The Breakfast Club - Ice Prince Interview

Episode Date: April 21, 2015

Nigerian artist, Ice Prince stops through to chat with The Breakfast Club about the rap scene in Africa. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay.

Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop.

Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different, inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it.

And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a moment. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman,

1974. George Foreman was champion of the world. Ali was smart and he was handsome. The story behind the Rumble in the Jungle is like a Hollywood movie. But that is only half the story. There's also James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Miriam Akiba. All the biggest

black artists on the planet. Together in Africa. It was a big deal. Listen to Rumble, Ali, Foreman, and the Soul of 74 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Real people. Real celebrities. Real talk.

Join the Breakfast Club. Black stuff in your head. Weekday mornings, 6 to 10. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy Angelou. He's Sholom in the guide. We are the Breakfast Club. I'm blasted off in your head. Weekday mornings, 6 to 10. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy Angelou. Yee, Sholom and the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Special guests in the building.

All the way from Nigeria. The Ice Prince. Ice Prince of Money. Bang, bang, bang, bang. How far? What's up, my brother? I'm good, man. Now, America may not know who this guy is, but Nigeria does.

You're one of the biggest artists in Nigeria. By God's grace. By God's grace. Word. If you had to compare it to somebody here in the States, who would you compare it to? I hate to do that. I hate to come up with those scenarios,

but I would say... He said, I hate to do it, but I'll do it for you. I would say the Ice Prince of the world, man. It's hard for me to put myself with somebody out here. When I met B-High at Roc Nation, he said you're like Drake or Kendrick That's what he always says Shoutouts to Behi

That's my big dog That's been holding me down out here You know, that's what he always says What's your relationship with Roc Nation? A very healthy relationship Is it like a management thing? Are you in talks with them? We in talks, yeah

We having serious conversations at the moment And Behi I see pictures on your Instagram with moment and be high yes yes yes I met up with ho man was a moment in my life as a first time I mean me in such an idol somebody now in New York here at the Roc Nation office and I saw Charlamagne 2 that day you know what I mean and be how I brought me to the office introduced me to Jay told him who I was he said hi it was a decent very decent high conversation I mean he said to me I'm a great man like that's

something I'll never forget you know quite interesting now why do you think American music is embraced so much in Nigeria but not all over the world you guys are bullies and stuff we don't embrace a lot of music from other places. True. Not just Nigeria. True. Why is that and how do you break through? I think, I guess it's just what it is. America is world power, right? Like the present America is like the present of the world.

So the hardest, the most popular chef in America will probably be the most popular chef in the world. Right. But I feel like America is still starting to, you know, open up to other genres of music. I see reggae music is popping out here, and that's dope. I see some of the U.K. artists are popping out here, too, and that's dope. I think Africans need to get that air, too, you know.

It's starting to translate, though. Like I said, when I went overseas to DJ, when I went to South Africa. I know you've been to South Africa a few times. A couple times, yeah. And it's like, I mean, you could play American music, but you better have what's popping out there. Oh, no, yeah, definitely, man. When you come down.

I put my songs in my laptop, you know what I mean? Hell, yeah. Because you got to play it. Because if not, you'll be rocking for a little bit. But then when it's time, you can do that music. So it translates a little bit, especially with the DJs. No doubt. And I see Wale is trying to do some Nigerian-influenced yes you guys are friends it's really exciting i mean i've i've done a

record with him before i speak to him once in a while he's he's a big dog too that holds us down out here he's been repping for a long time now he's from nigeria though right he's from nigeria yeah how what does the music seem like in nigeria though like for you did you feel like you had to leave and go other places in order to get huge? No, I've never had to leave. I still live in Nigeria. I just travel a lot. I'm just, you know what I mean,

out there a lot because Nigerian music has gone to a point where it's really, really blown now. There's a huge market. Artists are starting to make a lot of money,

you know what I mean, from the business. There's a lot more bigger shows. There's corporates coming, getting involved. Telecom companies are getting involved and stuff like that. So the a lot more bigger shows. There's corporates coming, getting involved. Telecom companies are getting involved and stuff like that.

So the market is getting bigger every day. When you first started, it was... When I first started, well, I came in in 2010. I'm part of the new school set that came in when the industry was already, you know what I mean, enjoying those new school benefits. But you were in a group before that?

