The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: 2 Chainz Opens Up About Purpose, His Father & The Voice In His Head

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

Today on The Breakfast Club, 2 Chainz Opens Up About Purpose, His Father & The Voice In His Head. Listen for More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We are the Breakfast Club. Lawlerosa is here as well. We got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed. Two Chains. What's up? What's up, man? How are you doing?

Good morning. Good morning. You and the family came ready to be cold. Listen. I love you. You were just waiting on your little. No, no. I'm just saying.

Because I watched the other interview. You can't get one in. He was so serious the whole time. So, you know, I rock with your foolishness. I mean, yeah, we were, we just left an AAU circuit with my son. And we was in Cincinnati, and they said it was going to be cold there, but it wasn't freezing. But when we came to New York, it was cold. Today is the only day, too, because the rest of the week we're getting like 60, 70 degrees.

So today is the only day you can wear that. God bless you, because it's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. New book, The Voice in My Head is God. I want to ask, what was the intention by? behind the outfit this morning. Because in the bury me inside the Louis store chapter, you say every outfit has an intention.

So what's the energy other than it was cold? That's the energy today. Okay, okay. And it's like, where can you wear, like, the hat and, you know, I can't get this off in Atlanta, so this would be the place. And I don't live in Canada, so this would be the place. The voice in your head said, get that off. So you're going to rock this shit.

Yeah. What's happening? The voice in my head is God. New book that's out today. Make sure you go get it. if you haven't got it yet, why was it the time to write this book? I just think that success without reflection is just noise. You know what I'm saying?

Success without giving back is noise, so I'm feeling successful. I think when you live long enough to experience scars, when you've won enough to have the wisdom, you know, then it's time to write a book in my personal. opinion. So growth, maturation, me, you know, talking about, are you talking about God in this book through my personally experiences, you know, so I just felt like after you do, for me, I've done the albums. I've shot my short film and I'm just ready to take more creative risk. And so this doesn't feel like a risk because I feel like this could, this could motivate someone. This

could help someone. It's not generic. It's not cliche. I hadn't seen any other artists talk about, you know, intuition in the book space. So just some, you know, I wanted to,

I want to see one thing. The biggest thing, everybody takes a different part of what they feel that they get out of the book, right? For myself, is your relationship with your dad. And the reason I say that is

I have six kids, and I'm always very, intention of what I say to my kids, right? Because there's a line between being a dad and it is a line with being a human being, right? And I'll explain. So with that relationship with your dad, was there, I know your dad moved in with you, was those tough conversations to have from the start him being incarcerated to even at one time when, you know, when you got into that incident in Alabama and your dad said, well, go get a gun and go handle it yourself.

You know, how would those conversations have? because I'm sure you wouldn't tell your kids that same thing, or would you? That's a good question. You know, I think everybody in here have lived through different eras. And, you know, I'm from the boys don't cry era. You know what I'm saying?

I'm from that that's weak, that's soft. My dad would say numerous amount of times that he don't think a woman could raise a man, but he wouldn't be there. You know what I'm saying? And I turned out to be, I mean, I can't change oil, change tires and stuff like that. You know what I'm saying? Like somebody might consider some man stuff.

But I've cut the grass and done stuff like that as y'all know recently. So, I mean, when I think about it's like he wasn't there to teach me certain things that a man should know. And I learned a lot of things on my own. And, you know, he was my first hero. He's my first somebody you look up to whether he was incarcerated or just, me hearing stories about him and me just realizing that that DNA is inside of me. So what I passed that on, I think I broke that way of thinking. I think it stopped with me, you know.

I'm very, you know, I'm not lenient to why I'm like, man, you can cry anytime you won't, but if my son needs to cry about something that's bothering him or hurting, I'm not like getting all over him about it. So I think it's just timing and where we're. are in life right now. I don't know how you are with your kids, but I'm a little bit more sensitive to my kids than my father was to me because he wanted me to be

tough. I hear stories my aunts tell me like, if I would cry, he didn't want nobody to pick me up. I don't have, like, it's some baby pictures, but like all my baby pictures, I'm sitting somewhere, my mom beside me. She's not like holding me. Like, you know what I'm saying? One of the pictures I remember is like at a beach, I'm sitting on the hood of a car. I'm like, not even

one. And my mom got on a bathing. And my mom got on a bathing suit, she's right beside me, but it's not really like a picture of someone coddling or anything. But I mean, I'm okay with that. What did you learn about your own feelings throughout the whole experience with your dad? So being able to spend time with him and moving in with you to his passing because you talk about it very stoically at first and then you talk up, and then you, we actually get to hear you talk about finally being able to cry and being able to like kind of get in tune with yourself a bit.

Yeah. Well, his last, his last, his last few years, like I talk about it in the book, excuse me, he's getting out of prison. And, you know, he's in his late 60s. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know. He might have been 70-something. So when I go get him, you know, that's when I had a conversation.

Like, man, you ought to move with me. Like, this is just crazy at this point. You know what I'm saying? And the last time he did, Tom, he was probably two or three years, but I just felt like it was time. I had my first child, and I had a house. And so, you know, I remember stopping and getting him, he wanted a suit. And then I remember stopping up a rise, and he wanted a phone.

And he had some money. He had a little money put up, you know, somewhere, and we just talked. And he said that he would, you know, he would, you know, think about it. And he ended up eventually just, you know, staying with me, which was really cool. It was like we started building that relationship. You know, I was so fond of him from a distance because, you know, when I was young, we got separated. So just being in the same house,

me learning his little crazy ways and his sarcasm and everything. And so, you know, after he started getting sick, I was going, I was starting it like, this was like 2012. My dad died in 2012.

