The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell - How A Harlem Marijuana Kingpin Became The Most Iconic Weed Dealer In New York City: Shiest Bubz

Episode Date: April 27, 2025

From the gritty streets of Harlem to hip-hop tours and legal dispensaries — this is the untold story of Shiest Bubz, the underground legend who introduced high-grade haze to the East Coast and changed cannabis culture forever. In this deep, raw, and unfiltered conversation, Shiest breaks down: -Moving 400 lbs of weed a month out of his NYC apartment -Working with Jamaican and Mexican cartels -Turning Purple Haze into a cultural brand -His come-up with Dipset & music industry moves -Beating drug charges and transitioning into legal cannabis -The racism and real politics behind legalization -Why he’s still one of the few Black voices in a billion-dollar industry Whether you're a hip-hop head, cannabis entrepreneur, or just love a wild true story, this one hits different Go Support Shiest! IG: https://www.instagram.com/shiestbubz/ 2 Bites Pizza: https://www.instagram.com/2bitespizza Legacy Adventures: https://legacyadventuresnyc.com/ This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following: AVA! Download the Ava app today, and when you join use promo code CONNECT to get your first month FREE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Now you've got one hangover, four pastel dresses, and zero reasons to wear them again. Sell them on Deepop. Just snap a few photos, and we'll take care of the rest. And you at least get some of your dignity money back. Someone on Deepop wants what you've got. Start selling now. Deepop. where taste recognizes taste. I'm the coolest weed dealer you ever met. We're doing like 400 pounds a week.

I was like, yo, there's real money in weed. I came to a fork in a row where it's like, what you're going to do, man? Musical weed. I'm doing weed. We've got me everything. He's like, yo, my man going to pull up tomorrow. He pulled up with 20 pounds of haze.

And then I just came outside. And I just was like, you got it now. You'd plug. Scheist Bubbs is a cannabis legend from Harlem, New York. He's known as being the first dealer to introduce high-grade, indoor-grown haze bud to the east coast beginning in the late 1990s. Scheist has been part of every step of the marijuana evolution in America. In the early 90s, he was working with Jamaican cartels at Houston,

sending hundreds of pounds of Mexican swag and UPS boxes all over the country. Later, he worked with Mexican cartels in California doing the same thing, and the weed continued to get better and better. Finally, his life changed when a Dominican connect put him down with haze, Indoor grown weed selling for $6,000 a pound wholesale at the time. Scheist took it and turned it into a brand. Moving 400 pounds a month out of his New York City apartment, Scheist virtually introduced a new market for high-grade marijuana on the East Coast and throughout the rest of the country.

His legacy of Purple Hayes bled over into rap music, as every fan of East Coast hip-hop in the early 2000s will tell you. Scheist himself started rapping and partnered with Jim Jones from Dipset to launch his own successful independent music label. He's toured the country with legends like Cyprus Hill, Method Man and Redman, the Wu-Tang Clan, just to name a few. And now that weed is legal in New York City, he's also got, you guessed it, various cannabis brands, as well as a pizza shop. Those two go great together. Make sure to follow him on Instagram for updates and to get the locations and drops when you come to New York City. And for a very fun bonus episode where we smoke one up and get silly, head over to the Patreon.

Patreon.com slash the Connect show. A cannabis and cultural tastemaker from a black market, to an upstanding citizen, sheist bubs right here on The Connect with Johnny Mitchell. 50 pounds every time. We lost all this weed in the mail. The DEA said, if you want your money, you can come pick it up. The judge told my parents, your son is a career criminal. He'll be bad.

I really felt like I was leading this cannabis flag in the search for legalization at some point. Saying going to Daddy's house, that's how much we've learned since the 90s. Nobody even batted an eye. No. and in the black community hasn't always been known to be friendly to homosexuals but you guys

gangsters we didn't even that wasn't even a thought back then like all that gay all the gay rapist shit that's like some some like

told you all you know what I'm saying it's like one of those like you can tell me shit now we reflect back we're like oh how do we miss that one we're going to daddy's house crazy

but back in the days to say like say your home girl's like are we going to Daddy's house to the studio, but not like a regular girl, like an artist, like somebody that's like aspiring artists. You're not saying no, it's not no famous people, but it's like, you know, or you'd be a home girl, but like, can we go into Daddy's house? My boy works up there.

He does beats. Like, word, let's go up there. Let's see what's going on. You go there, like, oh, it's cool. You know what I mean? Smoke some weed, you know? They wasn't really too big on the weed like that. So it was a little like, all right, studio.

All right, cool. I'm out of here. You feel me? It's a red flag already. That Diddy wasn't a weed. Smoker that he danced real gay, real funny. I remember even back in the day, Wu Tang was like, Rizzo was like, yeah, you see him up there doing that?

I mean, that's cool. But like they're doing, that's real fruity. But the game changed, though, because I'm not going to lie, growing up as a kid, you know, and going to thinking about the club scene and even being a part of the club scene, it was about going out dancing to get girls. It wasn't about, it never was about going to the club and, you know, know, you play in the wall, and that's how you're bad girls. Right.

That didn't change until, like, until Jay-Z was like, you know what I mean? And everybody started being like, nah, we don't do that. We play the ball and ditty-bop, like, two-step. We're two-step. We're too cool. We're too cool for that. Yeah. We're not dancing because y'all can't dance.

I don't have no rhythm, so y'all don't do that. Right. You know, if you were the guy in the club that was, like, watching the dance floor, and you're like, damn, that cornball could dance. Right. He got all the girls. He's doing the ballroom. he's doing the latest Jamaican this, you know what I'm saying?

You like, you got to get your shit together. Otherwise, you're going to be standing on the wall looking stupid. Yeah, bitches like dancing. They don't like guys with guns just standing by the wall. They like that after for you to defend them. But they don't want you to be, I mean? Diddy bopping was huge for me as being six foot six with no rhythm. Because then I'm just like one and two.

Like that was a paradigm shift for white guys. Where in Harlem are from? I'm from Harlem, the west side. West side. Can we get some numbers? Numbers? Yeah. I'm born and raised on the west side of Harlem, you know I mean?

116th Street. So you're from the mecca. You're from downtown. I'm from you. Basically, in my eyes growing up, it was always just like Harlem. But then growing up, it's like, all right, I'm like right, I'm like right on the outskirts of Harlem. You know what I'm saying? It sounds crazy saying I'm from 116 from the outskirts of Harlem.

But on the map, that's how the map is. Like, when you look at the map and see the sections of how it's broken up, it's like, oh, I'm actually live over here. Right. You're going to Mawr-Sight Heights. Right. You're going to be white people took it and they started carving it out. And then it became not Harlem.

Now it's Morningside Heights. For a long time, it's been carved out. But when you're black and you're just like, you live uptown past one-tenth. It's like, you live in Harlem. Right. You dig? Right. Then if you're white and you live past one 10th or even like they would like to be like 96th Street, but that's not the case.

And no one it could ever be. But you know what I mean? They'll be like, hey, white guy, you live in Harlem. You know what I'm saying? It's like, it don't even sound right. I live in Morningside Heights. Right, right, right. Yeah, yeah, it was white Harlem.

That's how back like in the early, early days, that's how they referred to it as white Harlem. Yeah, you're different than most Harlem cats, bro. Why you say that? Yeah, I know. I know. Well, because, you know, you're well-spoken, you have both your parents. Don't make me sound like a white dad from the summer. Yeah, I'm just saying.

But you have some affluence to you. Clearly, you have some education, some affluence, and kind of a larger worldview that a lot. I think a lot of the black community has now, but back in the 90s and the 80s, it wasn't really about that. You know, like, I think. Well, right now I'm from Texas, though. You know what I'm saying? I'm on my Chinglein, J.R. See, if I was in Dallas, I would have had a blazer and I would have had a whole different look.

You know what I'm saying? I would have had a suede Stetson, but it's pretty hot out here. So I had to go summer flow. Probably nobody in Texas dresses like this. Or, okay, well, this is how we think they dress. You shit me? Exactly, bro. This is really a cross between Harlem and, you know, my view of what I think Texas is.

looks like but you're a fly like the west side of Harlem is fly it's the cultural center we would always like to say that yes we were the fly you know like the highest higher uptown you go the more impoverished it is the more you know outside of the loop it is and then you go way uptown now you're in Washington Heights and you know that's a different neighborhood and then the east side was Spanish Harlem but you're from like the you're from you know you're from Harlem yeah you're from Harlem. It's kind of crazy because Harlem is basically, am I being from Harlem, right?

And living in New York my whole life and seeing people represent Harlem and, you know, see what Harlem stands for. Harlem is broken up in the three sections. It's broken up to the west side of Harlem, central Harlem, and the east side of Harlem. You dig what I'm saying? And it's like, then from those three breakdowns,

you know, then you can distinguish what type of Harlem nigger you are. And I don't want to say the N word, but... No, let it fly. If I can't say it, I at least want to enjoy it. Right. So that's how we, you know, back in the day, it's not really like that anymore. Once the Internet started becoming popular, everything started becoming just Harlem. Like, it's like Eastside by someone cares. It's just Harlem, bro.

You dig? You rep Harlem. You love Harlem. It is what it is. Yeah. But where you went to school, that talk. You block you first. And if you're not... And if you're not from a block, what block was your block? You know what I'm saying?

Yeah. Like, will you claim? Like, that's like shit. And that's obviously lost now with the internet and with the gentrification. That's old news. That's 1900s. You know what I'm saying? Right.

Yeah, for sure. Now, did you, were you a rapper as a kid? No. What were you into? I was into being entrepreneur since young. Uh-huh. Like my vision. And my parents basically like this, you know how they'd be like,

oh, you got both your parents in the house and their success. Listen, that's cool. But I used to envy kids who only had one parent households. Same. You heard? Like, oh, your pops ain't there? Lucky you. Yo.

You get to do whatever you want. I used to be sad. I used to be sad like, damn. I'm like, my parents make way more money, but my parents are way more strict. Yeah. And it's worse than, it's worse than the ghetto life. For sure. Yeah.

Right, right. And my father's from Shundit, so he believed in physical discipline on some military shit, like, you know. I remember, I remember when I was six years old, right? And this is, you know, I'm an older man. I'm not, I'm not as young as I look. You feel what I'm saying? So when I turned six years old, my stinking, my stinking. Rest in peace.

Like, my dad says, stinking dad, because he was taking a shit when he called me in the bathroom. Right? Like, boy, sit over there with the heavy, trinity accent, right? Like, sit there. Let me tell you something.

I'm like, what? He's like, you turn in six, you know? I was like, he's like, you know what that means? I was like, no, six. He was like, that means I'm going to whip your ass, you know? You know who before,

when you get in trouble, I tell her you go to the room? No, I ain't tearing your ass up now. I go and beat you, you know. So know that. Think before you speak. And when he's that thing before you speak. I didn't really understand what that meant until I had kids.

And my kids were so unfiltered that I used to be like, yo. Yeah. I used to tell my daughter, like when we would go outside, I'd be like, listen, what's the rule for today? Don't talk. Right. Don't say anything. because the unfiltered? Yeah, it's crazy.

What? My fucking sister asked my dad one time. We were like on a family vacation in like a minivan. She was like, dad, have you ever done cocaine? I was like, what the fuck? I was like, dad, would you, would you have ever asked your father that? He's like under no circumstances. Yeah.

And it's because they. What about what? Are you serious? That's crazy. How about you fucking get out and walk? You little slut? You asked me what? Oh, I want to hit my sister thinking about it, you know?

That's wild. So you didn't hit your kids like your dad hit you? Well, my oldest daughter, she basically grew up almost identical to me. And what I mean by that is that I had her when I was like young. and her mother basically did a Fed bid at AEFED bid, right? So when she was born, I was like, I wasn't even ready for a kid at that time. I had just got a jail myself. You know what I'm saying?

This is in 1997. Like right at the end of it, at the end of 97, I just got released. And then she just gave birth at the same time. And she was already like locked up. You dig? Your daughter was born inside. system type shit right in a hospital but it wasn't like she got she was born in the jail cell it wasn't no shit like that it was like she was born in the hospital you know what I mean

yeah so I went picked her up me and me and her sister picked her up and um I was like oh shit like shit's real I was like at first I was like I had the baby for like six months by myself in the streets like getting nursing like Mr. Mom for real yeah yeah and I was out of town you know people were like, yo, what the, and I was already kind of like an entrepreneur in the drug world. You know what I mean? How old are you in 97? I was 22. Okay.

Okay. So, because you're known as the Harlem, New York, cannabis kind of brand ambassador is what I would call you at this point. It started in high school for me. Okay. You know what I'm saying? But I think you were fucking around with krills and soft and shit like that? Yeah, you know, back in the days when they used to be like cannabis was a gateway drug, I didn't understand what that meant until I started fucking with it.

So I was like, okay, it is a gateway drug. Because if I would have never learned this concept of hustling, I wouldn't even went to the other side. You know what I mean? I wouldn't even open that other door because I was like, oh, this is already a criminal act selling weed. Because you can go to jail for that. You go to jail for a blunt, a joint, the smallest thing. And being a kid, you know, in high school, if you get caught with that and you're getting

go to me, go to jail? Now with my parents. What? You might as well not even go home. You feel me? Might as well not even go home. So I did get caught. Yeah, of course.

I got caught with the hard, though. You know what I'm saying? First? Yeah. By the time they caught me with the hard, they discovered everything. It was like one big bus day. a raid of my room. It was like, they raided my room.

Wow. Where your parents were at your parents? Yeah, I was in high school. I wasn't like. So you're basically like a second generation crack kid. It came out when you were, crack came out in 85. It really exploded in New York. So you were getting on in like the early 90s?

I wouldn't even say I was a crack kid. I wasn't involved with drugs. Like, until I was involved with it. I meant like the time like the early 90s when you were in high school. Yeah. And you started to get. on. It was one, listen, I got caught on the, I got raided on the first try.

Oh, no. You heard? Oh, God. I got raided on the first try. So at the time, I was already like, I had worked at Columbia University. Yeah. And I'm saying? I used to be like, look at drug dealers like, I guess it's whack.

Like, you're hustling for what? To get some clothes, I get it. But that's all you're doing with the money? Like, you're going to be fresh for two weeks, bust out with a couple sneakers, and then it's going to be over. It's going to be back to being the bummy person that you was. And if you go to jail or if you mess up the pack and the drug dealer hurts you or kills you or you got to hurt somebody,

it's really over for you. That's how I used to think about it before I got involved. So then once I got involved, I was like, like my boy who I looked at him as like a nerd. Like I was like, yo, his kid is a nerd. And then one day I was just like, why do you look dirty? He was like, I look dirty.

