The Money Mondays - Jeezy's 'Adversity for Sale' Book Reveals Difficult Rise to Fame & Fortune

Episode Date: July 31, 2023

Jay Jenkins, known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper who signed to Def Jam Records in 2004 and has never shied away from talking about his life in his music. But for this Grammy-nominated, BET Award-winning, platinum-selling hip-hop artist, this next project might be his most personal. With the release of his new book, 'Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe" - Jeezy reveals his difficult path from the Atlanta streets to the top of the Billboard charts to help other up & comers succeed despite all odds. Jeezy is an iconic rapper with raw lyrical talent and unwavering discipline. He is credited, along with fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, for helping to pioneer and popularize trap music for a mainstream audience. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, he emerged as a prominent figure in the hip hop scene, captivating audiences with his unique storytelling and street smarts. His major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was released the following year and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 172,000 copies in its first week and receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 1998, he launched the label imprint CTE World (then known as Corporate Thugz Entertainment). Aside from his solo career, Jeezy is the de facto leader of the southern hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America (U.S.D.A), and is a former member of the Bad Boy Records' rap group Boyz n da Hood.  @jeezyofficial  began his music career in 2001 as Lil J with the release of Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.) but has since has released TEN studio albums which contained numerous successful singles, including the top five hit "Soul Survivor" (featuring Akon), as well as the top 40 hits "I Luv It", "Go Getta" (featuring R. Kelly), and "Put On" (featuring Kanye West). In addition, Jeezy has also been featured on numerous hip hop and R&B hit singles, including "Say I" by Christina Milian, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Hard" by Rihanna and "Love in This Club" by Usher, with the latter reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2008. With chart-topping albums like "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" and "The Recession," Jeezy remains an influential force in the music and hip hop industry. Beyond his music, his philanthropy and entrepreneurial ventures reflect a commitment to inspiring positive change in his community. -- Like this episode? Watch more like it 👇 Josh Snow & Miami's DJ Irie on Monetizing Beauty + Entertainment: https://youtu.be/wsgV_pvmzPo Tim Storey and Him500 on Building Recession-Proof Generational Wealth: https://youtu.be/mO60DQQKCVs Watch ALL Full Episodes Here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs0D-M5aH-0IOUKtQPKts-VZfO55mfH6k --- The Money Mondays is a business podcast here to teach you how to make money, invest money, and donate money by showcasing some of the world's most successful people and how they do the same. Hosted by serial entrepreneur Dan Fleyshman, the youngest founder of a publicly traded company in history, this money podcast gives you an exclusive behind the scenes look at how the wealthiest celebrities, entrepreneurs, athletes and influencers make, invest and donate money. If you want to learn more business and investing while you work to improve your financial life, you're in the right place! Subscribe for new weekly episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@themoneymondays?sub_confirmation=1 Dan Fleyshman, The Money Mondays Learn more here: https://themoneymondays.com Watch all the podcast episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs0D-M5aH-0IOUKtQPKts-VZfO55mfH6k Subscribe for new weekly videos: https://www.youtube.com/@DanFleyshman?sub_confirmation=1 Let’s Connect... Website: https://themoneymondays.com Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-money-mondays/id1663564091 Twitter: https://twitter.com/themoneymondays LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-money-mondays/about/

Music Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Money Mondays. We have a very, very special edition because we have an author here. You guys might know him as a best-selling musician who sold millions of millions of copies over the years. I grew up listening to him. I can wrap every one of his songs. Literally, we were listening to it all day long. So, Tarzan's here, our co-host. He gets over 200 million views a month, making animal content.

Yeah, I know, I knew he looked for me, man. I just see him wrestling with the alligator. Exactly, literally. Literally, by the way, we have one right here. So, on the money, my days, we talk about three topics. How to make money, how to invest money, how to give it away to charity. We're all seeing me talking about Young Jeezy's new. He's going to get into that in a moment. But please give a war round applause to Young JZ. What up, doe? What up, doe? What's happening, man?

What's happening? So if you could, give us the quick two minute bio. How did it all get started? How do you get to here? And how did you get to become an author? Oh, man. Well, it got started, grew up, had humble beginnings, had to figure a lot of things out, got into the streets early, always loved music, so I ended up pursuing it in the middle of what I was doing, but I also knew that music was something that I felt like I was talented in, but business was my passion. So I was trying to figure out how do I get from the streets into a boardroom and music happened to be the vessel for that. And that's all I got here.

And being an author is just wrapping that all up into some pages. I wrote a lot of amazing songs, but I wanted to write something a little different. There could be like a guide, if you will, for a lot of guys who's coming from where I'm coming from, trying to figure out how to get into the business world. What's the name of the book? When does it come out? Tell us everything. So the book is called Adversity for Sale. You got to believe.