I was in a group, yes. I was in a group, yes. I started in a group called Echo Morgue Squad. Echo what? Echo Morgue Squad. What is that? Echo Morgue is like the military, the West African military force, the body, the military body that,

you know what I mean, guides West Africa, pretty much called Echo Morgue. And when I started on the group, it was three of us, and all our dads wear a uniform. My dad was a cop. The other guy's dad was a military man,

a soldier. And the other guy, his dad was an Air Force man. So we just wanted to put those names together like that. It seems like you guys really support each other in Nigeria. Like, I see Wizkid will big you up. Yeah. Is it really all love?

Hell yeah, it's all love, man. We love to see each other successful. You know what I mean? So if a McNeil throws a tweet at David O, the whole Nigeria is excited about it. Explain to people what Nigeria looks like because I had the pleasure to go to South Africa and it is totally different than I thought.

Actually, when I go there, it feels like it's, I would say, like a L.A., Maryland, D.C. Yeah, because the perception of Africa. Real, the clubs is dope. It's dope. But I was talking to a couple of you about this. The images they've shown us of Africa all these years are the kids with flies on their face. Unfortunately.

Yeah. Unfortunately. I mean, Africa is really, really beautiful. It's really, really beautiful. If you haven't been there, you can only be as ignorant as anybody else who hasn't been there. But like you said, South Africa is crazily nice. That's probably one of my favorite places in the world, right next to Nigeria. And Nigeria is beautiful.

It's hot all year. It doesn't get too cold like that. And we love it. You know what I mean? You don't wear no minks out there? What's that? Make coat. Furs.

Nah, nah, nah, nah. Nah, we don't really do that. It's hot all year. But my city where I'm from in Joss, it gets really, really cold. So you can throw in a fur there and you'll be cool still. How do you feel about the white rhinos? The white rhinos? I don't feel nothing about them.

Nothing. It was in the news today about the white rhino that there's one male white rhino and that it sucks. The white rhino. I just had to play safe with that asset because I haven't seen that in the movies. What are you talking about? This is inside the truck. I didn't see that. The white rhino did what? There's a white rhino I guess in Nigeria that is...

In Nigeria? In Nigeria. What part? No, that can't be Nigeria. Sorry. Nah, we don't get white rhino for Nigeria. All of you think it's Africa. It is Africa. It is Africa?

Yeah, yeah. The white rhino is the only male white rhino left. And they're secured at 24 hours, seven days a week. They just make sure nobody kills it. That sounds like Asia, bro. It's the last white rhino. Yeah. Wow. Maybe you should Google that and make sure.

We should have a buffet without white rhino. We should all cut it up and eat it up, man. Now, what is a mining city? I read that you grew up In a mining city Yes In my city There's a lot of like

Mineral materials Under the ground You know what I mean Like tin Tantalite and stuff Like that I guess Extracted And exported as well

So I come from a rich city man Joss Nigeria So you're saying You were rich growing up No I wasn't rich I wasn't born poor I wasn't born rich

It's in Kenya The white rhino's in Kenya Kenya Kenya Oh boy I had to google that Shout out to him Shout out to Kenya Okay yo

I mean Kenya is another Beautiful place with a lot of You know me Animal reserves and stuff like that So yeah I wouldn't be too surprised But you just said that You grew up

You were fine at first Until your father passed away Yeah That's when things got a little rough for you Well yeah Okay The story of life I mean my dad When he was alive I used to go to school You were fine at first until your father passed away. Yeah. That's when things got a little rough for you. Well, yeah. Okay. The story of life. I mean, my dad, when he was alive, I used to go to school in, like, sirens and stuff like that

because he held a big position with the police force. Got you. I was going to ask you what he did because I read the same thing. You said your life was rosy when he was alive. Yeah, my life was rosy when Pops was alive. But, you know what I mean, when he passed away, a lot was on my mom. And, you know, typical, I'll take typical was alive But you know what I mean When he passed away A lot was on my mom And you know Typical I'll take typical

African story You know what I mean She went through her struggles And we just We just went You know what I mean From a 10 to Like maybe a 7

I'll say Now what's Alright listen What's the typical African story Cause here in the state If something like that Was to happen

A lot of guys Would turn to the streets Probably start hustling To make it Yeah man To be the man of the house. What did you have to do? I mean, we have those instances as well, back home as well.

