No Jumper - Torae on Being a Rapper Turned Media Personality, Interviewing Nipsey Hussle & More!

Episode Date: December 12, 2023

Torae has been a giant in the underground hip hop scene, touring around the world, working with legends, and being a sharp lyricist. Torae has also been in the media landscape for a few years at Sirius, dissecting legendary albums, and much more! ----- Get the latest news & videos http://nojumper.com CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE STORE!!! https://shop.nojumper.com/ NO JUMPER PATREON   / nojumper   CHECK OUT OUR NEW SPOTIFY PLAYLIST https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5te... Follow us on SNAPCHAT   / 4874336901   Follow us on SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ENxb4B... iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/n... Follow us on Social Media:   / 4874336901     / nojumper     / nojumper     / nojumperofficial     / nojumper   JOIN THE DISCORD:   / discord   Follow Adam22:   / adam22     / adam22     / adam22   adam22hoe on Snapchat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sharp Tank, no jumper, sharpest, coolest podcast in the world. And today, we got a real one in the building like myself by the name of Toray, man. What's going on with my guy today, man? How you feeling, brother? Good, good to see you. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good. No doubt.

How was me? How long you've been out here? Oh, I've been out here a couple days, you know what I mean, sending to some business, doing some shows and going to concerts. I went to the Lauren Hill. It was crazy. I definitely want to know what that was like, what that experience was. You know, man, I never saw

like Lauren Hill in the Fugees live I never thought I would because they was kind of all doing their own thing so yeah, I had the opportunity shout to my man Jerry Wonder you know what I mean, that's my brother and I hit him up I was like yo I'm gonna be on the West Coast

and he was like yo the tour's on the West Coast pull up so I pulled up and I got a chance like Lawrence set was crazy and the Fugees and they had special guests Fuji's crazy yeah yeah that shit was crazy Nause came out Be real group of Fugees there Yeah everybody was there

Wockleff and El Boogie Yeah yeah that to make sure nobody was missing. No, everybody was dead, man. Everybody, then Be Real came out. So I got a chance to see Maka Haka just killing me in. It was crazy. Nas came out.

Who else? Wayne came out, Lil Wayne came out. It was a crazy show. How was the crowd? Was it real diverse or was it like? For sure. For sure. For sure.

Me personally, I wasn't really with the crowd. You know what I'm sure? But when I looked out, you know what I mean? When I looked out, Yonahna, nah, I was in a mix. I was in a mix, show. I was in a mix show. I'm like, how you do it? Like, I wouldn't actually hit the crowd.

No, it was, you know, you know how West Coast it is, though, right? It's just a lot of people out here. You know what I'm saying? You're going to see your black people. You're going to see the white people. You're going to see your Mexicans. You're going to see some Asians. Like, you know, it's kind of like New York.

It's real diverse melting pot type. See some Asians up there listening to some food. And it was wild Haitians, of course. Yeah, it was wild Haitians. They had their flags and shit up. Yeah, it was crazy. That should have to be dope right there. For sure.

For sure. You feel like, got to ask you your opinion. You feel like Lauren Hill's one of the best in the hip hop game? You feel like she's the best female, like above a cardi, because she was there before all these girls, man. You know what it is? It's a hard answer. It's a hard answer because she only really gave us one solo album. Yeah.

Based off that one solo album, she's the greatest. But she just don't have an extensive body or what. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. The Fuji's album, you know, the first one was cool. The score was incredible. and then she gave us her solo. So based off that, I mean, phenomenal,

but I would have love to have more work from her. Speaking of music, early days, getting into music, what was that like for you? Growing up in New York City, hip hop was everywhere. You know, I'm a 90s kid, so I'm coming up. All the cars is riding by playing that shit. All the hustlers is in front of the building

wearing that shit. They got their radios, you know what I mean? They got good jewels and cool velour tracks. They're good. They ain't cutting the shit. like they do it. Yeah, yeah, good, good, could you. I mean, you got some good shit on, no.

That's sharp-wring crazy. Thank you. I appreciate you, man. I just hate how these days they be like, they be cutting the gold. Oh, man. I don't like that's thing. You could feel the weight.

You can feel like they cut the gold. Like, I don't feel like they, man, they have something really just all, solid gold. Man, you're paying these days, man. That's what I loved about. Yeah. Yeah, nip ain't really diamond. Yeah, he ain't diamond and shit out.

He wanted that. Because, nigger, if anything ever go wrong, you know what I mean? You don't go get our money back. I at least got some bread. That's why I like that pretty old roller you got on your wrist. No diamonds. Yeah, I keep my watches playing. Because those.

Those whole value certain years. Right. You know what I'm saying? Certain styles. And they only go up in value as the years go. Put diamonds and shit like that decreases the value. Depreciates the value of a roll. The chains and shit is whatever.

These just ain't going to be, yeah. You know, you can't really much. But the watches, I keep all the watches playing. Unless somebody want to gift me some shit. Yeah. I take an ice. gift, but if it's coming out on my account, we're going to play in Jane. If I'm not mistaken,

maybe you correct me, Rolex doesn't do, they don't do buss downs. They don't make bus downs per set. Nah, they don't bust them down, no. You might get a, you know, like you can get diamond, like they'd be having baguettes inside the dial on the face and shit like that. But yeah, right,

but no busies. So for anybody come up and talk about, man, I got this from Rolex like this bus down. You got it from a good jeweler. That's your man. He might have told you so, Yeah, man. So you'm saying, getting into music for you, what was your, how was it for you? Like when you first got in, like this was what pushed me to cross over and actually do this myself. Dog, I never wanted to do nothing else, honestly.

You know what I'm saying? Like I said, just coming up in the time I came up in the environment I came up in, the sound of the music, the style of the dress, the language that they spoke, all that shit was me. You know what I'm saying? Like all that shit spoke for. me and spoke to me. And so while everybody was like on some other y'all'm gonna be a firefighter, I'm gonna be a man

I'm gonna be a cop, gonna be a gangster. I was like, I'm gonna be a rapper, you know what I mean? And they laugh at you when they said when you said you wanted to be a rapper? Nah, not. You know, because I mean when I'm talking to my friends and shit, we all around the same age, so we all get it. It was really the older generation like, you know, when you get into your parents and shit and they're like,

what you're talking about like a rapper? Like, because you gotta think it wasn't even rap music when they was coming up. So I'm about to tell them, I want to invest my whole life into doing something that they just hearing about that never even yeah it's a lot i get it as a parent now you know what i understand it but back then i was like i was super focused headstrong on on doing this shit yeah first song first even if you didn't drop it like just something that you went in even just oh shit come everybody remember my first song this is so funny because it's

a full circle moment come on the first shit i wrote was it like uh um it was like um not what you call that shit. Based off of LL's booming system, right? He was talking about the cars and shit. So I was talking about my bike. Some real corny shit. You know what I mean? He had the booming system. I had the banging bike. It's okay. Yeah, that's all right, though. That's all right though.

Because the full circle shit is now, you know, I work with LL on Rock the Bells and all that shit. So it's just crazy that you took me back to there because, yeah, that was the first shit I can remember was the rhyme about my bike. So you based it off that. You said, okay, well, he rapping about his car. you decided I'm a still keep it real. I'm just riding.

Yeah, and that's always what I was done. Not the front, but I ride bike. I'm on. I'm on a bike. A two-wheel pedal bike, not even a motorcycle. You know what I mean? Do you remember like the first couple bars how you started? We're not doing that though.

I'm not even high or nothing. Like we can't do that. That's dope right there, man. What do you feel like, we feel like music brought you? Like the music, what did it bring you actually? Man, everything, yo. Everything. You know, like I said, the desire to do it, the passion to do it, all that shit was innate.

You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't, I wasn't no other route I was going to take. So it fulfilled me in that way that it allowed me to express myself and, you know, create and use my creative energy. But also just the lifestyle that I've been afforded, you know what I'm saying, the opportunities that came from it. All the shit that I do, people like, yo, you do so much shit. there's no radio show, there's no acting,

there's no ghost writing, it's no none of that shit without me being an emcee as a springboard. You know what I'm saying? Like that's the shit that set it all off. That was a catalyst. So for me, it's everything, you know,

and I still love it. You know, like, when I'm in a mood, I listen to certain shit. You know what I mean? Good mood, bad mood and different, whatever, certain music that I listen to. When I feel creative,

I'm writing some shit. Even after the Lauren show, I was so inspired. I started putting bars together as I was walking. out the venue i'm putting eight bars together you know i'm saying just like that shit so it never stops but the music is everything to me bro was there any like was there any other groups or outside the hip-hop genre was there any other people that inspired you that wasn't rap

influenced oh for sure i mean i was just having this talk about if you like a little rock man yo i was just having this conversation yesterday bro good music is good music is genreless like the dope shit i'm gonna listen to mcahole of notes I'm gonna listen to Patty LaBelle, I'm gonna listen to Lufa. Yeah, I'm gonna listen to Duran Duran. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, all that shit. So like dope music, even country shit.

You know, I might pop in. There you go. M. Muck and Leanne Rimes or, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, or some old school shit, though. Yeah, or some old school shit. Yeah, I'm old school nigga. Even my, even my all genres is old school shit.

