The Breakfast Club - Kendirck Lamar Interview

Episode Date: April 9, 2015

Kendrick Lamar stops through to chat about his new album "To Pimp a Butterfly" , his recent engagement and much more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to Mess with Sydney Washington and Marie Faustin on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Charlamagne Tha God, we are The Breakfast Club. Special guest and friend to the room. The leader of the new school when it comes to these rappers out here. That's right, Kendrick Lamar. K-Dawg, what's up, bro? Listen, first of all, salute to you for giving props to one of my favorite MCs of all time, Killer Mike, on the Hood Politics record. All the time, man. That never happens for artists like you

to give props to guys like Mike. He been doing it for a long time, way before me. You dig what I'm saying? So it's only right. He gonna continue to do it, too. Do you actually listen to Mike? Like, you listen to Run of Jewels? Yeah, Run of Jewels, it's crazy.

Atlanta, man, come on. Now, what happened with your album? The album was supposed to come out one week, and then it just dropped on a Sunday, and then it was only the clean version, and the clean version was taken off. And the top dog ran up in the school for the Mac-10. Yeah, top dog was going crazy on Twitter. It was confusing with your version, and the clean version was taken off. And the top dog ran up in the school for the Mac-10. Yeah, Top Dog was going crazy on Twitter.

It was confusing with Javel. What happened? They dropped the clean version. And the crazy part about it is we knew that the iTunes link was going to be down for a minute once they did that because it's a certain system that they put in at the labels to either put it on iTunes or put it up. So the date was actually confused and locked it in and locked it off. So the fans was tripping. So I'm sure he seen that on his Twitter and went crazy.

How much time did y'all spend on the marketing campaign? Like how are we going to roll the album out? Because you can't do a traditional release no more. Yeah, definitely. We always sit as an entity as far as TDE and make our own rules first. And that's been day one. That's been since iTunes. That's been since our mixtapes.

So even though everybody's doing it traditionally now, we always had that neck to, you know, put it out the way you want to. And our thing is people are going to like it regardless. They're going to like it or they're not. So you can put it out. You can put people on stage. You can do the award shows. You can do radio. But if they don't rock with the music, they're not going to like it regardless. They're going to like it or they're not. So you can put it out. You can put people on stage. You can do the award shows. You can do radio.

But if they don't rock with the music, they're not going to get it. Let's talk about Eye. The first single that we heard from this project. It wasn't your normal Kendrick Lamar per se type of record. Yeah, yeah. What was the inspiration of Eye? Why did you decide to let that one go first?

The inspiration behind it was really talking to some of the older cats in the neighborhood and um really doing something out of the norm uh speaking speaking some type of positivity back in the city rather than doing you know what we used to doing period you know from the initial content of the record i always said it was for some of my homeboys back in on the yard and also the community period and it was it was for some of my homeboys back in the yard, and also the community, period. And it was therapeutic for myself, you know,

because sometimes we wake up and we may not feel the same way we felt yesterday. So that was the initial wine state, and it did just that. You won two Grammys, but y'all didn't show up. Did y'all purposely boycott this year? I had to work. I had to finish that album. I was locked in. I couldn't lose focus.

I couldn't go on tour. I couldn't do no awards. I was on a deadline. Did you expect to win? Did I expect to win? Yeah. Because, I mean, last year you was expected to win. No, I don't expect nothing.

I don't expect nothing. I just put the music out. Now, I read that you started working on this album right when you were finishing Mad City. Yeah. And so it took you like... Two years. Two years to do it. Yeah. And so it took you like... Two years. Two years to do it. Yeah.

Okay, how many songs did you actually do? I probably did about 30 to 40 songs that we actually fought over in the studio because a lot of them records was my favorite records. You know, sometimes it be like that. You may do something crazy and it just don't end up because it might not be as cohesive as you thought. So what happens with those?

They be for my ear and my iPhone. There's been a lot of mixed reviews behind the album. Some people feel like you being too preachy. Preachy. How do you feel about the reception of the album? I feel great about the reception of the album. I ain't catch the preachy thing because majority of the album is me me talking about my faults

especially on records like You Ain't Got A Lot Of Kick It Black Of The Berry all these are therapeutic songs for me I feel like sometimes when somebody's doing really well cause Kendrick you have a lot on you

like people look at you like Kendrick is the greatest yeah and sometimes people wanna come in and be really critical and find some type of fault. Oh, yeah.

