The Breakfast Club - Ice T’s Unfiltered “Cop Killer” Story

Episode Date: May 9, 2023

Ice T joined me on That Moment with Daymond John and gave me his raw and candid thoughts on some of the most transformative moments that he faced throughout his career, focusing most intently on the moment his album was blocked by Time Warner (spoiler: even though that’s the public narrative around how it went down…it’s not accurate, and Ice gave me the full inside scoop on how the situation with his album Home Invasion actually happened) and what finally prompted him to become a devoted and fully committed father and husband. The stories Ice shared provide more than just a glimpse into how you can evolve as a person while also staying true to yourself, and listeners will walk away with so much inspiration that they can put to work in their own lives. As Ice explains in our talk, no one else wakes up with your dream, and it’s so important to lock that thought into the way you approach your passions. Tune in to That Moment with Daymond John to fulfill your true inner gangster and reframe the way you approach negativity!   Host: Daymond John   Producers: Beau Dozier & Shanelle Collins; Ted Kingsbery, Chauncey Bell, & Taryn Loftus   For more info on how to take your life and business to the next level, check out DaymondJohn.com and @thesharkdaymond on all platforms. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name QWAR. 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 podcast. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. country into a mafia state. Welcome to That Moment with Daymond John and I am Daymond John and today we are going to get

into it with the legendary Ice-T. Let's get into it, man. When you found out your album now was being blocked by Warner, how was the initial reaction? Tell me about the initial reaction. What do you mean? With the Cop Killer record? Yeah, well, you know, I know that they weren't going to put out anymore. You know, you worked hard on that album. And, you know, they they just said we're not going to back this anymore and i know that's not how it happened dame it didn't happen like that okay all right we made this song called cop killer i was on sire warner brothers and the record came out and it did phenomenal uh the album came out and went gold warner brothers was really excited about it. We actually had a party for the success of the record. And then we got hit by the fraternal order of police out of Austin, Texas, that said Cop Killer was the cause of this problems or drama. just like they're under siege now and somebody smart said why don't we just push the narrative at warner brothers warner brothers uh put out this record now they couldn't really get mad at

me because i'm a black man and i'm making you know noise about the corruption we've been dealing with our whole life but they were like warner brothers big corporation how can you allow this man This platform But Warner Brothers stayed down with me Gerald Levin who was the head of Time Warner wrote a big letter To the Washington I mean to the Wall Street Journal

And they backed me They backed me as much as they could It hit them in the stock You know stock prices started to drive And And what the problem was, what I was saying, they understood, but they're a white corporation. They're a corporation. They're part of the system. So now this is challenging them and their stockholders. Now, you got to remember, at the time, Warner Brothers had myself, they had Prince, they had Slayer, they had Sam Kiniston, they had Andrew Dice Clay, they had the Ghetto Boys, they had a lot of controversial, edgy artists, Madonna. And Warner knew that as soon as they allowed them to censor me, it was going to be a problem. And I went into a meeting with Lenny Warnaker and Mo Austin, and they broke it down to me. There was a big corporate table in front of me. And they said, I see, this is it. You're an artist on Warner Brothers. And the guy put a quarter on the table.

He said, you see the size of this quarter? This is how big Warner Music is compared to Time Warner. So you're a dot on that small quarter, and what you're doing everything they could to support me. So what happened was the next album I was putting out was a rap album, which was called Home Invasion. And when I went in there to do that record, when I turned it in, they had me come in and they had every word on the record written out in big letters on a board. They were going through every little thing. And there was some there was some sketchy lyrics in there i had a lyric said i don't give a fuck about a cop or a g-man they all talk shit their breasts smelling like semen i catch them in the alley all alone put them in the prone pop pop pop to the dome so i'm they like you're killing cops again, right? But I'm like, it's gangster rap, right? So they were so uptight, Dane, that I eventually just said, you know what? Let me go.

I asked for the release. I said, it's kind of like me and you are in business. And I'm like, my politics is messing with your money, but we friends. Let me go, man. No hard feelings. And I never had a hard feeling with warner brothers and what warner brothers did that was very cool the home invasion album was about a half a million dollar album to make they gave it to me they never recouped it they just said here good luck ice because you got to remember for so many years like 10 years i was the number

one rapper on that label they loved me they you know i had done nothing but bring them gold and platinum records six six consecutive gold and platinum records so they couldn't turn on me like that but i got them in a sticky situation and um that's what happened um a lot of people didn't understand the source magazine went after me said i i folded uh chuck d said the best he said those that aren't in the war shouldn't comment on the battles you have no idea what was really going on behind the scene but uh that was it but warner never really did low they didn't do low it was just a bad situation i uh um history is proven or history is reflected only the times that large corporations or any company turn their back on people i mean we do see nike will nike will stand on the side of what they believe is right even when somebody's kneeling they'll stand on that

side um and we can use them but i don't think i've ever heard of a music label especially a label that wasn't backed by like let's say a young person hip like you right like you i've heard of jimmy i've been backing you know and having somebody's back i've heard a couple people i never heard of something like a warner backing you um and that that's that's that's really rare so you know what it was name i don't think they were backing me as much as they was backing the back in the principle overall somebody yeah once they censor you yeah and if you notice at the end of it there was no more warner music at some point right the last thing was when death row was trying to get involved and ted turner came in and shut that