But that's how I know you really came from the 90s because that was the people you named off. Right. Of people that was going on. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Twains. Right.

Right. Right, right. No doubt, before Gwen Stefani left. Like, I listen to all the fly shit. As long as this dope music. A little bit of Black Street. Of course. Yeah, I mean, yep, yep.

Hey, what was one of your favorite joints on Black Street did you remember listening to? Black Street, one of my favorite joints. Joy, Joy is tough. No diggity, of course. No, digity. I mean, that's a classic. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Hickegon. Yeah, right. Until somebody go sample it. Somebody got sample it. Yeah, still somebody sample that. Right. For real, for real. For sure, for show.

That's live, though, to know, like, you weren't just based in your career and how you look at music just off the hip-hop, but overall. For sure. You know? That's how you learn. That's how you grow. That's how you get better as a creative. You know what I'm saying?

Even, like, me, listening to R&B shit, listening to jazz shit, it helps me as an MC. I'm finding different cadences in different pockets and instrumentation. You know what I'm saying? Like, wow, damn, you could do that. Or I'm like, damn, I can find a pocket within what they're doing right here and come with a whole new flow. So all of that shit, I think, having music knowledge and music theory for sure, you know what I'm

saying. It helps you all around the board no matter what you're doing in this shit. Yeah. No, and, you know, not to even go off a topic or nothing, but I think it's like that in football. A lot of receivers and people like that are go take ballet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just to help their footwork out, you know. You got to be open-minded, man.

You're going into anything if you want to be the best. If you want to be the best. Correct. So I do respect that. You're like, man, I just keep an open mind because I want to be able to be open and be free when I actually do music. Absolutely. That shit is dope right there, man. For real, I really do respect that.

Yo, yo, your upbringing up in New York, man. What was that like other than the music, man? How was it? Man, did you come from a good home? Rich home, poor home, mid home, you know? Had a little bit, you know, but we still made it through. Now, we definitely was poor. You know what it was, though, bro?

Even when you don't have much, when you got love, you feel like you're not missing nothing. You know what I'm saying? Like I ain't have all the joyans. I ain't have all the fly shit. You know, my parents wasn't together. My pops was dealing what he was dealing with. My mom's was dealing with what she was dealing with.

But it was love. I never felt downtriding. I never felt like we f***ed up. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, damn, we're in the hood. It is what it is. But my people on to the left and the right of me, they're the same way, but it's love, right?

You know what I'm saying? And I think love can compensate for certain things that are not there. You know what I'm saying? I don't never remember no going to bed, hungry, starving. You know what I'm saying? We ain't never get put out of no shit like that. Like that might not have had the brand new Jordans when they released that day. I didn't have them that year or the year after.

That's why I got them all now. You know what I mean? This is like, you know what I mean? this is like psychological type shit right but yeah so yeah we you know I grew up in the hood man single parent household it was the 80s the 90s was crazy but my mom's did the best she could and and we still in this tight to this day and she's super proud of me and I'm super proud of her because we both figured out a way out the hood right now us talking about being broke and having money I know that you know being a rapper's experience is expensive you know is that something that you

experienced as well you know having to go through that you know it's crazy bro all the rich rich as i know is the cheapest month don't spend no bread i'm learning now i'm like damn because people look at me like oh it all going to take care of it or if they need some and if i'm the type of person if i can help you i'm gonna help you you know what i'm saying but people will reach out if they need something and shit so i find myself extending my generosity a lot but the people that really really got it my friends that's really really up don't spend no bread yo even Either they comp or they're not buying nothing. You know what I'm saying?

So for me, you know, I'm over the material type shit. Like first, when you first start getting bread, you want to look like you got money and you want to buy a bunch of shit. And then after you get the second bins, you're like, this just cool. You know what I'm saying? After you get the other house,

you're like, it's comfortable. You know what I'm saying? No, you know what you start thinking? Like, I should have saved my money. Yo, it's just stinks. It's not giving you that, that feel that you're looking for. It wears off, bro. It wears off.

Now I'm gonna got buyer's remorse. Right. Or I'm still sensible with my purchases and shit, but I'm definitely more evolved in that. I understand. Like, I'm a lot of that shit for a couple weeks, months, whatever, and then it's just going to be whatever. You know what I mean? So let's do some shit that's really makes sense. I've always said this.

I've always said this right to help us try to stack some bread. I feel like I've said this many times, dog, and I want to tell you because I'm like, damn, my mother can go, you can make, let's say make 30,000 last night, right? Swear up and down, you're about to put up 29,000 of this. You're going to put a thousand of it in your pocket. You're going to live off this for the week. You'm saying? You wake up in the morning.

You got that early morning. You know, like you wake up in the morning, you're feeling good. I think I'm going to go shopping. What's it going to earn for me to go pull out a few bands and go shopping real quick? You know, I always say by the time five o'clock comes around. If you still want it by then, go get it. Don't just go off the goal. impulse in the morning. You know what I'm saying?

I'm just feeling good. Wanted to go to the mall. Wanted to go get some new shoe. Yeah, you refresh this shit. Now you're in the Beverly Center, spinning bread. Now you're in the Beverly Center and you're down 3,500 before 12 o'clock. You know what I'm saying? Like, I always say this. If you still want it, still have that same feeling by the end of the day, then go by it.

But nine times out of 10, shit will happen throughout the day. You'll be happy that you didn't even do that. That's a fact. You'd be off that shit. Like, man, I'm glad I ain't going to do that stupid that shit. I wish I would have to talk to you when I first got to LA. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, it's something about out here, man. The weather is just nice as, you know, especially coming from New York and starting to get coal and shit. When I'm out here, I spend more bread. Spend more bread. Well, L.A. is expensive just within itself. Right.

You know what I'm saying? So being out here, I feel like you got to pick and choose what you want to do. Like it's cool to go out a couple days, but you got to go stack up another few, three or four. You know what I'm saying? They go back out another day. Can't do it every day. You're going to not only burn yourself out mentally, but burn yourself out financially.

That's a fact. So you got to be smart. Find things to do in your house. Man, you want to bring the club to you. Got yourself a nice little bar bottles, you know what I'm saying, that you could pick out of from time to time, man, how you smoke, you know, invite you a lady friend over something.

Make the club at your house. It's cheaper. Not me. I'm showing my wife is home. I'm good. Well, even with wifey, like, man, y'all have to turn it in. You don't always got to be outside. spinning money because man bro is crazy around here everything in his mama costs look at the gas

prices look at living right cost of living crazy what they're going to expect you to do around here it's hard for you to if you don't make an abundance of money you or have a roommate man you're gonna be you're just gonna be living yeah that's about it that's gonna be able to pay rent you're saying and maybe grab a couple little things until your next paycheck yeah you got to be rich to be broke out this month yeah yeah but that's why i see though Now that's why I see why people are so frugal around you, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, Armenians, these, man, they don't be buying shit. Them niggins be rich as fuck.

Right. Going right back to the hills. You know what I'm saying? Because they're stacking their bread. Stagging me brink. Us, bro, we got a lot of vices, a lot of, it's a lot of temptations that pull us, the jewelry store, the shoe store. Oh, f***. I'm going to shop Bell Rose today.

Damn, I want that real quick. It's not going to hurt. Pass that shit up. That's a fact. But I wanted to really back in that, like, that's what I'm trying to ask you, like, just I put back to the music. to the music have like music is expensive have you ran into that like you know having to pay to play um not really not really i invest in my craft you know what i built the studio at the house shit like that so that's an investment in you know what i'm saying that with a great r oi but

i never like pay you know you got to pay you got a publicist you got to i'm i'm one of those people that if you work in you deserve to get paid you know what I'm saying I'm not trying to nickel and dom nobody I want nobody try a nickel and dom me I evolved to that you know I'm saying before niggum I'm trying to get it figured out because ain't none of us got no bread but if you work in you definitely should be getting paid um for me but like to pay DJs and you know any like pay all under the table type shit nah my shit basis based off relationships you know I'm saying or if you got somebody working your record and they taking care of shit for you right not everybody got

that charisma baby to walk in the room and be able to move somebody and be like this a likable nigger right i want to fuck with his shit you're saying give me your music give me everything that you got man i want to put it out for you you know not everybody got that charisma walking in the room but doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have good music that's a fact you know what i'm saying so i feel you're like well sharp for me it wasn't really necessarily money it was relationships relationships is key and and man being not how to barter you know what I'm saying Like one of the things I learned early was everybody got people running up on them asking what they can do for them. Yo, can you help me?

Yo, I needed it. Don't go with the ass. Yo, go with the offer. Oh, my man. You know, it's crazy. I Googled you. Your website, I do website. Check this out.

Oh, shit. That's crazy. Y'all can do your Shopify page. I, uh, I design shit. I can make your, you go to people with an offer. They automatically paying attention. You know what I'm saying? It's like figure out what you can bring to the table as opposed to take away from the table.

does it keep you around longer and then you can get to you oh you know what my man did my shit yo what you need bro you oh you got a oh you need a verse oh you got a record oh i got you no work you know i mean and then that's how you start to build your relationships out and i think that's the best advice you could give because a lot of people is just coming with the give me give me give me the viewers needed to hear that yeah give me give me if you ain't pretty much you're saying if you ain't got no character find some find some whatever it is about you what's your thing you know what I'm saying and then figure out how to utilize that shit to the best of your ability. Because everybody's got a gift.