I was like, yeah, you look dirty, bro. What's up with you? He's like, I'll be selling cracks on my block. I was like, get out of here, not you, how? I worked at the gap at the time, so I got new outfits every day. They count on my outfits in school. They're doing a countdown like, oh, he got a new outfit on every day for like three months straight. That's how I was giving it up in high school.

I'm like drugs. And I was already hanging out with the weed smokers in the, in the, the low-key crack sellers in school that were like, after school, they go sell packs and shit like that. You know what I mean? How do you casually move a pack in like the early 90s in New York? Like, is it still the corner game or do you just tell the fiends, hey, I got like an apartment up here?

So back in the days when I first got involved, so I told my boy, I was like, go take me to the block so I could see what's going on, how y'all hustling all that, right? So he took me uptown. He was like, oh, look, we're going to go to Poppy. We're going to get the work. When we get the work, we're going to go to this crackhead. And he's going to cook the work up for us.

Crackhead cook the work up. He's like, now here's the work. He said, come on, I'm going to take you to the store. The A-Rab. And mind you, this isn't in 1900s. This isn't like early 1990. You know what I'm saying? He's like, oh, like when I say early, like 1990.

Like, I don't want to be a screw for 95. Nah, this is 1990, right? So at that time, too, 1990, 1991, this is like when Alpo is still popping, you know, and then that whole situation with Rich Porter's son, and the thing, I mean, his son, excuse me, his little brother, and I mean, with his finger

being put in McDonald's, it set a tone in the streets where it was like, yo, they'll kid, they'll kid kid, they'll cut a little boy's finger off type shit. There were real killers in that. It was real killers. You know, the whole Nicky Barnes story was like amongst the older people. It was like,

Nicky Barnes. You know what I mean? So I was like, y'all, drug game is crazy. Serious. And one of my discussions that I had when my boy told me was, I was like, who are you work for, man? Like, who are you working for? He said, I don't work for nobody. And that's what really intrigued me.

I was like, you don't work for nobody? You mean you can fuck it up and you'd be all right? He was like, he was like, yeah, so. Spring weekends are all about family, sunshine, and evenings on the patio. Before everyone arrives, I stop by my local total wine and to grab a great bottle to share. With such a wide selection and the lowest prices, it's easy to find something amazing for everyone to enjoy. If you're not sure what to pick, their friendly guides can help. Find what you love and love what you find only at Total Wine and More. Shop total

wine and more in store or online. Spirits not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly. B-21. I got the work. I went home. I got a plate out the kitchen I went in my room I chopped up the I chopped up the work right I bagged it

I bottled it up on crack wild I was like I was looking at that shit like oh shit you got crack I'm a drug dealing

I was like I was like don't get caught man I was like I was talking to myself like yo don't get caught you get caught with this shit they're going to think you a crack head

because the assumption is if you sell crack you do crack Back then it was kind of like that. It was like if you're involved with it, then you're going to be smoking that shit too. You know what I'm saying? So I was looking at that shit

and I had this epiphany. I was like, my boy lives upstate. I was like, the last time I was seeing him, I was like, I told him. I was like, I don't know, but when I come back up here, we're going to sell drugs. I mean? He was like, all right.

So it was like a year later And I call him like, yo I was so busted I go to the block with my man I got the I got the gap outfit on I'm like mad preppy as shit I'm well-spoken Right

So he's like I don't fit in on the black I'm like this ain't for me I don't jack this I call my man I'm like I got the work yo He's like for real I'm gonna cash you out

I'm gonna come down there and take it from you I'm like word Say that So now I'm like thinking about The Volkswagen Jetta I'm thinking about the carado. I'm thinking about these Volkswagen cars, the rabbit. I'm like, I'm going to get me a Volkswagen.

I'm going to be driving a school. Ravits were insane. Everybody wanted the rabbit, bro. I'm like, I'm going to get a rabbit. I'm going to get a two-tone. After fucking Trey and boys in the hood, everybody wanted a fucking Volkswagen. You know what I mean? So I was like, I was like, hi, B.

You know what I mean? I go hang out and then my pops calls me. He's like, I got to ask you something. I'm like, what? He's like, oh, what do you have in your room that's not supposed to be there? I'm like, what do I have in my room that's not supposed to? Yo, what's you doing in my room, yo?

I got mad defensive. I'm like, oh, what you're doing in my room, yo? Like, and I already been smoking weed for like the last three months before, four months before you and find out because they were already looking at me like, you're all red and coming here eating grits and fucking five o'clock in the evening and shit.

You know what I mean? You're making breakfast and shit. like, what's going on with you, right? And I'm an athlete at the time. My decoy was, I played tennis. Wow, you really are. So I was the number one boys tennis player in Manhattan. You know what I'm saying?

Boy 16. You know what I mean? So I was like, I want some shit like stealth, like. Yeah. Like, really like with the cover up, like, I'm going to play tennis. And I played on the 20s. I really was like nice in tennis. That's a sign of a fledgling drug kingpin.

You know who played tennis? Was a great tennis player? Yeah. Freeway. Yeah. You know, it's a self-strategy. It's like, I don't need no team to win unless we're playing Davis Cup and every man for himself. If you don't bring home a win, then you might get kicked off the team. And we don't share notes. Because I might have to play you on another tournament, even though you're on my team.

Most cats that succeed in the drug game are not gangsters. They're usually educated, well-spoken, individualistic. not afraid to think differently. So my balance came with this. This is where my balance came in. My mother's from Louisiana. My father's from Trinidad. Founded.

Like when I say founded, like he was founded in Trinidad to come to the United States to work as an engineer. Like physical welding and all this stuff, right? So he came over here on a trade and he was a tyrant in Trinidad. You know what I'm saying? Like big burly like 13 brothers. and sisters, pops passed away when they were young, beating people up, fighting a lot, the middle child, you know what I mean?

Hard man. Hard man. Bad man. The hands like this, so he passed. His hands were like double minds. Wow. So then my mother's from Louisiana. She had a hard life, both of our parents, but died when she was young.

You know what I mean? So she grew up coming to New York being like, all right, we made it. So I'm the prodigy of that. I'm like, my existence, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, when I go down south, it's like, oh, you're from up north. I go to Trinidad. It's like, oh, you're a Yankee boy, right? And I'm like, y'all crazy, y'all.

Because to me, your country and y'all are some islanders. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah, you're not New Yorkers. So who are you to look? I'm too diverse because I'm dealing with every nationality of the Latino community. I'm dealing with every nationality of black culture. I'm dealing with every nationality of Asians. I'm dealing with every nationality of white people.

You know what I'm saying? Like, for real, when I say that, it's like Europeans, Polish, Czechoslovakian, you know what I'm saying? Well, I think that's why statistically, black people in America that come from somewhere else, right? Immigrants from the Caribbean, Africa, they tend to do better because they're not hung up by the history of, you know, this country, which is, ugly. Right. You know what I mean? They're not as hamstrung by, you know, the past.

So when my father came to New York, right? My mother, they met uptown on 137th, Broadway, Riverside, which actually became one of my stomping grounds as an adult, not even by like growing up on the block, even though I spent almost my whole life being over there, but not in that context. It was like going to see family, family friends, you know what I'm saying? 158 from Broadway and Amsterdam was the same for me.

I've been going there since I was a child through my mother's friends. You feel what I'm saying? My father, his family lived on 183rd in Grand Avenue, you know what I'm saying? Which is where like O.G. Mack and all these gangsters and the bloods and all this stuff, this is where this came from. You dig what I'm saying? It's like a, it used to be a block where all the drug dealers would just be congregating with their little mans

that they go out of town and get money with you know what I mean Congre for a little while smoke some weed roll dice shoot the shit go to the movies

you know get two two jugs and Piccardi you know I mean going to movie theater crack jokes and then leave and get back to the money

Yeah interrupt whoever's there to watch the movie Yeah so when my parents sound to work right when they cleaned when they raided my room

Right It was basically like It's like come home Let's deal with this I'm like Yeah right I'm not going home crazy

there's nothing to talk about I'm like I'm not at that point I was like I'm not trying to be in a place where I'm like trying to get forgiveness for some shit that I know was already wrong

you dig so you didn't want to go face your parents face them for what for them to be like you're on punishment and all this shit I was like man fuck all of that you know what my SAT score just came in

I scored 1350 on it I thought I was a genius off that. I got the second highest score in my home room. I was like, what? I already got, this is the only class I'm passing right now. Problem solving? I was like, I hide. Watch this.

I called my man. I was like, yo, they found the pack, yo. And I'm not, and I was like, yo, I'm still coming up there. So I left home in the middle of high school. I left home. I went up there. I took my last check for my job at the gap. I went and got that.

I was like, I got to go back down and get my last check. I went and got my last check. I bought some more crack. Went back. We flipped that shit to $5,000. I bought an ounce of crack.

A ounce of crack was like fucking $400 back then. Wholesale, if you had the poppy. It wasn't no wholesale. The whole Broadway had crack. Right. That's what I mean. It was like wholesale for drug dealers.

Right. So that's the part of, you know, Harlem when it's like east side, west side, when it started changing, whereas like the west side got all the drugs. Central Harlem's where you get the drugs off East Harlem is you could get the drugs off but you might have to shoot somebody

you hurt like it's kind of wild though you saw it was wild even though that's where Spanish Harlem is yeah right exactly okay but I mean if you're going up so you went upstate I went upstate New York so back in the days you know when Alpo used to be like yo I'm going out of town I'm going to D.C.

You know once he got jammed up it like unleashed everyone going out of town to get money. Because when I ended up out of town and Ithaca, New York, it was like, it was like Pleasantville to me. I was like uncharted territory.

Only thing that was going on is like a couple coke sniffers. To bring a crack vial was like, yo, he just brought crack from New York, yo. That's fly. Everybody wants a part of it. In a snowstorm, they were like wearing Converse All-Stars. Like we're wearing Timberlands and North faces geared to stay outside the whole time.

Like in a blizzard, we're out there like this. Like we got it. Those out of town drug dealers, they had to go in. They're like their jackets a little. Like they're cold complaining and shit. Like we outside like this with champagne bottles. We're up in the snow getting money. You heard?

So you were really posted like that in Ithaca? Yeah. With cracks? Yeah. Because they didn't, it wasn't something that they knew about. So they didn't know we were doing that. So at 15, 16 years old, you buy an ounce for 400 on Broadway and go upstate five hours. And go get $4,500 off the ounce.

That's big money for a kid back then. Yeah. So there was a song KRS1 had, you know what I mean, called Love's Gonna Get You. And that came out in 92. And that was like really my theme song for hustling because it was like, I make about a G a week. F school, right? So I was like, I made 5 Gs in a week. It's really fuck school.

Yeah. it's really fuck school you know what I'm saying and even with the tennis shit like I played on the tennis team and home at the armory right on 140 first and fifth avenue right so we

it was all black kids it wasn't like white kids in our facility it's like James Blake and all these kids playing in our facility like a tournament team and our whole thing was

to beat these little overprivileged white kids right so even though We were like, oh, you played tennis, that shit is soft. Like, yeah, but what you don't realize is that we're, like, most of the kids who play were from the projects. They're from, you know, broken homes and shit. And we will definitely beat you up. Like, kids my age physically couldn't, like, contend with me because my pops were such a tyrant that it's like, you being my age, I'll punish you, my nigga. I'll fuck you.

What's going on? Like, I'll beat the brakes out of you. I'm always top three. in any school I went as far as fighting. High school was a little different because it was like it was big kids in there. It was like way bigger.

So I had to really stand my ground. So it was like, what? Oh, you're going to play tennis, what? I'll crack this racket over your head, bro. Stop playing with me. Shut the fuck up. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, and that shit just went right,

ushered me right into the drug game. So I kept that same energy. All my boys was there. So we was like from day one. So it was like we crewed up. You guys got brolic, as I think they used to say. And then we started playing with the weapons and it was like. So what happened to high school now that you got this spot?

I dropped out of high school. Yeah, I figured. So are you going back and forth to pick up and then bring back? Yeah. Are you smart with your money? Because you're clearly an entrepreneur, a long thinker. I was a kid. Right.

And our bills back then, like rent everywhere we went was like literally under $300. $100 everywhere we went. So to make $5K, it's like, we paid this shit for a whole two years We didn't give a fuck about none of that because we'd be like, we could get any apartment we want. And I've always been known to have multiple locations

until like in the last couple years, like I just, and like the last decade and a half, I was like, I'm chill, but I'm done with all of that. I already did it a thousand times. You feel what I'm saying? So yeah, it was like we're making this money,

We don't care. Saving money for what? Where are we going to buy? A store to go to jail? We don't want no property. We don't want no assets at that time. We're just having fun. We're, like, I'm still supposed to be in high school.

You feel me? So now it's like my graduating class is graduating from high school. As soon as I went upstate, I caught a case. You know what I mean? As soon as I got there, I caught a case with my man. they jumped me and my cousin, like my family cousin, not my real cousin,

like friend cousin, like country cousin. Yeah, country cousin, I mean, they jumped us, I mean, they kind of like,

I should just out of a party. Mind you, I was only 128 pounds back then, you feel I mean? So, but we were dangerous, real dangerous. And we had wild guns up there,

and I was like, oh, and you know, it was like a lot of racist shit going on upstate. We did bar fights every weekend. You know what I mean? So we were kind of prepared for this bar fight this weekend.

But before the bar fight happened, we got ushered out this house party. You digger what I'm saying? And, yeah, and then it got popping. And then we got wild respect because it ended up in, like, gun smoke and, like, everyone beat up. You know what I mean? Yeah. You guys, Ava is one of my new favorite sponsors of this show. I talked about them a few episodes ago.

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my credit using eva this offer is for my listeners only get the ava app and use promo code connect to get your first month free. That's promo code C-O-N-N-E-C-T. Thank you, Ava, and now go get yourself a good credit score. Okay, so everybody, all the white guys relate to living in a college town, and then these black urban drug dealers show up, and they kind of become like college students. We wasn't even in our town.

We were in a whole other town. Oh, for real? Yeah. We were like in Cortland, New York or some shit. I've heard of Portland. Yeah, it was crazy. Yeah. These are just like upstate New York shitholes.

We weren't like that. We were just going to party. Right. We were just going there to party or some, like... So you caught a drug case? No, we caught an assault case. Oh, I see. You did?

I see. But I, you know, we were smart back then. I didn't even going to lie. We were all, like, mad, smart. Like, you know what I mean? My boys from New York, they all have two parent families. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

But we're all mischievous. We're from the 80s. We, like, Latchkey kids. We've been outside forever by doing our own thing. And did? We've been adults since... I've been an adult since I was eight. Mm-hmm.

You heard? I judge a dog. I was judging the dope since I was a kid. Like, you know I mean? So. So how did the crack go by the wayside? Did you retire or you sound like you caught a kid? I eventually retired, but it was a while before I retired, though.