Self, you know, that's to be self-explanatory. And it comes out August 8th. However, you can pre-order right now. Anywhere books or so, anywhere you get your books. That's audible. That's where the Amazon, everywhere you get your books. And's audible. That's Emazon everywhere you get your books and I am I did do the Audio version so yeah, so it's me. You hear your boy on it. Yeah All right, Tarzan you've been waiting all there for this I need to interview here. I was like, where would you hold the alligator for like what I can't even be doing it It's playing how much of a fan I am I'm really here all the time

I can't even be getting it. It's playing how much of a fan I am. I know you're here all the time, you know what I'm saying, but like growing up on your music, my pops, and my family, till this day, you know, your song comes on, we get hype. That's what's up. The radio version, I turn that shit off. You know, that's what's up.

You know, you're in a real, you want to hit a real all the bars, you know. There's a meme, it's like someone hold a gun to your head and you gotta rap bar for bar. And if you miss a word, you get shot. I'm always picking one of these So during the three topics we like to talk about making money invest money and give it away to charity on the making money Side walk us through the transition from going from the streets and it's going to getting a record deal When someone's first trying to get in like their first time to break in, they're going to go perform at nightclubs for free.

They're going to perform at parties for free. And then they start charging five hundred bucks, a thousand bucks, two grand. And like, walk us through the beginning time. I'm going to take you a little farther back. Yeah. So for me, honest, early on, well, first of all, I wasn't going to be artists myself. I was funding it. And I was was funding it and the guys that we were funding, one of them ended up getting almost a life sentence. The other one got a 10-year sentence and the other one just went, you know, just straight. And basically, we were stuck with the studio equipment and all this money we tied up in it. And we just like, well, you might as well give it a go.

Like I got the bike. Yeah, because it was like, I was living in life. You know what I'm saying? I was the one that was living in life. That's how I was funding it. And it went from there to like, you know, of course, I had to figure out, and I always loved music, even when I grew up, I listened to, you know,

the masterpiece, the Tupac, love Tupac. And all those guys in the beginning, but I was getting a lot of my knowledge from the masterpiece, the two-part love two-part, and all those guys in the beginning, but I was getting a lot of my knowledge from the music, right? And that's the only place I had, because that was my podcast back then. Right, exactly. Just so you know. And so once I got in and I went in full force,

the thing was that I had to get my name out there. So what I would do is at any given time, I would do these mix tapes, shout out to DJ drama. Me and DJ drama would do these mix tapes. And I would go press up like two, three, four, 100,000 mix tapes and just go give them away. Back then. Yeah, because that was marketing.

That's why I say even like now. That's huge number. Yeah, that wasn't that wasn't one time. I was doing that like you know every couple of months I said you guys can do the math on the money my nays even if it's two three four five Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and this is the thing though. I was pressing them up and giving them away Oh really? Yeah, so you're giving your music away and and to me it was like that was the groundwork because At first what I would do was go to this club

on the east side and I think it was called prime or something like that. And I would just be out there outside, just giving the CDs out, putting them on people's cars. Right, in about six months into it, they called me from the club because we had a number on the back of the CD.

It was like, you want me to go through the computer show? No, come do a show. And it was like for $200 and I was just like, I couldn't even put gas in my car with $200, you know what I'm saying? But that was a start. Right. And it went from that. That was the first mixtape.

Then I, that was called Streets is Watching. Then I came back and I did Trappard die. And I doubled the numbers. So this is like $500,000. And now I started taking it. People realized what that means. Now I started taking it around the world. So it would like 500,000. And now I started taking it. They do a real, I just got me. Now I started taking it around the world. So it would be like Labor Day in Miami.

Right. I just go down there with all my people and everybody's past out CD. It's like we're just be like a hundred deep passing out CDs. And that's where it really popped off from. And there was a strip club DJ. There was a good friend of mine. And I've been a good friend of mine

that worked in Magic City. And the other part of that is, we used to go in Magic City where he DJed, and then like say, if Francis, he'll play my music. Not only were the girls going to dance, the money is flying. So then now,

you got like a one? Yeah, not just a bag, because it's like 50,000. Oh my God. Right, right. It's like 50,000, like two, three times that night. That's like $50,000. Like two, three times that night. That's like $150.

But the thing about it, what I understood early on there was marketing. For sure. You know what I'm saying? This is how I was going to, because I was looking for the deal. I was like, okay, if I can get it, people take interest in me, I can go get a deal, what's going to enable me to legitimize myself, and then I can start working towards business. So that was my plan, and it worked out just that way. It took a while, took a lot of money,

I'll tell you that, took a lot of money, but it was worth everything. And by the way, I tell anybody, like I don't even regret giving those projects away for free because right now, to this day, I can go anywhere on God, Korean Earth, and still do those projects on stage right because that was my connection. Everybody sings a lot. Yeah that was my connection because it was

like you know my grandma she's telling me like don't don't ask nobody don't ask nobody for something in return if you haven't given them something first so I felt like that was my first you know hey look this is me check it out let me know what you think. I mean, it did help that I was riding in the type of cars I was riding in, the life I was living, but that's how we did it with the hand to hand.