Everybody got a gift. It's the way that you tap into it that can make it sellable. That's a fact. You know what I'm saying? And make yourself approachable. You know, where somebody might see you, it could be, you know, high profile celebrity. You be in the club, you shunny, he says security or she says, hey, go tell them. I want to talk to them real quick.

I just want to see what they own. No doubt. Because they're just living in the mix. When I get up around, I feel like this. And for the viewers, I want them to know, if you're, if you're, moving like in a rap game media game whatever you get up around celebrities you get around somebody of that substance act normal got a act normal don't act like you because they deal with that shit all day anyway already you know what I feel like a

famous person would want is to be treated normal yeah because that's something that they don't they don't get so that's why I feel like you say that's where your character is coming because you're like I'm a likable nigg it's easy for me to get up on them real quick you know and they they're gonna take a life and we just chilling we're cracking jokes you having fun yeah i don't want no autograph i don't know no picture no yeah yo the spots i be in the shit i be doing bro you because would never know i'm not you know i mean like the shit that do make it to my social media this is after the 17th interaction or you know sometimes mcuhlea phone out like yo let's get this

vail real quick a celebrity and shit but for me you i don't lead with that you can't leave with that shit bro because people be like they they get that shit 24-7 like you said they be off that You've been doing media and shit, haven't you? Yeah. Man, how's that experience been for you, especially Toray crossing over from, you know, the music side to the media side? Because it's similarities because, you know,

you're actually talking about what's going on around here. You know what I mean? And what's going on in the music space? But it's still different. It's a whole different ballgame. Because you're not rapping for it now. Now you're talking for it. So it's a little bit different.

You know, what's the experience been like for you? For me, it's been different. Yo, I didn't really have any media aspirations, if we're being honest. I wanted to rap, tour, do all the rap shit, and then move into television and film. So the opportunity we talked about- I've heard your name ring bells before I even met you. I knew tour right. I was like, oh, shit, that's coming to the day.

Good things. Like, it was good, no, nothing for good things. No doubt. You know what I'm saying? No, I'm a good thing. My relationships got me into radio. I was spending so much time going to serious, pumping my records, you know what I'm saying, interacting with the DJs rapping on their shows or last shit.

One day my man DJ Eclipse was like, yo, I need a co-host for my show. This is a man who helped me tremendously throughout my rap career, so I couldn't be like, no, fuck out of here. So I was like, all right, I give it a shot. I try it. And I ended up enjoying radio.

And I did his show for a few years. And then I branched off and got my own show. I'm about to hit 10, what we're in, November? 10 years, 10 years having my own radio show this month. Crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. Congratulations.

I appreciate it. Yeah, decade, decade. A decade of this crazy shit. And you know that, that springboarded into being able to do television shit. You know what I'm saying? You can host it on radio or we're going to host, we're going to put you on TV. Can you read a teleprompter? Can you be funny?

Can you be charismatic? That's how the TV shit happened. And I always wanted to act. So then that just naturally brought me into the acting shit, the movies and the TV shows and all of that. So just being in the whole public space and being the creative and the entertainer, All that shit is encompassing for me. It's like a holistic thing. What's some of the best moments or memories while you were rapping or touring?

Man, shit. I'll give you a memory. The very first time I went on the road, I think it was 2006 or seven. Shout to my man, Master Ace, my big homie, Ace, Marco Polo, EMC. And he brought me out as an opener. We in Canada, right? And I ain't had no passport. I couldn't even travel and shit.

I had to go right before the tour, get a passport, all that shit. And we in Canada, and in my mind, I'm already kind of setting up the scene. Like, yo, you're the opening act. Obviously, they're here to see the headliner. Go do your 15 minutes. You know what I mean? And just try to win some of the people over. But in my wildest dreams, I didn't think that I already had fans and supporters in the crowd.

So when I'm rapping and they start rapping along and they know in the songs, this is first Canada and then we go over to Europe. And my mind is blown because I'm like, damn. First, that's the, I learned the power of the internet. I was like, the internet got this music traveling all over the country, all over the globe, all over the world. And the second thing I learned was just that you never know how your shit, some shit you write in the projects in the hood is impacting people millions of miles away,

thousands of miles away. So that was just the first memory, like going on stage and rapping and seeing my because that didn't speak the language, rap it back to me, was crazy. It's got to be crazy. going over did you have more fun because how you've done shows and tours here in the states right yeah have you had more fun doing them in the states or was it overseas way more fun overseas bro i'm so spoiled everybody say that she even basketball players like bro i'd rather play overseas bro that it take a lot to get me to do a show in the states just because you know

this is too cool for school it's 80 rappers in the crowd it's 44 managers where's the mrs that just love the music 000 critics yeah critics you know what I mean so I just I started my career really overseas like my first touring happened like I said first Canada and then we did Europe so we did 30 dates and like 35 days of some shit so that's a lot of that's a lot of show's Canada to Europe right so it wasn't it wasn't back-to-back so the first tour was Canada that was like maybe two weeks and then some months later we did the Europe shit but getting overseas and and just man the hospitality

the love for the hip-hop the love for the culture the love for dope music i was like then i come back to new york and i'm like yo throw your hands up and then it's like i'm like yeah now take me back to germany bro he said they throwing their hands up before we even stage they got they ready they they did to have a good time they did have a good time they're not there for no other agenda they might want to take a picture you sign them on t-shirt or some vinyl but they did enjoy the music and that's what i love the people that genuinely enjoy the shit. Well, it's hard here when a nigga wants to enjoy your music,

but he too worried about if the ops is standing over there around the corner and what they're about to do after your show. That part. Yeah, I'm saying? So I feel you on that. People genuinely, like in other places like that across the world, people genuinely do just to come out to come out of a good time. They keep the riffraff out the door.

And they appreciate you coming, right? They know this guy from Brooklyn. I don't know what that shit is at, but I know it's far. So they appreciate you being there. So they're going to show up and have a. good time and rock with you. Did you already have aspirations to branch out at any point? Like just branch out just by yourself, you know? Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, when I was younger, I did solo work. You know, I was in a group, but for me, it was always, you know, Toray.

I'm a bill. Before we called it a brand, I was like, I'm going to build up my name. You're going to know Toray the rapper and you're going to love him so much that you're going to put him in the TV show and you're going to love that so much that I'm going to end up getting a sitcom and I'm going to do some movies like that was always my mindset because I was influenced by Pock I was influenced by latifa I was influenced by LL kid and play you know I'm saying for sure I'm T I'm kicking it with IST the other day and he told me he discovered my music on social media he was scrolling and he's like oh the fuck is this he heard some shit he's like oh this thing going crazy then he said he started you saw when he started following me then he was like you start checking

in all the other shit he's like oh you do interviews you rap you host he like this is this nigga's dope and that shit for me like I've been a fucking ice tea fan since I was a kid and he's not fucking with so for him like when I saw him follow me and I ain't one of niggins shot to follow and posted like weird shit but I was just like I took a beat like wow I see I felt like that when I met Warren G and he followed me crazy because I was like damn Warren G that's Warren G that's Warren G that's yeah I grew up to this nigga and I this nigga and I this thing with my working with what I got going on love that shit it it definitely does put a little bit more pep in your step in how you move and be like,

damn, I'm probably on the right train. You're in the right, yeah, you're in the right path. So that's called for you and T to actually engage like that. And he fuck with real ones, like he fuck with a lot of Brooklyn people. Obviously, he spent a lot of time in New York shooting and shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, speaking of warrants, summer time in the LBC, my shit. Yeah, yeah, that's my shit, yeah. You know, I gotta get him in here.

I talked to his, I talked to his publicist. When I talked to her, they were just about to get ready to go on tour. So all I got to do is just shine back in. Yeah, spend a block on that. Spend a block on it. I want to watch that one. Yeah, I want to watch that one. Hell yeah.

I grew up on G-Funk, you know? And like you said, he was like, that was a dope era. You know what I'm saying? Because that was the 90s, you know what I'm saying? Like, that was that 90s era. A G-Funk, you know what I'm saying? It was like smooth gangster shit.

You know what I mean? It was a lot of harmonies. It was more melodies and shit. The beats was ill. Like, yeah, Warren G brought a lot to the game, bro. You're talking to I. You're talking to I. give you any like news you can use like a piece of game that you walked away with man just one

piece like when you talk to him in the setting that we was in it wasn't really that but we connected and so now we connected now we're going you know take it further and shit but just knowing like like you said when you see people that see you know you on the right path and shit and like you said he he don't what he said he's like i don't be fucking with a lot of people like he's he started liking comments and you know he put fire emojis and shit like he's older he don't got to do, you know what I mean? Like, that shit is like, that shit being the world of me, bro. My offense, I'm surprised he even know how to work social media. That guy's, that guy's not, I'm saying, like, I love his team, not young. Yeah, but you're saying.

Yeah, he's OG. He's a OG for real. For him to like, you'm saying, reach out and extend, like, hey, young, me, I see you. Yeah, that shit was fired. That's got to be fired. That's got to be a dope moment. What was, what was your first opportunity in media? First opportunity, whether you turned it down or you took it. Oh, yeah, so that was DJ Eclipse. You know, So DJ clips. You ran with that was your first move. Yeah, that was the first thing I really was able to do in a, in a, in a, in a, in a, in a, in a, in a, in a, on a wide scale. Um, because he was on Sirius X-M.