You know what I mean? What happened was I was, I was really peaking in like 94. I was going crazy. Like, I was really getting bred. What did that look like? Did you have a bigger package or were you just? It looked like I had turned upstate. into what New York was kind of like,

which was multiple crack houses. So I would just be like, I'll probably with the crackhead. And then I hate to say it like that, man, because I don't look at it like that anymore. I look at it like, I didn't, you know what I mean? I don't want to say I didn't know what I was doing because I did know what I was doing,

but everyone was doing it. So it's like when everyone does it, it's kind of like justified. Sure. You dig? But I don't look at people like crackheads anymore. I look at people with drugs. addictions, you know what I'm saying?

And mental health issues. I don't look at it. I don't like calling people, you know what I mean, to their addiction. You dig what I'm saying? I totally get it. Now with the onslaught of fentanyl, you look at crack and you're like, man, that wasn't so bad. It's not so bad. It's really not so bad. I mean, it could turn you into a zombie.

It did. Right. Yo, when I, like I said, when I poled with these, these fiends, I learned that they were functioning fiends. Yeah. Like they had good jobs. They had basically more money than people who were fake successful in New York. Oh, really?

They had a house. They had money to buy drugs. Like the drugs wasn't like just, it was like they party and they spend in a, they hard earn money. And until that money runs out, they lose their job. And now they're fiends and they outside looking for crack. Right. You dig what I'm saying?

So you, you were buying soft now and bringing it up to them and they were shepping it up? At first I was buying hard. But that wasn't like, that was like, whack. That was like, nah, you got to cook that shit. Because the Dominicans would give you like nasty cookup, right? Blow up. Yeah. You don't know what's in that shit.

Yeah. So that's why you got to, you got to chop it yourself. You got to step on it yourself. I started cooking the work. I mean, and I am going to lie. I was, it was so crazy that I was making wild money just cooking work. Like the packs would come and they'd be like, oh, you cook the work for me? I'd be like, y'all, when I just charge them to cook the work.

You were really a crack chef. Yeah. You had to, how'd you learn other crick kids? I'm from a crack guy. Yeah. The crack cooking phenomenon, it really is just like it was word of mouth. It was just each one teach one. I learned three times, but it's stuck on the third time.

So my man showed me, he was like a crack deal, like a real super crack dealer from Bronx, right? Super crack dealer, right? So he showed me how to cook it. Seven grams of soft for one gram of bacon soda, right? See, you see what I'm saying? See, see that. See, that's why I got lost back then. I was like, because I'm thinking like, I'm fresh out of high school.

I'm thinking science project. I'm like, test tube. I'm like, he's like, look, you got to get a mayonnaise jar and you got to take the label off. And I'm like, that shit is going to break. Like, it's not very difficult, actually. You feel what I'm saying? He's like, oh, you got them to do a measurements like this. I'm like, huh?

He's like, come on, man. He used to call me. He's like, yo, man, this is before Pub Daddy. He was like, yeah. Fluff? He used to call me fluff because my hair, right? He was like, come on, fluff, man, come on, man. You got to get it right, man. I'm like, nah, that ain't how you do that shit. I don't know how to do it. I fucked up the work.

But then I realized I wasn't buying good work. You got to buy work that's going to come back. Yeah, you put the shit in this shit, start bubbling up. You're like, then by the time it drops, it's like disintegrated. Right, right. Come to find out that, you know, he was like, oh, Colombian fish gale, bro, do you know, Colombian fish scale is. No.

Colombian fish scale, right, is basically a Chinese baking, a Chinese detergent powder, right? That says fish gel on it. And when you open the bag, it looks like fish gal. And they take this shit

and they mix it in the Coke and they press the Coke together. So when you look at it, it has these little... The grooves. These gleams. Because real Coke is paste that's hardened.

You know what I'm saying? And it's really matte. It's like real Coke on the breakup. up is like matte. What do you mean, Matt? Like, matte colored. Uh-huh.

It's not like, off white. And it's not like, shimmers of like layers and layers and layers of like. So yeah, niggas, man, don't act like y'all,

you got the best work. Y, got that, that dishwashing soap, man. That A1 fish scale. They're like, no, this is for sniffing. I'm like,

oh, word. I heard, like, now this is not for cooking. Why is it not for cooking? Oh, because it's stepped on.

And when it, and when it bubbles up like that, it's because, Because it's the, what happens when you take distuturgeon and heat it up? I mean, um, uh, soap powder bubbles up. Uh-huh. Okay. So you had to get to good Coke, which, as I've discovered just talking to enough cats from

that era, it was easy to get Coke, hard to get good Coke. So did you eventually get to the good Coke? Yes. Oh, that's great. So I got, I got right to that. So there was some mishaps, you know, along the way. And I mean, my boy got locked up. He did a little skid bit.

You know what I mean? He beat it though. He didn't beat it, but it was like, yo, he had to be like, I was using it. Right. It was a good out. It was like, damn. It was a good out, but it's like, side joke is always like, you're a crackhead. On paper, your fame.

Right. Yeah, right. They do a background check, you're a crack at, homie. Right? It was like, shit, I ain't able to jail. Right. So, yeah, we got to the good Coke. One of the top Coke dealers that we was getting it from,

he eventually got locked up snitcher. on the whole hood. You diggin' what I'm saying? Thank God we wasn't fucking with him at the time. He even gave up his workers and shit. He gave up everything, plugs and all that. Black guy or Dominican? Dominican.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And then, you know, that shit became more personable relationships. But after I went to jail in 97 and I came out and I had my first kid, I started having new premonitions about how I wanted to move. Okay. How long do you do? How long did your first bid?

I did a sentence year. So Rikers Allen. So you're on Rikers? Yeah, 97. So Rikers in the 90s was pretty wild. Yeah, the Bloods was running crazy. I mean, it was a movement going on. Did you have to fade?

Did you have to do anything? Yeah, because I'm not... I wasn't a gang member, so I'm going to get to that. So in 904, I told you I was peeking. I was doing all these things, and then I caught a case. I called like a transporting case, right? And I went on the run because I gave him a fake name. I did all this.

You know what I mean? I was on my bullshit. I gave him a fake name. Got up out of there. After they let me out on a 45-day motion, I got out. I was like, I'm not going back to court. That shit's not even my name. And it was like a B-felony, you know what I'm saying?

For like drug possession. I was like, oh, my God, this shit's corny, man. I'm like, I'm not going to jail for that. I'm not going to sit down right now. No way. I get it. Make it worth it. At least when I was locked up, I was like, man, at least I made it worth it.

Talk to some of these sorry motherfuckers. I'm like, I'm about to go do five years for what, nothing. But I had money, though, at the time. So I was still lit. So I was like, I'm going to move around. I ended up in Baltimore. When I got out to Baltimore, I still was like on some drug shit, but I was like, my man was like, I live at the college.

I go to college out here, Morgan. And all my boys from high school was at Morgan. Because I went to A. Philip Randolph High School, which is on 135th in common, which is in like in the epicenter, center of Harlem. You dig what I'm saying? Yeah. So I was like, I, everybody goes to Morgan University now,

like 15 dudes, not all from Harlem, but just from New York in general. So I'm like, I'm comfortable. I'm like, oh, cool, all my friends is here from high school. I ain't seen them in about two years. I'm on the run. They're looking at me like, damn, you scored the highest in the SAT, and now you're on the run. Tennis star.

They're like, you're not even in the, you know. Gap work. They're like, you're not even working here? I'm like, nah. They're looking at me like, yo, why you look dirty like that? Same thing I told my boy, I was like, because I'll be hustling.

I'll be with the grimys, you know? Like, Bill, I'll be really outside. Like, yeah, I don't even understand the type of shit I'd be doing sleeping in the crack spot all night and shit like that with the guns. We load it up every night. Like, every night, I mean, we protecting shit at the end of the day. I mean, so.

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See full terms at mintmobile.com. So you're there. What's the play? So the play was when I got out, when I got out of jail, oh, my bad. So I'm out there, and I meet my boys from 183. And out in Baltimore. And I'm like, I almost skipped. And I was like, oh, shit, what are you going on?

It was like, we sell weed. I'm like, well, I got a little flow in the college with the weed. Because we started selling weed out the dorm, right? Yeah. So when I link with them, I really started booming. Like, it was booming. It was crazy. It was like, I was like, yo, I don't want to be at the college.

though. Like, they was like, my boy was like, yo, what's wrong with this? What's wrong with him, man? He wants to like, he wants to move with us. Yo, man, he go to college, man. I don't, he's a good kid. Like, I don't want to, I'm like, my man was like,

that nick ain't no good kid, man. That niggas a piece of shit. He was like, he's a piece of shit. He's selling drugs up in that college. He don't go there. My man was like, what? For real? He was like, yo, tell him to come with us, man. Get him out that college, man. Stop disrupting those kids from fucking getting their education, right?

Hey, when I pulled up to the spot, he was like, you don't go to that college? I was like, nah, man. I was like, I just hustled at my nigga. He was like, yo, I thought you went there, man. I could have swore we was corrupting you. I was like corrupting me. I was like, I got you.

I was like, see, you think you're thinking wrong, B. I'm saying? The next thing I know, we're running it up. He's like, come on, we're going to Texas. Okay, so are you giving weed to your boys there? I ain't giving them shit. I'm orchestrated in an enterprise. I got them hustling for me.

Okay, that's what I'm saying. I gave me to my boy, but ultimately I took the other dorm over. I had everybody selling weed. Okay, who's the back in the mid-90s? I mean, is this weed from Canada? What are East Coast hustlers? Where are they getting their weed from in the 90s? So boom, my first pack of weed, now I already didn't hustle weed

and went out to go get weed on my own. I ended up in San Diego. That's the first spot in like 93. 93. Wow. You're enterprise. I was already shipping weed in the mail since then. Oh, daddy.

Pounds. Cat daddy. Talk to me. Right. Now you're speaking of language I understand. Are you, is this Mexican? Are you, San Diego is this Mexican weed? Yeah.

Okay. And that's, it was $325 a pound. Wow. And so at 93, when you're 18, you had the audacity to put it in the mail. Yes. Before this was like common knowledge. No, I know. I had the audacity to put it.

put in the mail? Because my white boys from downtown in Manhattan were already sending weed in the mail too. Wow. And I was like, you sent it in the mail. They were like, yeah, bro, this is how we be doing it. I'm like, heard you. So by the time I met my home girls from upstate in Ithaca that

lived in San Diego, they were like, we get the weed and we ship it back. I'm like, you ship it back. How? They were like, we do it all the time. I'm like, word? I'm coming out there. I went out there. I sent like five pounds back at first. And the most I was sent with them was like 10.

That's a lot of joints, though, in the mail. Yeah, it was. And this is the United States mail? No, I was like UPS. UPS back then. Okay. I was using like regular U.S.PS. That was like scary to me.

Like, wait 10 days. I was like, now I got to come the next day. It's like pay for next day mail. Like, you know what I? So they even had next day air back in the early 90s. Yeah, so I did that. But like I said, we was like the whack hustle.

It was like, boring. It was like, once you get to, once you see. Once you sell 10 pounds of weed, it's like your flow is kind of like over. No. No, back then it was. With the profit margin, if you're buying a pound of weed in San Diego for 350, what can you sell in Baltimore? Well, I was selling in an Ithiquet.

I was getting like 2,200 a pound. That's incredible. You can't- It's a breakdown. I'll sell it wholesale for like $1,300. I see. But still, it's a thousand. I was killing.

I was killing. But it still was like, you're boring. your whack. So it was the stigma. It wasn't the money. It was the stigma. You didn't want to be a cool guy from Harlem that sold the lead. And my cold dealer, best friends were like, how much you moved?

I'm like, 10 pounds. It took me a week. They're like, just did three bricks. Right. Yeah. And I put them on. Right. I put all my boys on.

I put everybody. I've been putting people on since I came outside. You heard? You know what I mean? I heard. I really have. And I give that all. See, this is the part that I'm leaving out, which is like, here goes another shit where you're like, oh, you have to go family.

Right. So my mother was a Jehovah Witness. So I grew up Jehovah Witness, too. You did what I'm saying? My father wasn't. He was like on some like anti-religion type of time on some Trinidadian Indian. I get money. I was even like, he would be like low-key racist on some like to black people shit.

And I used to be like, how do you have a black wife and you're racist? Like, I don't understand it. So me and him. Green card. Yeah. Yes. So me and him always kind of clash, you know what I mean? Because I was so dark. You know what I mean? And I was like, get you embarrassed that your son is so black? Your father was black as me. They said, like, don't worry about you being black. His father was black as you, you know? I was like, for real? I was like, that's why he'd be resenting. You know what I mean? And then even after he passed, I asked my mother recently, like, within like the last two years. I was like, let me ask you some.

I was like, yo, how did you end up with a racist Indian? Like, how did you end up with him? Like, how did that happen, you know? I just want to know. She was like, I think it's because he was trying to get his green card. I was like, I don't know. I call him. I was like, yo, real shit, you should have been told me that.

Because that's the only conclusion that I could have came up with. you know what I'm saying but you don't want to think that about your parents like my dad's only with my mom's for a crane card like what? Well good dick too he probably had I don't want to think he had good island dick

everybody knows that like Eddie Murphy's junk Yeah he's some freaky ass He fucking fucking muscles and crams and oysters Crazy concoctions You're like bro Island cats are on some different shit Pepper sauce the hottest pepper sauce

That you can't even smell this shit Right You dig so When I'm linked with my boys in Baltimore with the weed. They're like, let, come on, we go into Texas. So when we get out there, we fuck him with the Jamaicans. Where in Texas?

Houston. Okay. So we go out there, and the Jamaicans automatically took a liking to me. They're like, West Indian kid. Right. He's well-spoken. He's well-managed. He's not, he's not like stupid.

I mean? And West Indians are very awesome, like, you have to have common sense. Right. And I had a lot of common sense. And then I'm with some gangsters. I'm not with, no, like, I'm with, I'm with the dude, right, who basically started the Crips in New York City. You dig what I'm saying?

Like, when OG Mac had the bloods, my name was in the newspaper every day going to war with this dude. You dig what I'm saying, though? Like, for real, like, that's who I'm with out in Baltimore. Right. So that's your back. You're basically the de facto leader of a bunch of New York gangsters, but you're this well-spoken, educated, from good stock. Fly kid. That's it.

That's it. Right? And then my other boy, who's like my OG, he's like, it's only two people who can get that title with me of being my OG. It's another person, but he's not like, he's more like big brother than OG. You dig what I'm saying? OG is almost like father figure, I would say, coming up under the drug game. You dig what I'm saying?

Where it's like, you're not my father, but you're kind of like, you're playing that role, though. Right. And nobody can't get that because only my father could get that. So for me to give you that kind of look, you know what I'm saying? It has to be on some like some shit. And nobody ever was on some gang shit. You feel I mean? Like we're gang.

