The Breakfast Club - DDG Talks New Album, Halle Bailey, Marriage + More

Episode Date: November 1, 2022

DDG Talks New Album, Halle Bailey, Marriage + MoreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. We need help! That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast

Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Marie. And I'm Sydney. And we're Mess. Well, not a mess, but on our podcast called Mess, we celebrate all things messy. But the gag is, not everything is a mess.

Sometimes it's just living. Yeah, things like J-Lo on her third divorce. Living. Girl's trip to Miami. Mess. Breaking up with your girlfriend while on Instagram Live. Living. It's kind of mess.

Yeah. Well, you get it. Got it? Live, love, mess. Listen to Mess with Sydney Washington and Marie Faustin on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher.

That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, and I'm a scientist who studies human behavior. Many of us have experienced a moment in our lives that changes everything,

that instantly divides our life into a before and an after. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I talk to people about navigating these moments. Their stories are full of candor and hard-won wisdom. And you'll hear from scientists who teach us how we can be more resilient in the face of change.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ, Envy, Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha Guy. We are The Breakfast Club. We got a special guest in the building. DDG, welcome, sir.

DDG. What's up, man? What's up, man? We're happy to be here. You're traveling the world. Yeah, yeah. Now, DD, what exactly is your claim to fame? I know you was a YouTuber, and then I was actually at the fight when you retired, when you beat up that dude. I was actually commentating that fight, and you announced your retirement from YouTube, now you rap.

So would you say YouTube is the origin of it all? Yeah, yeah, for sure. I started on YouTube, you know. Took off. I feel like I'm wanting... But do it on YouTube for people that don't know. What were you doing on YouTube? Because you were making $30,000 a month at one time, so... Yeah, yeah, nah. I just vlog my life.

It's basically, you know, just show my lifestyle, show my family, you know, my vibe. You know, do cool stuff. Cool. I can cuss, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do cool shit, you know. Cool. Do you regret anyuss right yeah do cool shit you know cool do you regret any of that just cuz you was younger than and I didn't did some corny shit before I was young you know I'm saying I was just really focused on you know making good content getting the views making

the money and you know I didn't did some cringy shit before, but, you know. Did you understand the money you was making back then? Yeah, I was in college. Okay, okay, okay. Yeah, so I was in college, and I was, my first check was like $200. And then I went to college or whatever. Over the summer after freshman year, I started making like $10, $15, $20 a month. And, you know, I'm a college student. College students don't make that type of money.

So then I was like, you know what, I'm going to go ahead and drop out. And I went to L.A., got me an apartment. I've been good. And kept creating the content. What were you doing with that money at that time? I don't know. I mean, it depends. Like I was doing like.

Were you investing or were you buying bullshit? I was buying bullshit. For sure. But you always knew you wanted to do music even then. Yeah, I was doing, like... Were you investing or were you buying bullshit? I was buying bullshit. For sure. But you always knew you wanted to do music, even then. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I always was... Yeah, I was fucking with the music before that. Like, my dad was an engineer back in my hometown and shit,

so we had, like, our own little home studio. Me and my brothers used to make, like, songs together when I was, like, younger. And then, um... Yeah, like, I always always been with the music i was doing like little diss tracks on youtube the who like youtubers yeah you know just you know regular you know but then it was like you know it was hitting so i was like okay let me try to do the music for real you know i'm here on the breakfast club did you think about what if

you would have lost that fight what that could have done for you? I would have been done. I wouldn't be here. You think that would have been over for you? Nah, I would have put everything on the line that night, man. Because I heard you didn't even train like that. I didn't. And I had a strip club hosting the morning of it.

I was in the strip club at 5 in the morning. Oh, you didn't care? I didn't really take the dude serious. You know what'm saying he got one good punch on me that was it but then other than that like i wouldn't no you might them up yeah yeah i got his ass about yeah now why did you feel like you had to retire from youtube in order to be an artist um i didn't necessarily retire like i uploaded the vlog yesterday but it's just like i just i just feel like being a youtuber and making music is so foreign to the industry it's like you know i'm saying i feel like you need both though like i look at somebody like nba young boy

and what he does with youtube and his music i feel like you kind of need both. In a way. I ain't never seen nobody do that so blatantly. What did you just do? I do shit like that. I try to play it off. No, I got a hair in my mouth or some shit. I ain't never seen nobody do that shit so blatantly. I got a hair in my mouth. Did you just spit on me in the breakfast club?