My first album came out of 2012. I was just so hot at the time. And so Keisha would tell me like, man, you know, your dad didn't eat the day or you need to do something. She'd just tell me, you know what I mean. And he was somebody that didn't want nobody and know he was sick.

He like such a man. He don't want you to know he's going through that, which is ridiculous. And he went to the hospital one night, you know what I'm saying? I end up going up there with him. I end up staying with him. I end up staying with him for like a week or two, you know what I mean? And I have shows that I end up counseling, but I had this one particular show in Savannah, which is like, I don't know, a couple hours from Atlanta.

And I'm talking to him. And I'm like, I got this show in Atlanta. You're going to be cool tonight. Yeah, yeah, I'm going to be cool. And then he says, you know, dope man, my role model. I had a song called Dope Man, My Role Model, My Mixed. So he's so sarcastic I'm like, bro, you're straight, you know what I'm saying?

He gives me a fist bump and says, Do it big, Epps. That's our last name. I said, okay, cool. I go to Savannah, I don't even get the room. I come back, when I come back here on this breathing thing, I see him, like, boom, but I see him, he's like looking at me. I feel like he's looking at me, you know what I mean?

Why he on this breathing thing? And he keeps trying to take the two by his throat, and they keep saying, like, if he takes that out, he could die. That part was crazy. You know what I'm saying? So if he take that out, he can die. Now, rewind this, I just got my part from prison.

So they're saying the only way that he cannot take it out is if they handcuff him to the bed. You know what I'm saying? So I say, okay, handcuff him. And then I get to thinking, like, something is telling me, like, he don't want to be handcuffed no more, you know what I'm saying? So he handcuffed to the bed. He's looking at me in his, you know, his breathing. And I say, all right, man, take the handcuffs off.

Take it off, man. He don't want to be a handcuffed. But soon as the handcuffs come out, he'd come to try to take the, and they tell me, if he take it out, it could scratch his, yeah, sobbing his barns. And so, I swear to you, I do that four times. Okay, put the handcuffs back on. Take the handcuffs back off.

Put the handcuffs back on. And it's like, he's just, he's not looking straight home looking to the side like this, you know what I mean? So I try to hold his hands myself personally. Like, you know what I'm saying? No, chill. You know what I'm saying? Just chill,

chill, he keep, you know, and then, you know, a couple days after that or not even a day after that, you know what I'm saying, the beep started going off, you know what I'm saying, by me standing with them, and the nurses,

I'm able to run, go get the nurse, you know what I'm saying, check it out, and they, same thing, four times. Boom, boom, boom,

they hit them, bring them back. Thank y'all nurse. They walk out of the room. Man, look, man, don't you be doing, run out again, boom, boom,

do that. The fourth time, Now, they put me out the room, so I'm looking through the little window. And so the fourth time, the lady come out, and she says, you know, I lost my father too. If he come back now, he'll be brain dead. We already broke two ribs.

You just got to let it go. And I was like, that's easier said than done because he just told me, not only did he tell me to do it big, he told me before I went to Savannah, I'm not going to die no time soon. It came out of his mouth, and he never told him that lot. So I'm like, what happened from the time

I went to Savannah and came back? Anyway, that's something that I want to say haunted or traumatized me. I know you're big on therapy or whatever. And like this book is my therapy. Like certain things I do is my therapy. I hadn't actually sat down with someone. And I'm not against people who do or who have. But is it traumatic seeing your father pass?

It could be, yeah. But then like a few years later, I had a son who reminds me so much of like how he moves and his sarcasm is well. So I don't know. I got two questions based on what you just said. Did reliving that for the book make you cry again? Because you said that was the first time you remember crying. I mean, I cried so hard when that happened.

I was listening. I think I even, I'm trying to think what song I might listen to. It was a song. But not when I was doing it in the book. Because I'm just, I didn't cry while writing the book. I think because I've relived that so many times. It wasn't like I buried it. and just brought it back up.

Like, I relive my part's passing in front of me. You know, I've done that a few times. I think when you, and then also I see now me talking about it just becomes easier to talk about. You know what I mean? When you keep stuff bottled, you know, whatever. And when you said when Halo was born, in the book, I got to see the picture.

I just got to see the picture. You said there was a-you-you-got-you-you-got-it-you-got-you-you-got-you-old. Yeah, but I don't be trying to, I can show you, though. I don't want to see the picture. You said it was a picture of your father, the alarm went off in the house. All right, so don't even tell the story. I'll just show you the picture. It's hard to discuss this book

because there's so much that you want people to read and see for themselves. Oh, he just gave away a whole chapter, but it was worth it. Yeah. But it was worth it. So this picture, all right. Explain what's what's,

all right, so let's talk about it. All right, so let's talk about it. So my son, HALO was born 10, 14, 15, right? Me and Keisha was in the hospital, and my mom and my two daughters was at home and they were in our room in the master bedroom. The alarm went off at home

while Halo was coming. The alarm went off. Same time. While Keisha having halo, the alarm going off. And my mom is asking me, what's the past word to tell the alarm people? Because it's saying motion in the house or whatever. Now, my mom was on the phone saying,

I swear, and I'm looking at the cameras and I don't see anything coming into the, I don't see the doors. I'm looking at all the doors. Mom said, I hadn't left the room. So I don't know why the motion is going off. Artillery code, it goes off. We have Halo.