He had a, uh, a mix show. He still got the mix show, him and DJ Riz. And it was on some late night shit or whatever. But he played my music on it so much. It catered to the audience. It catered to that order, that underground audience. And so I was just like, shit. This is just me chopping it up with my homie with some of the rap homies, right?

This ain't going to be too hard. And then I just learned. how to cultivate my question asking skills you know what I'm saying my follow-ups how to do research all that you start to develop and cultivate how to do that shit but that comes with time but the first opportunity was DJ Eclipse allowing me to be on his show on serious X-m rap is out of control that's live right there yeah that's a crazy I just I respect it because you never really know where it's gonna go you was so you was just trying something that's a fact it wasn't something you're like all right this gonna be the goal we're gonna make this happen you're

like oh y'all want to shoot the shit yeah we do that yeah we do that yeah we do that you know what I learned bro when you got blonde is on you missed the opportunities that's on the left and the right you know I'm saying so like have your focus but don't be so tunnel vision that you don't see it's the opportunity there because you never know what your path is going to be you got to be open to the shit that's happening in the universe and from there you can make the best decisions do you do you do you still use your rapper pin when you do interviews or you only take it out when you when you when you

make music. Nah, you know, it's, this shit is, come on, this is all like, it's all encompassing for me, you know what I'm saying? So like, yeah, so all of the rap shit seems out like I've had is on the show and we, we rhyme, you know what I'm saying? Like, and they be like, oh, the interview nigger is nice, you know what I'm saying? Like, shit like that or, or I've had times where I work with the artist and I had to want the show, the interview nigga, the interview nigg is nice, you know what I mean? Um, or I work with the artists you know whether we did songs together or I did some writing for them or whatever we did shows together so that brings a different level of conversation to the conversation you know a different

level we relate more like oh this who's on the road like he know what this shit is like he know i don't even feel like being here but i showed up or for the mutual respect shit like that so but for me it's all like all encompassing so like the rap shit sleep out the the the media shit sleep out it's all you know it's all torre shit who's one of your favorite interviews you got a chance to just sit down with somebody and do one of your favorite where you was like even if it didn't do good you was like in my opinion I like this one I felt like we touched all the bases man I had some you know I'm 10 years then like I said I had some really dope conversations well just one that sticks out that's what I feel like it's I can sit here and say the last what was your top 10 yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah but there's always one you know I'm saying that really does I'm gonna tell you one that means a lot to me for for numerous reasons but for the obvious Nipsey Hustle. When I sat with Nip because by the time

Nip ended up on my show was the Victory Lab album and you know he'd promoting that shit he running around but we had so many encounters before that seeing him in South by Southwest doing shows here and there and there and there and there's always been love so when we finally got a chance

to sit down to have a full conversation we had already been in each other space numerous times and shit and so you know Nip always going to drop super dream Jules in there, right? So we did it at Sirius XM. We got a studio audience in there.

We got the DJ live. It's myself and my man, Gray Rizzi, coming with the questions. And it was just like that shit that in the moment, it felt special. You know what I'm saying? Like it felt special while I was happening. And then people taking, you know, they use that shit on BT. When he passed, they used a clip from it. They use clips from that shit when people graduate.

People always tag me. Yo, they playing your shit in the, in the, in the arena right at our graduation so like it was just the level of conversation that we was able to have and that it was evergreen content that lives on and on and on obviously with nip not being here we hold on to those moments even tighter but even if he was still here it would have that same it would have those same legs because it was just a poignant conversation so you say it was going to be a timeless interview regardless regardless you know and it's you know it's a blessing that we had that time together and it sucks that he's not here but again man we we leave

the physical but whatever you leave whatever your legacy is that you leave here on earth do good work because that's what people have once you're not here no more i want to jump over to another not no jump over i want to yeah i definitely man for real that's what we had that's the only way we're going to get in the action you did i want to know now you going over the series didn't have nothing to do with dj clips did it yeah yeah yeah so that's where it was that i'm saying I thought maybe you would did something with him prior to going to serious. It was he, that was the platform. He had.

He offered me opportunity to be there. He was like, yo, Toray, serious. Come, come with it. You know what I'm saying? And then, so I got a shot at a couple names. After DJ Eclipse gave me that opportunity, years down the line, I talked to the program director, Reggie Hawkins. Reggie Hawkins was the man I had to talk to to get the show.

Reggie was like, let's do it. I got a shout out Ron Mills. Ron Mills is the program director now. He was working there. he was a very big Toray advocate. Give him a show, I think he can do it. I didn't want to ask the same question. I didn't want to make it seem like I did.

I just wanted to know what was DJ in clips. Like beforehand was that before you actually went over to Sirius or was he the phone call that was actually made to you to, hey, bring your ass on up over here to Sirius. We got a job for you. Big facts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was DJ close for sure. And then one last name out of the three, I just got to say, and my man Dion Summers, you know what I'm saying?

Like those three people who gave me my opportunity. and radio where were you at in that point in life like when you when you got that call from DJ clips like where were you at like were you in a good place bad place bad mental head space I was in that I was I was so apprehensive because I was a rapper right I was a rapper it was like oh nine I think when he offered with me and Marco dropped oh nine so yeah it was like late oh nine when he offered me to the opportunity and I'm like how people gonna look at me first of all because this is a little before every rapper had a podcast and every rapper was doing media and shit like that it was a little more frowned upon then and i'm like how are people going to look at me i'm still trying to establish myself as a rapper but the layout of land was much bigger like i've noticed like it went from you know being able to have acres in this shit to everybody kind of living on top of each other now you know i'm saying the media space has gotten so overwatered it's so watered down oversaturated i was able to i was and i was able to plant my mind

seeds early you know what I'm saying like so that's that's a blessing in it but um yeah so you know back in 09 and shit when he offered me the opportunity to do radio I was like I don't know because I don't want my peers to not respect this rap shit and I don't want people to discover me like as a radio host can't go back to right go back because what you don't know at that time nobody knew if you crossed over in this right would my fans still love me in the rap space Right, exactly. That's scary, especially for something that you've tried. This is what you've been building your entire life.

That's what I've been doing my whole life. Exactly. So yeah, I ought to be scared. Like, not even scared, but fucking, nigga, scared. I would have been very timid. You know, I learned a word then, trepidation. You know what I'm saying? There was trepidation there, you know what I mean?

But, but like I said, man, you never know where the opportunity, where the blessing will come from. And I couldn't tell my brother, no. You know what I'm saying? Like DJ Eclipse is the guy who put my record in fat beats on Cassime. We're going to put it up there to see if people who, with it he played me on the half-time show he let me come up there and spit ball like he gave me so much early on in my career that by the time you know them three two three years past and we had

built the bond and he was like yo i want you to come co-host with me i couldn't say no i had to i had to try it you know i'm like i'm excited to ask you because you're actually from that air like man what happened to that t rl air like where muv could come on everybody know real shit everybody can come on look at your shit you know I'm saying talk about your shit and go across the street and buy it great time that like hell yeah go to the virgin mega store remember when Eminem Buster Rhyme stood there for the closing show they said then where we gonna saw our music at now because streaming wasn't pop like right that wasn't where it was at at that time where they what niggas did was

go on these shows and shop their shit you had to go to store and buy it happened to that man where they look across the street everybody's over there you see long ass lines everybody's been in line to buy your shit This is how, this is why I gave so much. Yeah, that was Virgin Megastore. This is why I give so much reverence to those artists because when you sold a million records, five million records, two, even gold,

motherfuckers went out and spent that bread. This wasn't no super convenient. Sit home, press play on your phone, press play and computer. You had to get up, get dressed, go somewhere, go into the store, find the product, go to the register, purchase it, like. Open it up because this is it. Yeah, you had to open it up, you read the lining notes.

But the point is people were invested enough to do all of that shit. It was a great time. I'm not the one to shy away from technology. All of the shit going to grow on and move on. And we all have to adapt. You know what I'm saying? That just is what it is. But I do respect the artists in that era who was able to maintain in that era still exist today.

Or just they just presented Lauren. We keep going back to this Lauren Hill shit. That's cool. The motherfucking 10 million sold plaque, bro. This is when you had to go, 10 million people had to go get it. You know what I mean? Like, that's some different shit.

I think what was dope about places like TRL and things like that back then because the artist got to actually interact with the fan. Yeah, and you got a chance to learn, right? To learn about them. This is when there was a level of mystique with certain artists. The only time you really could tap in with them is when they did these moments. They did the TRLs or the 106 in parks or they sat down with, you know, they sat down with Sway or they sat down with Big Boy.