People get on the streets and start doing other stuff that might be legal or illegal. For me, nah, we're not big up on that. Nah, that's not really a part of our thing like that. But I just focused on my music. I couldn't afford tuition at some point. You know what I mean? I just became a studio rat and I started living in the studio. So listen, you know how they got D-Boys and Trapstars here.

What do they have in Africa? We have guys. We have dudes, man. We don't really do those clicks. You don't categorize. Nah, I don't categorize. They don't sell dope? They don't sell weed?

I mean, you can find that. You can find some good stuff I mean the street life I mean it's not all about drugs we love to party our people love to party we love to go to the beach you know what I mean we love to house music is a big influence there house yes in South Africa in the south the southern part of Africa your house music is quite big boy where the area where I'm from Nigeria West Africa we're big up on afrobeat a lot you know I mean and we've been able to cross that over to the UK we artists like the bond you know what I mean West kid yeah and we just got a stage at South by Southwest.

Yeah, that was the reason we actually came. It was amazing. It was amazing this year. You know what I mean? They had artists from Ghana, from Nigeria, from South Africa, and we mashed it up, yo. We mashed it up crazy. All right, let's get back to the street talk now

because y'all be having to walk around. You like the... Y'all be having to walk around with security detail. Who's the security for? For yourself. You got security for yourself. I'm saying, who are they protecting you from? I mean, sometimes when you...

Back home, when people stop you on the street as a celebrity, it's not necessarily because they want to get a picture. It might be they want to... Rob. Not rob. You know what I mean? It's not rob. They just want a piece of you

you know i mean either money truly or a snapback or a t-shirt or whatever whatever they want to take something from you it's not robbery it's love actually and they want that but sometimes you don't want to give that you know i mean you don't want to be walking around the mall taking out your t-shirts to give somebody oh you mean they want your clothes yeah literally like literally they'll they'll want to take something from you It could be anything A nice souvenir They could walk up to you Like I bought your watch

I'll follow I'll follow And you know when the street is Asking you for stuff like that You can't be a jerk And be like Nah you can't You gotta give it up

You can't We have a spirit of love back home So you know We spread that too We don't have that spirit here No you guys No no no I'm just saying

You know what I'm saying The craziest thing I had to My sneakers Like The craziest thing, my sneakers. That's how I put one-on-ones on stage. So they could be like, that's a nice jacket because that is a nice jacket. Can I have it? No, but they don't do it like they're mobbing you. It's love.

They come up to you with so much love and with so much joy on their faces. Yo, that's a dope jacket, my G. Let me get the Ray-Bans. You know what I'm saying? Let me get a piece of that. You know what I'm saying? How did your parents piece of that. You know what I'm saying? How did your parents react when you told them you wanted to be a rapper? My dad had passed away when I started making rap music.

I know he probably wouldn't have accepted or allowed me to do that. But my mom was very supportive from day one. I remember she paid for my first studio session ever. Wow. Yeah. So she's always been a part of, you know what I mean, me getting in the studio and me working with artists. And I'm glad she saw always been a part of, you know what I mean? Me getting in the studio and me working with artists.

And I'm glad she saw my first song came out, my first single one came out and blew up. She saw that whole process of me becoming who I am today. What was the name

of that record? Ole Cool. Future with Brimal. It means hard. It means strong to death. Oh, my friend. My penis is Ole Cool. My dick is ole cool

Why are you looking at Envy And saying that I just looked around No you looked Right at Envy No my friend Nicky I was telling you guys You guys are actually fun

You guys are fun fun fun We watch you guys From all the way back My friend Nicky Is from Nigeria I had texted her And told her she was coming And she said that was

Her favorite song Your old friend from Nigeria Yeah she used to be our intern Olanike Olanike Olanike Olanike shout out to Olanike who do you listen to

in the states that you enjoy I listen to everybody man and right now I'm a big fan of Drake I'm a big fan of

Big Sean right now with the new album that just put out you know I mean I'm on that crazy and in