We come home. All right, we're getting our alarm updated. And then Keisha looks at her email. And when you have motion, it takes pictures. It takes snapshots of what the motion is. Okay. When we looked at the motion, you can see somebody. You know what I'm saying?

And it was my father. Now, my father left in 2012. This was 2015. You can see an image. So, people that I'm close to, a couple of my friends, I'm closer, I'm showing a picture. I'm like, who are they? Like, that's part right there. I'm like, look at the date.

And, like, my friends began big old chill goosebumps or whatever. You know what I'm saying? My father used to walk around the house, like, with his shirt off, he was in good shape to be 70. Like, he wasn't, like, fat and sloppy. He was in the arm, and so he had something. But I'm going to find, and so another thing about this, and, This is my personal opinion.

He's so sarcastic that when I used to try to show people, I could not find a picture. So I gave a picture to Keisha. I said, Keisha, when I try to show people, it make me sound like I'm crazy, I don't have a picture of Keith from the boat on. So we go to Florida one time. I'm not even looking back there.

I know she knows. I go to Florida one time. I only got the picture of them I can't find it. What happened in Florida with Keisha? You remember? Did she she? Anyway, her phone fell in, we was, she probably don't remember this, but she does remember this when I said this,

but we was on a boat, we got off a boat, and then her phone down there fell in the water. And when her phone fell in the water, I said, damn, I don't think about the context. I'm like, this is my proof. This is my proof that goes surreal or whatever, you know what I mean, boom, okay? So I get to looking, because I know exactly when the date was, I know when HALO was born.

I pull up the picture again. So now I got it. So I give it to my cousin I'm always with. Yeah, outside. I gave it the cat. Like, I'm like, cat, you keep this picture. Boom.

So this is, this is, this is, I go over the, back in the day, I go over to the Yeh house, right? And I'm telling him the same story. I'm like, bro, this has happened to me. I'm trying to tell him what happened. And this is, man, you know, I'm the coolest player in the world, man. It's like, fooled around. It's like lemonade, you know what I'm saying?

I can't find a picture. So I say, cat, cat with my tongue. Come in, man, give me the picture of my so I can show while he'd give me

the picture, bro, I would knock over a big thing of lemonade everywhere on everybody, like, you know what I'm such a player.

I ain't never done nothing like that. You know what I'm saying? In my mind, I'm like, this how my dad is. He's like, be on some joking. So you got me looking crazy here.

I don't waste lemonade on everybody at the table. This ain't even nothing I do. You know what I mean? But anyway, that's another story. Let me find a picture. All right.

He'll go right here. Let me see. I email myself. So at one loop, okay, this is not. What cat at? And why he's looking up the picture, why he's looking up the picture? If you order the book on two chains.com, you have a chance to win courtside seats? Twochainsbook.com.

Oh, two chainsbook. Go to two chainsbook. com. I do got a sweepstakes for people. They can sit next to me at a horse game. Oh, don't. Yeah, you know, I'm courtside. I'm very close.

I come in through the owner's lounge. It's a whole experience. I do have this little side note, this disclaimer. Women, I'm going to be smelling good, I'm going to be looking good. If you have a crazy man at home, articulate that to him. Men, I'm not going to be talking through the whole game. Right. We can talk, but I'm going to really be watching the game.

I hope a rapper win. I hope somebody trying to make it a rap video. Listen, I'm trying to like. You got a picture. With somebody that sit next to you, sing all your songs the whole time. See, can you get that picture? Because, you know, I'm trying to show them, and you know what's going on. Ha.

Pop up. If you see anything. Hell, yeah, I see something in the picture. Oh, wait, only he. No, he got him. Probably. Yeah, he got it. No question for you, right?

See, Charlemagne, believe you, by the way. Yeah, you can see Charlemagne face. You know, I ain't happened. But the reason that, because that happened to him in Prince. He took a picture. This is a big. This is a spirit. I know, but he took a picture.

He took a picture to disappear. Are you okay when I've seen it? Okay. Oh, wow. That's a whole person. Yes. I thought it was gonna be like not, it's so clear. That's how he used to walk around his shirt up.

Wow. That's him walking through the kitchen. Wow. So I know you're saying the book too that you feel like until you had your son, your dad hadn't crossed over to the other side. That's my assumption, right? Well, this is my mom. My mom is super, super spiritual, right?

So she was probably like, you know her. Like, he probably come to fuck with me before he, you know what? Probably coming over there to fuck with me. You know what I mean? That's how she kicked the light before he left. So the voices that you were hearing there, because I know you have been hearing voices in your head and hearing God for a long time.

Do you know which ones might have been your dad because he was there with you? Or it was the God connection that you have, you hearing God during that time? So this experience right here, when this happened, this would have been 2015. I'm not even sure if I was fully committed to just giving the voice, it's credit.

for my success. Now, that's why I say, when you ask me when it's time to write a book, it's like I've lived and had enough experience and trial and error with listening, not listening, moving through fear, moving through ego to let you know, like, this voice,

they gotta be God. The reason I call it the voice of God, because the voice would be like my intuition. It'll be my alignment. You know what I'm saying? That's with the voice, but when I say God, I know everybody's not into God, but I had to give the credit to somebody higher than myself. You know what I'm saying?