We get a glimpse into their life. We want to know so much. AJ and Free, right? Yeah, yeah, 106. Yeah, yeah, 106. A.J. and free shit. Yeah. You know, I got shout out on my East Coast and my West Coast shit.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? But, like, you know, so much shit that, you know, so much shit that the Baker Boys will play or if somebody came into the show, you learned about more about your favorite artists and you felt more connected in those times. Like, now it's so much. It's almost overkill. That's why I was dope to hear your perspective

because you actually come from that era to where you saw it actually working and then you actually got to come over and cross over to the streaming and other things like that. But I saw it in Eminem's face. I saw it in Buster Ron's face. Them niggas was standing there that day

when they was closing out in T.R. Like, where are we going to shop our shit at now? All these type of platforms are closing. The internet wasn't as big on streaming then when that shit was going on. The internet's what shut a lot. of that shit there was no more need for it right and and you got to go back to before we're streaming and you know it was illegal downloads my was on Lime Wyatt it was on

Napster so you standing there looking that corrupts your computer all the shit to give you a virus you know what I mean and maybe X and maybe X videos too X videos too had a little bit nasty shit in there out just a little sprigle the internet definitely did change the game how did you was shot like I said bro you got a you can't shy away from the technique you can't like try to can't hold up a door against the dam this shit is flowing bro right it's going it's going happen whether you like it and not so you got to figure out how to adapt to it you got to figure out how to utilize it and take all this technology and make it work for you

know and the industry was able to figure out kind of how to be reborn you know what I'm saying like once to download and then the naps the shit happened and you got to give credit to the MP3, the creator of the MP3, but also the creator of, you know, the iPod knows first. They like, fuck it. Let's make the device where people going to steal the music at this point. Let's make the device because we can make money off of that. And then we can license these records from the labels or we can get these records from the labels and they can make a little bit of money. So making a little bit of money is better than it's just limelioring your shit and you're making no money. And although the rates is shitty, at least it was able to revive the

to where people can start to, you know, flourish and thrive again. You used to have some cold-ass CD booklets, huh? All the CDs, huh, nigga? He's had like three books in your car. You just remind me of a nigga like that. Like, hey, I bet you Toray got that shit. Let's do with his house. I had all that shit, bro.

I bet you, we go through his books. He got the cover in there in front of the CD. And don't put my shit, don't fold my shit up. Don't rabbi ears my shit, bro. I don't play that. Straighten my shit out for I fuck you up. Hey, back then, think about it though, to steal a nigga CD book, right? You talk about a good two grand worth music in some of them.

Certain shit, especially like, you know, double disc or something. Or the mixtapes, right? Like certain mixtapes that was on CD, like when they started to move into the CD space, you got the DJ Clues and the Ron G's and the rest of the DJ K Slays. Some of that shit you wasn't fining again. So if somebody got you, they got you good. You know what I mean? If somebody got shop, I'm gonna tell you this, I still got all my CDs, bro.

I still got all my, word of everything I love and all my tapes. I got all, I got a big ass bin of tapes and I still got all my CDs. It's crazy that it's nostalgic now, right? Yeah. It's crazy that that's, you know what's saying, got aesthetics to where like, people be like CDs. Yeah. Who kids don't know what CDs are, man?

The fuck is that. My kids don't know what CDs are. Yeah. Yeah. Think about how expensive though, like them books used to be back in the day. If you had like all the top shit, you know what I'm saying? You can have a, like I said, $2,500 CD bookly. You know what I'm saying?

When you open it up, nigger got everything. You didn't yanked a couple niggins shit out their books. I have, especially. You know, I went to a- Oh, I go to a shoddy house? If I go to a shorty house? Yeah, because she got all of my R&B. She got all the R&B shit.

I used to peel my cousin for all that shit. Tommy Braxton. I peeled her for that Nostradamus. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. that Nostradamus or drop that I am I think man I'm peeling all that shit Nah that was that was that was that was one of my go-to signature move sorry ladies I met a chick I went to take it anything is out your book I'm going to look first I want to see

Where your mind is at so I want to see what kind of actual books you got on your shelf and then I'm going to your music collection I want to know where your mind is at I want to know where your your musicality is at And if I saw some shit I like you know I mean maybe you left with me maybe maybe you probably still got some of that shit the books that All that shit I told you I still got. One of them shit say shit loves to shit. Like, yeah, like one of the shit. Definitely, bro.

Back then, you could steal anything I got my car. You got them for that music day. Be hot. Oh, for sure. That's a big fact. That's a big fact. If I loan some, y'all, I still to this day, y'all, I loan my cousin, my common tape. You know what I mean?

And he's somehow accidentally taped over my tape, bro. My common album, bro. To this day, in 2023, that should still hurt my heart. Like, yo, bro, how did you allow this to happen? Shout to my cousin's ski. I love you. No, I remember on the boomboxes, he pressed the record button and the play button. Man, record over some shit.

Yeah, nigga, I accidentally record over my comment shit. He replaced it, but still, you know what I mean? It's the principalities of this shit. It's the principalities of this shit. I remember, man, I was probably like five years old. One of my favorite songs was, like R&B joints was from H down, rocking the boots. Oh, knocking the boots.

Yeah, I was my man, to play that joint, man, back to back. That was the shit. Yeah, yeah, that was my shit. That was this. You was too young to know about that. I was just, I knew the words, though. I don't know what it meant. Right, but you just know it made it felt right.

I just knew it fell right. The melody was all the point. We didn't have child songs back then. Child's like, you'm saying? Like this was a little different. Like where you could listen to it on TV. Right, right, right. Kids bob shit.

We ain't had that. Now we had to listen to knocking the boots. You had to listen to knocking the boots. You know what I'm saying? And make up whatever in your mind you thought that. Whatever that shit meant. whatever that meant to you at five i don't even know not nothing sexual yeah you probably was really like wow why would they do this with their shoes yeah what is this me

it's just this is it jamming though we got to jamming shop hey i got to ask man what's uh what's your favorite thing about being in serious um just me and people me and a talent you know what i'm saying like i was in a building last week just on the humble and tim's was in the and Mary J. Blodd was in the building. And, you know, you just never know who's going to be there. Technically, I know because I see the list. But you never know on any given day who's going to be there. Who you're going to interact with?

I've built a lot of relationships just having interviews with people. You know what I interview. And we just have, you know, we click and shit, right? Yo, take my number after the show. We take number next time they're in town. Yo, Torrey, I'm in town. I'm going to come through the radio. But also, we're doing this, right?

Like, for example, shout to the homie Sunny Digital. He came. He did the show last week. Dope dude. Came he did my show last week. And he was like, yo, I'm going to studio tonight. You won't pull up. I was like, you bet.

I go to studio. We kick it some more. He played me the album early. We're talking about wild shit. Now we texting back and forth. Now we just want some cool shit. You know what I'm saying? So relationships get built.

So I think to some of the doper shit about serious, outside of people being able to discover me is just like, you know, being having an opportunity. to meet people that you might not have crossed paths with or to build relationships with people that you get a chance to just, you know, have a business relationship with and let it grow. Speaking of a business,

what's your relationship like with serious overall with them. You obviously got a good relationship with, you know, some of the artists and people that come through the building. I will tell you what my relationship is after this next contract negotiation. I should have known. Which is upon us right now. Yeah. That's a good question.

That's a great question. Just maybe a little too premature for me from what I got going. gonna take this clip right here we're gonna make this part go viral this is the part right here i just want to know you know i mean it seems like it's had to been some i mean somewhat great because you have stuck around for sure haven't heard any type of problems coming up you know torre and serious breaking up at any type of you know something or nothing like that so i just wanted to know where the relationship stands because i know being around that long around each other that's a relationship for sure what happens in relationships they get rocking sometimes yeah for sure for sure nah like i said dang

kick me out and I and I storm out. So obviously it's mutually beneficial as working. I enjoy, I don't do nothing I don't like, first of all. I enjoy the people that I'm around in the building. Yo, whatever I do, whatever you see me doing, and people be like, damn, you do so much. It's because I love it all, bro. I don't do, I don't get up and drag my feet

to do nothing, you know what I mean? I got here 20 minutes early, right? Because I wanted to have this conversation. I don't do nothing. It's a blessing to be in a position where, Granted, some days you might be a little under the weather, a little tired. That's different shit. But there's nothing I get up and do on a regular basis that I don't absolutely love.

And so my time as serious and what I'm able to do there, how I'm able to utilize my platform is great for me. And it's obviously beneficial for Sirius X-M to have the currency that I bring. You know what I'm saying from the coaches. So, yeah, man, now we got to do is just figure out the zeros. Yeah. I thought it was just a great question. I'm like, you know, because I work a great question.

I'm working media, you know, and it's all, and I believe, you know, especially partnering with somebody or being, you know, under an umbrella, you know, it's very important to, you know, keep the relationship strong. You know what I'm saying? In the business aspect of things and make sure nothing ever gets rocky in that. And like those people that I shouted out earlier, man, shout out to Dion and Ron Mills and the whole team over there, you know, great, great guys, great guys. For sure, for sure.