So, when I look at this generation, I just kinda like, it's hard, but it's fair, meaning like, it is saturated because you can just push one button. If you had to get out there and spend millions of dollars to do it, I don't think everybody could. Of course. You know what I mean?

So shout out to Greg Shriek, which is a big DJ in Atlanta. I had the snowman shirt that we came up with at Dev Jam, shout out to Sean O'Ears, because I had a snowman chain. And we was trying to find something to symbolize the album. He was like, let's do the snowman, it's like, yeah. So we did this snowman and the thing was to get like a hundred search and pass them out to the DJs.

So we did that and everybody kept calling next to the search and I'm like, I so we pressed up a hundred more. So next thing you know, people start pressing up search themselves. And then it goes on and it just explodes. I mean, I'm, New York one day We in Harlem we Ryan past these stores and I'm like, oh, and why so I like stop like I got snowman's with oozy snowman's with

machete snowman's I'm just like, yo, this is crazy. So that was my first indication the second indication So I didn't make no money there, but Greg street told me man You need to sell these shirts, and I was just like now. I want to sell music. He's like man, you need to sell these shirts. And I was like, no, I wanna sell music. He's like, no, you need to sell the shirts too. Trust me. And I was like, nobody gonna buy shirts. So fast forward, Jay Z called me.

He's like, yo, I'm going to the Magic Show, which is in Vegas, it's like a clothing culture. You come into, yeah, and it's huge. And he's like, oh, you should come with me. I was like, I ain't cool. So we go out to Magic. And I'm over in the rock rocker wear boot for them He like yo, let's walk around so we start walking and people are not everywhere. Yo jeez. He thank you so much And he looking at me. I'm looking at this one off like seven times

We're like, oh, what's going on and then he goes he like, oh, what's going on? So there's a guy say I see a command What I said I said they mean for what? You like this snowman shirt, man? Everybody's selling them. We got bulk selling them. We were selling them here. We were selling them there. So all those guys that, you know,

got started making bulk in the snowman shirts, and they were selling them. And I was like, that's, so now it's too far gone with them, I'm gonna go to the next. I can't put a cease in the system. So, they don't invite me in JZ. He's talking to dinner. He's like, yo, man, he's like, you ever thought about doing a clothes line the system. So, later on at night me and Jay, he's talking at dinner, he's like, yo man, he's like, you ever thought about

doing a clothing line? I was like, yes, and I was gonna talk to you about it. He's like, let's do it. So me and Jay ended up doing my first clothing line, which was 87th, where it was USDA, was named the clothing line. And then, but then the government came back about a year later and put a cease in the cease on it.

So I had to change the name. And and so when they call me Panic and Jay and the Russian guys from Rock and Wair, they're like what are we gonna do they want us to change the name I was like okay no problem we're gonna go I say you remember when you had a beeper back in the day that you don't want nobody know what you was saying and then you used the the the codes on the and so that I just switched to the USDA because it was 8, 7, 3, 2, and it was switched to the USDA. Boom, that was it.

Yeah. So, one fact, I was there at Magic when this happened. What? So I started my clothing line in 1999. And my very first booth was, I own the name Hoosier Daddy. OK. So I trademarked the catchphrase, which was daddy for everything.

That's how I got started. And I went there, I got a 20-foot booth. And I thought it was a big time. Right, so the 10 foot booth, I'm gonna get a 20 foot booth. I'm 17 years old. Next to me is a little company called Fouboo. We have the whole walkway. They spend a million dollars.

The other side of me is a brand new brand just started the exact same convention as me called Shon-Jon. Yep. The whole walkway. And I'm the little engine that could right between, right, with my 20 feet. We run a 1.2 million dollars in orders out of our little tiny booth.

Being next to Fubu and Shonja. And then year after year, I started meeting with the guys from Rock Aware. We started working with their underwear designers, their row designers. There's so many different licensing things that you can do in the apparel business, which is really interesting.

If you come up with, guys listen, if you guys come up with either a brand name or something unique like this, which is rare, it's rare, you can't buy a cool, it's really rare for someone for people who want to go out there and knock you off. In those moments, you can license out your sweatshirts, you can license out shoes, you can license out jeans, a lot of things that you guys see in the clothing stores, the manufacturer, the owner doesn't actually make them. Someone makes their jewelry. Someone makes their cologne. Someone else makes their hats. Those are called licensing deals. And brands like this, brands like Sean, John, Ruck, Works, etc. They have different licensees for different

products. I did $9.5 million. When I was 19 years old in the UK and I never saw the clothing. Wow. Start to repair, pay us $9.5 million to make our clothing over there. I never saw the clothing. Wow. Starter or Paro paid us $9.5 million to make our clothing over there. Never saw it. Wow. So you guys can make things if you come to something good or make a clothing line or make it brand big. The unique products within it can actually become bigger than the main thing. Wow.