All the time. But we all human, so you're going to find a fault anyway. That's just somehow I don't run from. I'm not scared of. I can't live in fear of that. You know, everybody had their opinions and whatnot. I didn't know you were suffering from depression the way you said you was on the album. Yeah.

Did the industry cause that? Not the industry, did the industry cause that not not the industry just the change you know it's a drastic change when you you you're around so many different faces faces that you don't quite understand and mean different people and things are going on back home that it's out of your control to handle you know what i'm saying people would think that that would take you away you know the money that the lifestyle You're able to take a lot of those people that would usually be from the hood. You get another chance. Taking them to places that they would never see. Yeah, you can, but you can't take everybody.

It's still stuff that go on. I still got family and company. I can't put a million dollars in their pocket and say, you own now. All I can do is put them in positions where they can fend for themselves. But sometimes the lifestyle that they're in, they may not know how to handle it.

They may not know how to handle some type of working world where they've never been in. All they know is the streets. We talked the other day about responsibility and how responsible our artists to the community, like as far as being leaders, as far as speaking out against social issues, and this is something that you've always done in your music. Do you think that more artists should be responsible? Do I think more artists should?

We have a handful right now, but I think every artist should always be responsible for how they go about marketing or putting their music, or how they put their words together, because this is something I didn't understand until I went out on these roads and talked to these kids. They take my music very seriously. So with that being said,

I know they take the next artist's music very seriously. Probably not. No, they do. take the next artist's music very seriously. Probably not. No, they do. I'll approach Kendrick a little differently. A lot of kids are amazed by this industry. No, real talk, because the real life that the artists went through for kids in this new generation, it might just be a trend for them until they go out there and get themselves killed. You feel what I'm saying? So how I put my words together me for me personally it's a strategic

way you know i'm not just glorifying the streets of whatnot you know it's a reality check but it's for the better at the end of the day that's why i respected i so much because it was an uplifting song for a lot of kids that usually especially during this time we don't see that you know and it was it was me and charlamagne were talking, it felt positive, but it felt outcastish in a way that it was different, where kids could see that you ain't just gotta sell drugs and shoot a n***a. It was a positive joint.

Yeah, definitely. It take a lot of guts to put a record like that out on your second album, too. What was the labels thing when you came with that type of record? Especially as, like, the first look of it. First single. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that was behind it,

because they know that we came in this business as TDE, Top Dog Entertainment, doing what we want to do. You know, we were selling records. We were selling mixtapes. And the foundation that we have with the kids is strong. It's stronger than any type of number of marketing service that a label can do. So that was behind it, and I appreciate them for that. They never ever came in trying to strategically move my creativity around. And I respect that because on your second album, everybody's looking.

I mean, I know what the kids want. You feel me? I'm fairly young myself. You feel what I'm saying? I got little brothers. I know what they listen to all day. So it takes a strong following and a strong support system, not only from in my camp, but the folks around me to say,

okay, continue to do what you do. And what was that dance in the video? What was that called? That was the Holy Ghost. That's L.A. culture, man. We're going to continue to push that on the next dance. Y'all will see. Where in the hell did the Tupac audio come from for Mortal Man?

Because I thought I had heard every Tupac in it. I have not heard those vocals before. Trip, I got that when I was in Germany from this cat. He said, I got this unreleased Pac interview. He handed it off to me. What made you listen? Because I'm sure everybody said, I got Biggie. I mean, if somebody says that, you're definitely going to listen.

One of his influences. How did they get that close? Yeah, real talk. I did my research. I had to see Is this official You know first off So I went through it

Played it back a few times You have to get that cleared By like his estate and everything Oh yeah you gotta get Everything cleared So when you heard it Did you feel like He was talking to you

Or did you already Have the questions in your mind Yeah well cause the trip is Pac was a prophet to me And everything he's talking about Is actually going on today You feel what I'm saying? And that right there just sparked the idea immediately

for what I was talking about in my record. So when you met Pac in Cuba, is this the story y'all came up with to keep people off the fact that he's still alive? Yeah, yeah. The whole Germany thing? I got vocals in Germany. What the hell somebody in Germany got vocals in? No, but it was a blessing i came about and i really

appreciate his mother too you know for for um giving me give me an opportunity to use them focus because you know people hold them things dear and and if she would have stood down and said no i would respect that too out of respect that i have for her and her son's legacy because the things that he know, it comes from her. You feel what I'm saying? So either way it would have went, I would show respect, period. Do you read a lot? Mm-mm.

