper together. You feel me? Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah, all right. So Young L.A., honestly, it was a great conversation. I kind of figured we would always end up doing an interview so I could ask you all the questions that had been.

Starting point is 01:04:42 been in my mind since I was a kid, but I'm very glad that we got a chance to do it, man. Man, I always been a fan at him, man, glad to be here, you know what I'm saying? I appreciate your standing hand, but, you know, it's just the beginning, you know, probably bump into each other again. Oh, yeah, we got to do it, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, 100%. Yeah, when I come out to Atlanta, we could tap in 100%. That's all good. That's where you still stay to this day?

Starting point is 01:05:01 Yeah, yeah, I'm in Atlanta, yes, sir. Amazing. Yeah, young Atlanta, you got any advice to the young kids out there that are watching this? They're trying to figure out of them themselves. Any wise words? And don't just try to do it for the quick hit. Like you can do it for the quick hit, like get in and just,

Starting point is 01:05:17 but you really just really know, you gotta love this shit. Like, I can't underline it. The passion gonna take you through everything. I've been through like this, that, but the passion that I have for music, like that shit never, none of that, nothing I went through,

Starting point is 01:05:31 never like stop me because that's how much I love that shit. So basically I'm saying, if you ain't willing to go through everything for this shit, then you don't, this probably ain't for you. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 01:05:40 You got to be willing to go out. for this shit. So you really got to love. Much respect. Young L.A. No Jumper. Coolest podcast in the world. Yes, Sarski. Check us out. YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, like, comment, subscribe. Nojumper.com. If you want to support, appreciate you, man. Thank you. Hey, man. I appreciate you, brother.

Starting point is 01:05:56 Real. Yep. My guy.

No Jumper - The Yung LA Interview: Being Ahead Of His Time, Getting Jumped on Video & More

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