For this superpower, whatever the hell. Like, for me, I got a real picture of my dad three years after he passed. Like, this is not something. And it's my first time ever, ever talking about it, feeling comfortable, talking about it, showing somebody that I feel like understands, like, a deeper meaning of, like, spirits and everything. Because I don't fully understand. my father

you know you see they'd be like people come to you in dreams people you know do stuff like that I can't say that he did that you know what I'm saying but I can tell you that I do have a divine guidance in me that helps me make decisions whether it's business decisions relationship decisions whatever it is and it's a voice that could probably be too noisy

to certain people but I well that voice. So this book is, I put this book together to help somebody and to motivate somebody to shut down the outside noise. And this is also for anybody who's ever said, like, something told me, like something told me to get this job or where this hat or whatever it is. It's like, is that something told me thing. You know what I'm saying? Is that, or something told me don't go to this place and this happen. Or something told me don't, whatever it is. You know, and we've all said when we missed the flight, well, that's God trying to. Maybe I wasn't supposed to get on it.

You know what I mean? So why can't that inner dialogue be that? Why, why if they say God is inside of you and why can't your blessings come from within on how you are on the surface? You're a positive person on the surface and your blessings come from within. This is my experience. This is my opinion. When do you trust that voice, though? Because you talk about in the book many times when you didn't trust that voice.

You heard it and you were like, nah. You got to be, you got to go through the experience, right? To see, like. What was that moment for you that said? I need to start trust in this voice. I don't want to use like a tragic experience, but like the voice comes before something happens, right? So it's hard to like pay attention

because you don't know what's about to happen. Alabama. You know what I'm saying? Alabama, my Calais experience, these different experiences that I had, I felt something. I did. I put this on everything.

I felt something. Something told me, you know what I'm saying? But you know, I'm saying. You don't have a crust of ball in order to see it. So that's why I'm using all these experiences in the book to tell you, like, how I listen and maybe then fully, you know what I mean, digest what was going on, or when I did, and that positive outcomes that came from them. You know, I woke up sometimes to be like, something told I need to do this today.

You know what I mean? I do that a lot, actually. You know what I mean? And it's just a message. I'm just trying to bring to people. You know, the book is about God and you first recognizing that voice. To me, it's also a love letter to your mom and your pop. So when did you first recognize God and them?

Mom, church going and still go. Just went yesterday. Mom, yesterday. I checked on her. My pop, when he was in prison, he wrote, which helped me come up with the title two. He used to write God is love on the back of his prison letters. And one day, I took the ears out and I put an equal sign like God is love. So I was like, it just made so much sense to me because if it's a bit of it.

it's love there, then it's God there. That's what I think, you know what I'm saying? And if it's hate there, then I can't be God. And that's how I decipher what that voice was. So, yeah, I've had that kind of spiritual upbringing. Like, I'm from a praying family, you know what I'm saying? I encourage my kids to pray. So it's something I believe in, and I talk.

I pray before my show. I pray before I rap at night, bro. I just, you know what I'm saying? I just be praying sometimes. I be praying on stage when I'm killing it. I look up, man, thank you know, thank you, man. You know, I ain't nobody, you know what I mean? Because it's just certain oral you get when you tap in, you know what I mean, for real.

Now, he said you always wanted to write a book, did you think that it would be this? No. No, but, you know, most artists, they do an autobiography, and then they talk about how they just have nothing to eat, you know what I'm saying? Artists are the poorest, you know what I'm saying? Nothing. No education, no nothing.

Yeah. No, I finish high school. I have a college degree. I don't be on none of that, you know what I'm saying? And I still have my struggles that I deal with. And so when it was time for me to do the book, I wanted to be in my own lane like I do with anything else, if y'all notice.

I don't fall in over really no trends. I'm so comfortable in my skin. It's scary sometimes. I know you said you don't need therapy, but you've been in some real life traumatic situations. You just named two of Alabama. The Cali one, I didn't even know it went to that. Yeah.

Where he was standing over you and all of that. I don't know why I never heard that part of this story. But how did that impact the way you move like now? You know, now I'm going to say something cliche. That means I'm here for a reason. You know what I'm saying? That's something cliche. But it really does, though.

Like, I'm in my 40s. Just got my physical a couple weeks ago. No cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure. I work out three times a week. At A.U games, I rap at night. I eat healthy. Drink a lot of water. Don't get enough sleep.

But that's like something I can work on. But, you know, I'm just, you know, I'm in a, I'm in a good, I'm in a good place. You happy? Yeah, I'm happy, man. No PTSD, no stress, no, no, nothing. Not that I know of, like, I don't have any. I did take psychology in college, and I loved it. Like, when I got in psychology, it wasn't even my major.

I remember changing to the major life. Maybe, like, I remember finding out something about myself studying the actual course. You know what I'm saying? And so with me, the therapy aspect, you know, I do have, like, some little triggers. I do have triggers. But I want to say I'm kind of. conscious of them and I'm probably doing some self-evaluation you know what I mean I hadn't sat down and really like kicked it off I don't know I'm not against therapy though I'm not against

therapy but I have went through things and I've gotten over them and I've moved on and I went through some dramatic stuff too but I just feel like God when you I feel I believe so much in God that I just didn't then let that hold me back I didn't let it bring me PTSD I ain't like man you know what happened to me I'm crazy like I ain't want to be on me you know what I'm like people be needing excuses to be told you know man you don't even know man I was you know and I ain't on that you know I know that you see that you deeply grounded in family came here with your family how did you know that your wife Keisha was the person that God intended for you something told me something told me she was the one he's used to write um she still does but she's you know I said this

I sometimes she used to go to church and she used to write notes And I was like, okay. And like real, like, they're in the PowerPoints type stuff. Like, or what they was talking about in the church. So I like that she was God fear, and I like that she was just a natural, beautiful woman inside and out. And, you know, having somebody like that in the industry is like, or being in the industry and having, you know, somebody that you care about is like not the easiest thing to navigate. So you got to just, you know, for me, just keep on the pedestal and let her know that she is mine. want for me.