whole shit down but nah they they pretty much all the edgy groups left Warner Brothers at that time. And they knew that. They explained that to me. They're like, it's bigger than you. Where do you go after that, though? Because I'm trying to find out that moment. That moment you're saying you were doing well on there 10 years in. You had already, we'll get to the origin of when you decided to put that

gangster rap on an actual album and go out there. But where did you go right after that? What were your options? That moment when you were like, let me go. Did you already think, listen, I'm getting my guys in a sticky situation. I have other opportunity. Did you feel like, were you being, of course, courted by other people? Or was it like, I'm going to go do this do this shit myself like what was that moment in your life it was it was nerve

wrecking man because you know we i was red hot yeah you know uh the cop killer record even though it was in trouble it went it sold a million records every record up to that point ice tea was either gold or platinum so i wasn't on a down stroke but i was just like kind of like an out like people were afraid to touch me you know and um i basically went over to priority uh priority brian turner over priority Priority. Priority, Brian Turner over Priority, was familiar with the funk because he had put out N.W.A. So he was not afraid of it. He was like, let's do it. We'll do the home and...

I did two albums at Priority. What year was this? I can't even tell you the year. I know that Cop Killer shit hit in 92. Right. So it was probably 93, 94. Trying to drop another record. But Brian Turner put out the Home Invasion album.

Then he put out the Return of the Real album. And then later on, he put out the Gangsta Rap album. So I went over to Priority because they were not as as big a corporation and they didn't give a fuck. And then Body Count went over to Virgin because Virgin is a British owned company. And they didn't really give a fuck about American politics. They were just like, fuck it. You know, that's Richard Branson in there. Yeah, he was already a rebel himself.

He was already damn near in trouble for himself at that time, right? Right. Yeah. I mean, you know what? If you're moving records, it's not going to be a problem to find a home. I remember we went over to, when I went to Virgin, I went over there with my balls. I let my balls hang.

They were like, we were like, what do we want for the record? I said, I need a million up front. I need a million dollars up front. I said, don't offer me 300,000. I got to watch the cost 300,000. Let's talk some numbers. I said, give me the equivalent of the album going platinum up front. And if you don't think the record's going to go platinum, why are we here? Why why are we here i need to be someplace that knows you can move a million records because i've done it before and they leaned back in the chair and wrote the check so you know and that was my first really you know me me being able to negotiate because my warner deal was always in a slow increment because I'd signed, you know, a long-term contract.

Now I'm a free agent. So, and in them days, getting a million dollars for a record up front was big. Right. Big. Now these kids are getting 20 millions. But that was big. Let's wind it back because I want to know, when you were frustrated, you know, we're boys. I know that you served this country.

I know that also you was a bad guy. You know, you were doing what you had to do. When you decided at that moment to create your first single, your first song, can I ask you, what was going through your head around that time? What were the records that were motivating you at that time because you know me when i was coming up it was uh it was a rising to the top by kenny burke or it was um um public enemy fear you know you know fear of a black planet and stuff like that and i oh no rock him paid in full i'm driving my car going i'm gonna get paid in full right what were the songs of that time when you were first coming up and you were like this is this is and whatever you were doing you was on the car to go go and do something that we don't agree upon now or you was heading to the

studio when you were just you were frustrated or excited what was the songs that you remember at that time at that moment the most part well i first started hearing rap when i was in the army and um you know i went out of high school i went in the army and there were new york kids there from and they had the tapes you know before so i was hearing flash and i was hearing treacherous three and all that on cassette tapes and uh when sugar hill gang came out i was like i could do that you know i could do that because i've been saying raps for the gangbangers in the streets i knew how to rhyme so to speak and uh when i came back from the army my intention was to be a dj like uncle jam's army and you know do that but i got more attention rapping, but it was like Curtis Blow,

Furious Five, the groups that were out there. And then the first real superstar rap groups like Run DMC and people like that that came out, LL, of course, he came out before me. And those were the targets, you know? And everybody talk about the LL beef with Ice. Well, that was because he was the best. Right. And he was a solo artist, and I was a solo artist. So you have to go after the man. You have to go after him, you know?

The only way to beat a man is to challenge the man, you know? So I was rapping like that, like a battle rapper. Like that kind of rap was my first style but you took it to another level though you know because i grew up thank god with them and i remember and i remember clearly i you know we were i was a roadie on on the tours and i was on that tour uh pushing around speakers and trying to hang out with people and i was on that tour with ll and and fat boys and rock him and all that and i'd be very honest at time, some of the rappers were a little disrespectful when they got out of New York. Because New York, they thought that it was only New York.