Like these these dudes are like straight, hard niggas. Like for real, like discipline, hard providers. Professional men. Drug dealers. Alpha. Yep. You heard? Yep.

No weird stories. Like they, nah. Only weird stories that they violated somebody's whole shit. You heard? No matter how it goes down. You heard? Right. Did any of your, like 18, 19, 20,

did any of your Harlem posse have bodies on them? No. Okay. I believe you. We'll believe you. Because that separated a lot, you know, that brought people up. No, because, I'm going to be real, like,

the murder game, right? That was already, like, glorified. If a murder happens, then that murder happens. It's over, whatever. happens. You know what I'm saying? It's like, we money get us.

So murder is never on the, like, that's only on the table if it's like, niggas is playing. Like, they violent, they robbed us. We never been robbed. So it's like, because you were always doing with. Yeah, murders and retaliation for drugs and overwomen. You dig what I'm saying?

Yeah. And plus Harlem cats were all about getting money. You guys weren't murders. And being flying. Murderers is a Bronx bedstide, Brooklyn thing. So I was with some Bronx niggas. I wasn't with Harlem niggas. Oh, boy.

You did? I don't need a Harlem nigger with me because at the end of the day, it's going to be a clash. Because what you think? You get more money than me, my nigga? What the fuck? You're all, you're jealous of each other. We're jealous. We're never jealous.

It's just we're in our own space. I see. I've never been jealous of nobody ever in my life, I promise you. Okay. When you're jealous to me, that's a different story. But you know what I'm saying? When you get to why Houston, because you got to, how to connect there?

Yeah, so our Jamaicans is out here and they get in the weed from the Mexicans. I see. Thousands of pounds, right? So when I get there, they're like, yo, they like, yo, leave him, leave,

they call me Indio. They was like, oh, because my boys hated the name Scheis. They was like, why's your name Sheise? They was like, you flawed, nigga,

get money, nigga, you're not Shaistee. Right. I'm like, you know, I'm a sheist detector. I see. I detect the shysdy niggas.

I could tell who's who. Because my understanding of the word of God lets me radar people as far as are they a good person, are they not? And what are they responsible for and what are they not responsible for as far as understanding certain things? So if I know you a street dude and you don't really got galley guidance, I know how to deal with you. I know how to deal with you. It's helpful when you're in the streets. Yeah.

And those who are, which a lot of them are, like the successful ones, do have that. Yeah. Because they have the understanding that, that, like, you can't play both sides of the fence. It's either you're serving God or you're on the other side going hard and doing whatever you want to do. Yeah.

You know what I mean? And that becomes the whole, like, that fork in the road of consciousness of how people move and how they think, no matter what religion you're in. Because you could grow up Jewish and be like, have all these thoughts. It doesn't matter what religion.

Anyone could just drift off with trying to be, blend in and be sociably. acceptable, you know what I'm saying? And their own space, not even like they're trying to fit in nowhere. It's like, who are you? Yeah. You know? Yeah. That really served you. And then you learned all these things

in about the past, and it's like, as the future goes on, you're like, you've been brainwashed. It's like a lot of these things are lies, or they're just premonitions of the time. They're not things that continue on the same. You dig in a Yeah, 100%. So when we were out there, basically

they took a liking to me. They were like, oh, Let India stay out here with us. My man was like, for what? Like, stay out here for what? It's like, nah, we want him to work with us. Like, we want him to be on our team. Like, because I will go, you know, I'll come down and like, my man was like, yo, bring an ID.

I've been down, I went down there like, man, times, like 15 times. Down to Mexico. No, to Houston. Okay. So they were like, after the first trip, they was like, yo, when you go back to New York, go get like 10 fake IDs. I was like, all right. I came back down there with the IDs,

and they put me to work. They was like, go to Western Union. My man going to drive you. Just go to all these Western unions and pick up this money. Here's the slips with the names. And word of them over, I go pick up the money.

I get my percentage off of all the money I picked up. Every joint I pick up, I get paid, right? So I was like, this is sweet. Right. Right? Just the bag man. Then they'd be like, the Mexicans have come through a drop off like

5,000 pounds They'd be like, yo Break those sheds down Me and two other dudes Another Jamaican dude And my other man They'd be like my other man was with us too They'd be like go break those shit

Into 100 blocks Do you know what to break down 5,000 pounds into 100 blocks is Fuck bagging up nickels and doms My arms used to be all Rashed up like Brokeen out into hives from bagging up All these like breaking down all these blocks of weed

triple beams, we're breaking those shits, like breaking triple beams like, on a regular, like, bong, bong, bong, 100 pounds, 100 pounds, 100 pounds. You're chucking hay, bro. Yeah. No, literally. Those were your cowboy days.

You should have been dressed like that. Then they're like, how long have you been smoking backwards? Oh, yeah, since 95. Because in that Jamaican house, they'd be like, if you light up anything other than a backwood, you got to go home. Yeah. You can only smoke natural leaf in here.

You can't smoke no Phillies, none of that shit. Yeah. Yeah, you bought him on. 95. Right. Wow. 95. I'm like, that's why y'all talk like this.

Yeah, man. Yo, why I'm saying? Yeah. Come on, Indio. Bag it up. Indio. Go wash your hands, Indio. You're going to eat the food with the weed on your hands?

Right? On your hands. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So after that, that operation, you know, we lost all this weed in the mail. Okay. So who were they moving it to? My man.

In New York or Baltimore? In Baltimore. Wow. We're doing like 400 pounds a week, you know what I'm saying back then. So they would facilitate the shipping of it and you would collect the Western Union joints. But that's from other people all around the country. I see. So these guys are moving thousands of pounds a week.

They were, yo, I was like, we're just like a 16th of the operation. Wow. They was getting money. They had all types of houses down there. Holy shit. But 400 pounds in your operation is really good still. I was like, yo, there's real money in week. That was your life bowl moment

I was like, oh shit Because what is a unit If you guys are picking up 400 in Baltimore So we were selling So we were getting the pounds for $525 Right And we were sell them in Baltimore wholesale for 800

800 But 400 of a But we had a heroin king pen From Baltimore That we used to come and buy like 300 of them shits Really? Every week

And he'd give it to all his little homies in Baltimore east side, west side, and just give them niggas weeds. Like, give them, give all the niggas weed. Like, oh, here's 20 pounds for your spot. Here's 20 pounds for your spot. Here's 20 pounds for your spot. Wow.

Or than my mother. That was my man's golden ticket. And that was UPS. Yeah. UPS only. Not even FedEx. Yep. And then the shit just started crumbling.

Like, we go on missions to take the money, get knocked by the DA, take our money. That's when it just started ending. After we all got knocked by the DA one time confiscated our money, then we lost like four hundred hundred pounds in the mail.

My man was like, no. She's like, nah, it's over. One day after I got bagged, then I came back from Texas, he was like, I was like, oh, what's like, what are we going to do? He's like, they just caught 200 pounds. He was like, it's over. I was like, what you mean, it's over? He's like, you know what I said?

It's over. I'm like, oh, I'm going back to New York. So one of those cats, what does that mean when you say it's over? What he means is that? They have a case or they just? They just don't want to risk. He was like, first of all, the police was sending messages. Like, yeah, if you want your package, come pick it up.

Oh, dude. I've had a couple of those messages. Right? And then we all came back from the trip, like, the DEA said, if you want your money, you can come pick it up. And he was looking at us like, or, like, yeah. They're telling them it was you, nigger. They just, you know how the cops are?

like tell your boss he can come pick his money. You know what I'm saying? Right. So boom. Operation stopped. Right. We came back to New York. The Jamaican niggas loved me though.

Right. So they're still in business. Yeah. So they were like, Indio, what are you doing? I said, what do I'm doing? I'm going out. I'm going somewhere else. I'm going back up state.

Right. But to a different town. There's like, like, hit us when you get there, you know. It's like, yeah. The niggas started sending me pounds. What was the town? What was this new town?

Back to Ithaca. You're back to Ithaca. This nice college town. Yeah. So I'm killing them with weed. I got my white boys. They're buying everything off me. As soon as I get it, they're like, you got the weed?

I'm like, yo. Now what kind of quality is this in 19- Scum wheat? It's like Ari, Arizona weed. Okay. So it's not like straight, nasty brown brickweed. Right, no, no, no. It's like green, at least.

It's Jamaican green. It's Mexican green weed. Right. That smells skunky. We called it skunk wheat. Right. So we're like, yes. When we used to see the weed, we used to be like, yes.

It smells skunky. Thank God. At least it's not the brickweed. Right. It smells like gasoline. Because I could get $1,200 for this. Right. Wholesale.

Yeah. If it's brickweed, I can only get the most $700. Right. And it's just a matter of a grade. It's a color. It's just that simple. So that was, but that was the going bud. That was considered in upstate New York in 1997.

pretty good weed. Excellent. Being that there was reservations up there and it was already, I discovered Kind Bud and Kind Bud and, and Kind Bud weed in 91 when I first went up to I. That's the first thing I got exposed to. And Kind Bud is, I believe back then was the stuff that they were importing from Canada on the Indian reservations, right?

Yes, yes. Okay. And so was your weed from the Jamaicans out of Mexico better than the Kind Bud? Hell no. So then, but it was commercial so you could move more of it? Yes. Because it was cheaper. Because upstate New York, you already had all these New Yorkers coming up there selling New York wheat, chocolate.

Right. You know what I'm saying? Spunkweed. Okay. Now I got it for the number. Right. You got, you're moving it. Like, I used to move it.

Like, I didn't deal with top shelf. Like, I wouldn't buy a pound for 4,000. No. A couple out of time. So the top shelf back then was like the most 1800, 2200 for anything like super. like super expensive. Right. Okay.

So. But that was always in short supply. Yes. But for us, for me, like the Jamaicans had it. Like, yeah. The Dominicans, all right, I got introduced to the Hayes in like 91. Okay. Okay.

But let's let's not, this is the crux of the story. So explain how we got there. Like with the moving the, moving the Arizona, the airy. So with the Ari, it was like, I, we got the skunk weed. I could get that shit off for 1,200, 13,000. 1400 a pound. And how much are you getting it from, what's the price to you?

I'm paying like 500, $525. And you're moving how much a week through Ithaca? Like 20 pounds a week. So it's good, it's a good trade. Yeah, so this is what happened. So I'm doing the week thing

and I'm like, all right. But I'm like, then I lost a couple packs. I ain't getting trouble in none. I just lost a couple packs. And I was like, my boy was like, oh, come sell coke with me again. So I was like, Yeah, fuck this wee shit.

I'm so cold with you. Because he was doing numbers. He was like, the numbers was like, the money was like, I'm like, I'm like, yeah. Thanks for, thanks for asking me. Yeah. I'm done with this wee shit because I'm having a fucking anxiety attack of sending packs and waiting for the pack to touch and they're not coming. Right.

So I fuck with him for a little while. Then I'm like, I'm like, yo, I got this fucking case, man. You know what I'm saying? That I was the one to run from. Right. Oh, wow, of course. It's like three years that I'm passed now. Wow.

And I'm like, yo, I bought a car. I bought a land cruiser. I was just like going crazy. I had the fake driver's license and shit. And I'm like, yo, I'm like, shit's getting kind of crazy right now. I'm like, yo, I'm thinking about turning myself in for the charge and get this shit over. We're like, just go get a, and deal with it, right?

Because I'm like, I can't take this. Being on a run, she's looking over my back everywhere I go. She's kind of getting weird, right? So I get into a situation where my car got stolen, right? Like, off the street type of shit. So I'm like, car got stolen. I'm like, fuck. I went to the store and shit, like music blasting and shit.

Go get some Phillies. I come back, my shit is gone. I'm like, how was I? I was like, 19. I'm like, fuck, my car is gone. I call my man. I'm like, oh, my fucking car got stolen. He was like, where?

He was like, you can get the insurance money off that shit. Go file a police report. I'm like, I can't go to the precinct? I can't run, man. He's like, nah, go do that shit. So I'm like, I bet. I'm like, fuck it. If I get cool, I get caught.

I want my car back. Like, I want my car back. Yeah. So I go file a police report. They're like, all right, we'll hit you up if anything. So I got the insurance doing that. Get my money. I'm like, my shit got stalled.

I mean, I get a phone call. Oh, we found your car. I'm like, found my car. Well? They're like, yes, in Baltimore. I'm like, I'm not even in Baltimore. Why would my car be in fucking Baltimore? This is some crazy shit, my nigga.

So I go pick up my car. I come back up to New York. I ain't got no license plates of my shit, no Venn number. They gave me, like, the pound just gave me my car back. Like, kind of like almost, not total, but, like, wrecked a little bit. They're like, your shit's still good, though. You just got some minor body work. They ripped the Venn numbers out.

They did all the shit to your car. But you're good. Here's your paperwork. I drive this shit back up to New York. I get pulled over. They're like, yo, put your shit away. I get a phone call from the police like, oh, your car was in an accident. Baza, blah.

I was like, my car was stolen. There's no way possible that my car. could have been in an accident my shit in the garage, yo. What fuck you should talk about? And I really wanted my car back, right? So they're like,

yo, you was a victim of a crime. I'm like, a victim of a crime. They was like, yeah, your car got stolen. They was like, we can help you get the Venn numbers back, all the shit. They ran the sucker shit on me, right? So I'm like, I'm going to go get my fucking car back, right? Get the Vend numbers and shit.

So I'm walking to the fucking garage where my shit is and I was just like, I don't like the way the shit feels. I tell my girl, She's like pregnant at the time. She just got pregnant. I'm like, I don't even like calling my girl. She was just, she was my girl at the time.

I ain't going to fly. So anyway, I was like, yo, I don't know. I don't know what's going on, but I'm either going to get my car back or I'm going to jail. So I go there like, oh, what's up? We've been looking for this car. I'm like, fuck. You've been looking for this car, man. They're like, yeah, we know you're not such and such.

da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. I'm like, bust it. So I ended up going to jail. They was like, your car was stolen. I was like, I know it was stolen. And it's like, no.

It was stolen prior to you getting you. I'm like, really? I was like, I ain't know that. I know nothing about that shit. You know what I'm saying? I was like, I bought that shit from a nigger in the streets that was selling his whip

and I bought that shit from that nigga cash. He's like, word. There you go. There was like, either you're dumb or you're a genius. I'm like, Definitely not dumb. So they were like, I got a paid attorney. I had bread.

I was selling crack. I was selling Coke. I was selling bricks. So they were like, they were like, you got this other charge that you want to run for. Your fingerprints came back. They're like, so you're going to do time anyway.