No, no, no, no. It was a hair in my mouth. Let me ask you a question, young man. If you eating some poom poom, right, and a little bit of hair getting in your mouth, are you going to do that while you're down there just so blatantly like that? Yeah.

Yeah, what you going to do? Get the hair in your mouth? It's like... I tried to, but I'm in a mid-conversation. I'm like, I got to get this motherfucker out. He's in that shit like the camera ain't on. God damn. I had to get it out

That was the first I forgot what the question was What was the question? Wait what'd you ask? Oh you were talking about You just did a vlog the other day Yes That you felt like

To be taken seriously Yeah yeah yeah I feel like it's YouTube is hindering the The urge to click And be curious You know what I'm saying? Cause I feel like i make great music

i feel like i make some better music than other artists that's bigger than me so it's like you know it's just getting that person to click and i feel like everybody that actually gives the music a listen be surprised like man this nigga kind of hard you know what i'm saying so it's like that's the only thing that i feel like is like the downfall from you know being a youtuber and an artist now what led you to college because i know you know you was in the you dabbled in the streets a little bit i mean you know i i would i was really not like i don't really be i don't be fucking with that shit like that got you your brother like yeah my brother was. Yeah, my brother was. And then, you know, it was a little family situation. And it's like, you know, I was more so like ladies' man in the school.

Like, I enjoyed the nicer thing, legal shit, you know. But, you know. You retired from being a ladies' man, too. Yeah, yeah. I'm married. That's what I'm talking about. You're married, man. See?

That's how you build a foundation. No, for real. That mentality right there is how you build a real solid foundation. That's what I'm talking about. Married, man. See? That's how you build a foundation. No, for real. That mentality right there is how you build a real solid foundation. That's the headline. DDG is married. That's definitely the headline. Secret marriage. No, I ain't really married, but you know what I mean.

You want to get married. You know what? I want to talk about. That's my cousin, you know. I know. I heard. Yeah, you got some talented cousins, man. That's dope.

But you have said that she's made you a better person. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So can you talk about that, how that happened? Because I think that's what relationships should be. The person that you're with should bring out the best in you. Yeah, I never been with nobody that's, like, really motivated me like she do. You know what I mean? I'm seeing different shit.

I ain't really been around this type of shit before, so it's like she bringing me around shit that I ain't really, you know what I'm saying? That's real. It's crazy. It's dope. You know what I mean? Like, this is somebody that's really, like,

in a way, not necessarily, because I was my own person before her, but, like, in a way, like, put me on a different shit. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, that's dope, because I'm usually the one putting motherfuckers on. You know what I'm saying? And it's like, that's dope because I'm usually the one putting motherfuckers on. You know what I'm saying? Like, give us an example.

What you mean? Like, something that she put you on to that you weren't exposed to before. I mean, just like, you know, different shit. Fucking fashion shows and nice-ass parties

with legends and all that shit. I saw you at the wearable art gala this weekend, right? Yeah, I didn't even know that existed. I didn't know it existed because I'm not in that, right? Yeah, I didn't even know that existed.

I didn't know it existed because I'm not in that world. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, I didn't know what that was, and I was there, and I'm like, man, what the fuck? Tyler Perry right next to me. The fuck is going on? You know what I'm saying? Like, cool little shit like that. How did y'all meet?

I just slid in her DM. You know, regular shit. And she said she was a fan of you, though, for years before that. Mm-hmm. Yeah, man. What'd you say in the DM? Did you touch any youth? What'd you say?

What'd you say in the DM? I just, she posted a 50 Cent song, and I was like, oh, nice song. What song was it? Miniman. Oh, okay, okay. That's one of my favorite songs. Yeah. Yeah, so I was, you know, I had to get in the DM somehow.