How do you separate divine guidance from just wanting something really bad? That's a good one. My question is easier than that, yeah? Yeah, you ain't. You're working, though. You get it. But they're good. The divine guidance.

Keep going. Keep working. You know what people do you like, they just keep on. Keep trying. Keep trying. Look at your paper. Just keep going. You almost finished.

The divine guidance, I expect, or if you just want something. So if you just want something really bad, is that, are you saying, like, manifesting something? You know, you have something in your mind that you want, right? Like, I want this goal. I want to accomplish it. But that don't mean that's what God wants you to be doing. I believe in speaking things until it exists. I believe in manifestation.

Now, if you want to do something that don't got love in, I believe, like, he don't got nothing to do it. I say God is love. God equals love. So you might want to be on something that ain't got nothing to do with love. He's not going to answer the phone for that. But if you want something and they got love attached to it too,

I think he'll answer and listen. I mean, you already know what's going on. So that's my personal. Because I have one or something and then. Another thing is we have to teach some of the youth, the difference between needs and wants. I think they got it like some of it confused, you know what I'm saying? And it's a difference. So how have you always

because every interview I watch with you, and I know we talked the culture come before too, I feel like That was good. Thank you. No, thank you. I feel like every time I listen to you speak, even when you were younger, it seems like you always understood the difference between your needs and your wants and separated the two. How did you have that so young, like doing so many different things from college to

finish streets, to rap? So I'm going to tell you another pop story. So pop, my pop used to go in the store, he used to steal. And then he used to get mad at me because he would just stop abruptly. And then I would hit him in the back of his account. he leaves with like the buggy. When I hit him in the back of the leg with the buggy, he'd get mad as hell. And so then I get like 30 feet away from him.

And then we'll get in the car and he'll start taking stuff like out of his sock. You know, the long sock and he put stuff on his gym. And then he told me, he said, he told me, kids don't listen to me or my pops on this because now I don't make, when I listen to it don't make sense. But he said, still. steal what you need, not what you want. And so he would go on the store

and steal things that he felt like we need for the house, whether it was toilet trees or whatever it was. You know what I'm saying? It wouldn't be like snacks or gum or nothing like that. That makes perfect sense to me. Yeah, but you don't want people to think, man, I need this watch, you know what I'm saying?

Because that's why I say they don't know what needs and wants are. But my pop, so for a long time, I used to steal stuff you know but I was standing in line with a pack of gum on everything I love I'd just be like

I'd just be waiting to pay for the gum you know what I'm saying but if it was something I needed I already had a problem like I really needed I'd take that and couldn't afford it I would take it

you. You think reading the book right do you think God gave you the plugs yeah honestly not God so you bet on the trape

dog was blessed in the trap niggins you think God gave you He was like, it was a blessing got to plug. God gave me this plug. I'm like, because the plug could be,

how have you got this job, whatever. I ain't talking about that plug. I'm talking about the plug. I got opening up so many doors for me, but yes, I got it. And so many people that do what I do never had a plug. And they'll tell you how miserable their hustling experience was. Once you get somebody that you can call.

And this is just, once again, this is my, these are my theories. Right. You know what I'm saying? But I'm not looking for a plug. I find this guy. that essentially helped change the way I was moving and living up to now. Well, it was a little finesse in one of your plugs, man. Yeah, it was a little finesse.

A little finesse when you come home to home me for him. Yeah, that was finesse. Yeah. That was finesse, but it was a sign of intelligence, too. It was a sign of intelligence, right? Because I'm able to, I'm hearing what's going on. And I know how important it is to have one, because at this point I already had a plug. So I'm hearing like, so I didn't even take buddy plug.

That's just kind of like what coming the street. I never was like a person that robbed anybody. You know, I ain't robbed. So, yeah. I won't say this, though. The reason I do agree with him when he said for him, for him, because he was the weed man. Yeah, I was a weed man different than like the other guys

that's telling the hardship. The weed man, the weed brings you love. Yes, you know what I mean? Yeah, weed man, man. And you know how it is you? I mean, you get a feature. I was smoking weed with the artists. When you're coming up and you smoke,

you're like, man, it's pretty good. Let's rap. Things can happen, man, you know. So it helped me out tremendously, man. Some of my stuff may sound really off. But if you just, if I have Charlemagne with me, he'll help you down with him. I'm ready, I'm like, God gave me the plug.

I'm like, well, he was the weed man. Oh, that's the difference. He was like, me, man, different. Man, when you got that, mm. I think everybody has those experiences, though, where you're like, yo, if I had to talk about this again,

nobody would be, but I think that's favor too. Like, I was watching a sermon yesterday and Pastor Mike, Mike Jr., he was saying, your yes to God breaks cycles, and then that comes with a whole level of divine favor that, like,

you couldn't even explain it to people and the feeling of it if you tried to. And a lot of your story is that, it's like, you have this personal one-on-one that, like, we would never really get. It's funny to hear, but. The story about my dad, Crossing over is something I never knew how to even tell nobody.