The world was New York. So they would see people that look a little different with jerry curls and other stuff. And they would be disrespectful. They were like, yo, jerry curl, Curl put your hands in the air and then I remember we got to Detroit and there was a whole bunch of Jerry Curl dudes from LA and they were called NWA

and we didn't know much about them but these cats the police were throwing balls at them they were throwing balls at the police they had they had machine guns they had Uzis with them and all kind of stuff and i was like those jerry curl people with the mechanic suits on um um i'm afraid of them you know because the rappers in new york i mean you know they were talking a little bit of stuff

like yo you know like it it wasn't violence it wasn't um fight back it was kind of like a public enemy said fight back but it was kind of like the very much uh black panthers you know it was like we are you know we are going to uh we're going to police our own community but your rap was you know we're going we're going to police the police the way they're policing us and and what gave you that drive to be able to be that vocal? Because out of all the rappers you were talking about, maybe the earlier days, Sugar Hill Gang was very pop. Maybe the message was the one that was frustrating where he was talking about people pissing on the radio station just don't care. You know, what gave you that that anger or that that ability to say, I'm going to I'm'm gonna vocalize the streets in a way that very few people have and i don't care it really it really comes from not coming from a

hip-hop background like you know like growing up in la it's a gang culture so you understand gangs and you understand low riding and you understand how we had what the cali look was you dig so when i first started to rap of course i was trying to rap like new york rappers right but then i heard school ed out of out of philly he did a song called psk where he sung about the parkside killers yeah and i'm like he's he's rapping about a gang right and i was like that's okay and at that point that's when i turned that was the pivotal moment in my career where i'm like oh they like that shit right and so six in the morning what they call the first gangster rap record really is not the first gangster rap record is psk and then six in the morning i even

snatched schoolies cadence when he said psk we making that green people always say what the hell does that mean i said six in the morning police at my door freshly i even jacked the cadence but i took you on a ride through la you know hitting crenshaw first time anybody ever heard the street crenshaw rolling a blazer with a louis vuitton interior and getting jacked by the police and going to jail and coming out and that record hit dame that shit hit and i was like yo and it hit in the bay first it hit in the bay because I got a call to do a show at the Fillmore West, a very famous venue. And I said, OK, I'll do it. They called me back three days later and said, we want you to do a show at the Fillmore West.

I'm like, I booked that. They go, no, that's sold out. I'm like, what? And once I, you know, sometimes you got to find your identity another thing that helped me find my identity was russell simmons um i was trying to be new york i'm trying to dress i got the spikes on early like melly and i'm trying the rappers had a look and uh i was at a show with russell in la and and they just called me on the stage and that day i had on my street clothes i had on fila i had k swiss on i had you know my

perm and uh i went up stage and rapped and when i came off the stage russell's like that's your look i'm trying to look like new york you gotta look like la nigga you were la nigga you gotta rep the coast and um then ice t started to evolve into just being the la player and early my first two albums i didn't even rep gangster it's more like the player the hustler but when nwa came out and ice Cube said, straight out of Compton, crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube from the gang called Niggas With Attitudes, the press called it gangster rap.

Yeah. So I said, well, if it's gangster rap, I got two albums out already, then I'm the original gangster. So that's where the OG shit came from, me reclaiming like, OK, if this is what we doing, then yeah, let's make it clear. And, you know, it's just really reflecting what you see versus rocking the party.

Like, you know, when I tried to rock the party, it didn't work. You know, when I started talking about the street shit, I reached a large audience. And it was really my perspective at the moment. So earlier Ice-T music is a lot more negative as before I started to evolve as a man. I was kind of like right off the block. Just imagine if you took a kid right out of any borough, Queens, or whatever, in the projects he's hustling,

and if you put him in a studio and whatever he said happened to Ron, that's real raw gangster rap. You see what I'm saying? It's just magically at Ron and he told his story. That's what we were doing right out the gate. Let me go to that gangster mentality though because you know we can't help where we came from and that gangster mentality has seemed to have served you in various different ways so you used it in the form and i always said everybody there's only

two people to get the ultimate pass snoop and uh ice t you can get a a star on the walk of hall of fame and curse everybody out at the same time, you know, and giving love to obviously the people in the audience. But if you reflect on it, there's a certain way you can think about gangsta stuff. You can think about it as don't ever cross the line. Don't disrespect me because this is all I have is a reputation. And I'm going to have to defend that reputation because if I allow you to do that, well, then everybody's going to do it. Or it's a mentality of, listen, I know you to do that well then everybody's gonna do it or it's a mentality of listen I know you got dirty with me wanna I know you got a bigger priority and you

know I don't think that um I don't think I want to take you down that path kind of like you you know you walking down the block listen little homie I did this dirt by myself don't worry about I know you cool you ready but I I ain't gonna do that to you or when you and i you know we're kind of hanging out and chilling on our own and you're like listen i always talk to dick wolf and i bet you listen man just tell me what it is and i'm good you know what i mean we i've had a good fortune of going from being a cop killer to the longest running cop on television and uh the tv and everything is changing i I got you. You got me. I got you. Don't stress it. You have a form of dedication from a gangster way, but also you brought the form of, but I'm not going to bring you down that path.