I always wonder, because you seem like you're so full of knowledge and wisdom. Where does it come from? I mean, my encounter with people, I'm not scared to talk to people. I'm not scared to interact, whether it's a 5-year-old kid or an 80-year-old man. You know what I'm saying? Of course I I read but I put it to you like this I'd rather be interacting with a person you know rather than gathering up information you know from somewhere else

speaking to a person with wisdom that been here before me some more life experience now what about LA you had seemed like you were disappointed with the album sales in L.A. alone. You feel like they're not supporting you like they should? I think that was Top Dog.

You don't strike me as the type to care about albums. You do the music and you let them handle all that. I can't see you in the studio like, y'all, they only bought 35,000 copies of Mom. Now, Top, absolutely. Gun out, ready to go shoot up record stores. Yeah, he got to do that. He the businessman. $35,000 copy of Mom. Now, Top, absolutely. Gun out, ready to go shoot up record stores. Who are you? Yeah, he got to do that.

I mean, he the businessman. You got to calm Top Dog down sometimes. All the time, man. You know, but he knows the music, and he knows the quality of the music. So he look at it not from only a businessman standpoint. He know the magnitude of the record. You know what I'm saying?

He's close to it, just like I'm close to it. So if he get angry about something, I can't say you shouldn't be angry because he has a right to. We just, we starve together, man, in the studio.

You know? Did you ever envision all of this happening when you first signed early on and it, you know, it took some time to get the ball rolling? Did you ever think

that things would be this big and you would be considered like one of the biggest hip-hop artists today? To be 100% real with you, I didn't. But Top Dog did. That's real talk. You can ask anybody that's been around us. Whoever know him a long time, he always said,

K-Dot's going to do something in this game. Way before I even believed him. I was in the studio just playing around. He grabbed me and J-Rock off the streets. Compton and Watts said, get in the studio. Do something better with your life. And we're here doing it now. J-Rock is doing his thing.

He's at an all-time level where he's ready to blow and break out. And the same thing with him. He gave me my shot. J-Rock gave me my shot by jumping out into the wolves of the industry and the politics. I didn't have to go through that.

I felt bad. I always felt like J-Rock had a great debut album, but he was like the guinea pig. Yeah, man. It was so much we had to learn, so much he had to learn.

You know, so by the time we went through all our mistakes, I was ready, you know, and Rock was in my corner giving me gang, like,

do this like that because when you do that, you do, when you go in my corner giving me gang, like, do this like that, because when you do that, when you go in this meeting like that, they're going to tell you this, and you got to stand up for yourself. And that's the game he gave me. Is it true J. Cole was trying to sign you at one point? He never told me that. He never told me that. I heard him say that on the Combat Jack show.

I was like, I wanted to sign Kendrick. Yeah, because I think by the time I met him, he wanted to get his label off the ground. He was already signed and doing his thing. I was still independent, but that's a good eye for talent.

Are y'all doing an album together? That's also a thing that everybody's talking about. Yeah, all the time. It's always just a schedule issue, you know,

once we get around that. That's my boy, though. I talk to him on a regular. You got them extra songs already? Yeah, we do. do oh so y'all got music recorded yeah we do yeah it's just about to put it together exactly but also going back in and continue to work because new songs are so old we we both grown as artists now when you dropped the infamous control verse it seems like you were ready to compete and eat all competition but with the pimple butterfly it seems like you don't even care what everybody else is doing.

Yeah, I mean, you know what? The thing about control is, I think people forgot, just off the music that I put out, that I'm actually from the West Coast, and the aggression that we have in our music, I can't run from that. You know, whether it be a control verse,

whether it be Black or the Berry, that's that's all i'm influenced by q i'm influenced by dray so i hear sugar free on you yeah sugar free yeah yeah respect the shit definitely sugar free is in my music king kunta uh one of the interludes so i think what happened was people forgot that so when you hear something like control come from kendrick lamar it's a reminder that, you know, I grew up off gangster rap and that aggression always be in me.

Were you surprised that nobody snapped back? Because this is a, you know, a little cool exercise. Nobody was, everybody was like, I'm going to leave that man alone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And those who did, they did in a friendly way.