Okay. Next question. Now that social media exists, people can go out there and get hundreds of thousands of views, tens of thousands of views, minds of views, with a few clicks of a button. But there wasn't, before there wasn't thousands and thousands of thousands of artists. Now, anybody can be an artist. What do you think people can do now to stand out to actually get an actual record deal, not just go viral on social? I think you gotta have, you gotta have that Savuafair, like you gotta have that it, because a lot of these cats are bigger than their songs.

You don't buy into the person and what they're about and how they live their lives. You like the music, but you can like another song tomorrow. Right. And people do because they're fair weather. Yeah, and it's fast. I just think that you know, you got an order that have staying power. There has to be something about you that quality

is not in anyone else. Like when you looked at death row back then, you knew two-poch discussion. You know what I'm saying? You know, he was different from everything else they had on the roster. You know, even though Snoop was dope, he's just like, who is this guy? He stands for a lot. And he talks a lot too. You know what I'm saying you know, he was different from everything else they had on the roster, you know, even though Snoop was dope You're just like who's this guy? He stands for a lot and he talks a lot, too, you know, I'm saying so It was that you got to have that you got to have that factor

That make people buy into more than just the music and I think um Do you think that's the story like what do you think it is? The buy-in to is it the story the person? The person you could just see how they move. It's almost like a president. You know, we had president's, we liked, we had president's, we ate. You know, I'm saying they're all trying to be the president. You know what I mean?

But it's just how they carry it. Like, the Barack Obama was a totally different president than George Bush. For sure. You know, I'm saying just the way he articulated itself, the way he talked to people, he's like, you know, I like that guy. You know what I'm saying? And you know, we get it he talked to people He's like, you know, I like that guy You know, I'm saying and then you know, we get it to the Trumps It's what he wants to wear He's talking people like them because he didn't you didn't care so it's like you know, you pick who you actually like because you're not picking

Trump based on his business since you picking he got a I don't go for a. Or you're picking Brock like, that's how a real black man should act. Right. You know what I'm saying? So I think what you're artists, you pick that too, because it's just like, it's like I have to leave. You know, you can love the way they play the game, but it might be at asshole off the field. You know, he's like, you know, he's great, but he's just, you know, he's always ending something.

He's always, you know what I mean? So I just think it's that because again, you know, anybody can always in the sun. He's always, you know what I mean? So I just think is that, because again, you know, anybody can make music, anybody can play football, anybody can play basketball, but like what about them, especially when I go on to say one of the guys I really like, it's like Shaq. For sure. You know what I'm saying?

Like he just has that thing. It's not true. It's just who he is. He's business is crazy, right? And you don't get to even know that. You learn that with every other conversation about him, you go, all he does that to, but the whole time, he just think he's acting silly all the time.

But that's just who he's just a good dude, right? But his business is solid. He's not playing around here. You know what I'm saying? And his brand is still just as relevant as it was when he was playing ball. So he's no longer playing ball. And you got to look at that and you got to go out. And then you can go to vice-versus like Magic Johnson is more of a, he's a great businessman

but he's a little more reserved. Business mogul. Right. But he's a little more reserved so you don't really know Magic. You know what I mean? You can see his moves. So you base it off if it was about the business. I can see that.

But you take somebody like Shaq and you can have a conversation with Shaq. You probably die left. But he just closed another billion dollar deal. Before that conversation. So yeah. It's a personality. And they also just, I even personality like, we should more compass like?

Yes, you know, I'm saying like what are your values? What do you stand for? Yeah, what you stand for? You know, I'm saying because a lot of people don't you know I mean especially when I was coming up like nobody stood for nothing They didn't know how to and then in these days is like it's too much to stay right It's actually one of the questions we ask a lot here is, you know, over 85% of athletes go bankrupt within five years, leaving the league. And that hurts to watch and see, like so many times, something will make $5,000, $10,000, $20,000,000, and they're broke five, 10 years later.

That's kind of the concept of why we created this podcast is to have these hard discussions about money, why they should be investing, why they should be considering it. So let's say we're talking to an artist or an athlete and they just made a bunch of money. They made a million dollars, two million dollars. Over the things you would tell them when they're trying to buy their third watch or their fourth car, I always tell them, I always tell people you're going to get numb to it. Like, yeah, I mean, I think, I think, you know, you got to let people get it out of their system because that's what comes with it. But there's a point, I mean, even myself, I think, you know, you got to let people get it out of the system because that's that's what comes with it. But there's a point, I mean, even

myself, I would, like, there's certain things I would never buy again. You know, I just know better. It doesn't even mean the same thing to me. But I'll tell anybody that's coming into some money, like, it's just the name of the game, it just cash flowing assets. It's just it, like, it's safe. It's solid. I mean, I'm not a stock market type of guy. I hated the Bitcoin when it came out. I don't need nothing that's going to flash on my phone to make me lose my mind at the dinner table. I got 300,000. But I always I grew up in a trailer about this big. I grew up in the two bedroom trailer, me and my mom, my sister about this big.