I mean, you just let me know what it is, and we good when we walk in. You know what I mean? So that is certain. It's a code, man. It's a code that, you know, I was raised around a lot of ogs older than me and you know it's a code man it's like yo man i i got this i i did it it's my shit let me handle my shit you know like people talking about snitching yo if i did it i did it i'll handle i could carry my weight when i was going through the cop killer shit i wasn't pointing at other rappers but look at them they they're saying stuff too i'm like i handled my business but

you know you gotta have a little gangsters to survive in this business because the way that business is they'll fuck you they'll fuck you with the with the soft touch you know they and they will also challenge anything they think won't fight back they will fuck you with the with the soft touch you know they and they will also challenge anything they think won't fight back they will definitely you have as as a businessman you got to be like i know my shit don't play me don't play me a lot of time when i'm doing contracts with people and they're like well what do you want in the contract i'm like why don't you just send me one let me see what how you feel about me let me see your offer and why don't you just send me one? Let me see what, how you feel about me. Let me see your offer. And I don't know whether you a fuck boy or you really down with it. Like

I can read, I can read how you feel, you know, give me the offer. I I'm waiting to see how, how valuable you think I really am. So a lot of times, man, you know, this attitude. Now, my personality, this gangster shit, it's not really who I am. I had, you know, 50 Cent said it best. It's not how my mama raised me. It's how the hood made. All right. So you come into this business world real soft and thinking everything's good. They're going to fuck you.

They're going to fuck you. They're going to find everything you don't know and take advantage of it. soft and thinking everything's good they're gonna fuck you they're gonna fuck you they're gonna find everything you don't know and take advantage of it it's like if you're doing a record deal and they go okay your international merchandise you you know what you go huh they go fucking right there you know they say right there huh immensely they go right there oh we got them yeah they go oh publishing what about that huh oh? Oh, fucking my God. They're not going to explain to you what you're publishing. They're going to hit you every place you don't think they don't think you know.

But my boy used to say, they've been fucking us long enough. We should know how to fuck by now. Fuck by now. Fuck by now. Fuck by now. Fuck by now. Whether you're starting or scaling your company's security program, demonstrating top-notch security practices and establishing trust is more important than ever. Vanta automates compliance for ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, and more,

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off. 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 Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves. For self-preservation and protection. It was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace, 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, 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're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black 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. Exactly. Whether you're Black, Asian, White, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, this is Justin Richmond, host of the Broken Record Podcast. Every week, I or my co-host, Leah Rose, sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. Now we have a special series where we speak with the artists behind one of the most influential jazz labels of the 20th century, Blue Note Records. You'll hear from artists like nine-time Grammy award-winning Noah Jones, John Mellencamp and Madonna collaborator Michelle Indegiocello, and from the legendary Ron Carter, former member of the Miles Davis Quintet, who's also played with Herbie Hancock, and on Gil Scott Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Join us over at Broken Record to hear stories behind the legendary label. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

So, y'all, this is Questlove, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey y'all, Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. 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 is 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

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you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't think it's I think it's just the streets translate to business very well well can I can I you know because a lot of a lot of people are going to be trying to move their career every every day somebody's affair getting canceled whatever but let me ask when is that not worked for you um you know this mentality and have you ever said i went too hard or i didn't know what i didn't know i mean can you do you can you recall any times or that moment when you said you know what maybe i should have gave them another chance but i had i had developed such a hard shell that they weren't trying to fuck me but i thought they were i mean or or or listen somebody could have been trying to fuck me, but I thought they were. I mean, or listen,

somebody could have been trying to fuck you and you regretted it at the time and you reflect and seeing what they did to other people after you and you were like, yeah, you know. Not really. I'm very smooth. I'm very smooth.

When I deal with people, it's always a soft touch and I make sure the people around me have a soft touch. That's the biggest problem, my crew. Like the guys I got working for me, they not as seasoned in this as I am. So, you know, even you're scary like you know don't be like that but no i mean no i i i've learned a lot i've been in a lot of rooms with people i've dealt with you know big heavyweight executives and they're gangsters yeah you know they're the way they handle business.

Like I always say, like in business, the trick is, like me and Dick Wolf's relationship is we make the deal. I stick to the deal. That's it. There's a moment when we get to negotiate. We go back and forth. Nah, I think I'm worth this. I can get Brad Pitt for that.

Come on, man. You out of your mind. But come on, man. This, that be kidding me. But come on, man. This, that, and the third. Come on. I'm the only black man on the show. I might throw the race card in there. I'm trying to get paid.

Right. Right. All right. Wow. But then after we come to that negotiation and it's done, I stick to the deal, and so does he. That's gangster. I don't come back halfway in the middle of the contract wanting to. No, no, no, no, no.

So he knows once. I told you, Dick Wolf said, iced tea is the least pain in my ass, the best compliment I ever got. Because, you know, when you have employees, the person who's the least pain is your favorite person. You know, the one that's always coming with problems and ideas. Man, come on, man. You really close to the edge. You think you're doing a lot, but you're really about to get fired because you're driving me fucking crazy. So, you know, my boy, one of my other boys said the only thing gangster about Ice-T really is he does not back up well. I like that.

I don't back up well. So, in other words, everything's cool until you tell me what I better do then nah because like you said once I allow that I might as well let you do whatever you want to me I might as well let you move in my house you know what I'm saying like there's got to be a point where and you got one too where you like nah now not now now you're gonna cross the line now and you know other than that i'm fair game i play game fair well well you know your history is coming up as a as a really vocal music artist and various and you know i don't really know what the real deal is i mean i you you know, I've been told you're a pimp, told you this, told you that.