You just started the conversation. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you've been around the family a little bit. You might have been at the house and seen pictures. You ever seen pictures of Charlamagne in there? Nah, I ain't never seen one, bro. Have you ever seen a mention of Charlamagne or anything like that? Leonard McKelvey, anything like that?

I kind of be questioning if Charlamagne be lying and shit. They're the ones that told him, though. He didn't even know. No, I kind of knew, but not really, really, really. Because it's like the Bailey's when Kelby's from South Carolina. St. Stephen Monk's corner. The towns are like right next to each other. Yeah, okay.

She be telling me about that. She be telling me about South Carolina. He got some facts. I know her dad Doug and Jody. Were you shocked about the backlash that Hallie got from the Little Mermaid? I mean, a little bit. What? Like, I be thinking that social media stuff don't be Were you shocked about the backlash that Halle got from the Little Mermaid? And do you think it was real?

What? Like, I be thinking that social media stuff don't be real. I think that be like bots. It was a little much. I ain't gonna lie. When people were saying this shit, I'm like, that's weird. Weirdass shit. But you feel protective because that's your wife.

Yeah, for sure. Are you really going to propose? Are you really going to like? I don't know. Eventually, man. You know. Let him do it. Yeah, man. You know. Let him do it. Yeah, man, you know.

I'm just asking. How do you handle that, though? Because, you know, she is a musician. She's a star. And people are going to attack her for things like that. So how do you handle that? Because you want to be a protector, right? You want to make sure.

But you also know some of his BS. What can I do to a troll? I can't really do that. That's right. I'm kind of like, helpless in this you know in this you're gonna punch your phone you know what i'm saying all you do is be supportive of her and be like put the phone down yeah yeah let's do this let's have real life fun it's all passed over at this point good all right now i want to talk about the song nine lives because i like um the

descriptions that you gave on that song about things that you're going through in your life and you said in that song is it weird that I miss the struggle? So can you explain that? I just feel like when you get to this point in life, it's more work than anything rather than enjoyment. I feel like back before I was more popular or more like, you know, lit in a way, it's just like it's not as genuine from people. I feel like when you're growing up, it's just more genuine vibes.

It's just more fun, you know, in a way. But, you know, obviously I enjoy my blessings. Like I'm happy to be where I'm at in life, but, you know. It comes with its downsides also. Yeah, yeah, for sure. You just don't know who fucking with you for you or fucking with you because you DDG. Yeah, you know what I'm saying?

It's like, you go through the same shit, right? It's just like, you never know. So it is what it is, though. What about the song Relationship Issues? You talk, it's two estranged lovers, and they got insecurities and trust issues. Is that based off a true story, or? Nah, not necessarily.

You know, toxic relationship vibes. I feel like everybody go through one of those. You know, cool shit. It's a little interlude. But things are great. Yeah, yeah. I'm in a great space right now. I mean, yeah, if you're making songs like Love Myself,

you're talking about self-love. Yeah, man. When did you learn to first love yourself when did i learn to love myself yeah um shit from the beginning really you know i always been like a lover boy you know i always liked it i don't like being single being single to me is boring personally so it's like you know i always liked it i don't like being single being single to me is boring personally so it's like you know you got to always think about yourself in relationships so you always had a girlfriend yeah yeah yeah i don't like being single i was gonna ask you you know even his exes speak well on him to this day like he cool guy you know there she go even though you just said even though early in the interview, even though early in the interview you said all your exes ain't shit?

Huh? Early in the interview you said all your exes weren't shit? Why did I say that? You did not say that. Don't let me get you in there. Don't let me get you in there. Y'all can't get me.

You said ain't nobody teach you nothing? I'm media trained, man. Y'all can't get me. You said RIP to all my exes. She's trying to make it so you... No, I'm not. No, no, no.

I think it's good when your exes have good positive things to say about you after you You can't say nothing negative about me. You know, yeah, because they'll say things like, I like his new girlfriend. They're happy together. That's a good thing to see. That's what you should want.

Like, you don't want your exes to be talking crazy about you and hating you. Yeah, I don't think I got no bad reviews out there. You know, I feel like I'm a great person. It's like, even outside of relationships, even friendships and shit, like, I'm a good dude, you know i feel like i'm a great person it's like even outside of relationships even friendships and shit like i'm a good dude you know this title is one of the most toxic things you can say to a person it's not me it's you and even the way the title looks yes looking they don't want to hurt nobody feelings yeah it's it's it's a toxic, toxic album title for sure.

You know how it be. Sometimes as men we feel like the woman is causing the problems. You know? In a way. I don't know how it be, DDG. Tell us more. I don't know anything about that. I don't know how it be. Tell us more. No, I'm just saying.

That's like the basis of the album title. That's like the basis of the album title. It's just the basis of it type shit. Have you ever had to tell a woman that it's not me, it's you? No, not necessarily. Not directly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, you thought that?

Oh, boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You probably think that. Yeah. How many of these songs did you have in the stash? Can you talk about that process? Because you also have the deluxe version. But how many of these did you have for, like, a couple of years?

Or do you just write? Well, you don't write. You just go in and. Yeah, I freestyle and I write. So, you know. Don't you sneak out. I told him I had to leave. Sit down.

We got five more minutes. Sit down. Yeah, come on. Envy's going to. Sit down. I got to go. Sit down, man. That's disrespectful.

Envy got to go to court. Pleasure meeting you, brother. Wow. What? wow you're gonna be the next celebrity boxing match you're gonna knock your ass out for walking out on him you definitely can knock envy out and you shut up you can go to strip club in the morning and not even work out and train and you can still knock envy out yeah not really gone i can say that it's though. But, um, what was you saying? We were talking about how many of these songs were done, like, way in advance, and how many of them did you do just right before the album? I know Nine Lives and Love Myself.

I recorded those on tour with Kevin Gates. And that was, like, in the cut for a cool six months or something like that. A lot of them songs is old. Like, Not the Only One, I recorded it like two years ago. You know, you make a good song and you just hold on to it until you got a place, you know, to put it and shit. What is a loyal slut? Kevin Gates said he ain't got nothing to do with me.

It's on your project, D&G. You're not going to do this today. That's the number seven song on your project yeah no it's like um he was just saying like why would you he was saying what he's saying there he said you gonna be with this girl or whatever and then you're gonna go want to be with this two or there's three because she more slutty or some shit like that you gotta listen to it but you know i ain't say it they ain't got nothing to do with you so your you you you your music don't reflect you is what you say no no it's it's an interlude so it's just you know it's just

kevin gates talking and shit okay when you reflect on on your life and you look back at where you are now and where you started right and how amazing that is for you to have come as far as you did how does that reflect back like when you're with your family and they're thinking about all the things that you can actually do for them and with them now wait say that one more time you know you look back at where you started and where you are now because you reflected on that on the album yeah right you just talked about your mom and how you grew up when you're with your family how do you guys like have these conversations is it still amazing to you yeah it is it's great it's crazy like sometimes i'll just be reminiscing like damn we really out here you know i'm saying living in la i really live in this nice ass house and we just you know elevating even when like my little

nephew like i look at my nephew i'm like damn bro you're gonna be somebody yeah you're taking over the internet right now but yeah it's just beautiful just to have like it's kind of like in-house you know we all doing our own thing so it's like it's just beautiful to see that's the beauty of the industry now it's like yo you can create your own ecosystem so you really don't gotta mingle or do all the fake shit. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. I don't really like making new friends like that.

I'm like, I'm really an introvert for real. On the internet, I'm an extrovert, if that's a word, right? Yeah. I'm an introvert in real life. What's your sign? I'm a Libra. Libra, okay, okay, okay. My birthday just passed.

Oh, where, where? My last two daughters are both Libras yep now I do like to sound like Coyler Ray and Lakia also we love women that have their own

so how has your thinking changed when it comes to dating as you get older I feel like I have to date somebody that's independent you know

and really doing their own thing cause I'm like a spontaneous type of dude. I like to get up and go. It's like, you know, I like to be, it's just more attractive to me. And then birthday presents and Christmas presents be way more fire when they got bread. Yeah, man.

Yeah, because your birthday did just pass. What'd you get? She got me, I got a lot of stuff from, like, my family and stuff. But my girl went all out. She got me, like, Cartier bracelets, the big one, you know, rings and stuff. And, you know, nice bags, you know. Y'all in love, love. Yeah, cool, man.