You're in traditional media per se. What do you think of like all this, like the new media that's, going on today because you're one of the first Torre like kind of crossed over like and and actually came over from being from from the artist side yeah like so that's a hell of an insight to me you know what do you think of this new media today because that's what everybody that's what i feel like they're starting to call it floco and all them like you know there's new talent that's coming up and they got a whole different outlook to what music is who's hot who's not who's shot you know like they

They got a whole different outlook like these these kids you know They'll say two-pac They don't two pockets no you know what I'm saying? I know that's kind of bother a person like you Right right right right really come from that air and really stand on that yeah what do you think man about this today? New media What's new media mean to Toray? So it's a two-part answer Okay, I love that Anybody that want to get out there and express their self have an opportunity to do that

You know what I'm saying especially if you can monetize it and and make some money and get out of some of these traps that they put us in, you know what I mean? Like, cause all of this shit is designed to keep a certain class of people. It's water. Thank you. Yeah, there's the shit is designed

to keep a certain class of people in a certain tax bracket forever. So if you can figure your way out of that shit, I gotta commend it, I gotta salute it. With that said, there's not a lot of, for some, it's not a lot of respect for the traditional journalistic integrity don't do research oh shit such a shot you know what I'm saying you don't even

know if it's real or not or you see a motherfucker laying there and bleeding you see a motherfucker laying there bleeding and the first thing you do is take a video like that shit for me is a little crazy that's a little nuts but that's that's that's that's that's the that's the new shit that's what the kids is on you know what I'm saying right um but it's some good shit out there's a lot of dope shit like shout to gna views um yeah shout to gna it's a lot of um shout to nila simone and Speedy and everything they got going over there on the Amazon side.

So it's a lot of dope, you know, shout to Yadi and what he's doing. You know what I'm saying? I feel like he got the cheat code, though, bro. He's a big artist. Come on, right? He got the cheat code. And shout out to the little Yadi,

but that nigga got the cheat code. And like he said, he was like, man, I was one of the first people, man, you know what I'm saying? Other than Post Malone that ever did Twitch. He already had the cheat code a long time ago. But he still had to build it, though. He still had to build it.

you know what I'm saying you like you drink so fucking water drink some water break take a water break because we're drunk if we think that fucking little Yadi like come on man he's got the cheat code already

I'm gonna say I never I see the clips I never sat there and listened to that's not my thing you know what I'm saying I don't think I'm the audience that he's speaking to or speaking for what I'm saying is Drake starting a podcast tomorrow

do we think it's not gonna go up right right right of course and all they got the niggas sit there for an hour and a half and scratch his balls. Guess what? It's going to see two, three million views. Three million views. At least.

So I feel like there's some guys that really have the cheat code and didn't have to really work up at it like how you did. Because you came in at a time. That's very sad. It was kind of frightening to, you know, leave that side of it behind. Like leave my hip-hop career behind and come over to this to media. Like it wasn't really heard of like that. It was very new.

Yeah. It's definitely, he, so. what I will agree with you on is that it's a much easier, a much easier transition for him. Obviously, he already got millions of people that follow him. So that's already built in ears and eyeballs. So I'll give you that. But the point was that he's a young artist with a voice, with a platform, and he's figuring out another way to express himself. Is it for me?

Maybe not all of this shit is for me. Or is he just following the wave? Everybody's jumping in. You think you follow on the wave? Everybody's jumping in. We just talked about this. Everybody wants to be on the ship now. I remember, man, listen, when I started doing Sharp Tank, right, there was only a few video,

like only my shit would pop up. So people would rush to it to see it. Now it's so oversaturated because people are making content about me, tagging me in it, hopping in my algorithm. You got to go through 70. Yo, now, now, I'm not even going to call it bullshit, but you got to go through 70 other ring of a fucking rose before you actually get to the content that I draw.

That you drop. You know what I'm saying? So it gets, it's oversaturated. They're going to drop a reaction video to this right here. Most definitely in talking about this. Reddit will probably be one of the first people

to pick the shit up. Then Lil Yadi going to talk about it because he's going to see it. Well, Lil Yadi, like I said, I feel like you've got the cheat code. This ain't Mortal Kombat, my nigga. We know you had the fatalities already. We don't finish him.

Come on. That's not a fair fight. That's not a fair fight. I understand. I understand. I understand. understand your point of view. Musically, he has a fucking fan base out of this world.

They fuck with him. You know what I'm saying? But people could say I was cheating because I came from the music space, right? They're like, oh, people already fuck with you. But it was new to hop over. Nobody knew what was going to happen. You had to gamble and take that chance at that point. Now we kind of know what can happen.

You know what I'm saying? Because it's already been battle tested. Some of these motherfuckers flop because they're not consistent. And this will be the test of time really even not. that we're gonna fucking make this a Yadi show. But we'll see if Yadi continues to put out content and be consistent. Because sometimes artists,

they jump into the shit because like you said, it's easy and it's right there. It's a lay up. And then three months later, it's over. You never hear from them again. What do you think about the situation up in the breakfast club?

You think it's over for? Yeah, that's done. I think it's over with up there? That's done. I had to ask you, Torre. That's done. They had a super run. They had a super run.

It was done. It was done ever since Angela left the show because that is not the breakfast club anymore. You know what I'm saying? Like people always going to have their favorites on the show, especially when you got multiple casts. So some people gravitated towards Angela. Some people gravitated towards envy.

Some people, Charlemagne. Yeah. You know, for all of the shit that Angela would get from people that didn't fuck with her, when she left the show, you felt a void. You felt like there was something missing. Can those two guys carry the show and do their own thing? Absolutely.

But you felt her voice, her present. Yeah, it was not there. And that's why you got other people doing feelings and shit like that. But now with the whole envy shit, we don't really know how that's going to shake out. I think that's over. Shout out to Angela E. too. I met her one time. I was going to go do a Don't Call Me White Girls podcast.

She worked a breakbeat. Shout out to break beat. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Went to go do her shit. Angela Yee was just finishing up. I got a chance to meet her. So it was cool, man. She got a nice presence, nice lady.

And that's the homie. She's from Brooklyn. That's, yeah, that's gang. I knew her from Sirius. her serious days you know what saying so yeah that's the home so you say it's definitely over and do you do you feel like the shit that's going on with dj envy right now whether he's guilty or not that shit doesn't matter whether he knew if you know caesar pin you know he knew this was actually going on and actually had any kind of involvement in it do you feel like him just even being a part of that

could have possibly ruined what's going on at breakfast club because i seen charlemagne tell him shut the fuck up pretty much right because he's you when you got an open case you know you know you supposed to talk you know what you know saying like so that's just rule number one wanted to anyway says no no no I feel like I want to address this anything you say can be used in a court of law whether you think you're saying he should know his pops is a cop you know what I'm saying like you should know that shit but it's tainted it's tainted there's there's some stink on it now and so you know I don't know how the parent company is going to react to that shit nobody want their

offices they buildings ran up in you know what I'm saying like that's that's that's just making it high this is corporate America you got motherfucking shareholders and shit that you got a you got to count to and they don't want to be in no nigger shit they came in there and grabbed them drives yeah yeah yeah yeah grabbed them hard drives and things but I always look at it like this right you got to remember this to it and especially you know you ain't doing none police feds especially when they come in they come and start taking shit they're gonna make sure they walk it by you in bags make it look like they got all this some of it's a scare tactic of course so just chill it's a show I don't know if that made him nervous and made him feel like, oh, I got to go say something.

But I'm sure your lawyer even told you it's not your best interest to talk about it. What do you see for the future for them? Where do you think they're going to head to, man, after this? Like what's the way? Shaliman is already, he's already been doing his solo endeavor. So he's going to continue to do that. You know, he's going to end up with a night show or another day show or something like that. Envy been, envy's going to be fine.

You know, as long as he's not found guilty and don't got to do no time. You know what I'm saying? like obviously if you got to do time then that's a different conversation but he'll be fine because he a hustler you know what I'm saying he came from the street he came from mixed tapes to mix CDs to DJ and club envy the motherfucker to do three four clubs in a night you know what I'm saying and he was able to turn that into a radio career so I think they'll both land on their feet so do you feel like if envy goes to jail it's over with for him right now like right now like right now this ain't the time to leave the space because like we were talking about the space is oversaturated right now new

content new characters are coming daily for sure you know what I'm saying so do you feel like if he had to go serve you in a few years he get out his is he'm saying his candle them blew out by then i don't even want to talk about post jail because i don't wish jail on nobody I don't wish jail on nobody either but I'm just saying if he if he was we're just hypothetically looking at it I don't want him to go to jail I don't wish jail on nobody but if he was to go to jail do you feel like him even going for a year, two years, his career would be over? Like, you can't leave him behind right now. Right now's not the time.

If he had to do anything for two years and move away from this space, I think that he's built up enough of a following and enough of an audience that people will be interested when he came back. What he was able to do with that is up to him. But I think there would be an interest. Like when Bobby and them went and sat for that time, Bobby and Rowdy in them, right? People was like, damn, we ain't get a lot of music from them, but they stood tall and people respected that and when they came out people went back it's a lot of art

imagine the artists go away for five six years and then cut nobody checking for you but because of what their story was and because of how totally stood even though they were gone from the music space from all that time people was still engaged because they wanted to see what they was going to come with and they was able to figure that shit out well they put it out to where like bobby was supposed to never get out right You know what I think that's what kind of gave him his uproar when he actually got released. Because they said, what's about to happen? They didn't let, quote, uncle, they didn't let an animal out the cage, I'm saying?

They didn't let a real demon out the motherfucking lair. You know what I'm saying? I love that young guy, man. I love him. I love his presence. I love how he just, he really is a good guy, bro. I think just people like to, I always say don't poke sleeping bears. Like I'm saying, because niggas will wake up and get to really trick.

I'm going to tell you this, bro. I said this year early in the conversation. Yeah. We being fucking set up and targeted. You growing up, he's a product of his environment. That's it. He's a product of his environment. He grew up in a different place with different opportunities and different resources.

He's a different person. He's a product of all of that shit. So when you're looking at America's nightmare, you got to blame America for making that shit. Right. You had just recently dropped some new music with a longtime friend and producer Marco Apollo, man. Yeah.

Talk about it. Midnight Run. It's been 14 years since me and Marco dropped the project together. That's a live, bro. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The fact that, first of all, our chemistry is still great because that's my brother. But the fact that so many people care and an ass, you know, that's one of the beautiful things about social media is that your fans can talk directly to you. Every day, if it's not seven days out the week, it's two days out the week.

Or it's three days out. Yo, what's up with this? Or they play a song. Damn, this is my shit. I hope y'all drop some new music. 14 years later they still have demand and the cell records, physical records. You know, we did classic shit. We did vinyl.

We did CDs and cassettes in addition to the digital. And every week I use my 10, you know, your 10 Instagram carousel to highlight 10 motherfuckers who bought that physical product because that's, again, they spent their bread to own something tangible. It ain't just press the shit on your phone and listen. It's like, yo, I gotta put my information in. I gotta wait for this shit to show up. Now I gotta take a picture and post it. that's care that's love that's a real audience so I want to make sure I get them that love

right back so I believe I believe sway interviewed you guys about it earlier in the year shout the back bro got it actually got featured on hip-hop dx right crazy yeah yeah shout to big bro sway that's my brother man love him shout to that whole sway in the morning that's crazy right dear you and uh you and uh you and marco gonna do any more shit in the future y'all plan it to do anything else i text that motherfucker every day send the beats you know Send the beat. So we, you know, if it makes sense, we'll tour,

we definitely gonna make some more music, though. I said no more music droughts for me. 2023, you got a project. 2024, you get in the project, maybe two, 2025. No more music droughts because it don't make no sense. Now I'm solidified on my radio shit. Well, ain't nobody acting now because of the strike.

But, you know, the acting shit, I'm moving in that. I got an agent shout to, you know, Smith Young Talent. So for me, only thing left to do is, go to the studio and cook up, you know what I'm saying? Because the other shit is already, you know what I mean?

That shit is already rolling. So now it's like get back and get at people what they want. Speaking of tracks and things like that, y'all gave a bonus track as well, I believe, called Go Brooklyn. Yeah. On that Midnight Run. Right. The Go Brooklyn shit, so I just posted about it. That was a song we did a couple years ago for the Brooklyn Nets.

Yeah. Yeah, we got approach to do, Marco got a approach to do some music for the Nets. And then they was looking for a theme. And so he reached out on like your tour. Can you do the theme song? And honestly, the funny shit is I'm a Knicks fan. So I'm really sitting there like contemplating like, Like I should just throw dirt on this shit.

So I do this shit. And I should do it the way to where they still put it out and don't even know I'm In true Brooklyn fashion though, I was like, now we're going to do it. We're going to take that bread. So you're in New York Knickerbocker. I'm a knicker knicker. You know what I mean? I'm a knicker knicker.

Yeah. But I took some of the bread and I went and spent it at the garden. spent it at the garden I went to see the Knicks you know what I'm saying but you got I'm super Brooklyn everything about me is a hundred thousand percent Brooklyn except my basketball team because when I was a kid it was no Brooklyn Nets right so I'm not going to grow up and be 20 so I'm in switch sides because who the fuck does that right you know what I'm saying right that's the reason I'm not in that if I was if there was a Brooklyn Nets team when I was coming up I would be a Brooklyn Nets fan but the only team in New York was the Knicks so that's my squad so the song even though

even though you and fucking Stephen A man y'all stand by hold on hold on let me let me say this let me say this is an egregious y'all stand by them motherfuckers then hey through and through homie and y'all be having more problems than a little bit a whole lot of problems you're saying hey i ain't go a lot though i like uh i like julius randall and them i like them dudes up there man you know what i'm saying they know out of ball i just don't know what's i don't know what y'all missing but y'all missing something. Missing the whole line, y'all. Y'all missing it. Who your squad?

You're a clipper or a Laker? Honestly, man, to be real with you, I was always a Mavs fan. A word. Okay. I'm talking about like Steve Nash, Dirk and Whiskey days when they was playing. Crazy. You know what I'm saying? So I always fucked with them. Watch us win our first championship ball at. Dirk was the only one to pull it through.

Chasing kid. I feel like this. Like with Dirk, Dirk was the one that opened up the game to show that big men can shoot too. That's a fact. Big men can move like the smaller dudes. You know what I'm saying? Kevin Durant too. Kevin and Kevin Garnett.

Yeah. These guys are big shooting that was unheard of. You know what I'm saying? Even back in the day, nobody really shocked three-pointers. Everybody either took it to the rack or it was no long two. Yeah, you're playing the paint. You're doing a hook shot.

You know what I'm saying? Like three-points came right. Yeah, you're close to the rim. The big men always stayed close to the rim in the painted area. So yeah, shout to Dallas, man. Thank you. Appreciate it. The song, Go Brooklyn.

So when we, me and Marco was doing the album, he was like, yo, we never really officially put that song out. I'm like, yeah, but we did that shit for the Nets. Like, why will we put it out? He's like, yo, it's still a dope joint. It's really a Brooklyn joint. But in my mind, I'm like, yeah, but I got mad basketball references. And it was certain words they wanted me to say and shit and all of that. So in my mind, I was like, I don't think it's a good song song.

I think it's a good basketball song. But Marco was like, yo, let's put it out. So we compromise. It's like, fuck it. Let's put it on the physical. and anybody who bought a physical will get that. So that's how that came to be.

That's dope. Are you the president of the, I think what's the New York chapter of the recording academy? Yeah, yeah. The organization that puts on the Grammys, I'm the president of New York. That's cool.

Dope privilege to do that. How did that come about? You know, a lot of people don't know that if you are artists, if you have X amount of credits, you got to have 12 credits, or artists or anything in the music industry, you can join the academy.

You can join. It ain't no, fucking Wizard of Oz behind the curtain yo I got 12 if you put an album out with 12 songs on it that's 12 credits and that's enough you pay your $150

that motherfucker spend at Starbucks and you become a member of the academy it's just that simple so I became a member some years ago I learned about all the other shit that the recording academy did outside the Grammys and that's what really made me stay

I found out how much money they give away to people that's in need I found out much advocacy they do at at you know in Washington and for songwriters and for people you know to get they you know streaming rates and all types of shit right and I was like yo this shit is dope it's dope and just like the Grammys is dope but the shit that they do 365 days is dope too and that's what made me stick around this shit and I just kind of built my name up and start working and doing different initiatives and you know I got slated for the ballot and I got voted in

this is a super blessing you being a mentor And a mogul, is there anybody that, you know, has been a mentor to you or any mentors that you look up to? When I was younger, I didn't have any mentors. But in my older years, I shouted out Sway. Sway is like a big homie and mentor to me. I talked to Sway about outside of media shit, real life shit. We text.

My brother Clark Kent taught me a lot about the music business. You know what I'm saying? Like him being an OG and him having experience and shit. So those are two people that I look to as mentors. And my man killed Ripkin. You know what I'm saying? Me and Kill used to be in the group together. He's a little older than me, but not by much.

But he's somebody who I look at and I look too for guidance. You know what I'm saying? He know me. He knows my heart. You know what I'm saying? I know him. I know his heart. He's somebody that always, he keeps it a buck with me.

You know what I'm saying? Like no matter what. So those are some of the people that I consider mentors to me. You also, I want to get over there before we get out of here. You also did a podcast. I want to say is what's that hard to earn? Yeah, the Hard Dogged. Bonson.

With my God Bonsuit. Yeah, that shit is grown. We got a big announcement, actually. I don't know when this is going to drop, but we got an announcement to close out 2023. Well, for the people that don't know about that, because I believe y'all like revisit classics and things like that. So it's an album review show. We do new albums as well. So somebody drops some new shit.

Like, we did Cizzers album this year. We did the Killer Mike album this year. So we'll review the albums. Bonsu comes from the magazine space. he's a writer, right? So he was editor-in-chief at The Source and wrote that double Excel. So he has that music, journalist, pedigree. I obviously am a rapper and the songwriter. I got gold records. I got platinum records on other artists, Billboard, number one hits. So we both come from a different space, but with enough pedigree to say the shit

that we say. It ain't just, we talking out the fucking side of our ass. We are actual professionals in this shit. So we review new albums and we rate them. We rate the songs from one to 10 classic albums we do on anniversary so we'll do a 10 year anniversary of 15 to 20 we're about to do the wutang album 36 chambers that's gonna be crazy for the 30 year anniversary we're doing that live in new york city to close out this month too i'm gonna have to fly out for that one listen anytime you in the town yeah anytime you're in the town you know we're gonna i'm gonna take care of you what do you uh who's some of you like the new artist my last question for you like what's some of the new artists man today and uh like you know and that you say, like, they got some motion.

You know what I'm saying? Like, whether it's like, you know, the NY drill, Chicago drill, Detroit scene, like, who you feel like right now, got it. It's really shining. It's a lot of shit.