Macmillan as well I'm a big fan of Macmillan I mean I had a opportunity he brought me out here last year for out you know what i mean i'm on that crazy and mcmill as well i'm a big fan of mcmill i mean i had a opportunity he brought me out here last year for a summit in philly i rocked with him for a little bit very very amazing guy i became a very very big fan how'd you meet me you know what i mean um i got introduced to me by some of my good friends out here mutual friends that we got i know a guy called nigel of the you know what i mean they called the leaders of the new afro they got a click and make I'm Nigel knows me Nigel knows me yeah Nigel is in the building actually I am

so Nigel you know a lot of Nigels yeah no this is the real sound I do you know what I mean what would your parents have wanted you to be? Because you said your father would never prove that you'd be in a rap. My dad would have probably wanted me to be like a doctor or some stuff.

You know what I mean? That's the normal stuff. Got you. Yeah, an engineer. Just those basic stuff. I saw you recently were in a studio

with Roscoe Dash. Does that mean you're doing it with him? Yes, I did a record with Roscoe in ATL. He invited me to the studio when I was out there

like two nights ago and we rocked it out. Dude is amazingly talented. Yeah, but he ain't hot no more though. But he's amazingly talented. But he ain't hot no more. I don't follow hot. I just follow music. I follow the art. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

Now, who is the most exciting person that you've met? Somebody that inspired you in hip hop and you were like, wow, I can't believe. Am I a bogger? I need to Google that name. Yeah. Am I a bogger like well I can't believe am i a bugger I need to google that name yeah am i a bugger that's my mentor am I a bugger am i a bugger no am i a bugger yeah here's my mentor he's the first person I got signed for my clique, and he brought us up. You know what I mean? He literally taught me how to rap, how to make music. Oh, he's from Nigeria?

He's from Nigeria, too. His brother, too, is another amazing artist, Jesse Jags. You know, they pretty much taught me how to put music together. So you were the youngest one and the last one. Yes, I was the lad in the clique. Were you a little nervous? Like, man, come on, make sure you don't leave me behind. Not necessarily. I just always wanted to just learn from them and, you know what I man, come on, make sure you don't leave me behind. Not necessarily.

I just always wanted to just learn from them and, you know what I mean, grow from that. And that's what it's been so far. I'm seeing more and more artists come to South Africa and Nigeria. Now, does that mean more? Because, I mean, as a kid, I'm sure it was. It was far and few. I think everybody right now has been to Nigeria. I mean, is everybody going to Nigeria?

The flights are cheaper. I don't know what it is. Everybody's been to Nigeria. And I know a few artists from out here that are in Nigeria almost every December, almost every, you know what I mean, now and then. And it was exciting. We love to have American musicians out there too. Now people always, you know, nowadays, if you've never been to Nigeria,

you're ignorant to Nigeria, the first thing you think is Boko Haram. Unfortunately. What is that? Unfortunately. I mean, it's a terrorist group that... It's like ISIS in America.

Yeah, exactly. They were disturbing the peace. I mean, it's a little bit calm right now. You know what I mean? Nigeria just got a new president. We just elected

a new president. Congratulations to my country and my new president. What's his name? Mohamed Buhari. General Mohamed Buhari. Okay. Yeah.

He used to be a general. And anyway, he is a general because they say once you're a general, you're always a general, right? Yeah. So he's the new president and we just pray that that stuff goes away completely.

And what if a rap group came out from Nigeria called Boko Haram? Ah, Denogu Blue. Jungle Blue? Denogu Blue. That Blue? Denogu Blue. That's Pigeon English. I need to put you on some Nigerian, you know? Yeah, I'm trying to learn.

Yeah, man. What did you say? Denogu Blue? Denogu Blue. Denogu Blue. They not gonna blow. Oh, okay. Got you, got you.

They not gonna blow. It's not happening. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. We have this thing called Pigeon English. It's like our own patois. You know what I mean? It's the Esperanto from Nigeria.

And we just break down the English It's called broken English Ole cool Don't look at me I want to put my Ole cool I want to put my Ole cool penis In your tooth Can we get you To spit some bars Before you get up Out of here today I don't mind

Let's go That would be interesting Let me take you To some Africa A little bit Yeah Boy you have to Pay attention

Because I'm going To mix English And pigeon in this Again Boy I may not Think of that Man getting busy With me

When it's not Back to back It's been a long time Me been schooling Cats how to rap. I been about my bullets getting loaded out the cataracts. Yeah, we drop the hottest shit and yeah, I do it back to back. Yeah, I drop a bookie and a VIP after that.