And you have her in a video, too. How is that process for y'all being able to do that together? It was fun. It's all lighthearted. We be together all day, so it's like regular shit. Mm-hmm. That's documented forever. Mm-hmm.

How does her family receive you? They love me. Was it always like that? Because I remember at first it was like speculation. Is that his girlfriend? And then you guys finally, finally you know hit the scene together nah yeah you know they love me they fuck with me for sure everybody fuck with me man i'm a good person anybody that hate on me ain't really met me before but it's different that's their little girl you know people yeah and this is like her first time having like a public relationship like this.

So that's not easy either. Were you a little bit like what kind of conversation did y'all have before you were like, OK, now we can let people know? It kind of just happened. It wasn't really like a conversation or nothing. It was kind of just like people was just seeing us together. We went to Usher concert or something. People seen us together. Then it was just like

that's it we out our rather than to should not be public though you would yeah I don't like the public relationship thing to be honest but you know it is what it is does it make you move differently because you know she's got the little mermaid she got like the clean image so you do yes something that might not not even like I I tweeted the other day and I just said, um, what did I say? I said, don't let the feelings get in front of the bag or some shit like that. Oh, I saw that. And then I looked and then I seen them like shade routines and like a bunch of other little

blog posts and uh-oh, they broke up. And everybody going in a frenzy. I'm like, I'm just trying to hit a million followers on Twitter. I'm just trying to get a relatable Twitter guy. But motherfuckers, they take anything I say and just think this shit bigger than what it is. So it's kind of annoying, but it's cool. What's the plans for a tour now? Working on it. Trying to see if I want to go on my own tour or, you know, open up for another artist.

So, you know, still working on that. You saying you would open for another artist? I opened up for Kevin Gates. Okay, but I'm, you know, it's his second album. Yeah. He's doing well. Yeah. So.

No, no, I do my own shit. That's why I'm trying to figure out if I want to do that. But, you know, if you got a huge artist come along and be like, you know. Like who? I don't know. Like who would you like if you had your dream tour? Shit. Don't say nothing, like, ridiculous.

But, you know, something that makes sense. I mean, shit, I don't know what makes sense. What you think? What realm I'm in, Angela? Let's see. DDG, who would I see you on tour with? Well, first of all, you and NLE Chapo already have music together. Yeah, that'd be lit.

And that would be good. The audience that y'all could bring. I feel like that would be a nice lineup. Yeah, that'd be dope. To see you guys together. Yeah, I'd do that. Kodak. Kodak.

Yeah, I fuck with Kodak. Heavy. My dog. Okay. Yeah. There we go. We put together a tour. Let's get this going. Yeah, that's that. Kodak. Kodak. Yeah, I fuck with Kodak. Heavy. My dog. Okay. Yeah. There we go. We put together a tour. Let's get the dates going.

Yeah, that's a good little tour. DDG, NLE, and Kodak. Well, listen, man. Make sure you get It's Not Me, It's You. DDG's new project. It's out right now, man. Tell them what to follow you and all that good stuff. Yeah, I can follow me on you know uh instagram twitter

everywhere ddg that's what it is ddg yes ddg okay he's trying to get to a million followers on twitter it's ddg it's the breakfast club Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete.

Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Marie. And I'm Sydney. And we're Mess. Well, not a mess, but on our podcast called Mess, we celebrate all things messy. But the gag is, not everything is a mess.

Sometimes it's just living. Yeah, things like J-Lo on her third divorce. Living. Girl's trip to Miami. Mess. Breaking up with your girlfriend while on Instagram Live. Living. It's kind of mess.

Yeah. Well, you get it. Got it? Live, love, mess. Listen to Mess with Sydney Washington and Marie Faustin on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, and I'm a scientist who studies human behavior.

Many of us have experienced a moment in our lives that changes everything, that instantly divides our life into a before and an after. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I talk to people about navigating these moments. Their stories are full of candor and hard-won wisdom. And you'll hear from scientists who teach us how we can be more resilient in the face of change.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.