So my whole thing was, how can I own land? How can I own dirt? Like how can I own something that, if I'm in the room and I tell somebody, hey, you know, I own all this and that and they're like, really? You know what I'm saying? Because these are cash flowing assets,

but at the same time, like my passion is going out. And by the way, to me, I can't speak with anybody else. Like, I had a couple of things I did in my background that this really reminds me of. Like, you sell out of something, you buy some more, you flip it, you do it again. So, like, to me, it was just like,

it was like, oh, I can do this. You know, and then you start to see it appreciate. And I'm just like, wow, so for me, I'll tell somebody, man, like, you want to get to the point where your assets pay for your lifestyle. You know what I mean? And you don't have to really, like whatever you work and you get it, you get it, right? You got it, and you can invest that as well, but you want your assets to pay for how you live in it. And you want your assets to pay for your dinners and your vacations and your second home and all these things is just like because the money is there. I don't think people understand

that. The first thing when you get money thick by how fast can you spend it? Right? Or what it's going to look like when you spend it. Like, someone's somebody gets a money you see it. You know, on Instagram, they go straight to Louis Vuitton and all that. And then when you give away clothes as many many times I have, I went through spells while I was giving away millions of dollars in clothes because I'm just like, I don't want all this and I'm like, am I bought these jeans 10 times? I bought these shoes seven times.

Where at what time? And then I just changed it to a minimalist. I'm like, you know what, I need five shirts, five t's, I need five pair jeans, I need that. Because now, it's junk at this point this point right so I just want what I need And I just keep it clean like that and also helps me to know what I got and I don't need 10 watches I just got the right three right you know I'm saying that and then therefore what I need them for right and that's it So I'm not gonna get up tomorrow and see somebody wearing something else and go I got a hat with it all that shit till time.

By the way my phone tells time too so it's all good you know. But I would just but the bigger thing I would say is like to make sure you get around people who can show you what you because you might not like real estate you might like something else but just get around people who can show you what to do with your money, because you're not gonna always get that many chances. And that's the thing I think about a lot of athletes, they get that one shot. And it's not hard, you saying you was 19 years old,

you made nine point something million dollars, just think about that. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, that's life changing, if it's handled right. You never have to look back with that type of money. You know what I'm saying? But a lot of times, you know, you get that type of money,

like I gotta get that new land boat is dry, but I gotta get it. In your mind, you think you need all these things. And it's the craziest thing. You're really getting all that for other people to see, because it really, like, it's not even for you. You know what I'm saying? Cause I draw everything and I'm, I'm driven everything besides the horseman and I'll tell you.

I got, I got, I got, I got calls in my garage. I just look walk past and be like, ah, you know what I mean? Cause it's just like, you know, it's like, you just, you know, that's not even the bra. He's saying like, I wish that I could just go sell it. Right. You know me? Cause I'm not, I'm not going anywhere I need. You know, I'm giving a driver bra, he's saying like I wish that I could just go sell it, you know me because I'm not I'm not going anywhere

I need you know, I'm giving a driver to take me where I got to go But in my mind, I'm like it was a point of time. I really wanted this, but look. I don't even want anymore That says a lot. Yes. Says a lot. So I think though one of the biggest reasons and one of the hardest discussions to have with an athlete an artist and influencer etc is they're entourage. You know, they're surrounded by people, and they're cousins, nephews, uncles, friends that ask them to borrow money six times in a row. How do you have those hard discussions

and really evaluate the people that are around you and the people that are trying to just like pull that chain? Well, I'm a satiess and this is in the book as well. I was probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make. It didn't come. It came after, I'm see I can make this short, but sweet. So basically my message started changing, my music, and I talk about this in the book, I forget what the chapter.

And Farrakhan called me out of the blue, he was like, geez, brother G's, what's going on? He was like, you know the enemies coming your message has changed and I'm like all my enemies are my neighborhood. I ain't like what are you gonna do to me? He's like I'm just telling you to mine you you know, I got You know 30 40 people standing in my house from the neighborhood And then I got into some issues where I had to go get the rest of the people in the neighborhood and buy some houses to put them in. So I can, you know, like, so. Re-orgway, but, so.