And then you change your lifestyle. It alters a little bit. And, you know, our wives are friends. And you change to be just becoming a new dad again, taking that path. Beautiful wife, very dedicated dad. What was that moment when you said, I don't know i feel like change i mean you know you didn't change immediately you were ready for change to be the guy that we know now um very beloved as a father a husband various other things and no longer i mean you're a gangster

at heart so it's very hard to explain ice but that moment of being calm in your career you know going on and being an actor but the meantime being on stage your shirt off doing heavy metal some shit over here and then you know being on the players ball which i think that's my favorite role of ice being on the players ball um play hating yeah yeah when did you get that form of like being just really comfortable whatever you did and being a dedicated dad because i know i know the story when you know so when you decided to to you know to to to be that person with coco i know you gave her the phone and and said any any any young lady call you answer this and i know you know what you

you say it better than i do what was that that moment when you gave her the phone and said, boom? Well, like this has been a long transformation, you know? So the first transformation was leaving the streets. When I started making music and I got a little famous, I just said, man, I'm done. I can't break the law no more because, you know, now all eyes are on me. And I don't want to get any of you guys in trouble. But how about you thinking not keeping it real i mean we just we just seen what happened to gunna and all these dudes who they were making all this money but you know now they got rico charges and they probably go

into jail until um you know i don't know until aliens come down and start rapping well there's a difference between fame and infamy when you infamous you don't nobody knows your name you like low key and like i said if if everybody in the street knows your name so do the cops so i had been able to duck them and when i decided and finally started making a little record money of course i went broke but that was a career change i made because now i'm doing interviews i'm meeting people you can't do that and go out and break the law. And my other book, I had this chapter called Too Famous to Steal, where I went to do something and steal something. And some kids came out of the house and wanted autographs. So I'm like, what the fuck is going on? Wait a minute.

Hold on. You went to steal what? You was already famous. You was trying to steal something. Yeah. you was already famous you was trying to steal something yeah i mean you know you don't really get no bread to your first second third album so i had a porsche and i was trying to uh get a part porsche and um my boys had stole a porsche and i didn't want to pay for it and they was full of shit about getting the part i needed i'm like where's the motherfucking car at where's the car i'll go get it fuck that so i got a ratchet set i got my boys i walked through this apartment building i walked through this apartment building i pulled a car cover off the car i'm in

the car still in the park part probably cost like a thousand dollars i'm i could have paid for it i was just you still had that mentality why pay for it right i wanted plus i was showing my niggas i knew i was still good with my shit right but when i get in the car all these little kids come walking out the motherfucking house and they like i see i'm like i'm in the car like oh shit so now they mothers and stuff come out and i'm taking pictures in front of a g in front of a gta i'm standing there taking pictures because they saw me in breaking or some shit and um yeah it's funny now so then after they all left they thought that was my car i had to call the homies like yo this car can't be here in the morning get get right move this fucking car but yeah that's a chapter in one of my books called too too famous to steal but long story short now i made this transition i'm going through all this

music and stuff like that uh i left my i i was with my ex dararlene for like 15 years, never got married. And when I came to New York, we broke up, you know, usually when you break up with a woman, you really broke up a year or so earlier. So we were, we were, we were together, but we weren't really living like that, you know? And what finalized when I came to New York to do Law and Order, it was like, okay, might as well stop playing this charade out for my son. Let's just cut it off. So then I was single out here for a couple years, didn't dig it.

I didn't dig it because, you know, it's just an illusion, you know. It's always when you got your girl on your arm, all the girls are fine. As soon as she gets off your arm, these bitches change. They transform into all kinds of other scary looking things. You know, it's just something about being single. That's not as fun. It's just,

it's a weird war. So when you're young, it's cool. Cause you'll fuck anything. But when you older and you refine your taste, you know, you ain't going to see that chick you want walking around by herself. It's just not,

I think, you know, I think that is a greeting call. When you're young, you'd fuck anything. You know, I think you should write cards, man. When you're young, you'd fuck anything. When you get a little older, you ain't gonna see the shit you wanna fuck. You know, I think that's pretty, you know, you should write greeting cards. I think that's that moment. But let's go into, let's go further. You refine your taste. Yeah. You refine your taste. So I met Coco. Now, when I was going after Coco, I was watching a lot of the Osbournes, Ozzy and Sharon.

Right. And I was looking like, would Ozzy have a mansion if it wasn't for Sharon Osbourne? Like, this woman is running all the tours, running all his business. Doesn't even seem like Ozzy would know how to pay a phone bill. Ozzy is something different, right? But he's wealthy because he got a woman to hold him together so i'm me personally i could get money but crossing t's and dot nines is not my thing it's not many artists things that's why artists have business managers because you know you you my business manager you send me in the studio da da da da send me over

here send me over there i will get money but somebody gotta pay the taxes somebody gotta yeah you know that ain't what we want to do we just want to make the money right so i told when i met coco she was fine i was like told her i said yo i mean i'm not really just trying to get another number in my phone i'm really trying to find somebody that wants to ride. And she dug the flyness of me. She was a chick. When I met her, I had on a red snakeskin suit. So she was like, ooh, that's fly.