Very friendly. Very friendly. Yeah, it was cool. What's more important, love from your peers or love from the consumers the streets because i see a lot of people a lot of musical artists are bigging up this album crazy like yeah yeah uh my fans for sure my fans for sure because those are people that's been rocking with me since

day one before we even signed to a major you know how i got out here in New York, did my first sold-out show at SOBs. That was just off the love of the music, you know. So they'll always be number one, period. You remember your first interview you did up here? No, I don't. I know y'all was on me, Charlamagne, talking about I'm the star. It was so early that we didn't even have,

it didn't even go on air. It was on a webisode. Yeah. It was on a webisode. And. It was on a webisode. And I just remember back then, I was like, this kid is going to be something. And we were having a conversation

the other day about who are the best lyricists and best rappers. And I mentioned you and Charlamagne was like, I don't think he has enough in yet. Do you still with that? Yeah, because you said

he was one of the greatest of all time. That's what I feel. Man only got two albums. Give him some time. But just hearing him snap and some of the things that he says.

He gets busy, but give him time. Most artists, most MCs are not even there. I don't think they do y'all no favors when they automatically put y'all with the goats already. Give y'all some time. I can hear it, though. Of course you gotta have that time. And that's the thing that I say with the word

classic and instant classic album. Me putting To Pimp a Butterfly out, you hear the speculation of kids saying that all over again prior to when we put good kid mad city out and i always told him listen to the music a few times man before we before we start throwing words out like that even when it's on my behalf because i want you to live with it you know i want it to be first listening and you like it or first listening and you have an opinion.

Live with it. Grow with it. Because at the end of the day, I make albums that have that type of longevity. If not, I can just give you a whole bunch of singles on one record. You feel what I'm saying? And I was talking to somebody the other day. I make my music basically for people in the system, in the other day. I make my music basically for people in the system,

in the prison system and kids in college because they got nothing but time to listen to it. So I want you to treat it just like that. I want it to be an actual course

that you're taking and that you can live with. And I agree with that because I like to read a lot. You can't just rush through a four agreements. You can't just rush through a 48 Law of the Power. And that's how I feel with you because every time I hear it, I hear something new.

Every time. Every time. Every time, and it's supposed to be like that. For me personally, everybody don't supposed to do what I do or stay in your lane, but as long as I do music, I want to make something people can live with and go back and say you know what he did put out a classic album you know how many years from now when you when you keep on playing it back and it makes it's ridiculous the album for the first the album literally came out i woke up it was up up at night two hours later it's a classic i'm like how y'all

figured out already yeah yeah and i appreciate the love. I think, you know, for the most part, it's excitement of getting some a little bit outside of the norm. And I appreciate that. But at the same time, live with it and learn to love it even more. You feel me? Now, one of my favorite records is These Walls. Is that about? Yeah. Okay.

Just making sure. Yeah, that's one of my favorite records, too. Who uses Bilal? Bilal's dope. But who, like, you know, you're a platinum artist. Yeah, when I went in the studio, when I said I wanted to do this record, I said I wanted to go in with these specific characters and lock in with them for seven months to a year.

And that was Bilal, George Clinton, Anna Wise, Terrace Martin, producer, Soundwave, my in-house producer, and Thundercat and Rocky. We locked in. We locked in for a year and completed the project. So I already had the mind state on what I wanted to sound like. Me personally, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, uh, I'm not sold on your celebrity or how many, you know, records you sold. I'm sold on the actual

talent and what we trying to convey and get across. So that was my, my, uh, initial idea for making this record. So you're a Bilal fan beforehand? Oh yeah, for sure. For sure. You got Snoop sounding like old Snoop. Yeah. Did somebody help him with his verse? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What happened? I laid the skeleton down. I laid the skeleton down because I haven't heard him like that in a long time.

Hell no! That's why I know you didn't write it. Yeah, Snoop. No disrespect to Snoop. I love Snoop. Nah, that's the OG. But me going in, I just said, do what you do, you know? You've been doing it before me.

This is what I've been a fan of. So all I can do is direct it. I can't sound like it. That's his talent. That comes from God, from him. You also did a surprise performance on Cali, and you did all of that with Reebok. You look like you've been working out doing CrossFit.