Because it was a lot of stuff going on. And I love them, you know what I'm saying, still do. And I got locked up because something happened and the Bay, somebody got killed by my tour bus while I was on tour with Whiskeliefer and they end up catching us From there at the L.A. Stop and they locked my whole team up there because they found some firearms or whatever on the bus and Everybody they locked up 10 people and we all had a million dollar bills. So that's 10 million dollars

You know what I'm saying? So now I'm sitting in jail, and then everybody who's out, it's supposed to be taking care of my people, and my family, and all that. Nobody was calling to check on my kids, and all that. So it's just like a real moment where I was like, you know what, I think, and then my,

my middle daughter was born then, and I was just like, man, like I gotta, I was just like, man, I just got to cut all this and just do what I need to do because it's one thing to be in here, but it's another thing to depend on somebody that you can't depend on. And it was the hardest that I ever made. I remember getting out, of course, I was 10 million in Bill,

and then I was in LA at the time. So I hadn't went back to the South yet. They get my stuff in order. I never forget I was doing a video shoot for this song, I forget what it's called, Holy Ghost. And I was shooting in LA like the day I got out. And we was down by a scare roll and there was this kid on the bike that pulled up and he was like, you can tell like he probably ain't took a shower in a week and he had the dirtiest shoes on right and normally on big dog I can go in my pocket and be like, you know, I go in my pocket, I ain't got no money I ain't nobody I can call to get no money until I get back. The fairs got my bank account seized. So it was just like a real pivotal time because I kind of

felt like, you know, like, damn, I'm always been there for everybody. Ain't nobody ever me. So when I got back to Atlanta, I just cut everything short., it was hard, it's because this is my support system. Like these are the people that made me feel like I was great. You know, everything I did was amazing to them. Like, oh yeah, right. You know, you're in the studio, oh, that's the way. You know what I mean? Now I didn't know about any studio, which is you.

And it was the hardest decision I had to make. But what I learned, and it wasn't right away, it took a long time for me to start understanding that only quality people was the way to go and I just started branching out and I was like do things and I was there was outside my comfort zone I would go take a bunch with somebody to down build with them a little bit and you know I really like and the next thing you know it'll be an event they're an invite you to and you go

and then you meet somebody else and then you start meeting these people and a whole another world that you never been in because you've only been between the streets and the music industry. And these people are not music people, these are like regular people to have you know, fortune 500 companies or these different types of businesses or one sales crew or yo this one does this one does real estate. Now you sitting around tables with guys that got a real genuine love for you, and they don't need anything from you. They're actually trying to help you,

with your situation, like what you got going on. I'm like, well, you know, actually, I'm really trying to get into this real estate. You talk to these guys. I'm like, yeah. And now you start talking this guy, and that's how I got into real estate. I started buying properties and doing all these things.

And I'm like, oh, okay, well, I got a real estate guy now. Like, won't you help me build this and you focus on that while I go on tour, right? And I come back and he's like, yo, you remember all those properties you bought, look in this line right here and then you go look on the line, he like worth three times more, you pay for all that what happened. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Like, buy up everything you can't exactly. And that was a thing and I just had to learn that and there over time. But I'm gonna be honest because I talk about then the book like my beginnings was rough around the age. So I didn't really trust people

up until my late 30s because I started to meet people that I felt like I could trust. Before that, I was just like, you don't know if you're gonna go to sleep right. You know what I'm saying? But before that, it's just like, you don't know if you're gonna go to sleep right? Right, you know what I'm saying? You're not gonna stay up being the back of the front. You know what I mean? So I dealt with that for so long. And when I finally started to just interact with people

that had their own moral compass and their own values, I started to realize why I needed to step mind up at, you know what I'm saying, and for me, they just made me a better person overall, because I thought this was it, but it was really about this, right? And then you go on for years and years, and you met different people,

and you celebrated holidays and birthdays, and you like, wow, I got a whole community of people that are doing very well for themselves, that want to see me do better, right? And like wow I got a whole community of people that are doing very well for themselves that want to see me do better right and any resources I got like so back then it would be like you know I'd be the guy to pull up to the party with all the weed you know what I'm saying but now it's like you kind of my house or a party I'm giving books out you know I just read this book you got to read this it's crazy you know what I'm saying and all my homies is sitting there like yo you know what I'm saying they don't get homeies are sitting there like, yo, you know what I'm saying? They'll get home, they'll text me.

Y'all just got to chapter three, this is crazy. And they're all self-help books, because that's my love self-help books, that's my thing. So I'm really in there, but my point of case is, my quality of life changed with the quality of people that I saw the social sharing with. Even my quality of business, by the way. Yeah, because my business was cool at first,

and then it just turned to something else. And I was just like, okay, and then, because you gotta have people that can tell you where lawyers are going to now, because if you don't know, you're going to the wrong lawyers or the accountants, you know what I mean? Because they can tell you about the problem they had and how they fixed it.

So you have these conversations where, as a black man, it's hard to go to your friend and be like, yo, I gotta figure this out. They talking about some tax stuff, I don't know what to do. You know what I mean? Like, rather than that, they're like, oh, I got a tax guy for you. You should go over there and take a meeting with him and you sit down.