See, some girls want soft niggas. Uh-huh. And some girls want real niggas. Mm-hmm. You know, a soft nigga, nigga they like i'm not even into you you ain't got no bass in your voice some women want a man man so she was like yeah yeah like put me in my place you i like that shit you know what i'm saying you know some chicks i don't know they emasculate niggas but that's different they won't even fuck with

us they did they just already know that nigga ice is too mannish right funny story whoopi goldberg was talking about coco one day and she said yeah coco that she's a dope sister and they go sister they said uh whoopi you know coco's white she said coco been dealing for 20 years with ice teasT's mannish ass. She's an honorary sister, god damn it. You know, dealing with that nigga. So anyway, when we got together, I was just like, yo, are we

going to do this? Are we going to do this as a couple? And she was like, I'm down. So I had a phone at the time and I'm like, here, so i had a phone at the time and i'm like here take it start answering the calls and anybody that calls up just say who you are and take the message at that time yeah i was out in the street but i didn't have no chicks that could lay claim to me they were just chicks you know what i'm saying so when they got the call she's like hey what's up is this ice

no this is Coco oh okay well maybe they might hang up maybe they might tell her to leave a message sometimes I got the message it was such and such but you know when you out in the streets and you you're a player that girl is calling from atlanta she ain't talked to you in a year she's just checking in you know we're going to miami y'all gonna be in miami you know that bullshit i don't know what you're talking about yeah yeah right so anyway coco cleared the house uh in a beautiful way but then she would also take messages from my niggas. So I would get messages like this from her. She's like, baby, Trigger said he left some bullets in the car. Or the funny thing is, like, they would call,

and it would be like this. Yo, yo, what's good? What's happening? What's happening? She'd be like, oh, this is Coco, same nigga. Hey, Coco. What's going on? the same nigga's voice would change when he would talk to her so you know it's been good now we've been together 22 going on 23

years that's good man and uh it was a smart move you know it was a smart move for me you know this dating scene anybody knows out there it's toxic and it's full of landmines and uh you know i got the fuck off the field before i caught a body did you find balance and that's interesting because she's so she's she's one of the as you would say i say too she's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet right and yeah well she's not trying to be this trying she's just who she is and did you find that that kind of difference change your perspective one thing that you know not really I never really dated a white girl before you know so my thing was like you know I've been around white girls I've worked with them and stuff but as far as actually being like in love and all that, that was different for me.

But, you know, I always say I'm a player. I don't really care. You know, if a Martian bitch dropped down and was saying the right shit, I'd be fucking green pussy right now. You like Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk would do it with anybody. Bang everything in the universe. My partner, my pimp buddy, Rich, said, man, you just look for a bitch that could understand what the fuck you be talking about. You just need

somebody that could comprehend. You need comprehension, my nigga. So I was like, no, Coco was dope, but I think I always say this, and I say this in a weird kind of way, but Coco and I are like

like, like like like like the exact same thing but turn into a woman and a male so think of it like this right okay uh if my gangster was feminine it would be sexy right a woman's power is sexy being sexy not being like a man she would be sexy right so that would result probably in a big titty blonde right that and if her gangster was male it would be a nigga a gangster so it's it's like we're very alpha of each side of the spectrum. You feel me? Like she's an alpha woman. I'm an alpha male. And also I think like you and your wife, the trick is you have to find someone who matches your energy.

Now, if I go out by myself, I spin the room. When I walk in, that's iced tea. That's iced tea. Right. Well, she spins it too. She spins it on her own. So therefore, we have equal power and we are a good couple. If I'm with a chick that doesn't have that same energy, my energy intimidates her.

Like, why you got to take pictures with all these people? Why you got to do this? Why you got to do that? If my wife is with a weaker nigga, he like, why you got it if if my wife is with a weaker nigga he like why you gotta wear that you gotta you look too you know you're dragging too much attention so you gotta have a both people have to be very confident in who they are just like you and your wife you know who you are she knows who she is that's why y'all you know we've both dealt with chicks that are insecure we both dealt with you know so it's it was a lucky lick

you know and uh i was in my 40s when i met her so you know i'd done everything a nigga could do i remember i told my boy i said yo i'm thinking about getting married to coco it's like nigga you don't have more sex than a football team. Nigga, your time is, bring that shit home. Put that shit down. Nigga, like, what are you trying to do? And I'm very happy. And now with my daughter, our daughter's about the same

age, I quote Muhammad Ali, he says, when a man has a child in the second half of his life after he turns 50, it's like it resets him. 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 Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself, and leaning into

her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves. For self-preservation and protection, it was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace, 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, 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're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black 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. Exactly. Whether you're black, Asian, White, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters,

and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Justin Richmond, host of the Broken Record Podcast. Every week, I or my co-host, Leah Rose, sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. Now we have a special series

where we speak with the artists behind one of the most influential jazz labels of the 20th century, Blue Note Records. You'll hear from artists like nine-time Grammy Award winning Noah Jones,

John Mellencamp and Madonna collaborator Michelle Indegiocello, and from the legendary Ron Carter, former member of the Miles Davis Quintet, who's also played with Herbie Hancock, and on Gil Scott Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

Join us over at Broken Record to hear stories behind the legendary label. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. What's up, y'all, this is Questlove and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast.

Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records.

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. history to life through hip-hop. 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.