You had to be like, I probably told eight people my whole life, and this happened in 2015. I just showed my kids recently because I thought that they would be, you know, ready. So, yeah. But you even named all your kids something spiritual. Well, Keisha started off. She named our first baby, Heaven. She named the first two.

Heaven, Harmony, and then I came with the Halo. I sprinkled that south aisle. That's a number five. How is emotional maturity changed the way you hear that inner voice? Emotional maturity changed how I hear it. Oh yeah, I can answer that.

So my emotional maturity changed how I hear the inner voice because I'm able to want one disciple if it's love or hate because we all got a fuck it voice too. We all got a voice that we've all said, fucking and done and done some things and sometimes came back to bite us in the button sometimes it happens but right now I think with the emotional intelligence it comes with it comes with growth it comes with age and it comes with experience right and it just comes with life it comes with life

situations it comes with life choices and so for some of the things that I touch on in this book you literally have to live long enough like this book can't be written by a teenager or somebody in their 20s this is my personal opinion this book is like experience based at the same time I'm just not running off some ideas and stuff like this. This is, this is stuff that, you know, I've been through or someone that's been through or, you know, something. And there was a voice there. It was a voice there during all of these situations.

Has there ever been a time where that voice led you somewhere painful, but you, but you realized it was necessary? And I don't mean by not listening to it. Like, you actually listened to it and it still led you somewhere where you was like, this is not what I thought was going to happen. When I listen to my voice, I have, listen, bro, this is how insane it is. I listen to it. They'll tell me what time to go to the gym, tell me what time to lead to go get my son.

They'll tell me what route to take him. Tell me what we need to eat. What he needs to eat. It'll tell me what route to go home. I can go home three or four different ways. They tell me, don't go that way, man. Go this way, man. And this has been happening.

for a long time, but I used to pay no attention until I ran into a roadblock. And you'd be like, oh, man, I know I shouldn't have came this way. You know what I'm saying? But this was early on when I was maneuvering. But the voice is something that I hear a lot, that it was hard for me to really articulate without saying I had an imaginary friend or something like that when I'm sitting in the corner and I'm going back and forth and I'm ideating between me and my voice. But I think it was very important at this.

time for me to write this literature because I feel like it's going to help if it helps one person which which I've already received multiple text messages from people who got advanced copies on the voice in their head and the something told me and them listening more closely so that's what this is for that's why the timing is for you know I've been in front of you guys many of times talking about many of different projects but I just keep going into my creative bag coming up with something that I think can help my community. This is like a community outreach project. This is for my community, bro.

It's like, this for my community. People give away turkeys. People do all kinds of stuff. This book is for my community. I feel like I've been just holding on hoarding like this secret sauce, this secret. Like, man, Tony, how you keep? I got a pun. Man, how you keep, man?

I'm telling you, man, try it. Enlightenment. Try it. Enlightenment. Yeah. I'll try it. Just try it. Just try it.

Just try it. Just try it. Just try it. Did you really think you with Michael Jackson? I was just messing with my mama. Okay. My mama got it. She's been with my dad this whole time, so she knows sarcasm, right?

So I had, you know, I broke my elbow and my knee, but they had just put me to sleep to pop my elbow back in place, boom. And it's on her birthday. She didn't have her birthday party to be in the hospital with me. I'm coming up out of the anesthesia. And they're like, Mr. Epps, you okay? Mr. Eust is you okay? I'm like, yeah, yeah.

Mr. Epp? and I kind of look over I look over there I see you my mom I see you my mom like you're okay and like yeah like

what's your name say your whole name I said uh Michael Jackson she said oh man I'm getting the fuck up

about she got up and left man I don't know I don't know I'm an optimistic person man I'm just optimistic

if something bad that happened to me I just I turn it over I just try to find the good and it's some good in here somewhere

it got to be you know what mean you talk about rebranding and reinvention a lot in the book like do you ever worry that when you that constantly evolving can disconnect you from your core no you have to do that you have to I have to

I'm showing people but I'm not like being preaching when I'm showing people how to move and how businesses move if you look up McDonald's Sprites everybody rebranded they don't exactly change their name but they rebrand they change the arts they do something they you know I mean and so for me I'm a business two changes a brand and I have a new logo

I got a new logo I'm about to lunch you know this week or next week so for me you know i've been two-changed titty boy beat tonny jane son i'm hell weave killer but i mean i'm looking at other successful people that have pulled this stuff before me i know jay has a couple names uh a couple people i know have a couple names and and it's just like a part of me i'm also giving that knowledge i was like man i got some game and sometimes this book is a way to spread it to the masses instead of just talking to one individual so i think it's important that, you know, a lot of people be like, man, you know, I've had artists ask me, should they change their name? You know what I'm saying? Should I change my name? Like, I know you

did it, bro. You know what I mean? And stuff like that. So it's whatever works for you, but I think it's important that you, you revisit your brand every three to five years. Three to five years. That's mine. I go in there and I see what I can tweak, turn, do whatever. I love the book, man, because you make, you make ambition. You look at it as something spiritual. Like, I think sometimes people have this hunger and they dress it up as faith but like to me you actually

approach ambition as something spiritual. Can we can't you can't buy ambition you can't go to Amazon you lazy you need some take something to give you you, you take it something to give you energy

but that ain't the ambition you know what I'm saying I got that I got the self motivation you know what I'm saying the boy starts there anybody get your ass up. You ain't got no big home. You ain't got nobody that's going to do this.

You ain't got no friend you can call on. You don't got nobody. So, like, it all falls on me. So, yeah, I'm operating indefinitely in that space. The one thing I wanted you to talk about in the book is why you chose Alabama over South Carolina State. He talks about it in the book. No, not he don't talk about it.

No, so I got recruited by South Carolina, South Carolina State. I was going to Memphis. I was going to Memphis. That's what I was going to commit to. I like Memphis because Penny Hardaway, They went there. I was like this little skinny, scrawny point guard, two guard. And I just wanted to just follow in those steps.

So when I got locked up in high school, Alabama State was the first school. They called me. They got in touch with me. They called me. They were very, like, you know, compassionate about what I went through. And they offered me a full-ride scholarship. I already had the grades. They offered me a full-ride scholarship.

And they also, I had peers that went down there from my school. I knew some kids down there. It was two hours from the house. And, you know, in the book, first chapter, I took it. I went down to playing. I went down to the plan when I first went down to them, you know, the Alabama boy, they show you, they see her business. And I end up going down there, and then I lost my love for basketball the same year I went down there

because the coaches that called me and they were so excited about having an opportunity to work with me. They got fired. New coaches came in. New coaches came in. They brought players in. and then I just remember my passion for hooping starting to diminish. At this point, I still wasn't like rapping or anything.

I was just like trapping the hooping. Yeah, because in the book, I thought he said that in the book because you said it was somebody you knew down there and it was close to the crew. Yeah. And he said you started playing ball. And then what really turned you on, you said it was when the flood happened.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My darn, well, my dorm flooded, but that just made me get a spot off campus. You know, I still was dealing in the parameters of a student athlete. I still was, I was going to class. You know, I was going to class. I was doing everything. I just, I'm already living a certain lifestyle.

I'm already got a little hustle going. I go down there. I got three cars already. I'm literally driving a different car Monday, Wednesday, and Friday just because I can. I'm on that type of time. And so, but I'm a learning junkie, too. I love to learn. Even now, I love, I mean, learning is so fast right now.

It's insane. You know what I'm saying? Like trying to learn what's going to learn what's going. going on in the world. But I, you know, originally, man, I enjoyed learning new information. I just, you know what I mean? I loved it. So it was never a situation where I, if I wasn't on campus, I wasn't going to go to school. I still was going to handle my responsibility. So I just talk about that in the book as one. And that's, that's one of the things that pushed me into being independent too. You go to college, you know, you stay on campus. Then when you get your crib off,

this is your first home, this is your crib. You know, you start becoming like, you know, a grown-up. You wouldn't have met your queen either if you didn't go to Alabama. Yeah, yeah, true. My last question, if that voice in your head told you to walk away from rap tomorrow, would you listen? That's a great question because I love rap music so much. And I feel like if you know I love it, he wouldn't do, he wouldn't do that. You know what I'm saying? I love it.

And one of the things I love about it is that I still have good ideas, whether for me or anybody else. When I say ideas, not just in rap, but after the rap, the marketing, the title, fonts, shades. Like, I'm into all, like, even this right here, this is a black artist named DeRice. He's dope, man. He's just like, he's not with a gallery, anything. DeRees Walker, I found him online.

He does this little, like, pastel, dope. This is art. It's like, he drew this of me. This isn't not a picture. He drew this whole thing. And I just like, I don't know, curating dope stuff. So.

But you can still do that without rap. If God said, too, Jen, I want you to put them. If I heard them as clear as you saying it, yeah, I probably would because I feel like he got something bigger for me. And so he wants me to probably start going to sleep and night getting up early or something like that, which I haven't done since my father passed.

I sleep in the daytime. I only would sleep at night. So you're writing books now. You got the podcast. You know, Halo on here. Me and Halo podcast. Let's see y'all check that out. What do you do?

My man, real cool. What do you do at night then? If you, like, what are you doing? You just music. I said, like, what are you doing? If you're not sleeping, you know, you just up. Do I sleep in night? y'all no

what time I go to sleep six seven hmm I go to hey oh like what is it he oh he got so

no he was annoyed just connect I got kids when they say it's yelling out it is what it is well Hano told me we was retiring it this year I think he said on a podcast

like we had to let it go or something for something he moved on man yeah yeah yeah but I got I go to sleep around six or seven, and then I get up around. One time I get up, 12-1.

Is that because of your music artist's life? Because a lot of artists are like that too, where they're up on like that. I've been doing that ever since the kids know me. Okay. Harmony 13. What are you doing though? Are you thinking?

Like, are you writing? I'm in a studio space. I'm doing something ambitious to help my career go further. And that is the time when all the noise is shut off for me. All the people that I love should be in the bed, sleep. I don't receive phone calls that late. Nobody calling me saying they need. I can actually concentrate on the task at hand, whatever that is. And those are my hours that I can just lock in from probably

12 to 6 or something like that. I started working at night around 11 to 12. From 12 to 6 is really just really, really my time, really need time. I don't have to worry about. You know what I'm saying? I mean, of course I worry about people, but it's just really my time. I don't have anything else on my mind with me and the task at hand. And that's therapeutic for you. That's so therapeutic. I wouldn't know what to do. Like, Kisha hates when I'm at home that in those times because she's trying to sleep.

Yeah. And I'm moving around up. Man, just the other day I was just doing the most craziest stuff, man, because I had to be up at 7. So I'm like, man, do I go to sleep or do I just stay up to 7? So I'm trying to figure out. She's like, what you doing at home? Next thing, no. She's looking at me.

I'm staring out the one like Malcolm X. I'm just looking out the one. And I'm saying stuff like this. I really need some asphalt so I can, I'm just looking at stuff at the house. I'm just looking at the driveway. I need to do this roundabout over. I'm looking at the tennis court.

We've got the light out there on the court. I'm looking. I'm like, man, we should use this more often. We just, my mind and my, like, I'm not sleepy. I'm not tired. I'm not yawning. Because my body trained, I'm almost like a newborn,

I'm trained to sleep from like seven to five. I mean, I'm sorry, five hours, seven to 12. I'm trying to sleep like that long. But the longest, like, literally since 20 or 12th of my pop died, I hadn't really slept in night type of thing. Well, the book is out today. Make sure you could be out. This is the voice, man.

The voice in my head is God. Are you looking at this? This is dope. There's a hampson picture on the back as well. And then, look, if you open this up, This is something told me. So I'm a challenge y'all. Go to Two Chainsbook.com,

enter the sweepstakes to sit next to me at the Hall's game. You have to March 11th to do that. But this right here, tell me, what does something tell you who I guess? Something told you, give me something. Give me an example. Something told you, give me an example.

To wear that hat. To wear that hat. Something told me the way the hat, you know. So what I'm saying, so you was putting your stuff, tell me how that went. So I woke up. Under this, it's crazy, though. So that, yeah, because I was going to wake up early and do my little, you know, my little curling joint, but I ain't have enough time because I was going over questions for my book, you know what I'm saying?

Because I started purse this week, so I got up, I ain't have enough time for that. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to wear my hat to go with my mom jump suit. I mean, you got other hats, though. Hell yeah. Like, I'm a hat caught as well. What made you get put that one on? I don't know, like the bunny is.

I want to go with the Lord's suit and go with the, you know, the body suit. I just got these new nighties. I know they call you and got them. You cordoned. It was part of your coordination. Yeah. Okay. I just like this.

My dog. Yes, sir. Give me an example. Something told you. I told him that today. I'm going to learn how to ski today. Something told you like, you're just sitting there like, man, I do so. You know what it is?

My son snowboards and I took him to on the mountain the other day. And I felt bad because I couldn't go with him on the mountain because I don't know how to snowboard a ski. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to learn how to ski. So next time we go, I can get on that mountain. Some good father son, time to get. Absolutely.

Yeah. Some told me I need to go back home this weekend. spend more time with my family. I love that. Something told me that Two Chains had an amazing book that he needed to get published. And that's why you're in on. That's right.

So wait. Black effect. Hold on. You knew you wanted to write a book, but did you go to him and say, hey, it's time? Or did, how did that happen? No, he just knew I'm a successful black dude,

so he tried to cap in on my success because he knew I'm a winner. Why else would you? No, because he'd be having his little things going on his mind. Two Chains is the plug. I wouldn't have Crystal franchises if it wasn't for two. We're talking about that up here. And people don't talk enough about you

and your involvement in the Crystal franchise. Man, my involvement in the culture is crazy. You know what I'm saying? I am the Pinterest. I am the mood boy for a lot of stuff going on. I'm humble and quieter sometimes. A lot of the times, but I can see what my influence is done for even my whole city.

Like, man, listen. Esco and the Esco franchise 10 years. I owned the dirt five years before I started running the business on it vertically. Candy land. There's no other person my age, my demographic that owns an adult entertainment. To get a permit to be nude and have alcohol, they stopped issuing those in 1993. You have to buy those for an extremely high price from somebody who sets it.

A lot of the, even the G-League team being connected to the Atlanta Hawks, you know what I'm saying? Even having an association with that. it's just a lot of things that I see that I try to open up, like in this book, and let my peers know, like, this is what's going on, and this is how I'm even making these business decisions based off, like, of course, I have a lawyer, I have management, but I got this voice going on with me, too. And but I do have, you know, the crystal situation shot to Jonathan,

just shy out to everybody that I became partners with. I think collaborating is a good thing, not only in music, but in business, too. and my secret to that is finding someone that's passionate and whatever you're trying to do and collaborate with and then you can have success in the field. So I said to say that the person I'm collaborating with at Esco, they're passionate about the hospitality space.

They don't have a special seasoning or sauce. It's bigger than that. You've got to know this space. The person that I'm in the strip club business is passionate about that business. And Jonathan is passionate about. crystals and this man is passionate about giving back to our community so that's how a lot of things lines up there you have it it's two chains ladies and gentlemen get the book today thank y'all and it's the

breakfast club good morning true i'm not every day i wake up wake your ass up the breakfast club you're all finished or y'all done i'm nancy glass host of the burden of guilt season two podcast this is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families late one night bobby Gumpbright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt the case of Lucy Lettby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the U.K. in 2020.

but what if we didn't get the whole story? I've just been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to doubt the case of Lucy Letby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall.

In 2018, the FBI took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security, one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world. The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor.

But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you.

This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty. host of the On Purpose podcast. I'm joined by Luke Combs, award-winning country music artist and one of the most authentic voices in music today.

The guy that says he's always going to be there and that will do anything to be there is the only guy that's not there. No matter what, I'm going to prioritize my wife and my children. I dread the conversation with my son. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Chetty on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart, Podcasts. Guaranteed human.