Everything's cool, by the way, but he's gonna show you what you was slipping on and what you need to tighten up at or who you should deal with because maybe this tax person is not suitable for you because they never done that type of activity in business, right? That's out of their pay grade. So now you need somebody else next level. Right. Yeah. This is what's important. Getting the right attorney will save you six figures later. Getting the right accountant will save you six figures later.

The people are like, oh yeah, I'm just gonna use H&R block and pay them $1200. You go get an account and then you pay five, 10 grand too when you're making six figures. Cause what happens is the IRS waits three years, four years, five years. And so it's like a big check or a big event. That's what they come to you.

They're not gonna come, not coming after you for 11 grand. They want you for 11 million. They want you for two million. They want you for 2 million. They want to come in and really sink their teeth into you. So getting the right accounts on lawyers early. Also keep in mind, if a good accountant can help you save four or five percent, like four or five percent who cares, that's four or five percent you're gonna learn about forever.

So you're like, oh, I make 120 grand here. That's only six grand. That's not six grand once. It's six grand for the next 60 years Your life every year and what they say the famous quote is and ain't it ain't what you make is what you say for sure Yep, it's what you keep Yeah, you know, that's why people will move all to Miami a demanding Republic. The tax breaks is real Tax breaks are real, you know, so many friends at Moody Porter, you know, saying, why not? Why not?

You know, I'm with my Puerto Rico's eye with me too. I think that, you know, we always talk about investing too. I really think people don't understand how rare it is for someone like you to come from where you come from and what you've done to get to where you're at. But it was all through self-investment. Can you explain that? Because there's people out there today that still in the streets,

I don't even know social media. Today I'm doing these brand deals that are still thinking it's cool to trap and do all this stuff. I don't have family and friends that think that. But they're not gonna listen to me. But someone like yourself that's been there done that time and time again,

what advice would you give them? Well, I just say never stop learning. And that's the new fly, that's the new cool. And when you say investing yourself is crazy, because I still do to this day. Like I got most of them there, because I'm investing. I got a high level strategy of people that I invest in. Like all these different groups and pockets of people

that I can go and talk to about different things that I want to do, but that's investing in myself, right? Because now I got these outlets where I can have these conversations in a safe place and get intel and stuff that I need to know because I can't just go get that from anybody, right? So that's the way of investing yourself, and also like always like investing in your team and making sure that the right people are working with them for you.

Just like Magic Johnson said, you want to be the best, you got to go get the best. And you can't cut corners there. And that's investing in yourself. And if anybody who's out there in the streets is just like, for me, I invested in myself early on with the hopes that it would pay off and it did, but I did the work also. You know, I'm saying it just because a lot of times it ain't just money. If it was just money, everybody would be good.

It's the relationships and it's you putting in the work and building your brand. And I think that if you have nothing to invest in, like say, friends, if you don't have any, if you're not inspiring the by no buildings or the do no stocks or to get no Bitcoin or to open up this type of business, just continue to invest in yourself like to invest in you, right? And that may be in you learning, that might be going to some type of conventions, that might be going to some type of retreats, whatever it is it's investing you right and see what that takes you because for me I Think having the courage to invest in myself early, and I didn't even know that's what I was doing

By the way, I didn't call it investing back then But investing myself that early changed the whole trajectory of my life like I've already been in prison right now If not somewhere worse, you know, I'm saying but I but I took that chance and it wasn't easy like I kind of you know some nights I was like man shit I'm on another Ferrari too I'm like you know I'm saying because everybody was living and it was like I had to cut back you know and I lived in the penthouse and had to fall back and I was standing in the one bedroom apartment, even ramen noodles, you know what I'm saying for a while because I don't sleep on the air mattress because I believe into that much, I had to dump it down so because I needed more bread and invest in myself so I'm like

you know what, why am I spending this much for this place, you know I'm saying nobody sees it in break cuz I don't have anybody on my house, somebody just dump it down, you know what I mean, and figure that part out. And I've done that several times in my life. And so for me, I'm never scared to get my hands dirty. You know what I'm saying? But I'm also gonna make sure that I put, I'm investing myself and I'm gonna always try

to learn something new every day, every day. I don't care. Sometimes five, six times a day. If I get too much time on my hands, I'm sitting there waiting, like I was waiting on you guys. I was in the car listening to the podcast. I'm just sitting there like, I'll rather do that. You know what I'm saying?

I don't know why, it's always been that way for me. Even when I was young, I used to sit around the older guys and you know people would be like, oh, they old, I'm like, they know stuff. Exactly. You know what I'm saying, right? Right. I'm saying, I just listen.

How they communicated with each other, where they talked to Brown, I'm just like, oh, okay, okay. I get that, right? Right. I just listen. How they communicated with each other, where they talked about, and I was like, oh, okay, okay, okay. I get that, I get that. And that's how I was getting my information. So one of the biggest reasons we started this podcast is we all grew up thinking it's rude to talk about money. Right.