So we're going to sentence you to a year. My lawyer was like, I can't even do nothing. It's like, you're supposed to walk out, but you got that other charge. So they want to get this. time out of you. A year on Rikers Allen? I'm like, yo, you've got to be shitting me right now.

It's 1997. You know what I'm saying? It's a long year. I'm like, I get to Rikers Allen. I'm like this. I'm like, yo. Niggas, first of all, I'm in the tombs and shit before I even get the Rikers Allen, right?

So I see all type of scary niggas like, I don't want to go to Rikers Allen. Right. I'm like, why? be like, nah, it's crazy over there. Right.

I'm talking about gangsters is like backpedaling and I'm like, yo, I'm ready to go, man. Yeah. So I go over there with my man from Harlem,

a big security dude who used to do security for, um, for Heavy D, my man Roy, Big Roy. I mean,

shout to my nigga, Big Roy. RIP, yeah, RP, every D. So we on a, we're on a bus going to Rikers Island,

right? So you look at me, he's like, yo, I mean, and I got that look on my face where it's like,

you could tell You know what I mean? I get busy in the streets. Like, it wasn't no hiding that shit no more. It wasn't like the innocent, the innocent look. That shit was kind of, that shit was over. Right. You know?

So he was like, yo, when we get to the island bee, I got your back. You got mine. Harlem. I'm like, I don't know what this nigga been into? This, you know what I mean? I'm like, I don't know what he'd been into. That's something a scared person says, hey, Harlem, right? I'm like, hey, we're together.

We're together in this, right? Right. So I'm like, but when we got there, it was, and I mean, he was standing on business. Uh-huh. He was standing on business. He went into security mode. Like, he went into security guard mode. And I went into Shise Bubbs with the gangster mode.

Right. So tell us about it. Was it, you know, I know the buck 50, right, and all that shit. You know, cats getting sliced across the face, having their whole faces opened up. And was it really like that in the 90s or what was going on? It was really like that. So prior to even being locked up, me and my pops, one of our all. altercations hit me in the face with a coffee mug and like cut my lip right so after that

I was I'm already been on defense like I don't let nobody get that close to me to do no shit like that you know I'm saying or even line myself up to where it's like you side talking and you're not aware of your surroundings you dig what I'm saying I'm not even on that I'm on some like peripheral crazy like my eyes is on some like gangster shit you're like I'm watching everything So basically I lost my thought No I mean just asking about Rikers Oh so basically I was just like on some shit like

This is Rikers Island I'm on Rikers Island And basically I was like after being there for like three months I had a job like cooking for the CEOs I just got this job cooking for the COs In the morning and stuff like that And my house was getting kind of crazy We was like yo we think's like we about the riot in this joint B I'm like

you're riding for what? I'm like, we got it good. Right. We're in a sentence house. Yeah. It's a neutral house. It's not really, you know, anybody who's blood in there is like blood, but they're on the low. Mm-hmm.

Right? They like, yo, like, about the riot. Then I get extradited. They come to get me. They bring me down to intake. But I didn't even know what's going on. They called me down the intake. I'm like, yo, why they call me down the intake?

Like, that's some shit that, you know what I'm thinking. Holy Sports. you down like you telling on the niggins something like you start looking at you like going down the intake for who you're going to meet down there not going to meet you know visiting you're not it's not a visiting i mean but they extradited me they took me up to binghamton where i had this i would charge at right and when i got there i was just like this is like this is like this is like this is like this is like day camp this is like this is like whoa this is like some cool shit and then my cousin was in there on the biggest case in Binghamton history, you know what I'm saying?

On some weed shit or some coke shit? I mean, like got caught by like 70 bricks and shit like that. So they was like getting praised in jail. It was crazy. It was like we smoking weed every day, drinking. You know what I'm saying? Like, I have fun. I'm not going to lie.

It was like, prison can't be fun. For being in jail. Sure. We had a, we had a blast. How much time you got to do? I had to finish my year sentence. So I had another five months to go. You know what I mean?

So I'm in there for five months. Then my other case comes up. I basically was like, they're like, yeah, my lawyer's like, yeah. I was trying to be on some like slick broke shit. Like, I got no money, man. Give me a public defender. I'm smart. I'm like, I'm going to know how to beat my shit.

Like, I ain't going to go out like that. So I'm like, I'm researching my show. I'm like, illegal search. See, shit. Easy. My lawyer was like, no, you're going to jail. You have to take the offer. I'm like, I don't have to do shit.

Thought about it for two seconds. I'm like fired. get him out of here sent my little bread in got me a paid lawyer he was like yeah you know I beat these every day

illegal search and seizure you're gonna beat it too I'm like he came to see me I was like he's like listen man I don't care what you're about to tell me

he's like it's never about what you did it's only if they could prove it so snap out of it I was like what's one for the Italians exactly right

slick back hair and you see that gold Roll X. Your name was Vincent O'Cardy. Shots of Vincent de Cardi. I never forget you, bro. Yo, five lines for Vincent O'Cardy in the Italian department. Are you crazy?

Two bites pizza! Listen, he saved me, got me out of jail. They don't all hate black people. Yo, the judge told my parents, my hardworking parents, looked at them, said, uh, are you his parents? Yes. Your son is a career criminal. He'll be back.

Wow. I was like, where? He smelled. that on you. The judge looked at you and was like... She did. She did. Yeah. She saw you. She was, oh, this guy's no good. He hasn't learned his lesson. She was like, I don't know. Maybe it's Christmas. I don't know why you're getting out of jail right now. Yeah. But we'll see you when you come back.

And I ain't going to lie. It was like, it was like a double feeling of being like, stupid bitch. Why would you say that to my parents? And then the other one was like, I'm lit. He just called me a career criminal. Good. I'm happy. And now. Now niggas don't ask me nothing about what I do. I'm certified. I'm certified. I give it up crazy. Playing with me?

All right. Watch this. So when I got out of jail, I had a kid. You're like 22, 23 now. It's the late 90s? 22. Okay. I'm still 22.

Okay. I'm like, got my first kid. What's going on? Right. So I was like, yo, the reason I said earlier that my daughter had the same exact life as me is because I took her to my parents. And then my parents were like, I was like, I'll take her over there to her families.

And which I did, because my parents like, a kid, what? What? We don't even like you anymore. You're the bad son. Yeah, you fucking, don't come over here. You broke our hearts. You broke our hearts in the family. Yeah.

And they're like, now you come over here with some little baby. How you know that's yours? You heard? Yeah. So I'm like, how to take a blood test? I had to. because it was too many it was too much bureaucracy

with our relations me and this girl's relationship for me not to do that right okay you want to worry if you know what I'm saying then you know what I'm saying so I was like

alright I want to do that until I do that you got to take care of the baby right so they did that once I got the results I was like

you've got to send that you got to send my child back over though right took it to my parents house and my parents raised her identical to my upbringing

right what happened to that she became my little twin so did she get beat up by me not beat up but like an ass whipping yeah yeah because she violated but not in the way that I didn't even get an ass whipping like I gave her

you dig what I'm saying no because I was so disappointed like like yo I know for fact that you know better yeah but you knew better too So I did you weren't there I did you're on the run for her early early years I did

So what are you gonna do um It didn't So you're you're on your second kid now So things that was my first kid right okay But you get out of jail I move on How do we how do we expand into So what happens

What eventually becomes the king of Hayes Right so I get out I'm like okay I mean's like yo You went in Who's that? Coke dealer. Okay.

So I'm like, yeah, I went in. Mine's, I started it, I'm gonna finish it. You're dumb. But I'm like, it's only on these terms that I'm gonna fuck with it, though. We're not having no more workers. Like, all the workers you got, I'm firing. Everybody got to leave.

I'm not fucking with none of them. Like, none of them could be around because I don't want no CODES because what I learned in jail was to sell Coke was to catch a conspiracy charge automatically. You dig what I'm saying? And that has nothing.

to do with me that has someone else cracking and being a snitch-ass dude and telling or getting caught up and then being caught red-handed and having to tell their situation to get out of a situation, which will implement other people. You understand what I'd rather just sell Coke straight to the users. I'd rather just sell it straight to the users. And instead of giving it to someone else to do it and no. I've always said that. If you sell it to the end user, they'll never get caught and you'll never get caught.

For the most part. Yeah, for the most part. Until the fiends started turning into informants. And that's what I started learning. So I'm like, even the fiends are informants. You can't even, you can't even run from it. Right. So when I got out, I fired all the workers.

Right? My boy's like, are you wowing? Niggas is mad at you. Like, I don't care. I'd rather than be mad, then me go to jail and there be some of it. It'd be something else, I promise you. So I did that. And then I was like, I came to the epiphany.

I was like, I made some bread. I was like, I'm going back to selling weed. I read this article that weed was going to legalize in California. And I was like, I've been fucking weed. I was like, hmm. What year was that? 1990. Okay.

So it would be another, God, it would be another. Two years. Well, it would. For it to be fully legal in California, it would be another 13 years. 14 years. It decriminalized in like 0-1. Oh, so it became like medical for medical uses. Right.

Yeah. Right. So I'm reading these articles. I'm like, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, right? Yeah. So I told my boy, I was like, yo, I'm not selling drugs no more. As a matter of fact, I'm not even going back up to Ithaca no more. So what happened was, I was like, I, I got.

Rewan just a little bit into 1998 that year at the end of the year. So I was like, I'm going back to Cali to get weed. So my little young boy, he was like, my boy just went to school in Cali and San Diego. I like, San Diego. I'm like, he's smoking weed out there? He was like, I called him. I was like, oh, what's up?

You smoking weed out there? He was like, yeah, college is cool. I'm like, who you get the weed from now? he's like my people's got weed they be eating the mean getting half ounces i'm like all right cool we about to come out there like they got ounces they got pounds so we go out there it's kind of dry i'm like oh what's up man like where your people's at he's like i'm gonna introduce you to my homegirls she know all the drug dealers out here she he introduces me to this girl right this is in el cahone in san diego like near the bottom like about an hour away from tmwana right no hour away 10 minutes

away. Yeah. All right. See, even closer. So I'm like, I'm like, she's like,

yo, meet my man. Black dude. This niggas cartel. Really? He's like, yeah,

what's up, man? He's like, how many pounds you want to get? I'm like, 20. He was like, how long

it's going to take you to move him? I'm like, I don't know to tell you how long it's going to take me. They're sold already. I'm like,

I'm like, yeah, I don't know five days. He was like, yeah? He's like, all right, come into the car. I go to the car. He opens up the trunk.

He's like, I got 50 in there. I thought you wanted, like, 50. I'm like, how much are there? He's, I'm banking on him being like $400, $4.25 at the time. He's like, they're $250 a pound. I'm like, $2.50. I'm like, let me see. Skunk weed.

You got green weed. Wow. So this is different than the stuff earlier, the stuff from Texas. Yeah, it's almost the same way, though. I'm like, oh, shit, son. He was like, just pay me for the, he's like, just pay me for like 30 of them. Take the other 20. And when you're done, just pay me back.

I'm like, he can't get rid of all this shit like that. He got this got a shit load of weed. So I'm like, all right, cool. I take it. I package it. I mail it out. My boy, I think it gets it. He sends me the money back.

the next day for all of the pounds, right? Okay, you got 50 over there? Yeah. So how many, between how many boxes? Two boxes. You put 25 pounds in each box? Yeah. How does that look?

How does that look? That looks like, like, off the table like this. Uh-huh. Like this. Right. Like this. And are you putting it all in one big vacuum safe? One block.

Yeah, one block. Yeah, one block. Okay. Because I would put my shits. I didn't have balls like that. I put them in one, one pound, one bag each. So what I did was I did the Texas. I did what I did in Texas.

Right. How we shipped it in Texas. Right. So we take the black, take the saran wrap, saran wrap the shit down. Then we take duct tape. After we saran wrap it, we duct tape the shit up, put soap on it, saran wrap it again. Okay. So there was no vacuum seal like food saver shit.

that the saran wrap and the duct tape will be enough with the soap that's the food saver with the soap with the dirty dish that was the 90s food saver okay and then you get a giant box now what is your cover are you cover is mad styrofoam so it's like as long as that box don't shake and wiggle right and it's like yeah chances are high chances are high and this before scanners this before you had to give your ID at the uPS store boom i knock it off he's on my balls he's loving me he's like Like, yo, you're the guy. And now your price is $300 cheaper than it was in Texas for a better week. So it's happening quick now.

So this display is happening quick. So it's like, all right, I did it again where I packaged my own shit, sent it back. Then he was like, yo, I fuck with you, yo. He was like, yo, I'm just going to send you the weed. He's like, you don't got to pay for nothing up front. I'm just going to send it to you when you get it. Then you send the bread. I'm like, okay.

50 bricks at a time? 50 pounds every time, right? So now I'm like, I'm like, yo, I'm sitting there thinking of myself the new E class, the E430, was out. It was like 43,000 brand new, right? And the Range Rover, the 4.6 was out, and that was like 48, 56 loaded, 56,000 loaded, right? So I was like, I told them I was like, yo, He's like, I'm not to send this back. I was like, yo, send me

150 pounds. And I won, it was this shit called Cow's Breath, which was like exotic. And I was about to tap into that. I was about to start selling that in the hood because Hayes started popping and everybody started booming with exotic weeds started being a wave, right?

So I was like, oh, send me this shit because nobody ever had that shit. Some crazy Caldean, big-ass bud shit. And he had 150 pounds of it? No, he had six pounds of that. Okay. So he sent me three boxes, not in 25 pounds, but like two. All right, so it's 50 pounds in each box, three boxes.

He took 25 pounds and stuffed them in a fucking computer tower. Okay. Before he did that, he sent me 100, and he sent them in two boxes, four computer towers, two in each box. stuff for 25 pounds in each box. So when I got the pounds, it was like I'm breaking down fucking these computer towers and shit. So he's like,

yo, when he sends the buck 50 and the six pounds of the cow's breath, I'm waiting for the shit in Baltimore. I'm like, I'm waiting because I'm getting it in Baltimore and then I'm driving it back to New York. Right. Right? Because I'm like, if I send it to New York,

it's too hot to do that shit. I know I could send all the packs to Baltimore and they'll land. And I had my boys out there just give me fake addresses. Like go to this house, go to this house. I sit on a motherfucker's door porch waiting for a pack. 50 pounds. Right.

You don't even know the person inside. You're just, I don't give a fuck. I just know the name on that box. Is that for John Williams? Yeah, that's me. Let me get my box. Thank you. Throw that shit in the truck and buggy, right?

And how many people do you have that you're giving it off to? If you get 150 pounds and they're just sending it out to the- They cash me out. I don't care what they're doing. Just the invisible hand. To the point where I was like, where are you selling all this weed at? No, it's fascinating. I used to think the same thing.