Hey, I'm Jack Peace Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. Thank you. behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of Black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's like it resets his life it made me want to live forever it made me create new goals because you got bread you could start slowing down yeah but nah not that new baby that new baby and it's the best gift i could ever get. I see how much you love your daughter.

I think the difference with Chanel and my other kids is I'm very conscious of this baby. Like I had my daughter when I was in high school, I was ripping and running. So it was presence over presence. I wasn't there. Yeah. You know, same way. Same way same here my son my son ice happened right when i was becoming iced tea you know i've never been famous before this was a whole new thing so i'm distracted by that just becoming chanel i'm comfortable i'm in a cruise pattern i was there when coco was pregnant i went to the the hospital and she now still sleeps in the bed with us, you know? So I'm so much more connected to her than my other kids, but it's been a beautiful thing. You know, I really, I took away a lot of stuff here. A lot of, a lot of,

a lot of, a lot of gifts really. And there's a lot of things that a lot of hidden gems in there and and obvious gems i mean i never thought of a i think of gangster being a big titty blonde i mean you know okay uh yeah i get it though i get it you know what i'm saying because that that could be gangster big titty blonde big titty brunette big titty whatever little titty whatever i mean you know barbara corcoran always says only got big titties, put pigtails. I got to say, when you talk about young ice and you're advising a lot of the younger people coming up now who look at you, and you pretty much have done it on your terms.

It hasn't been easy. A lot of people were against you, and it wasn't really done before of what you've accomplished in regards to being very true to your upbringing. What would you say,

what is your go-to in that moment when you have to make critical decisions and you say, do you trust your gut? Do you say, I go back to codes you know what is your kind of your thing that leads you back to the fundamentals of ice and no matter what he's not going to break these and i don't give a shit if i lose everything i'm not going to go against this um i i never i would never betray my friends you know i would never you know i'm not that guy you know and the only person that can betray you is somebody that you trust you know so i wouldn't

i'm not that guy um i don't know you, I run into lots of issues. I like to sleep on stuff, you know? I like to, like, if something is difficult for me to answer, I'm like, give me some time. Let me think on it. A lot of times I'll wake up the next day. And I was noticing a lot of times things we stress off, sometimes you just need to make the phone call

and just get that out of the way like just that postponing it that anxiety of it isn't usually as big as the actual issue once you get to the people and you talk and get that over with but i just really i just don't fuck with bad energy no more. I know what bad energy is. I know when you're out to do wrong and you're out to do bad things. I just don't do that no more. I don't even entertain it.

Do you entertain people around you who are not putting the energy towards you, but you hear them talking about other people? They all got that. I can't fuck with them. So what happens? Because sometimes that's family. Sometimes that's people who I tend to cut people off after years.

And I look at the list, you know, at the end of the year and I'd go, this person is not a good friend to themselves. They're never going to be a good friend to me. Or maybe I don't mess with them and there's something wrong with me. But whatever it is, I can't change that. I don't like them. And I just kind of, you know, I let them know where we're at, though. I let them know, hey, I can't mess with you on this level or that level. Or I, I tell them, I'm clear. Cause I don't want to be, I don't want,

I don't want no misunderstandings. What do you do about the people around you do that, but they're not, they never do it to you. Managers, lawyers, friends, colleagues. They say, if you can't change some of your friends, you have to change some of your friends, you have to change some of your friends. So I, I don't know, pretty much I got my shit down to a skeleton crew.

I'll keep it 100. I got it down to a skeleton crew. I got a very, very few people that I really fuck with to where, you know, I'm going to return their phone calls. If they call me, I just don't fuck with people like that. Like, a lot of one of my homies is like,

Ice is your friend? Yeah. Has Ice ever called you? Hmm. Has he ever called you? Did you ever pick up the phone? He's like, hey, man, how you doing? Okay, think about that for a minute, right?

Like, does he call you? I don't think... My dad used to tell me, if you can count your friends on your hand it's a big thing it's it's very it's very rare that you have people that you really let into your real world like you know like i know grim's your man i know certain people those are people that are inside yeah yeah but those people that are inside are the ones that can hurt you the most if they go left that's right right. Because they have the access.

So you just have to be very cautious. I don't know, Dane. You know, you're right. I think it's your gut. I think by now your gut is very seasoned and you can feel it. And you just try to learn from your mistakes. You make mistakes and you like, I mean, you know, I didn't even doing business. I just did a business deal with some people and they came in and they act like they had a lot of money.

And then halfway through the deal, they ain't had no money. And I was like, I was like, we can't even sue them. They broke. And so I told my partner, we cannot deal with broke motherfuckers. Before we start, we have to make sure they can handle what they claim and they can handle. So these are lessons. These are lessons. But, you know, I don't know, man.

I don't know what makes me tick at this moment. I just really just try to, like, keep it positive and keep, you know. My thing is I've never counted on anybody else's hustle. I think that's my success thing is I've never counted on anyone else but me. Right. And that's the scary part of it is right now. I'm trying to get into other businesses. I'm trying to get, you know, we're starting a dispensary. I'm trying to find things that generate money other than myself.