A little bit. I've been doing some push-ups. I don't know what to call it. You look like you've been doing CrossFit-ups I don't know what to she said I know everybody I know everybody when they sign up to Reebok they all do the crossfit

and everything it's something I wanted to try because they always talk about how great it is I ain't jumped in it yet you haven't? you going to? yeah hopefully

I get some time before this tour crack off now explain that you was on an attractive trail or something running through LA I seen people chasing you making everybody run I thought it was a police attracted trail or something, running through L.A.? I seen people chasing you.

Making everybody run. I thought it was the police chasing for us and everybody running. Yeah, making everybody run. They had Top Dog out there, too. Top Dog was running? Hey, funniest thing in life. All you see is a red hat bouncing up and down. Nah, it was crazy, though. It ran the whole way? Yeah, it ran the whole way. Do you know who Noel Gallagher is from Oasis? They asked him about you, and he was like, who is that? What did way? Yeah, it ran the whole way. Do you know who Noel Gallagher is from Oasis? Uh-huh.

They asked him about you, and he was like, who is that, what did he say? I never heard of him. He sounded like a character off Seinfeld. Do you care about stuff like that? No. That's funny to me. Yeah, I don't care. For real.

Now, why doesn't Dre, why you don't do more records with Dre? That would make the album, so to say. It's a thing that we got going on that we're waiting on. It's a strategic move, so. Are you going to do an album completely with Dre? That's what it sounds like.

If I could speak on it, I would, but that man is a scientist and we got a plan. So is that the direction of the third album? More Dre production, maybe? It could be.

He said he can't speak on it. How does he help you with the album? Do you do records and then he arranges them for you? I don How does he help you with the album? Like, do you go, do you do records and then he just, you know, arranges them for you? I don't know,

mixing, like what? No, I do that. I do that for us. The arrangements, it's, it's, it's really going in and once I complete it,

getting his expertise about, you know, the sonic sound of it, you know, me personally, I'm hands on with everything, you know, and I'm a huge on how I want something to sound rather scratch the record if it's

a good record or not I wanted to sound and feel a certain way so things like going in and recording on two-inch tape and running it back through analog him knowing about things like that and pro tools what's the difference between it you know I did the majority of the record going back when I'm mixing was through analog. Same stuff for people who don't know what analog is. This is what Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, what they recorded on prior to Pro Tools.

You know, so it's a little bit more difficult, but it gives you a warm sound. And it's techniques is things I don't know. You know, so I go to Dre for that advice. Now, I saw you say that you're the closest thing that a lot of these kids got to a reverend. Yeah. I say that in the likes of, you know, I got a little brother and little sister and cousins, and their belief level is at an all-time low, you know, these days.

You know, they don't believe in anything. You feel me so if what i'm putting it putting in in my music it's an act of god and he using me as a vessel what makes me any different from somebody being in church and giving their word you feel i'm saying so that's how i look at it last time you was up here you said uh you're real personal and you're real quiet and private with your relationship And you said you had a boo Yeah yeah

And there was rumors That you guys got engaged Yeah yeah Is that true? Yeah definitely Congratulations man Appreciate that Yeah I'm loyal to the soil

Welcome to the club bro That's right I just want to say That Top Dog told me No relationship questions Oh I'm sorry But I guess You told the wrong girl

Yeah he told the wrong girl You should have told The other female You should have told The other female Okay The should have told the other female. Okay. The gossipy one. All right.

All right. Okay. Damn it, man. I'm glad he told me and not you. I'm sorry. My bad. But congratulations on it. Why you text me?

Yeah, something. Well, congratulations. Yeah, congratulations on it. I think that's a great thing. And that's also a great example to have somebody that you're loyal and faithful to. A lot of people think it's cool to just sleep around and do whatever. You know, the thing at the end of the day, you want to always have real people around you, period. Whether it's male or female.

And everybody that's been around me, they've been around since day one. And I can't change that. I don't change for nobody. I can't run from that. You feel what I'm saying? So I always show respect when respect it's been given and people that have been by your side you're supposed to honor that and that's how you stand up running around it and and not acknowledging it it's it's it's it's trivial you feel what i'm saying so you know you

speak on respect it's funny you said uh when you made the comments about ferguson you said we don't respect ourselves how can we expect them to respect us It's funny. You said when you made the comments about Ferguson, you said we don't respect ourselves. How can we expect them to respect us? And people got mad at you. But you say the same thing in Black of the Berry. Yeah. Yeah. People loved it. I think I think that's just people. Like I said, it's a few times. These are folks, whoever responded to it in a negative way, they actually don't understand or even know where i come from and i can't i can't knock them for that you know i've i've i've took a lot from the from the community you know where i'm from my homeboys have and i still deal with it today so when you when i say things like we need to respect i'm not only talking about a black i'm talking about myself everything comes from me