Where does this all get sucked up? Think about how many people it touches. And this is just upstate. My boys in New York used to be so mad at me because I come through the town with all the weed. And then I leave. And they'd be like, you ain't leaving no pounds for me to sell. I'm like, nah, niggia. Why not?

Because they only wanted to pay me 600 and I'm getting $1,200 out of town for them. Why would I give you that? Right. Fuck out of here. Right. So now I'm scheming on this car And I tell him to send 150 pounds He sends this shit

I'm like I'm gonna get two cars in one day I'm gonna go get the Range Rover And the E430 all black everything Both of those shits I'm gonna shit on everybody uptown Okay I'm waiting for my packages to come What's going on?

I put I track my shits I call the UPS shit They're like What was it in the box? I was like They were just like video games And shit like that They were like, well, you have a red alert on your package that the DEA wants to talk to you.

I'm like, wow. They just give that information out. They're like your packages are in Kansas right now. Stuck at the DA. I was like, I just got off the phone. I was like, damn, son. It's over. No, it's not over.

It was. It shouldn't have been. It was because we lost all that weed and I was just like, I was like, my boy didn't want to send him more weed. He was like, because he was losing other packs of other places too. I was like, it's your fault. He was like, yeah, you made me send that stink-ass weed, those six pounds. He said, if you went to send those six pounds, you would have got those shits. Them shit couldn't hold because we didn't have vacuum sealers back then.

Right. He was like, that shit could have hold the packaging. Yeah. I was like, well, so I sat there. I told my homie, I was like, yo, shit's ugly right now. I put all my marbles in one basket and played myself. I was like, yo, just pay my rent

for a minute, man. Just the Coke dealer. It's my best friend. Right? So he's like, all right. He's like, he's like, what's up?

You want to come back upstate? As a matter of fact, my keys, here you go. My cell phone, but all my custis, even my weed custies, here you go.

Hmm. I went to my pops. I did the, like, the crying shit. Like, yo, man, I'm sorry, man. Like, yo,

give me a shot, man, give me another shot, man, give me a job, yo, or that. He was like,

you're going to fuck that job up you just want to sell drugs and get money and live this fast life and getting all this trouble I'm not fucking with you I'm like no for real I'm dead serious I'm not gonna fuck up the name nothing family name nothing he's like

all let's see I went did the drug test I don't even know how the fuck I passed that drug test but I got in though you know what's the job Steamfitters Union? Yeah

Wow So I got into the Steamfitters union welding all this shit right the same time I get in, my block is booming with the weed. I'm like, I'm like, because now I'm like, I don't want to go upstate. I'm buying wheat from my other homie. And I'm like, he comes back down with a Rolex. I'm like three weeks off of selling Hayes.

I'm like, tell us what Hayes is. People get, because there's a lot of misconceptions about what Hayes is. Hayes is basically, all right, before there was Sativas and Indigas, like, for that being information, it was like, what is Hayes? is we grown by Cubans and Colombians, right? In Miami, it really started in Puerto Rico and migrated up, and they're the growers of it. And the Dominicans, this is my perspective. This might be a true story, it may not, but it's my true story.

Right. Because I've been there, right? When we originally started buying Hayes, it was from the Coke spot. Like, you couldn't get it nowhere else. Right. So, aka the Dominicans. Yeah. They were the people gatekeeping the Hayes.

Right. And they were getting it from the growers. They were getting it from the Coke dealers. Right. The people that the plugs, they were like, you've got to take this weed too. Right. And they were growing it indoors in Florida. Yes.

Wow. Yeah. See, I think most people, the general public doesn't know that. I think they assume that Hayes is. No. Just a West Coast thing. More of a regional thing. People would assume because we got purple.

It was all like, oh, purple bud. The haze that I had was never purple. Okay. That's a Jimmy Hendrix entangra of Purple Hays. I promise you. But that's a huge cultural stamp. We didn't even know it was Purple Haze until after we were doing Purple Hays

because they would be like Peppa Head, Pepper Head, Pepper Head. I said this in an interview before. Whereas like, Dominicans, they don't know, they don't even know what the fuck they'd be saying when they're translating their words to English. It's all backwards and shit. Puffahead. So, like, yeah, Peppa hat.

It's like, Purple Haze? Yeah, they sound retarded. It sounds deaf. What the fuck is going on? Right, right. So the haze originally the Dominicans were getting from the growers was not purple. It was just fire. It was indoor.

The haze that the Dominicans were originally getting were coming from Coke suppliers that had Coke and weed also. And the weed started booming. And then all the Dominicans are like, we need the weed. We need the weed. And it wasn't a black thing. It was like when I would go to the Bronx and smoke the haze, they're like, that shit is chemicals. What is that shit? Yeah, I'm the highest.

It doesn't even stick in it. Yeah. Nothing. Like, what is this shit? No stems. That was crazy to people. Look at that. Like, it's grown in the equator, bro.

It's an equator, bro. It's an equatoral plant. I'm telling them this shit back in a 90-day. No, it's true. No, it's grown indoors in Florida. Bro, it's an equatorial plant. You just told us it was grown in Miami. Right, but listen when I'm trying to explain to you, though.

Okay. Even though it's grown indoors, the natural habitat of being near the equator plays into fact of the grow indoors. Just because you're indoors growing a weed doesn't, that you're going to grow. No one, they can't grow it in Cali. Explain it. Is that true?

I don't know if that's true. The Pouet, the Cuban haze, they're not growing at. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We didn't even smoke Caliweed until like 05,

04, again, and some exotic shit. I see. Okay. Okay. The Minicans had that on, and the Cubans had that one smash. That was their own recipe

that birthed off the East Coast, no West Coast. Okay. So that's still a niche market, but it's growing. That market is over. because so many trafficking charges drug dealers got caught.

Right. The strains, the real people with those strains, you might see people be like, oh, we got the original black Cuban haze and this and that. Some of that might be authentic, but in real time. That's fascinating. So it's kind of an extinct thing, the original haze. It's like sour diesel, like the real sour.

Yeah, sour diesel. All New York rappers used to rap about the sour diesel. What is the sour diesel? Same shit, same concoction from those guys. So the thing is, it goes back to nutrients and the agenda of the government. So back in the days, the government would put shit in the fucking nutrients so they can, when they want to do the task force, your wheat smells mad pungent. So they can smell that shit from miles away. Like those chemicals are not available, you know what I'm saying to the point where you're like, we're using the same? No, they change that.

You get a bag of weed now. You have to literally open the pound bag and kind of like put your nose in it to smell the weed nowadays. Oh, fascinating. But back in the day, I had a more pungent smell because people are growing with chemicals. What? A bag of sour diesel, a dime bag would fucking smell a whole building. Literally, not even lit.

You know how many times we got kicked out the building for it being in our pocket? And they'd be like, now you lit it. I smell it everywhere. It's everywhere. That's fascinating. So it's actually, that was probably not very good for you smoking all those chemicals. It was excellent because you'd be high as a kite. You'd be farting that shit.

Right. Everything smells like sour diesel. Right. And was that coming from also the drug traffickers from Miami from Florida? Or where was the sour diesel coming from? So the sour diesel, I would say the Albanians. Growing it indoors? Yeah. In the Northeast? In New York. Wow. Okay. But in the late 90s, early 2000s, when this really started to take over the hood, you know, Harlem, the Bronx, New York. Well, we didn't grow it? No, I know that, but you're consuming it. It was really... It was really expensive.

It was expensive. It was 600 a zip. Crazy. $600 a zip. That's like two and a half pounds of the shit you're buying in San Diego. The thing is, though, it's 600 a zip, but you can back up 900 to $1,000 off of it. And it's... And it flies in one day.

So if you don't got the balls to test it or try it, then you're not going to get none of that money. But if you tap into it, now you're not going to pay $600. you're going to pay 500, 550, and you're going to make 960, 980, or $5. Bagging it up into like little bubble gum shits, 0.3s for $20. Right. So you're selling 0.3% of a gram and people, but it's so good people putting it into blunts. See, it is loud as hell as hell. Wow.

Wow. Okay. So there's money in it. It was hell of money in it. So how does this? So that separates the risk takers from the regular sellers. Right. And this isn't.

We're still moving commercial. the shit was standing He's already set the tone And I set the tone with that Because when I started selling Hayes My supplier was kind of like You want to be rich Porter of Harlem with the weed Okay

Yes I was like Yeah but you sell coke He was like no I don't sell coke Won't fuck with that I'm not going to show It's like Pinky swear

You know I mean So I was like I'm good So our relationship was based off For strictly selling butt And this is a Dominican Yes How'd you link up with him? By buying weed, he was like,

yo, you're fucking killing it. You buy bad weed every day. Like, you buy half a pound and pound every day. I'm like, yeah. And you were just breaking it down? Yeah. Wow. He was like, where you be at?

I'm like, 10 blocks away from here. He was like, oh shit. He came to my block. He knew a couple drug dealers on the block. Dominicans that were like, yo, puppy. He's like, yo, what's up? He's like, this is your block?

I'm like, yeah. What block was that? 158. 158. Yeah, he was like, he's like, oh, my man gonna pull up tomorrow. He pulled up with 20 pounds of haze, right?

Wow. So now I'm currently just moving like a pound, two pounds, maybe three, four pounds a week at the time. I wasn't like going crazy. He pulls up with 20, right? I'm like, oh shit, this niggas just dropped off 20 pounds. I'm like, I ain't giving it back.

I'm like, how the fuck I'm going to move this shit, yo? And then I just came outside. And I just was like, you got it now. You got it. You'd plug. And what was one of those pounds going to you for? I was getting them for like $6,000. And I was selling them for like $6,400, $6,300, a whole pound.

Oh, so you were just giving love. You were just taking a little percentage off of it. Now, I had some people that I charged like $7,000. $72 is the most I was charging for a pound. Were those most of people from out of town? 100%. If you went from out of town, you're getting the $7,000.

You're getting $72. Because they can make more. Or $68, depending. If you buy like 4 or 5, I'll give them to you for 68. Okay. You dig? But they fly off the shelf. What?

I was, I ended up, my numbers were basically like $400 a month. 400 Gs a month? No, 400 pounds a month. Like, I do 100 pounds every week. Yeah. You know, at those numbers for like a decade. Wow. You know what I'm saying?

So you had, so you would, grow into, you worked with your dealers and they expanded the market. They just, yeah, I didn't even look at it like that. I looked at it like, I'm getting high and I'm smoking weed and I got it. And if we're cool and you want to buy, you can spend your money with me.

I ain't going to rob you. Because back in the days, everyone had the experience of getting knock on non, which is basically going to a drug dealer thinking they're going to sell you some shit and they give you some fake shit or some bang shit and they rob you for your bread. You dig what I'm saying?

Yeah. So I was like, nah, I ain't happening, no way. I got you well. And were you the exclusive guy with it? Yes. I became that. It wasn't like, I basically took that slot. You know what I'm saying?

Even to the point where Branson, you know what I mean? He shouted me out from early where it was like I felt like it was a change in the guards. You know what I mean? And like, oh, too, I felt like, you know, I was like, all right, Branson. He's like, oh, usually your name ringing bells. You know what I mean? So your name was really out there in the street, even though what you're doing, is still federal.

Yeah, back then. For sure. I didn't care. I was already a career criminal in my mind. And I told you, I already, like, gave up the hard side. Yeah. And I'm like, made this atonement where it's like, I'm going to work this job. So I got a job and my block is booming now.

So I'm like, coming home and like, you want to work overtime? I'm like, fuck no. Hell no. Still steam fitting? No. I retired from that. You back at the gap? Yeah.

System manager? Yeah, this type of shit, like four sales of a team. Nah, I'm just joking. But, yeah, I'm just like, I mean. So you had a day job as you were moving 400 pounds of haze a month. Do your parents know? Yeah, they know. Because what happened was when I started working at the union, they were like, he got the weed.

So I basically had my whole union class because we had to go to like union school. We had to go like class once a week. Yeah. But now I got like a 30-man huddle at lunchtime. And everybody's like smoking weed. And now I'm doing music now. I got like the music shit going on. Dipset.

Okay. So this is where I first heard about Shice Bubbs was, yeah, this, the dipset phenomenon, which came about in the early 2000s. I see they had all these little subsidiary groups. You know what I mean? I forget the names now, J.R. Ryder. You know, all these kind of ancillary cats. It was mostly just Jim Jones and Cameron.

on. But then I hear about like, what is it, Purple Gang? Yeah, Purple City. Purple City. And I hear this motherfucker with a deep voice and a fly-ass beat. And I was like, this is cool as fuck. Like, you were a good rapper. As a fan of hip-hop, because I never thought I was, I never was like on some rap shit.

I was always anti-rap. I was always like drug dealer shit. Y'all niggas want to live this life. Like, y'all don't really live this shit. Y'all good kids. Right. I know a good kid because I was a good kid at one point. You dig what I'm saying?

Yeah. So I can identify good people. when I see them. Yeah, and also they were innovative. They were funny on rap. They were different. And that means something. And they know the culture.

Right. Because in order to be successful in this shit, you have to know your demographic and who's actually buying into your play. Yes. And they did that. They did know who was buying into it. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

The marketing is was unparalleled. I learned, I learned those things about music from being part of dipset because I was oblivious to a lot of things. Like as far as like people utilizing other people's or the whole demographic of using what they're accustomed to wanting to see and feeding that to them. I just be like walking in my own path. Like see, I got. I just do me. I don't think about.

The point is you weren't even a, you were like a hobbyist. Yes. You didn't, Cameron was rapping since the mid, early 90s. Like he was a real artist. You just kind of started rapping and were good. Thank you. So it was just, that's where I first heard of you. I was very insecure about me being a rapper for a long time.

Even to this day, I'm not like, that's not like the, that's like the 10th thing I'm good at. So you, you don't lead with rapper when people ask you what you do, who you are? No, no, never, ever, no. Okay. I rather tell them I'm a bum before I tell him I'm a rapper. Okay. You know what I'm saying? Okay.

Question. You're selling 400 pounds a month. First of all, what's your profit off that? 100 Gs? No, my profit is like 6% of whatever I'm selling. Okay, so that's a pretty thin margin. Yeah. Okay, so what are we talking, like 30 to 50 grand?

A little more than that. Okay. But like a month, like monthly, I do like 100K. 100K a month. Yeah. So, I mean, most people never see that touching Coke. And I'm doing that every month. I was doing that every month.

Every month. Yeah. So how is your name not ringing with the feds? Because I basically was selling bud, and the city is full of millions of people. So as long as you're not committing murders and doing shit to where you're creating an offense, an offensive crime to where people are doing a conspiracy to you, you're off the radar. So your people never got pops, people you give them work to? Not that you're aware of? They got pop.

Like, they got pop with a pound. Yeah. They be like, I got caught with the work on the way back. I don't care. Yeah. That's on you. You got caught.