Because what if something does happen to me and I physically can't get it? Right. You know, but I have to learn about those things because I've always been the person that generated the money. And yeah, man, I just, I don't know't know man it's hard to say man i think you just have a code you have a it's really your character it's like what is your character is your character a good person or your character a shady person or a slick person and you know i don't got no ops i don't got nobody after me i don't have no no negative energy like that i don't want that shit it ain't worth it it's not really and you

know i think i can vocalize it as well i mean you know i i agree with so much of what you've said but this is about you and me trying to go down that rabbit hole with you and get that thought process from you going but i think it's the same thing you know after you've been through so much all these deals and people that come to you when it's a rush right it was always a rush hey cannabis is hot this year let's get it slow down so oh wait crypto is hot this year come on come on i need you to sign this you know oh i need you to do this like you know and if there's so much of a rush and you can't go home and think about it and then all of a sudden why was it so much of a rush and you can't go home and think about it and then all of a sudden why was it so much of a rush also yeah you know it's not necessarily the deals that you you don't do that hold you up the deals you do because you get into the deals that these people don't necessarily have money

because it's funny right a lot of people will come to you me and the people listening right now and they go oh we're doing all this we're doing all that we're doing that but we ain't got no money for you because we want why everybody else got paid why everybody else got paid what are you you doing all this and that you know you know i like to do they go you know i was gonna take this over to diddy i was gonna take this over i'm gonna take it to you for no no no no take it to them take it to them you know but i think i think that it i think what it really boiled down to is the your gut you know because you know yeah well one thing i like to say also with me is that i hold friendships dear you know so i i'm friends with you i'm

friends with dr dre but i like say dre dre but i never talked to Dre about music, right? You're on Shark Tank. I've never talked to you about money. We don't talk about that. So I get around somebody like, you know, Damon John. Oh shit, you should get him there. I'm like, look, see, that's why you can't be his friend because that's

not what he does. If you're friends with somebody like Dre, he wants you to come over and play Xbox and leave. Just be his friend. If something generically happens, that's great. But I like people for who they are and just have friendships. And that's hard in this business because everybody's angling. Your boy will come over over and at the end

of the night after you done had fun drank here comes a pitch you like yeah you that's what this whole thing was about this pitch you got for me like come on man take it easy i don't know it's different different people see things different ways you know and so i i see things my way and you know i always say i think at the end of the day, Dame, what really matters to me is my legacy. Not the money, not none of this shit. Because when you're gone, you're just going to give the money to people who are going to fuck it off because they didn't have the acrimony to get it in the first place. So it doesn't mean they're going to have the acrament to hold it. They're going to fuck it off.

The only thing that really you leave is your reputation. If you are a great man, when people meet your daughter or your wife, they go, oh, that's Damon Johns. People, okay, let them through. Like my son is in LA. This nigga telling me, oh, I got

juice. You got juice? How the fuck I got juice. You got juice? How the fuck you got juice? You telling them you little ice and they letting you through the ropes. That's your daddy's juice. You got, you know, but my daughter's in Atlanta. When she says who she is, people treat her like a little queen or princess. That's what's important to me.

My legacy. princess that's what's important to me my legacy if i leave here as a great man or a good man then everyone else gets to live off of that not the money it's my rep at the end of the day our legacies is more important because that's what our families are going to live off of that's what you know your your wife your kids and on and on and on and we just had to be careful because they try to scandalize you or do something, ruin that. And that's more important to me than anything else. So, you know, I've just got to be careful and cautious because they, they hate to see, you know,

especially black men become successful and pull it off and leave, you know, on a good note, you know, and that's what my thing is about, you know, on a good note, you know? And that's what my thing is about, you know? So I'm very careful and trying to stay, you know, straight. So my kids and my wife and anybody who represents me can be proud. Right. Well, listen, man, I always learn something new

when we hang out, and I love the fact of going down this kind of history path of that moment, the moment that, you know, you realize that you were famous and you couldn't no longer live the life that you were living, even though you didn't have necessarily the money at the moment that you had to deal with, with the decision of facing Warner. And or you were going through the moment of, you know, meeting your wife and changing your life, the moment of moving to New York and, you know, moving away from your, you know, who you're with. So a lot of decisions had to be made in your life, man. And I'm glad you took the moment today to share it with us.

And you always inspire me. A lot of times you're just telling me things that I didn't know if I did the right thing or anybody else felt like I feel, you know, as I'm still trying to learn and grow. So I appreciate you spending this time with me, man. And thank you for being on that moment. Hey, you know what?

At the end of the day, man, you know, what I learned is that it's always going to be you. It's on you by yourself. There's not a group of people to help you when shit goes wrong. It's going to be on you. And in closing, I try to tell everybody, nobody wakes up in the morning with your dream. Whatever you want to do, you could think you've got partners, but nobody wakes up thinking about what you want. And the only way it's going to happen is if you do it, because I could be on the sidelines. I'm helping you, but I don't wake up with your dream.

That's your dream Alright That's true thank you brother Alright peace Dame I'll talk to you soon Alright you got it Alright And this has been That Moment with Dame and John

That Moment With Dame and John is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show. And don't forget to subscribe to the show and rate this show. You can all connect with me on any social media platform at The Shark Damon as in Raymond with a D. 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 for 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, I'm Jacqueline Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, your podcast. to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Listen to Black Lit on

the Black Effect Podcast Network, 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. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist 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.