I like Simba a lot. I think Simba's dope. Yeah. I like Lady London. I think she's fire. I like, I like, it's this kid named Sandy Benjamin. He's still really, really, like,

emerging, but he's just, he's super talented to me. I like Buddy. some people say he knew some people you know I think he's still like coming up and shit I like the kid J-I-D from the Dreamville side I like Boss from Dreamville

I like Cos from Dreamville Rhapsody she's not really new new like that but you know she's still she's still doing her thing Nick Grant I think Nick Grant is dope a lot of dope talent out there yo yeah a lot of dope talent out there yeah definitely got a future in this game

oh for sure they're doing they doing the things they making that you know I mean they're leaving their mark they build in a they path to do this shit and have a career. And careers are so different now. You can have a career in hip-hop. You don't never have to be a superstar.

You don't never have to have a radio smash. You can have a career, 10, 20 years. You know what I'm saying? Do you feel like these days it's better to put out a hit song or EP versus a full album? I think it depends on the artists. And when I say that, I think that depends on who your bass is. Do you have a bass that's an album fan base,

or do you have a base that just consume shit that as it comes? Because if they want more, then drop more. You know what I'm saying? And if you're looking for superstardom, then try to make a hit. But if you got a bass that listen to an album, sit 30, 40 minutes, and really go, then make albums and feed that bass. But you got to, you have the opportunity now with research and algorithm and all that bullshit. But you can also tap into exactly who your bass is and just cater to them.

Well, there was guys like, there was guys like Fettywop that when, you know, he dropped that trap queen, they wanted more, but he still just kept pushing that song. Well, he pushed that for a minute until it really blew. Yeah. But then he came with like five more. Oh, he came with RGF Island. You know, he started coming with the My Way shit. You know, he started really knocking him out, but they were hits. Yeah.

He didn't just bring, hey, he didn't bring no fucking album. He just, they wanted it so bad that anything he dropped after that. This is going crazy. because they was ready for him. And then eventually he did put it all together on the album. But yeah, he came with after Trap Queen was like you said, RGF Island and Maway and all that shit. Monique, all that shit.

Like he just, he had one of the most interesting careers I've seen in a while. Right. He came out the gate. Like, it took a long time to get trapped. Was he out of New York or New Jersey? Jersey. It took a long time to get Trap Queen going,

but they believed in it and they stuck with it. And once that shit went, he came back to back to back I think it was five or six chart topping joints like crazy and then he could never find that thunder again now you fucking doing time fucking crazy come on he said one of the greatest things that never happened uh like one of the greatest artists that never like ever got to really happen

because he was on his way yeah yeah he was fucking on his way why go even put just I mean I don't know what the case was yeah to me hey man free free Prefetti, you know what I'm saying? Unless he, unless he did harm babies or some shit. You know what I don't fuck with. Bush Issey said he didn't wrote a song every day since he been in jail. Oh, you know.

When he come out, he said he's got it. He says he's got probably equivalent to about five, six albums ready that he's written. That's what pop. That's how Pac was. You know what I'm saying? That's how Pac was. He said, it's the clearest I ever been. He said no smoking, no nothing.

He said, it's the clearest my mind is ever being. Just eating that motherfucking jail, apple sauce. You know what I mean? Shout out boo shiasty, man. Free shiasty, man, for real. Free thug too, man. Free thug, free Jeffrey, man. Free slime, man.

What fuck going on out here, man? He's getting a little chunky. You seen him? Yeah, he's eating more than the apples sauce. He's eating more than the apples sauce. He's fucking, he's fucking. He got a little chunky on us, but I'm glad to see, like, that he's healthy. Like, you know, he's got his health.

You know, that's his healthy weight on him, you know? And sometimes when you're not smoking and drinking and shit, because that shit keep you moving so much that you just put on weight if you slow your metabolism down so he's not running around doing all the she was doing so he might just be putting away from that or he might be fucking with the bologna sandwiches he might be really fucking i'm sure they looking out for him i'm sure he getting some shit in there he yeah at least get chick filet he ain't chick flayette something like on the way to court that morning or something they might bring it to him a little pretty little pretty co-o and shit yeah yeah do do your shit amen come on to her that's some houston's and so

hey to her that's still a celebrity like oh long man he ain't do nothing bigger than a cell he's thug, bro. Thug is like a modern day iconic. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah, he's a big deal. Pause. I'll fuck with Thug, man. I really do.

They was talking about it this morning on the news. They said somebody's, they was like they were comparing them. I forgot what was. It was Thug and somebody and they was like, man, bigger than Thug. Like, Thug is big. Not really is. Pose again. Pause.

For real. Thug. Nah, for sure. He's one of those like, You think about Thug and Future, they birth, like, all enemiesos, they birth all of this young, this new shit that's off their tree. It's off their family tree, yo. Atlanta definitely goes crazy with the music scene. They also, that's also what, Homer 21 Savage.

Right. That's the home of quite a few, Gucci, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. You know what I mean? For sure, for sure. Yeah, ATL is the new, it's like the new metropolis. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I can't, I'm a New Yorker. And I'd be fucking saying here lying. I didn't come here to sit here and lie to you. If I said that Atlanta didn't dominate this space crazy. It came to my mind. So they were saying this morning on the news that Lil Uzi's a bigger artist than Young Thug. Let me think about that.

Let me think about that. Little Uzi. Yeah, little Uzi's a bigger, yeah, as a bigger artist than Thug. I think he's, yeah, I think he's had bigger records. Yeah. I think he's had bigger record. So it really is nuanced shit. Doug is the most he's influential he got he got but shit so do Uzi honestly

Uzi got a fucking tribe of yeah his fan base is crazy yeah yeah yeah he got because you know why his fan base is fucking diverse as hell for sure you know what I'm saying I'm not saying thugs thug isn't you're saying but he sold all of us up he got all he got all the niggas for show probably some other genres of people you know but I I feel like it's probably limited to what Uzi has done and going around. Like people fucking with him all over the world. No, Uzi is, he's, yeah, he's a rock star. You know what I mean?

He's a rock star. His shit is far beyond the walls of just hip hop. You know what I mean? I fuck with Uzi too. I fuck with Uzi too. I like Uzi. Hey man, listen, I actually had, uh, I talked shit about the pink tape. I think the pink tape he had just dropped.

I was like, man, I just felt like he got to came harder, but then I went back and paused. You know, I went back. I went back, you know, and I listened to it again. I was like, okay, this shit right here really go on. There's some shit on there. It's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not great. But it's some shit on there.

It's some shit on there for sure. We need that love is rage, Uzi, though. You know what I mean? You need that love is rage, Uzi. But I fuck with Uzi. Uzi is dope. Maybe he's going to do some shit with, what if you're going to throw some play some Cardi on there with him.

Because he always talking about that nigga. Cardi had never one, too, yo. He got a nice bass. No, you know what Cardi does? That pause. That was a crazy. You know what Cardi does? He comes out rare moments.

You don't know when you're going to see him. That's a fact. He's kept this mysteriousness. He got that mystique for sure. To himself that sells to the world. Like people can't wait. Oh shit, play where Cardi coming. Ain't no telling him when we're going to see him again.

And when he do them festivals, them motherfucking mosh piss be going crazy. He came out with Travis. I think they just did SoFi together. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Come out of So far. That's crazy. I think he came and, no, I'm saying. That was the same night.

as the Lauren show. So it's mad, you know that, because they both, the venues right next to each other. So it's mad people going to so far. I'm like, what's that for so far? Like Travis, I'm like, damn, I would have went to that. And it's mad people going to the Fuji shit. So yeah, LA is crazy, man.

What I was saying was Travis and just did a show and he brought out Playboy Cardi on stage. You know what I'm saying? So, and him coming out for just even that rare moment, crowd going crazy. Because you never know when you're going to see him. He brings a different energy to where people about the fucking damn near pass out.

Seeing Playboy Cardi because it's music and his cadence Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah, it's super high energy shit. Is there anything, before we get out, is there anything you want the fans to know the viewers to know your fam to know what to be on the lookout for And what's next for Toray? More music, I promise the audience more music,

So I'm no more fucking music droughts. Thank everybody, yo. I'm super grateful to be in this position because all of this shit for me, Road Talk Sharp, is the bonus. All I wanted was a, about five peers of joins a gold chain, you know what I mean,

be able to go fucking Bob McDonald's every day. I didn't want much. All of this shit is the bonus, bro. All this extra shit, the accolades, the respect from my peers, opportunities to sit down and chop it up with real ones. All this shit is extra, bro.

So I'm living in an extra time right now. So I appreciate all of it. More music, fuck with the podcast, fuck with the radio shows, fuck with the actor, fuck with a real one. I'm here. Hey, man. We appreciate you for coming in,

coming and fucking with us, man, and sharing your ins, I'm just what's going on today. When I come down to that New York love one, I'm tapping in, man. For sure, for sure. I'm going to fuck with you. Fuck with me in New York.

Hopefully, man, before you get up out of year, we can link up, have a drink or something, man. You know, go chop it up. You know, you got a new friend, man, with you. With it. You did? We're going to do it for real and not to play. You said, aw.

A little better knock it off. The Sharp Tank. No jumper. Sharpest, coolest podcast in the world. Hey, Donnie, shoot us out the motherfucking gym.