They're not going to be like, take it to the source. Where did you get this pounded? We're like, got to put a pound of herb. We're really going to keep this pound. You know what I'm saying? And charging with her.

Shee-he. I mean, I mean, it was a lot of corruption going on back in the day. And we were the target of the war on drugs. Like, that's where the game gets crazy. So, like, throughout the whole 90s is like the war on drugs. The late 80s,

war on drugs. 90s war on drugs, Giuliani's cleaning up New York, which he basically did. Yeah, he did. He did it by putting cameras on every street corner. Dominicans are allergic to cameras.

So they ran into... My people love cameras. You guys were flashy? Yeah, yeah. I'm like, where's the camera? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on, let me hit a pose. With this fucking gun.

You told him, I'm saying? But like, that's just basically what it was. Well, look, I did a... That shit cleaned up the hood. But I did a charge for, you know, I did time, prison for selling lots of weed. So clearly they were targeting. Clearly it became, it became a target of the feds when there was less crack to go after. You did a Fed bid for weed? I didn't,

no. But the feds seized a lot of my shit. But I went to the state, yeah. How much time did you do? Two years. Two years? How much weed did you get cold one? No weed. No weed? Conspiracy. Just tons of cash. I didn't keep it. I didn't keep the product at the crib, but I kept the cash. How much cash you got for a way? At the end of the day, almost a million. Almost a million. And you did two years. Yeah. My boy got caught with $6 million. I mean, $3 million. He was a big Coke dealer, and he did seven years for the $3 million in cash.

Never got caught with no drugs. But did they have any kind of conspiracy on him? Did they have any snitches? Nobody snitched on me. I had nothing. They had no evidence on it. They just put him in jail for the money. Huh.

And then deported him right after that shit. Yeah. You know what I mean? So. He's running a car dealership in the DR now. So basically what happened for me, all in one, an all in one swoop on a good note, right? Because I've always had these premonitions of how does this end?

Right. What's the end story? You know what I'm saying? Like after a 10 year run, what's next? Right? So I'm like, yo, I just ended a 10 year legacy with selling Coke. I'm good. I don't have to ever do it again.

Now I'm doing this weed shit. My shit is booming. It's so booming that I'm in the sky like, where does this end? This is too crazy. I'm too high. up. I'm doing anything I want to do. You know? You're loving life. I'm loving it because I don't have to transfer one thing

to the other to do something else. Did Dipset, when they started popping in Harlem, did they know who you were? They were discovering who I was as we went along. It wasn't like, they was like, they was just intrigued by what I had going on in the present. Like as soon as they met me, like, he got the weed, yo. Yo, I went to his house.

Yo, he got mad shit, yo. He got everything, yo. Yo, he's official, yo. Yo, I asked my man about him, yo. My man's like he's known him from jail. Oh, my man know him from upstate. Oh, my man know him from over here. Yo, he's official. You can fuck with him.

You know what I mean? He's solid. So you were kind of the new age, Rich Porter, Alpo. You were like a less serious, kind of a street legend. I don't know. I don't know. I think that's a little bit.

I mean? Like, too much. I just, I felt like I was just like, leading the cannabis wave. Like, I felt like I was a street dude that I've been outside doing all these things that these people emulate and they glorify. And I was just doing that because that was my situation at the time. You know what I mean?

But I really felt like I was leading this cannabis flag in the search for legalization at some point. And that when it happens, that I was going to be ready for that play. Okay. So you saw that in the future. I want to be legal. I want to be legal, period. That's why I started doing music. Because I said to myself when I read that article, I was like, yo, it's going to be legal in California.

I was like, I bet you I can make that shit legal for myself right now. I bet you off the out the mud. And diplomats provided me the opportunity to do it out the mud because my entry was doing mixtapes. That don't cost me nothing to take a song from somebody and put it on a playlist. You know what I mean? The most that it costs is for me to do a little bit of artwork and, you know, figure out somebody as a graphic designer to do that, which happened to fall in my lap. You did what I'm saying? So all I had to do is, which I was already doing with the weed, was congregate my peers.

You know what I mean? And now we're not just in the streets, but we're in the music industry. So it's all types of rappers like, yo, listen to my song, yo. Yo, you could get this on the camp. Yo, you could get, I try to get the gym, but gym busy, yo. Can you get it to them, yo? And I'm like, I'm just going to put a platform together. Purple City, the auditioning B team.

Like the, like the, like the, um. The replacement. Like the overseas league. Yeah, right, right. You dig? Yep. Like, they're all hot, but if you like somebody out of my roster, Kim, you could basically recruit them.

I'm cool with that. I'm cool with that. That's what this is for. They were the farm system. You were feeding them players. Purple City was the farm. Wow. Did you get any talent over to Dipset?

I mean, yeah, a mafia, just the whole play, the whole Purple City, the whole mom. mindset of being able to be independent and start bird gang, start all these other subsidiators of diplomats by my leadership of being like, look, I got my own shit, Purple City. Come on, own distro. Really? Yeah. Get your own distribution.

Yeah. Did you make any money off music? It's a hard business. I made some money, but not like, I felt like I didn't recoup my money that I put in. I put 400 in. I made like two something back. And that left the bad taste in my mouth because I was like, yo, I put this bread up that I didn't even recoup.

I didn't even care to recoup it because I looked at it as a sacrifice. I'm like, I'm making all this, but I don't care. I'm spending this shit, look, I'm just, that's how I stayed off the fed's list because I wasn't, like, doing, like, organized crime. I was more like being a facility to be like, you could go to the studio, you could record,

I'm going to put the music out, I'm going to print up the CDs. I'm going to do everything. I mean? It's pretty good margins, though. I'm not doing no contracts with you. This is all freelancer. If you win, you win.

If not, you don't. That's what it did. It got me my own record label situation. It was like I have my own record label, distribution. I went back to my union job like, yo, I got this whole shit. They offered me $50,000 for my first album. That's basically what I make here. Might as well live out my dreams.

Yeah. This is just the start. I'm going to pop this shit off. Yeah. So I left the union shit. So you got a deal with Cam's label? No. Who'd you get the deal with?

Cam's label. I showed them how to get deals. Indy deals. He had his deal with Rockefeller. But I did like an indie deal with an independent record company. And then once I did that, they were like,

you're getting $7 a record? Only getting $25 a record. I'm like, all that music that you was putting out in the streets for free, you need to repackage that shit and repurpose it and put it over here so you could get some more bread instead of selling mixtape.

The mixtapes is over. And I think I remember that. Like Jim Jones, really, he was the real business mind. That was my bro. He was like, that's the play. And then I shot Purple City Burging the video off the mixtapes. So not for nothing. If Jim Jones went to took that video, because people would be like,

yo, you're part of Jim Jones group and this. I'm like, yo, he's my bro. The point was to get the music popping by any means necessary to put it in the machine. So if he had to go say that We were his group Or you know Where his art Whatever he had to say

This is his video I don't give a shit Rap is marketing man It's all marketing Who cares? Did Kevin Al sign off of any? He sure did And that ended up on a reel

With 20 Rockefeller songs with Jay-Z So do you know how much it is To service a music video back then? I have no idea More than it costs to shoot it How about that? Wow Okay, so you spend

So you spend 30, 40, 50 on a video It's going to cost you about 30, 40, 50 to service it So all the video shows across the country Right In three different formats And then you got to pay to ship them Right, you got to pay to get placement Yeah, so nobody's, no back then

No one's service just one video You have to stack the videos onto the real And then send out the rail So you save On all these fees that you got to pay Right You did? We did that And then it was like,

20 million viewers on our video as soon as it dropped because we're on this real that's like service throughout the whole country. Wow. And that was the Purple City Gang video? Burgang. And that's why ultimately that's our most famous song. Because from the off the rip, I was thinking enterprising like, you know, how are we going to do this?

How are we going to get a pop? And that's how we did that. So that's what came of that? Jim Jones. Yeah. His career, Purple City. came out. Yeah.

You know what I mean? And he took your your method of distribution and he made a shit lot of money off his next couple albums because he went indie and he got that $7, $5 to $7 royalty per unit.

Yeah. At the time they used to be like, oh, that's a, that's a grave house for rappers and all of shit. But we were like, we knew rappers. How could it be a graveyard

where we haven't even started? Yeah. That's our birth. We got wild cloud off of that shit. Like y'all got, in the hood, if you got a deal for 50,000, you was the man in the hood.

Like back in the days, if you came in the hood, like, I just got signed for $50,000. It's like, what? Yo, boy, it's lit. Right. Don't forget we, like, in our early 20s and, you know what I mean? 18-year-old comes to the block. Like, I just got $50,000.

I just bust the bowling and buck the chain. Just got the car. Yeah, you're broke in three months. And now- That's not even to be told because it hasn't been the three months. It hasn't, that time hasn't even evolved. Yeah. You dig what I'm saying?

It's like waves of shit. and everybody ain't popping like that. You got to go through auditions to be certified like that to say that you nice and hauling. So you can really, this is financed by Hayes money. Did the weed change at all? Did the haze evolve your connect? Was he bringing you different strands of it?

It was like four different strains of haze. And none of this is Cali. No, hell no. Cali pack means that you're stuck. Like, you're not even going to get that shit off. Oh, come on. I'm serious. No, I'm serious.

I'm serious because the demand was for Hayes. It wasn't for no grape ape and all this other shit. So Hayes really was the street brand. It was like how a heroin stamp in the 80s in the Bronx would be popping. Obsession. You've got to get obsession. I promise you that. Wow.

And the Dominicans really had that on Smash because I was only like a fourth of my man's company. Yeah. Like of the company, of my Hayes company, of what I'm doing my getting my 3 to 400 pounds a month. He's doing $1,000 a month. Okay. So you weren't his sole distrust. He had other, he had other people. Yeah.

But you were the sole one in Harlem. He knew each other, but we were all independent. We were all like tennis, like. Yeah. Were you the sole distributor in Harlem? No. Oh, you weren't? No.

Then why were you known as like the cannabis guy? I guess it's because of your brand. Because I'm black. Because I'm black. I'm an anomaly. Right. I'm an anomaly in that. Until 05, only 95% of Latinos ran the cannabis industry.

And on the West Coast, it was... I'm talking about the whole country. Well, the West Coast was white boys who were getting it from Latinos like me. I said, ran it. Y'all didn't run it. Y'all got it from the Mexicans. Sure. And y'all colonized their shit and took their shit over,

which is, you know what I mean? Usually how this shit goes. I mean, for real, I've been around since the beginning of the time. Like, so at the end of the day, when I'm going to this, to cultivations in California, and 06, 07, 08, 09 through my rap career, and I'm like, going to the facility, And it's all Mexicans, right?

With the owner being a white boy. And then I come back two, three years later, and it's only one Mexican. And it's all these other white people in the shit. Trimming and, yeah. They didn't cut them out because Mary and Joe then got caught stealing. Or they're like, you know what I'm saying? They just figured out, like, we're getting taken advantage of me. I mean?

Also because, you know, cartels would get popped. Like, I would buy from different organizations. They call them cartels. But they're really just families. from either Sinaloa or Dorango, these different areas in the growing regions, and they send up teams of, these are farmers.

They don't even know what state they're in. They're like, what is Oregon? What is Oregon? Right? And so they would get popped and they'd all get deported. So there was a lot of hippie labor, we'll call it.

Like I said, I'm the biggest in New York because I'm black. That's why. You dig what I'm saying? I have the most notoriety because of that because I've been able to mesh, music and entertainment along with this. And since the beginning, not influence,

not being a follower and being like, oh, they so weed, I want to do it. Nah, I set the trend. You know what I'm saying? Like, I've been setting the trend because I come from a breed of authentic people. You dig what I'm saying? Hustlers, like, for real.

So if I came out and I was on some, like, jacking somebody else's shit, they would have been like, that shit whack, man. You're a copycat, man. That shit, you ain't do that. You ain't do none of this. I'm saying? Right. So it's like, nah.

You were never scared to be yourself. Never. Never. Now, what, after the music, when did the music start to fade out in your life? It faded, I would say, like, in 2010. So I had like a seven-year run with the music, eight-year run to the point where I was like, I got into this place in my head where I'm like, I'm a rapper.

I'm like, I'm a rapper. This shit is stupid. I don't like this. Shit, yo. Because I don't feel like I'm number one in that. Ah. I don't feel like that's my, I told you that's like number 10 on my list. Right.

That's not like my number three talents. Like, fashion is really my number one talent. You dig what I'm saying? And organizational skills. Right. You dig? Right. So.

So what is, what is the- I came to a fork in a row. Yeah. I came to a fork in a row where it's like, what's you're going to do, man? Musical weed. You know? I was like, fuck this music shit. I'm like, I'm doing weed.

We got me everything. We got me everything. Situated and everything, business, because it helps me with my networking as far as communicating with people. You know what I mean? It's like, if I chill with you and I smoke a blunt with you,

we can talk about any type of business. The rap shit, if I'm like, I'm a rapper, it's like, wow, you're a rapper. Like, what do you want? Take a number. You store all these cats. You want some money or something? Like, what do you want for me?

Right. I'm not in music. I can't do nothing for you. It's like, you want to buy a home? It's like, you're a rapper, right? You got money. Like, oh, God, get the fuck away. You get this shit.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So I came to a fork in the road and I ultimately chose weed. Like, I'm going back on my weed path and basically became part of the smokers club. Johnny Scheip smoked as a, right. Which is like a national touring situation for cannabis without selling weed. Okay. It's like we're selling.

Explain what that is. It's like we do concerts. 30 city every 30 city tour with the biggest names in in hip hop with weed red man method man cypress hills nipsy hustle rest in peace when he was out here juicy j we've had everybody burner everybody's been on a smokers club tour that smokes weed if you have it then you ain't really a real smoker and i happen to be the host for every every tour since it started you dig what i'm saying that's fire so you come out you're the you come out you're the host you're you you warm every buddy up. Do you do, do you rap?

Nope. You're just out there livening up the crowd, fucking be in the hype man. And letting me be known that all these people that you see on this stage have crossed my path. I don't need an autograph. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You dig? Like, I'm the coolest weed dealer you ever met.

You dig? Like, it's only about weed. The fuck all that other shit. Don't ever get me, ask me to perform Purple City Bird Gang, I might smack you and break your fucking equipment. You heard? I heard. It was like that. Like, don't ask me about no rap shit. Don't tell me, ask me to rap on tour.

I'm not doing it. I'm not getting up there performing for y'all niggas. Like, I'm auditioning for something. Nah, y'all got to pay $10,000 for me to perform. Crazy? So I did that for a while. But no one knew I quit music because I wasn't, like, promoting it. Right.

I'm just going to drift away from that. And meanwhile, the packs are still moving. I mean, I was doing branding because the game started moving a little differently. Right. Prices started going down. more people more and more good weed flood New York. Every eighth is $25 now? What the fuck is going on out here?

Right. But then I was like, it's no way this weed could be $25. It costs more than that to buy it. This weed cost $3,000 in Cali. How could you possibly sell this for $25 a $8? Yeah. Impossible. So then I basically was like,

I look, this weed is $80. This weed is $15. So when people would come to be like, y'all, I want to get some weed for me. you. I'm like what you came for. It's like the $15.00 week. I'm like, all right. They're like, what's that over there in those jars?

That's not for you, man. They're like, what do you mean? Like, it's $80. It's not for you. You want that $15 cheap shit. Go cop, what you want. They're not like, nah, let me get four of those $80 shit. Now they're pulling out money out. They sock and all that. Don't you ain't have money for lunch? Now you just bought $4.80 joints.

You know, the shit's a hot outside of the streets. You all the resellishers for $100. What? So it sounds like you kind of went from this massive wholesaler, 400 pounds a month of the highest quality. I cut that shit off. So now you're down to like a hand-to-hand salesman again. Yeah. A friend salesman.

Like you have to, now I'm a rapper. I'm known as a rapper. Right. So even to talk to me, it's like about weed. It's like, what? Right. What's you doing? I'm not telling you know one eighth.

You got about a whole pound and go sell you. own ace. Figure it out. You see what's going on over here? Do this for yourself, man. You did? So you went from that to back to dealing with smokers. Yes, because I'm on a smokers club tour now.

Right. So now I know all the smokers. I know all the growers. I know all the fucking people who are actually making machinery for oil, all of this shit. Everything is like right in my backyard. You're in the industry. You're part of this new way of legalization. And I'm still only one of 10 black people.

in the game. How was that money? You know, we always assumed that once it went legal, all the fucking, all the game was going to be done. There was going to be no money in it. All the big private equity groups would monopolize the business, but it hasn't happened. What hasn't happened?

Like private equity and all these Wall Street firms haven't taken over and monopolized like we thought it would. It's not federal. That's why. Right. But, you know, I pushed back on that too, because we had a guy in here who, we just interviewed this week and he runs like a hemp company.

So this is hemp. Looks exactly like weed. Smokes exactly like weed. It's just not as powerful. And he said they do $100 million a year just off of their online sales. And he says once it goes federal,

dude, company like me is going to be a $500 million a year company. And they don't have like, you know, Wall Street fucking money behind them. Just got to be, listen, the art of weeds selling is about consistency. Yeah. And if you can be consistent long enough,

what they did in the legal market in New York was kind of sell people a dream that it's like, oh, you can get a license, you can get in the game. Right. But they didn't offer the financials for them to expect, to be held out. It's like, okay, you can open up, but you got to wait eight months and you've got to have a store and you've got to be paying. If you want to get a store in New York, it's like between $25,000 and $100,000 in rent.

A month. Yeah. for real estate. So it's like... And now you've got to wait eight months and now you're bleeding fucking... That's a million dollars just waiting. So you got felonies and you got

10,000 of your name and you're like, I'm going to take three of it go apply for a license and I'm going to get it. Guess what? I got the license, bro. Yeah. But I don't have no money for buildup. I don't have no money for a location.

I don't have enough money to re-up once I get this spot. I don't have enough money for the safe. How am I supposed to operate? Right. Is there still weed been black market weed dudes in New York? This, there's black market wheat place people everywhere in the country.

That's never going to stop. That's why they legalized it. Well, in Cali, for instance, we looked this up. 90% of marijuana in the state of California is sold on the black market still because they overtax the shit out of it. So all these distributors buy from cartels and they sell it like it's legal. So if that's the mothership, what do you think is going to be the results of this? offspring.

I don't know. The same thing. In New York. Everywhere. Yeah, everywhere. All right. Well, that's good for people. It's legal here, right?

It's good for hustlers. It's not legal here. It's not legal here, right? Yeah. But you can still go and go buy some wheat, though. Yeah. All right. So make it make sense.

Hey, it's not my laws. Laws to be made to be broken. Okay. So after, so this cannabis cup and all this shit, you're becoming like this mogul that you are and you're, you know, your fashion and you're known from the music. And you built this, like, cool brand. What did you do? What have you done the last five years?

And now what are you doing? So cannabis just basically legalized two and a half years ago, two years ago, basically. In New York. In New York. Yeah. So in the last five years, I basically saw what was about to happen. Right? And I started gearing up for that.

So they're like, how are you gearing up for it? I'm like, well, New York is a big place. and being that I set the trend, I want the title. I want what's due to me. You dig what I'm saying? Because that helps my business as far as me, even being on a show like this right now. Like me having this history and this resume

allows for me to do business and be like, create anything I want to create. I'm a creator. That's what I do. It's not about me being like this or that. It's like I create things. You dig what I'm saying? You got to make money, though.

definitely has to make money. So I started gearing up for the transition. And I started telling people like, oh, it's about to legalize here. They're like, yeah, whatever. What does that even look like? I'm like, it looks like them wanting all the money. Okay?

And they're going to try to trick us out of our spot. Okay. They're like, what are you talking about? All these politicians started coming to visit me at my smokers club venue that I had with my partners, right? That I was kind of like managing. I was just managing it. It wasn't mine.

It was like, teams, but I'm just managing the situation, right? So everyone's coming over all these politicians like, hey, weed is about to legalize. What do you want? I was like, what do you want? Don't ask me what I want. I already sell weed. I already know, there's nothing else I want to sell weed.

That's it. What are we talking about? Pay and go. What are you talking about? What do I want? I want all the awards in weed. You're going to acknowledge my shit, yo. You're not going to just come over here and think that you're going to give blindsiders and

then just give it to white America. like y'all, like y'all been doing. Okay? So like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Boom. Some people in power, they're like, all, cool, we fuck with you, bubs.

Are you really ready to come out of the black market? I'm like, see, there you go again. Stereotyping me. Don't tell me I'm in the black market because that's the story you want to believe about me. I've been in the music industry for 10 years. So stop playing with me. I just came off tour from doing Smokers Club

where we legally, sell cannabis. You know what I'm saying? You think we're going to be going state to state doing illegal crimes and not go to jail? Right. Right. We're out there now. Yeah, this is commercial.

We don't even sell bud. And when we do, we sell it in the dispensaries. Right. Through legal deals that we have going on. So do you have dispensaries? We've been to. Do you have interests in dispensaries in New York City or? As far as what do you mean?

Like me owning one? Brick and mortar, yeah. No, I don't want that overhead. Okay. Hell no. That's, that's, that's, that's, that's for whoever they want to present that for. Right.

So they were like, do you want to dispens me? Hell no, I don't want to dispens it. Would you want to see me crash and burn? Or you want to see me come into the game and fail. Or you want to see me come in the game and win. For what? So you can copy my blueprint and have me reporting to you guys. Like I'm on probation.

I fuck the law. You know what I'm saying? All right. I'll fall back. Listen, I'm going to fall back and I'm going to let you guys put your work in and make this an equitable situation. And until you guys can show me that, I'm going to fall back. I don't want no license.

I'm going to support everyone, though. Give the license. Social equity is necessary, but you're not looking at the play how you're supposed to. You think that you're going to come into the cannabis industry to be a drug dealer? Because you're black and you've been to jail? No, go get the license and go sell your license for like 50 to 100K. So you can go live out your dreams of what you want to do and have your own Rockefeller start-up money. You dig what I'm saying? You're not using it in the right way. You're not,

you're not understanding what your blessings are of getting that. They don't want you in the game. You think you're going to get in the, they're going to bleed you out. So that's a lick right there. Have you sold a license? Have you got to? So I came in a business, right? What did I do? The first, the first quarter of dispensaries opening, I dropped my brand, the heavy smoke, legal legal weed and the dispensaries. Only thing was, the, was it was only eight stores open. Four of them had to close for renovations and to fix their licenses. So now I'm only stuck with four stores.

Guess what? Some of them went into delinquent because they, it's so slow their business because they're selling outdoor flower that they're like, oh, you, oh, you know what? Let me, let me fall back. Let me just take my brand out the market because what's happening is everyone's watching me. And they're like, Shicepub is in the market. How's the flower?

Where are you doing this? Stop asking me all these questions, yo. Get a life, yo. I'm taking my shit off the market. What happened when I took it off the market? People started doing a bunch of weird back talking and bureaucracy and all this other shit of people that you're like, damn, they're supposed to empower us.

But this is the play? Yeah, New York City cannabis is booming right now, but black people are only 1% in the stores. It's like 400-some brands and maybe like one owner of a black brand. I'm about to come back online though. So when I come back online for the summer of 2025, I'm going full rollout.

So anyone watching this when you come to New York City, make sure you check for my brand. You'll know the brand. I'm not going to reveal it yet. But when you see the brand, you're going to know what's my brand. Okay? Just be like, where's Shice brand at? And it's going to be an honorable brand.

You understand what I'm saying? Where it's not all these gimmicks and it's like not people, kind of you circumvent our lifestyle for all these years. You know what I'm saying? It's like, nah, this is a brand you could trust. It is what it is. And you can support it and feel good about what's actually happening.

Because all I do is refeed the market and set more trends and set the blueprint for them to say, oh, we need a hustle like that. We need to tighten up. You dig what I'm saying? I think so. Maybe I think I dig about half of it. I miss the old days. things were way easier.

And it was just, I bought it for this much, and I flipped it for this much. But, you know, times change, and people innovate. New York's at the center of it. Harlem's at the center of it. And you've been at the center of it. Is Harlem at the center of it?

When it comes to cannabis. In your eyes? I think so. Okay, that's great. I think so. I feel like I've done my job. I mean, the other one was, the other guy I can think of is Cosmarte.

Yeah. Con body? He's from the lower east. He's the homie, but our stories are completely different. Right. Right, right. But I'm just saying from going from a drug dealer to this citizen, right, is pretty dope. And you guys have some similar trajectories in terms of going from selling hard.

And he was into Aaron. And, you know, he was really, really federal. And now he's like, dude, he's got flagship stores all over the city. And he's fucking, he's on Good Morning America. And that'll be you. Well, you're on the connect. It's pretty cool. Yeah.

Well, I'm already, you know what I mean? We're doing that already. But like I said, like when it comes to New York, like, I made the mark. I made my mark. We really, like, black culture really sets the trend when it comes to being like, this is cool or this is not, especially with rap music. You know what I'm saying? It's like, these guys are smoking this weed.

Everyone's like, oh, but where's the suppliers? It has nothing to do with race. But it really does, though. You know what I'm saying? So it's like being that we don't get the credit that we really supposed to, get just because of politics? I don't know. I don't know what it is.

When we was legalizing, they told the black community that we didn't have the same privilege as these other people to sell cannabis when they let all these 1,500 illegal dispensaries per borough open up. You dig what I'm saying? They told us to our face that we couldn't do that, but they could because we're not privileged to do that. They're shutting a lot of those down, though. They shut the majority of them down.

Right, right. You know, the rest of them got scared, but you know what I mean? at the end of the day, it's like, we don't have to put this in if you don't want, but are you growing? Do you have money behind grows? So currently, I have people who have cultivation. So I don't have to have money behind their grow.

They have their own money behind they grow in the legal market. So when I do come back out, I'm already at the top of the pinnacle. Right. You know what I mean? Of how you get your product in the stores. You have to either go through a cultivation or a processor. Right.

or have your own micro license in order to do the play. If you don't have that, your product will not end up on the shelves, bro. So people cultivate your own brand. You have different outside cultivators. Yeah. Okay. That's dope. So, okay, what's the best way? And then you've got a pizza shop.

Pizza movement. Pizza movement. Sorry, go ahead. Pizza movement. Shots lots of five mics. You know what I'm saying? Well, I'm going to be in New York this weekend. Where can I go?

I'm trying to need a slice, bro. Just pull up and we'll take you to the best pizza shop. Oh, done. Are you kidding me, bro? And then you can be on two bites pizza content and we can, I mean, interview you. Yes, yes. And then what we do is basically we go get pizza for fuel, right? We fuel up with the pizza and then we go do something fun, something in New York that's, you know what I mean?

Like an experience. Yes, you know? Yes. You play golf? I do. All right. I play tenants too, though. So they got this spot called swings in New York.

Oh, the way you're hitting into the water? Or the one on the downtown? Not that one? It's like a whole miniature golf shit, like some other indoor shit, some new shit. Oh. I think I'm inspired by the creativity and the, what's the word? Innovation. Thanks, bro.

I really am. And hearing your story, you understand why New York cats are just the flyest because it's a mixture of the best from the entire world. See how my man walked in here? Look, you see what I'm saying? Oh, look. New York to the flyers. He's like he from Texas? He looks fly, though.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah, but you come down here and you buy property. You want to do a quick bonus episode where we smoke that blunt? Let's do it. And then we'll talk some more shit. Yeah. Sheist, I know you were hesitant to come on here.

You're like, who is this dufous white guy? I didn't go get dupes. I just like, who is this new federal agent? Yeah, who's this? Trying to get info. Yo, it's so, I know so much about the drug game. it does seem like I'm a Fed. Like some guy was talking about

how we used to move bricks of heroin. You don't look like a Fed though. Thank you. I've actually been in the system. I've had federal agents arrest me. But I would script you for a movie to play the Fed because you know what the Fed is like, so you probably get that shit off.

Well, now feds are like Puerto Rican women that are overweight. Like, feds are not even white boys. We're like done with the feds. It's the lady at the Taco Stand. Like, I'm the guy that, I'm the DA, bro. I'm the U.S. attorney. Oh, shit.

You know this shit. Like he said he just, hey. All right. We're going to switch over to the Patreon. Go, go check out Scheisbubbs. Go fucking listen to his music if you have it. If you're a youngster and fuck the weed brand. I mean, I still don't quite get how you get weed to customers, but they'll figure it out.

Oh, me? Yeah. Oh, they just got to see it. They just like, Shice got weed. My name, I don't know what happens. It's just like. Well, it's the distribution angle, though. The distribution.

If people want to. Okay. Got it. So, but is there a brand? Like a lot of people from New York watch this. So are you in stores right now in New York? No. Currently no.

All right. That's okay. But you're all over social media. So when it drops, you'll see it. Follow my page. S-H-I-E-S-T, B-U-B-Z. And I will announce it when it's dropping again. Yes.

And now the pizza movement. Shout that out one more time because I want people. At two bites pizza. Yeah. You already know what it is. Everyone loves pizza. What do we love to do after you eat a good slice? If you like to smoke a blood.

So you already know. That's it. All right, you guys. We'll see you over on Patreon. Patreon.com slash the Connect show. Shise Bubbs. What a fucking, what an interview, man. Appreciate it, bro.

Appreciate you, bro. Love it. Thank you.