first you know what i'm saying i've been in a situation and i still deal with these situations today where i have hate towards uh another guy because he has a he killed my homeboy while i'm on tour i still feel that that type of resentment you feel what i'm saying so when i talk about these things it always comes from me so me respecting the fact that he's a black man and not hating the fact that he has a different color that's what I mean with respect so whoever take that out of context you you really need to do your research and know where I come from and know the background of who I am rather than just trying to tear another black man down, and we've seen it with everybody. Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ. Don't do that.

When somebody's standing for something that's good, you should be behind them and don't try to knock them off like that. Do you feel like messages are better conveyed through music as opposed to, like, saying them in magazines or saying them in radio interviews? All the time, because people can't see and feel your sentiments, you know?

Now, with this album, you talk about singles. was there a single for this album because even with the label the label was like play with play what you like it wasn't like you know we're working on this record it was like play what you like yeah play what you like you really don't hear that often yeah definitely um that's that's the groundwork we do we've been building since day one um for me this record i mean it has potential um records on the radio but that's when i i wasn't really trying to identify with that i was really trying to get the point across of what i was talking about and um yeah they were they was all for it because you got to have a strong team that stand behind you creatively the walls is out of here for radio yeah what's your favorite song on out um probably

mama mama these walls uh king kunta of course but yeah these walls for sure now um you roll with some some some crazy guys top dog punch you know they don't necessarily speak for you but they're your people yeah they're your album drop kanye started putting out pictures of his girl punch was like oh what this got to do do you ever have to call them and be like man stop it now I had to call them that's that's that's their personal opinion I don't really be on the social media like that and me personally I don't I think that's coincidentally I don't really see Kanye doing that because I actually I work with him and he's he's an actual actually a great guy you feel what I'm saying so so they're not speaking for you because in my mind I'm like okay y'all in the studio

you think Kendrick's like yo post this all right now but previously you had also said with this album, you didn't originally have like a release date. It was just like whenever it's ready, whenever I'm ready to put it out, you know, that's what I'm going to do. When did you decide finally, okay, we got to do this? Man, when I'm drained,

drained of concepts and what I want to talk about, when I get to a point where I ain't got no more to talk about, it's done. You can't get hard no more yeah and that's that's how I come about and top press the button so did they did you have those discussions like okay so um we got to figure out what song is going to be for you know a single what's going to be for radio do we have that or did you just not really yeah definitely not that i record no we just what it feel like you know what's what's what

what are your sentiments what i'm trying to convey and this i always go back to having a good team because i don't i know a lot of artists that's not fortunate to be in that position you know right fortunately i have somebody like day free and top dog and punch to to to i'm rolling with it you know i'm saying to get the green light do what you do do say what you got to say rather than making it just about a number you feel what i'm saying because punch was upset he didn't make the album he didn't make time. No, I'm kidding. Or rapping. Is Punch serious about his rap career? Punch do it for the love. He said you cut all his verses out. He always clowning like that. Now this is my final question. The Good Kid Mad City album cover, that was your mom's vein?

Yeah, yeah. I think that was like your pops, right? Your pops and your uncles? That was my uncles. Your uncles. So who's the people on the new cover standing in front of White House? Oh man, these are a few of the homies from the neighborhood. That cover has about several meanings.

So the one general I can speak on is it's really taking, you know, people they call negative and people I feel that also have good hearts and taking them around the world. You feel what I'm saying? Because they look like they never have been out of LA. They've never been out of LA. Yeah. No, you're right about that.

You know, about that. That's a concept within itself, but it's also several more. It gets a little bit deeper. Are we going to have a movie for this album too? Man. What's going on with the movie? Hey, what a budget.

We appreciate you joining us as always. It's fun watching you grow, man. I appreciate that. I'm telling you, man. I'll never forget the first time I met you in that bowling alley. Shut up. I'm like, I thought he worked there. You said I was a janitor. You said I was a janitor.

I thought you was a janitor. And Kenta, you really don't socialize now. You know, when they say money don't change you, it just multiplies whatever you are. You going to buy some place to hide. Ladies and gentlemen, Kip McLemore, it's the Breakfast Club. Come on in. Believe that.

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

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys,

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