But what you gonna do me with my niggas while I laugh a lot? Like, OMG, this boy, them I talk a lot. Niggas think they're crazy like they're smoking packs back to back. Can I take that one more time? Oh, yeah, that's a little lackadaisical, man. Can I do that one more time? This is, that's a little lackadaisical man. This is your first time. You're on American Radio. They gonna be looking, they gonna be ready to say you wack.

You gotta bring it. Let's do it again. react to that and get a seizure or a heart attack. I'm tired of this bullshit and all the crap. I ain't trying to prove a point that I can murder raps. If I control a nap to put your ass into an order nap, I'll put your ass to sleep and show your girl that I was all of that. Okay, okay, okay, you're vexing. She be, you knew this, you see we don't do sweat scenes. Mind them, I sleep. Mind camouflage, flexing.

And then the parasin, I'll be crossing my neck slim. It's goons on the left, goons on the right right Goons in the club, goons everywhere, brother man Go, girls on me phone, girls on me home Girls on me WhatsApp Make a bad man, I lay low You too cool, Ice Prince, man, you too cool My name Ice Prince, bro You sweating, throwing your shade, bro

My name Ice Prince, bro You too cool for school Pretty much That was the song that won a Hennessy competition? That was the song that won a Hennessy competition? That was the song that won the Hennessy competition. No, I'm asking, didn't you have

like a Hennessy competition? Yeah, that was in 2009. I won a Hennessy artistry competition in Nigeria. You won a BET award as well? Yes. In 2012.

What would mean more to you, making it in America or Nigeria? I mean, you've already made it in Nigeria. Just making it in the world, man. Just being heard in the world. I like, you know what I mean?

Like, I want the world to listen to my music and understand where the melodies or the stories are coming from. I don't want to be boxed as being in one box. You know what I mean? I'm an artist from Nigeria. I represent Nigeria. I represent Joss and Lagos.

But I'm a world musician. I make world music. Who are some people that you would call your dream collaborators? If you could do some songs with people. Oh, man. I would say Jay-Z. You know what I mean? Number one.

That's the biggest fish. You better get your Nigel to get him on the phone. Of course, man. I mean, Nigel knows the bosses. He knows what to do. But we appreciate you joining us, and we want to come over there. You got to invite us out there. Definitely.

Being from Africa, you know, when you see how police officers gun down young black men here, what do you think? And are you concerned? Because you are a young black male. Yes. I feel like we're at that point in the world where we don't need to even be speaking about stuff like that no more. This is 2015. I feel like the world is advancing to better stuff to,

you know what I mean? Like, we've gone past that years ago, you know what I mean? And it's sad to hear stories like that. I mean, I would like to

advise against it. And now we're leaving this world, pretty much. Alright. Alright. When are we coming to Nigeria, man?

I'm going to put you in Nigeria as soon as I can. You know what I mean? Next time you do a huge show, you got to invite us out. Definitely, definitely. Me and my man are talking already. Absolutely. And you know what I mean? Next time you do a huge show, you gotta invite us out. Definitely, definitely.

Me and my man are talking already. Absolutely. You know what I mean? Nigerians are asking me questions about you. I like you to come outside by yourself when you get there. Come outside by myself? Come answer the questions by yourself when you get there. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't even know what that means. You told me to come outside by myself. No. See, you need to keep up with my

accent. You walking around security. I'm definitely walking around security. I'm trying to balance the accent so you know what I'm, you know what I mean? You hear me completely. Make sure I don't give nobody from Boko Haram donkey of the day. No, never that. Never that. Never that.

It's the breakfast club. It's the ice prince. You already know. Bless. 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. 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 best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Niminy here.

I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone.

The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different, inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. Get the kids in your life excited about history I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a moment.

Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, 1974. George Foreman was champion of the world. Ali was smart and he was handsome. The story behind The Rumble in the Jungle is like a Hollywood movie. But that is only half the story.

There's also James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Miriam Akiba. All the biggest black artists on the planet. Together in Africa. It was a big deal listen to rumble ali foreman and the soul of 74 on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast