The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: MAJOR. Talks Faith, Purpose & Music, Grammys, Beyoncé, Chadwick Boseman, Spirituality + More

Episode Date: February 17, 2026

Today on The Breakfast Club, MAJOR. Talks Faith, Purpose & Music, Grammys, Beyoncé, Chadwick Boseman, Spirituality. Listen For More!  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Every day I wake up. You're all finished or y'all done? Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envi. Just hilarious. Salameen Nagu.

We are at a breakfast club. Lauren Larosa is here. We got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed. We got the brother, Major here. Welcome. Man, this is an honor. Thank you all for having me.

Listen, I'm on cloud three-milly. Good morning to you. I didn't know that Lauren used to be a youth pastor at your church. Okay. A youth pastor? Listen. I was not a youth. Why are you lying about God?

I thought that's what you made you say. No, no, no. When I said, I saw her face and when I started seeing her rise, I'm like, I've seen her before. And she did indeed go to the church I used to be the worship leader at, one church in L.A. Pastor Roy and Syracuse. That's when they actually used to be at the church preaching. Like now they're like all these different places. But they were not all these different places.

They are at the Pott's house on Sunday. Shout out to the Pottis House. Not all these different places. No, no, no, no. You know what I mean, though? Like, I mean, like, they were, it was, it was, I mean, there still had a lot, they said a lot going on. Because I remember he did Gucci's wedding at that time.

And I was like, oh, shoot, that's the pastor from the church I just started going to. That's right. That's right. Yeah, but Pastor Tourette, like he, sometimes when you go there now, it's other pastors that will step in. Yeah. It used to, you would never miss him if you went to church on Sunday.

Yeah. Yeah, there was a time, but it's grown. So, you know, when you build and grow, you've got to kind of have folks standing in. Yeah. Right there to Potter's house every Sunday. Absolutely. Oh, absolutely.

I'm loving seeing what's happening there. Potter's House has been really supportive of my movement. So, yeah. I was going to ask you that. Last time I saw you, you were singing at McCari Sellers' wedding. Yes. And Bishop Jakes was, he, what do you call that? I'm about to say pasted the wedding.

He officiated. You are such an evening. Listen, same difference. You passed at a wedding. He officiated the wedding. So what's the relationship? Well, Bacari. is a brother of mine that I, he's our mutual brother.

We actually, I met years ago on a panel for the NAACP. Shout out to the NAACP. They're still relevant doing the good work for our people. But we were on a panel as me, him, Jotaka Edie, and Brittany Packett Cunningham. And we just connected and we literally just said, yo, we're going to help each other along the way. He had his vile renewal. He invited me.

I also know Bishop, you know, from, you know, a lot of the work that I've done. But it was a really beautiful time, man. And he pulled out all the stops. He definitely did. Shout out to, shout out to the family. He definitely did. I actually would talk about what the connection between you and Bishop. Oh, Bishop?

Yeah. Oh. Man. How was it going to step on that? Okay. Well, Bishop has supported me. I actually saw you remember at the birthday party. Oh, yeah.

65th. Diddy was there. Diddy was there. Diddy was there? What was Charlotte been doing with Diddy? Listen, I will say this. I will say this. It was no funny business.

And so it sucks that a picture can lead to all that crazy. But like, I mean, it was great energy. Diddy clearly sees him as a father. And it was, you see the respect in real time. But it was wild because I'm like, Lord, I hope none of those pictures come looking like I didn't did something.

But nah, it's. It's love. Bishop, I had to sing for Cisley Tyson tribute before she passed away at the Megafest. And Bishop just said, yo, there's something on your life. There's an anointing on your life. Stay locked. I got you. I'll support you. His family has supported me. And it's just, it's just been consistent. So. Yeah. Yeah. It's a great prophecy to get from a great person. I know. Yeah. He's really a legit good person. And I think because we've had so many experiences, seeing the church from the humanity side of things, mishandle a lot of things, we just automatically just assume his success must be a scheme. But he's really sincere, like he shows up for people.

He respects people. It's real. And I think you know that. Absolutely. I love the bishop. I love all of them, Bishop, you know, Bishop Jakes and Pastor Torre, Pastor Sarah. I call them the first family of faith. Okay.

You know what I mean? First family of faith. I get it. Yes, absolutely. You know, one thing I like about your music, it always centers purpose and positivity. Yes, sir. Hope.

Yeah. Exactly. The last project was Hope dealer. How intentional have you had to be about protecting your spirit and message in an industry that just seems like it rewards the bullshit for a word? Man, it's, it's, I live in an anomaly. Like, I studied music. You know, I've really studied.

I've been to performing art schools. Shout out to the HSPVA. That's the same high school as Beyonce, Robert Glasper, Brian Michael Cox. I did an intensive at Juilliard. I did Berkeley College of Music. So I'm versatile in what I've studied. But I have found success in the most peculiar ways because his journey, it does celebrate.

the salacious, it celebrates, the negative, it celebrates, like, just a disrespectful, specific to our culture, what they allow to thrive in our culture, which is really wild how that works. But I've just kind of just been committed to the assignment that I think on my life is to amplify hope. I define hope as hope is not the denial of reality. It's the commitment to believe greater is on the other side of it. Hope is not pretending, struggle and circumstance aren't real because one thing life is going to do is life with or without our permission.

And so what Hope does is it keeps us anchored in this thing called the promise from the promise keeper and it delivers every time. And so that's just what I've been committed to. It's been difficult to stay on that because people want to put people against each other. I remember why I love you, my song, This is why I love you.

Oh no, I know the song. I know the song. I know the song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're in yes. No, listen, but that song changed my life. And I was just singing. My producer harmony, we made this love letter to God.

It's a love letter to God and love wrote me back to help people really understand how to do this love thing on earth. But they started saying I was bringing back classic R&B. And so then it was like this responsibility to try to keep up with R&B, but I don't have the typical R&B language. I'm quiet boy. I'm a church boy, you know. So it was, it's been interesting, but I've stayed steady with it

and I'm living better than I've ever lived before. So what would you say to people, you know, when they hear the term hope dealing? It's funny, we just had, you know, Jill Scott here, and she has a, yeah, that's my girl on her album. Yeah. She has a little bit of the name of it right now, but it's literally talking about, you know,

all of these people who pimp different sectors of our society. From church to education, to the pharmaceuticals, companies. When they hear the term hope dealer, what do you say to people who feel like people that do gospel are just peddling hope before? Listen, hope is powerful. Hope ain't ever canceled.

It's necessary. It's a disruptor. It's an anchor. And I think anybody that's in the business of doing it, and I love what the Breakfast Club has evolved into because that's actually what y'all are doing. in just the way that you do it. Hope does not have to have a three-piece suit

or a big church hat. Like, it's just amplifying that there's better than this on the other side. I just read a quote that you made. You said, if you're building something that only benefits you, it's not big enough. That's hope. That's giving hope to the people.

That's amplifying this thing that there's room for all of us to win. And so my thing is, if you're locked in that, you're doing a good work. Be it the four walls or not of the church, you're doing the work that God put us on this earth to do. Sometimes you're going to be one of the few voices amplifying it, but it's powerful. One thing, you say my name in most rooms is going to be respected. They're going to say, yeah, he's a good dude because I've just been committed to it. But it sucks as an independent artist because it ain't cheap.

So it's like it's easier if I didn't do the whole thing, you know, from a surface level. But I know at the end of the day, I got to deal with, you know, if God says well done and I'm trying to get to the heaven. Now your record is almost 10 years old. 10, bro. Did you ever, when you recorded that record, did you know what it was? When I first recorded, so let me give you. There's two spaces. I'm on a web series before it hit for me,

before my life changed, because why I love you changed my life. It's a low-budget web series, the brother of Kev on stage, I think he's been here, Jason Fredericks, who he recently passed away of cancer. Oh, man.

Yeah, beautiful, beautiful dude. He, they said we had sandwiches. and I've been high maintenance all my life didn't come from a whole lot of money just it's just in me for some reason I don't like sandwiches that are just basic So they said what kind of sandwich do you want major And I said you know

My guy, Jore L Quinn is playing lullaby music and this holding room that we're doing on the piano And I said, chicken salad sandwich I want a chicken salad sandwich Because I'm hungry And they're filming it They're filming it and it goes viral. And at that time, viral was about a thousand views.

Right. So I was killing it. And so my producer Harmony Samuels hits me and says, yo, where did you get that song? And I said, it just came to me, man. He said, it's a hit. I said, I know, right? We're going to pitch it like to Chick-fil-A or something.

Like, yeah, I think that would be crazy. And he said, no, take it down and come to the studio. There's a love song in that. And I at this time didn't have like a real love experience to write about. I had my heart broken, but I didn't have nothing that was just solid. And so I was like, I mean, my mama and God have been the most consistent. And he says, right about God. And so literally the download was like, I have a bunch of stuff to talk about that.

And the what I understand about love, agape, that love that still chooses you anyway, regardless of the crazy, is the understanding that I think we all need to take in our experience. of love. And so when I wrote that song, I literally was hoping that it would succeed because I'm like, yo, if this gets marketed, it can make some noise. And sure enough, it took off. We first million on YouTube streams for the video. And it literally goes viral every other month. It's $175 million on YouTube alone. Steady Wundice said, you know, I believe this will be the wedding love song for years to come. I'm like, yo, it's Stevie's all right. You know, we got some. That's right. You feel me?

I'll tell you one thing, man. This is why you can never, ever let people demonize chicken. When a black man is hungry and wants some goddamn chicken, great things happen. Do you not let them make chicken a negative stereotype for us, okay? At the end of the day, you know, chicken salad sandwich changed my life. You know what I'm saying? Did you ever get that sandwich? I actually do.

And it hits different. So when, like, I go places and they have, like, food, like if they catering, and chicken salad, I'm like, I see you guys. I see what you're doing. Arby's had it on the menu one day, and that was the one thing I got from Arbys. Arbys do better. Listen, but listen, I got so hype.

I was like, I see you, I see you guy. You're coming through. But yeah, it's, that song alone, you see, the weddings. You're, you know, DJ. We've done a couple weddings that you've played at. It's like, it's so much love. And, you know, this love week, right now.

So I'm about to, you know, go to Chick-fil-A and get all the chicken nuggets I want. Not because I'm hungry because I can afford it. You know, you know, so, yeah. When you recorded the song, like, so, because I never knew that it was a gospel, like a song for God. It was a love letter to God and love wrote me back to help people understand how to do this love thing on earth as in heaven. So it wasn't necessarily intended to just be gospel. It was like it's inspirational.

I believe that life is meant to be shared. These intersections that we exist weren't meant to be divided like that. And I want to give people healthy perspective on this love thing to not run in another direction thinking that this function is proper love. Because that's not what it is. Because I realized in the lyrics, I went and looked once you said that. And I'm like, you don't ever say the word God ever. And I'm like, well, is God.

Because God is love. Love is God. And so I'm helping people understand that. And it's wild. It's wild. Like there's babies that were made from that song. I ain't never thought I had songs that people would be like, you made this.

And I'm like, nah, that ain't mine. But I got you. You know, me and the wife are trying. But then we ain't had one yet. Yeah. But it's really dope. Yeah. I love your name, Major.

And that's actually your name. That's my real name. My mama named me Major. She prayed that I make a major impact on the world. And I hated it growing up. I hated it because it was different. Major, major minor, major pain, major pain. Like every single joke.

The military. It's, yeah. I'm doing it big. So they'll say, right, it's, we can say that not because we mature. But Colonel, you know, you know, listen, I hated it. I was like, yo. But I get to college. I had this dream, no pun.

Dr. Martin Luther King told me what I did for love, peace and civil rights, you will do for love and hope. I woke up and literally it was like, only lean in. This is the assignment. And so I'm doing it one song at a time.

I got my new one for the win to encourage people that it all works together for the wind. You saw that happen for you. You know, one minute you're doing this and then guy said, no, stay ready because I got you. I heard the prayers. I heard the promise. I caught

the tears. So yeah. And you said major is a reminder of a death in you, right? I heard you say that before. Your name is a reminder of your death in. Yeah, when it's spoken, like, it's a wild thing. My guy Jaime from, he's a jeweler with

Jason of Beverly Hills. He actually reminded me, he says, your mama, your mom knew, because she actually, let me tell you, like, she considered abortion when she got pregnant with me because she got pregnant with me in college. She was embarrassed. She had already had my brother out of wedlock.

And on her way to the abortion clinic, the tire went flat. And so she goes back and at that time, you had to get appointments. It's not as easy as it is now, which I still think is necessary. Don't make it so easy that people can flagrantly live, but I do think the option should be left to people. but she ends up coming back on her way back

because she was just feeling judged her own internal and the tire busted in nearly the same spot a different tire busted in nearly the same spot and so she was like, God, if I have this kid and if I name a major, I pray that he makes a major impact. So this is a prayer in real time. Yeah. Wow. What's a moment in your career

where you truly felt yourself stepping into that knee? right now on the breakfast club. Ladies and gentlemen, it's major on the breakfast club. I've been praying for this moment to sit with y'all. I admire y'all so much. But no, I think for me, I've always been major. I shift spaces that I'm in. And I think we all have that ability when we lean into our authentic self.

I, you know, used to just be like, why am I so different? And it's just like, yo, that's the superpower. Yeah. You know, so I'm just showing up as me, man. Like, I could follow the models that have already been done. But at the end of the day, I think we were each created to be an answer to a specific need in the earth. So if we're chasing down trends and tracing down the stuff that's already been done, we're chasing down already answered needs, leaving the one we were assigned to unanswered.

And that's why a lot of folks feel unfulfilled in life because we're chasing down stuff that's already been handled. It's like lock into what you do. Hey, nobody do radio like y'all. There's only one Charlemagne. There's only one DJM. There's only one Lorne. There's only one Jets.

There's only one. Lock into that. And the way will be made. It ain't going to be easy all the time, but it'll be made. Now, you also wrote an open letter to the Grammys. Did. Why? Why was that important?

I'll say this first. I'm very active with the Recording Academy, which is the institution of houses the Grammys. I have a lot of respect and love for the Recording Academy. But while it has made a lot of progress, it still has a lot of work to do. There's an issue with the screening committees that has impacted me and artists like me

that kind of sit in these margins, like what we talked about. break it down because a lot of people don't know how yeah so they got to put it they don't know what category to put yeah so when you submit which is called artist intent when you submit to a particular category so my situation uh to what you were saying envy is i submitted my categories my song i prayed for you which had tremendous success last year in gospel specifically um from billboard to so much success i submitted it to gospel because that's where it was celebrated i submitted my new EP, the Hope Dealers sessions, available everywhere, Zoom in.

Zoom in. Hope dealer sessions, motivational mixtape. Right, right, right. Capture that. That's good. But I submitted that to spoken word. And the screening committees moved them out of both gospel to, and put it in CCM, which is more of a white-facing genre of Christian music.

and they move my project, my Hope Dealers, to R&B. I know the difference. Ain't crazy. Artist intent should be respected and should be the dominating determinant. And I just wanted to challenge the system. I talked to executive leadership.

I respect Harvey. I respect everybody in the space. But it left me out of disadvantage. I didn't have a shot at getting, you know, even considered anymore because people are looking for me in categories I don't belong yet. You said that it left you at a financial and a creative disadvantage.

I understand a creative, but what's the financial disadvantage that you could talk about? So for many people, and this will help a lot of folks that think it's just simple. You put something out and it works. You actually have to market your stuff. You have to promote it.

And it costs a lot of money to promote and be competitive. And so as an independent artist who has, I've gone platinum. that's not normal for independent artists that have never been signed to a major label. Shout out to Empire and Ghazi for supporting me from the jump, but I'm completely independent.

So every dollar that I spend, I feel it in real time. It's not in advance, and I get something back, and I got worked that out later. So when we did the campaign, I'm on promo tours. I'm on radio. Tamron Hall had me on twice. You know, I'm putting it word. And then only to find out on the first day of voting when it's too late to move anything that I'm in the wrong category or in a category I didn't submit to, that hurts.

Because now I got to try to backtrack or rebound to get people to move and change, but they're not thinking about that. So that's what I'm speaking to as far as the finance. And it's expensive just the energy, the bandwidth of trying to show up every single time when systems, machines are hard. hard to fight up against. That's tough work. Did you receive any pushback? Speaking of a machine and the system? Well, I noticed some folks went silent on me

that I thought would be loud. I got, you know, certain messages personally where, you know, some significant voices were like, I'm proud of you for using your voice. And I'm like, yeah, can you say that? I laugh. You know how to help me if you say it out loud. I won't look like I'm.

I'm crying by myself, but a bunch of other artists came to me and said it. But I've reached out. I have a meeting, a follow-up meeting with the head of awards just to, because I'm advocating for a lot of people that are in these margins. It's, we're not, black people are not a monolith. It's not just R&B, gospel, jazz, and rap. Like, we literally are the blueprint, the golden print of what American music and all. All of its facets.

Rock and roll. All that. So when we show up in those spaces, just know that we're showing up in the spaces and we're qualified. We don't have to keep trying to convince you to accept us in something that we helped inspire. And so I think what has happened is we ourselves as a culture has kind of accepted that just as what it is,

and we don't always fight against it when we have an opportunity to be the difference. Sealo Green is not your average hip-hop artist or R&B singer you get what I'm saying Gary Clark Jr. John Battiste these are folks that exist different spaces Beyonce when she wanted to go country

we see what it was so my thing is I'm advocating for everybody it's not just me but I feel it so I'm gonna speak up and you know y'all pray for me just you know support me. You didn't go to high school with Beyonce right? No no no she's a She's a few years ahead of me.

I went to the same middle and high school, Welch Middle School and high school. Latoya Luckett, shout out to all of them. But yeah, they're a little older than me, but killing it nonetheless. Beyonce, remember Major from Six Flags Astoril, I'm going to say it on air. I went to the Grammys,

and it was two Grammys ago, and it took a lot for me to go. up to say hey to her because everybody, even Merrill Street was trying to get her attention. I'm like, Beyonce is literally. Beyonce. I went up to her and shout out to Johnny Nunez. He was going to take pictures at a moment. And you know those in between the segments, they're quick.

So you got to talk fast. So I'm like, hey, Beyonce, I don't know if you remember a major from Houston. And she's like looking at me. Okay. And I'm like, okay. So I got the song This is why everybody to play this I didn't even get to finish this song

She's looking at me She's looking at me like Okay And so I go back and sit down I'm sitting with Stevie Wonder's wife Tamika and she's like how did it go? I said Beyonce don't know me And so I called Angie BN saying

I'm like yo tell B I'm not crazy I'm the same I'm a little major From you know back home I know Angie I know Mama Tina I know all of them. I just haven't seen

Beyonce in person since then. So maybe this moment. Damn. Why did you just say Houston though? Why you ain't named this for the school? I said you. And I forgot. You forgot what school?

You went to? Listen. Listen. Listen. It's Beyonce. I was, I was, I'm good with words. You should have started with the song. Exactly.

I should have started first. You should have started with the school. That's a different connection. The school would have done different. But it was broke. My mind was like, I got to say the right thing. So I'm like, you know, I'm a major from, from Houston.

I'm thinking Houston. And she's going to do it like your major in Houston. She's like, major in what? Exactly. And I'm, man, man. She probably think she met Mims. She was like, I didn't know Mim's in Houston. He came up to me and said, I was trying to pieces together.

This is why I'm hot. Right, right, because I was like, this is what? And she was like, okay. To places, everybody. And I'm like, I'll be back. Johnny over somewhere else. You know how fast Johnny moved. He like, he'll call your name.

And I'm like, Johnny. Johnny know where to be found. And so, but you didn't even get a picture. Bro, I didn't even get the picture. But bro, how about this? I did get an optic that looked like we were really talking. Somebody, some stand posted the footage between us as we were talking. And it looks like she's having a serious conversation about three seconds long.

Right. And it looked like we're having a deep conversation. People like, I see you major. And I'm like, yeah. But they don't know. They don't know that she was looking for Julie. But you know, Julia, as you'll see him in a picture looking at me like, who this?

Charlemagne making fun of you. He did the same thing when he met Prince. The same exact thing. Prince is different. It stutters you. No, it's... I love Beyonce, too, but I... Prince is different for you because of the...

Because of what... Ask what he said to Prince. What did you say to Prince? Well, first of all, let me tell you this story. But you got to say, first of all, you know, when we were at the old radio station, you know, we were doing radio and somebody just randomly, you, mind you, it was six o'clock when somebody's like, Prince is in the building. He was like Prince, Prince.

Yeah. Like Prince Prince? Yeah. There's no way Prince is up here. So we put this, put everything in automation. Yeah. And as soon as we opened the door to go walk in the hall, he walks by with two random white women.

Yes. Old white women. Yeah. Like, yo, he was the nicest guy. He came over, he shake everybody's hand. But I was just like, I grew up Jehovah Witness 2. Oh, that's what he said? Now, hey, what's up?

What's up? Jehovah Witness, too. It wasn't like that. I'm telling you, people think I can't stand these couch and keyboard bullies that say, well, if I was, I would do this, you don't know what you'll do in a moment. Prince was like, what? You know what? Your, Prince didn't, he really didn't seem real.

It's very surreal. The first time I met Oprah, shout out to Oprah, who, by the way, ended up calling me on my phone. It's wild. Just stay ready, beautiful people. just stay ready because life just comes at you and literally the opportunity you've been praying for will unfold in the way God chooses. But like I remember meeting Oprah and Arnold,

the photographer was like, Oprah, meet Grammy-nominated major. And she's like, she comes up to me and she wasn't doing any more interviews, but she was willing to, you know, have the moment with me. And she stands there. And the only thing I could say, I said, you're Oprah and she said

I am I said I'm major and she said you are so I just flipped it and said Oprah said you are major

so when you see that quote it just know that's how I really went but fast forward you just you get stump you stop acting like you you don't get nervous in front of quote

like that you did it twice who have you got in nobody There's only been two for me that I can remember. That literally just happened with me and Jill Scott. Y'all didn't hear when she walked in? Well, Jill has an aura.

Yes. That will leave you stuck. Because I was going to be like, hi nice to meet you. I'm Lauren. Before I could say anything. She was like, Lauren. I was like, yeah, that's me.

Yeah. Hi. It caught me up guard like, oh, shoot. My wife had a moment like that with Jill Scott. Because that's my wife's favorite. Your wife is dope, by the way. Thank you, brother. My wife's favorite artist is Jill Scott and Eric about him.

The first time we ever met Jill, she was like, oh my God, that's Jill Scott. And when, you know, when they're talking and my wife is telling her what her music means to her until my wife cried, right? Yeah. But that's different than just being Star Scrub. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's both.

It's, it's star-struck. It's both of it. It's like you meet your heroes in real time. And y'all are now like, is that Chadwick? Yes. Yeah, that's Chadwick. I'm going to ask you about Chadwick. Yeah.

That's really dope. But you meet your heroes like in. in real time when you steps do to work, you eventually become a part of the company. And the thing is, it's dope to revere them and to honor them and respect them, but also know that you're occupying the space too. Because that section of the Grammys,

that wasn't just, you know, you, y'all been, right? Have you been before? No, no. Oh. You know what, no, I went once, but I was sitting, like, up in a suite, and the second time I gave my tickets to kindergarten. Suites suck.

They're so freaking far. wait. You get all the good food, but it's like, you're so far away from the feeling. But that section is a special section. I was, you know, Stevie's, Stevie's wife had me at her table. And it's just, it's like, we just got to understand, occupy this space life puts you in. You know what I mean? You in the room because you're supposed to be in the room. That's right. That's it. That's it. Thank you for making. I said it all poetic. You're like, you're in the room because you're fucking in the room. I'm like, occupied a space, life. Life has settled you.

Life has given you. Yes, life has given me. God has put you in the, Nick of you in the space. It's me. Yeah. I thought you belong. Niggin, you belong.

Word up. Yeah. What was the last text that Chadwick Bowleson sent you? Because I saw you say to a text that he sent before he died inspired the whole project. Chadwick is a special soul. Was a special soul. On April 4th, 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, Chad sent a text message to a group of us asking us to pray for the hope of the world.

He says this pandemic has basically thrown people into a sea of hopelessness where like people are going through. They don't know if they're going to make it more of the issue is the anxiety of how we're going to get out versus the actual situation at hand. And he's saying that's what's crippling people. He said this bar. And I'm going to say it because it's poetic, but it's a bar. He says the plague was asked why it had killed so many.

The plague responded, I only killed a hundred. The thousands that died died from the fear of me. Wow. It's hope that makes a difference. Most of the time, our sickness lingers on because we're plagued by wondering when we're going to get better. Not I am going to get better. The mindset, the hope mindset, that immediately I started writing from that. things started happening.

You know, I did a song called I Pray for You, which I ended up releasing a few years later. I did a major hope project with motivations. He passes away four months later. I didn't realize, I knew he was sick, but I didn't know to what degree. I'm a part of the circle that, you know, thanks to his best friend,

Logan, Coles and Simone and all of them. But I'm not, knowing that he's dealing with cancer, this man could have focused only on himself with what he had, and it would have made sense. But he literally had the audacity to hope for the world. And that's when it, like, reminded me, you got work to do, bro. While you can breathe on your own, while you can do this thing, lock in. This hope work is real.

And so that's what inspired the Hope Dillard Sessions out now. Hold your car up. There you go. Out now. Hold you card up. Okay, got you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. There you go, there you go.

I'm telling people to get that. Right, right, right, right, right. But that's what inspired it, but Chadwick literally was a, you, y'all interviewed him. Oh, yeah, a couple times. Like, you know his aura. It's like a grounded aura of like, I belong. And this moment is not going to be a wasted moment. That's what he taught me.

Don't waste the moments. Like if you're going to get caught up on the stage, don't waste the moments. I should have took that advice when, you know, I saw Beyonce. I should have started with HSVIA to high school. But, uh, don't waste the moment.

He had a very regal, royal presence. And, um, you know, even when you think about him now, it's just like, you know, you know,

everything happens the way it's supposed to happen. Yeah. But that is one that really feels like it got cut short. Like we didn't see the full greatness. What's wild is we say that because of age and because of potential that we see. But if you think about it, he did some of the biggest work in a short amount of time that is iconic work. It's not stuff you forget about. 42 Jackie Robinson, Black Panther, all this stuff.

We had a funny moment. I remember when he was preparing for Black Panther. we were watching a documentary about the Black Panthers and he was just and he's real quiet he's like yeah I'm I'm studying for you know

the Black Panthers and I'm like okay so you're doing another another one of those movies and he's like he's like yeah I had no idea that's how grounded he was that the Black Panther he was talking about was this big Marvel movie

I'm thinking it's about the Black Panthers because he was Thurgan Marshall you know all of the other this stuff. And he lived this huge life in a span of 42 years. I agree with you. But what I mean is not not the work, him to person, like the wisdom that he would, you know. I think I think it still it still needs to be said like it's not a guarantee that our years will be to a hundred. It's not a guarantee that our years will be to 60. There are some kids that have died at five.

And the impact that they made, we live for assignment feeling. Envy, you are literally living out assignment. Your experience with your wife, what y'all overcame is assignment to show people how you rebound in integrity. The work that y'all have done, you flipping this from just being about gossip or whatever

to really being a platform of responsibility. That's assignment. You may go tomorrow. God forbid, you may go tomorrow. But what you've done is 20 lifetimes worth of stuff, what y'all have done. And so it sucks because you take a friend away, you take a big brother away.

But the man lived. He lived well. He didn't wait. I tried to joke with him. He would, he'll be like, that's funny. And I'm like, but everybody else is dying hysterically. He dissected. He helped me with my James Brown moves for one of my shows.

And it usually, we can see, think back. Like, if you had time with him, you're like, this man lived. He didn't waste it. It wasn't like, man, if only he had a few more years, he would have been this. That man lived. No, he did. What's crazy is April 4th when he sent the text is this is a parallel. That's crazy.

April 4th when he sent the text to me, that was this, that's the same day that Dr. King passed away, April 4th in history. He passed away on August 28th. Chadwick passed away on August 28th. That's the same day that Dr. King gave the I Have a Dream speech. it's these parallels where that's not just happenstance that's divine orchestration

it's divine that I would be included in this group text this dude does not text and he's texting from an android I hate group text with androids but I answer them responded to a group text with Android and I'm going to tell you shout out to all of you with an android

but it's disrespectful that you cannot leave the conversation when it gets out of hand because androids mess up. You know what I'm saying? It's the only family group chats too. They don't know what they talk about. Yeah, just saying random stuff.

My wife is an androidder, but I still love her, but I don't know why I went off on that tangent, but at the end of the day, live like. People with Android. Yeah, just live. Now I say exactly what happened with Beyonce.

Your words be. Yeah. I'll just be here. Yeah. Yeah. Chadwick lived. No androids. Chadwick had.

And Troy. Jesus Christ. And he still was the greatest to do what he does. And I thank you all for honoring him the way that y'all have and you did. South Carolina all day, man. Yeah. That too. Just literally, you're doing it too.

Just literally course correcting the narrative of what comes out of the South. What comes out of the country. You know what I mean? like we belong to. And it's and it's a beautiful thing, man. I've lived an interesting life. I'm, I've lived an interesting life. I'm still at it.

But his life inspired me to be intentional with every bit of it. Let me ask you a question. This is my final question, right? When you look forward, not just musically but personally, what kind of man do you want the next chapter of major to represent? I want my legacy to be. He gives what he lives. He lives what he gives.

It's enough of just talking and saying all this stuff for the clicks and all this stuff. Live it. If you're about it, be about it. I want to help as many people as I can. That's why when you said if what you're building only benefits you. you, it's not big enough. I want to help as many people as I can. I have.

You'd be surprised how many careers I've supported. I've helped so many people. I would love for people to give back. So when you kept your word on, I got you, that meant everything to me. I'm just, I'm not perfect. I'm a good-hearted person. I love everybody.

and I want everybody to know hope ain't ever canceled. I'm seeing the visual now. I spent some time with Reverend Jackson and I'm saying this now in the event that I just feel that his days are, you know, I was blessed to have some time with Reverend Jackson a couple months ago

and I was holding his hand in the hospital room and he wasn't saying much but I said Rev, I'm keeping his hope alive I'm locked in on this hope thing and the first words that he said nonstop, he stood up keep hope alive

keep hope alive and he's saying is gasping over and over and over Gigi Dixon was there, his wife was there and I'm like God this moment you set this up because this work is not in vain, man. This work is not in vain. I know sometimes I'm by myself

trying to amplify this hope looking like the cornball that wants to push this thing. But I know it works. People are hurting. I'm an empath. Too many people need this stuff. And so I'm going to give it

and I'm going to live it to the best of my ability. Thank you all for making time for me. Thank you, Major. For real. Go get the hope sessions, man. The hope you're out right now by my God. That's right. Follow him at Now That's Major and go to now that's major.com. Yes, sir.

It's Major. Thank you. The Breakfast Club, good morning. Hold up. Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. You're all finished or y'all's done? This is an I-Heart podcast.

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