Couldn't talk about money with your parents, can talk about money with your friends. But you knew why, don't you? You didn't talk about money with your parents, because it was scarce. So they don't want to talk about something that has control over them. It's like, you don't know how to pay the bills next month, you don't want to hear that. You know what I'm saying? It's like being in the marriage and you don't got your end of the rent.

You know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? It's like it's pressure. And I think that you guys are doing exactly what you're supposed to do because there's somebody somewhere in some small, real town that's sitting there listening to you guys podcast figuring his life out because there's no where, there's nobody that he can go talk to about or she. And I think, you know, that's the way you gotta go about it.

And I think that the reason why finances has been such a big issues because we never had none. And when we got it, you know, was the first thing we do with it, you know, I'm saying, spending it. Yeah, my mom used to, but I don't know if you back then, the day we called it the number. So it was like, it was like the lottery before the lottery, but the lottery in the hood. So like, my grandmother, both my grandmother was number ladies. So, like, people coming to their house and they play a number and then at the end of the week,

the number comes out and they have to pay up. Right, and that's how they would, that's how you came up in the hood. And I remember my grandmother, my mother used to hit the number of some of the first thing we wanted to do was go shopping and take you everywhere, take you to McDonald's and all the money's gone by the time you get home, right?

Cause nobody's thinking about saving, cause why you saving, you're not gonna get anything else, it was their mentality. And a lot of the people that I came up with had factory jobs, and I was just like, and I talk about that in the book, because a lot of, I don't think a lot of people know, my father was in the military.

So at a young age, I was already living in Hawaii, living in Japan. So I saw a lot of stuff. My palate was different. I was in sushi. So my parents got divorced and had to go back to the hood. I'm trying to convince everybody in neighborhood. Like, man, it's beaches and poverty. Like, what the fuck? Come on, man, you bugged. Like, you get a rough one. Like, you know, but you're trying to explain to them, like, this thing's out here. Yeah. And they like, man, come on, man. And so my whole mission was to get back to that,

which is one of the reasons why I love traveling so much is to get back to that world because I had seen it, right? So that made it easier for me to understand that you should and want to save your money, right? You should invest because the people that live like that only live like that because they made sacrifices in the beginning Now they can travel the world and now they can do all these things because they set up that way and nobody were on from what set up

That way like I never heard of a vacation before that, you know, I'm saying like Vacation was going to your aunt's house for the right I'm saying yeah, yeah, yeah, all right last question on the charity side I've been out for a few hours. All right, last question on the charity side. What do you think it's important for people to either do charity from themselves personally or in their business or brands? Well, for me, it's important because, well, I started street drinks foundation back in like 2001.

It might have been 2000. And where it came from is, basically, we was in the neighborhood, we was keeping up all the records. And we was kids was trying to go to school. We got them keeping them up because we loud. And so all type of things happened in neighborhood, cars, screeching, whatever.

And one Christmas, I noticed that a lot of the kids in neighborhood didn't have any toys. So I went and got with some guys. I knew got 500 from this guy, $1,000 from this guy, $1,000 from this guy, $1,000 from that guy, put $5 this guy, thousand dollars from this guy, thousand dollars from that guy, put five thousand dollars with it. When I'm running out the local gymnasium, got some U-hauls and when I bought all these toys, lined them up and just told the whole hood,

y'all guys come get toys. And I saw that in the faces. I'm like, well, and I love kids, by the way. And I kept doing that for years and years and years and I was spending my own money. Then I got into different aspects of like inner city kids. And you know, just curriculums and I mean, this is me trying to do it. So I had to eventually start bringing in people here and there and here and there and trying

to figure out how to do the nonprofit because I didn't know. I just wanted to have something for my cause. And I never forget it wasn't up to a couple years ago, maybe like two years ago. I'm doing a podcast with Tony Robbins and we just talking. And I never forget it wasn't up to a couple of years ago, maybe like two years ago. I'm doing the podcast with Tony Robbins and we just talking. And he asked me the same thing about charity and I told him that, you know, we have to give back. That's our purpose. That's who we are. So we supposed to do it for more fortunate. And as a leader, you should always want to give back to the community.

And he said, well, when the next time you give him back to the community, I was like, in a couple of weeks, I'm going to do this bike giveaway that I know me do. And he said, well, when the next time you give him back to the community, I was like in a couple of weeks I'm gonna do this bike giveaway that I know him you do and He said really I was like, yeah, he saw how many bikes you're gonna get and I told him He said, well consider it double because I'm gonna match you I'm so sad out of Tony Robbs He sent it over and we doubled it up and it was so many happy kids out there And then we went on and everything I've done. I want to shout out to Tony Robbins and Foundation because everything I've done, they've either matched me or gave me their resources

and stuff. Amazing. Like everything I do that has anything to do with philanthropy, they always there. And you know, he has the infrastructure. So we're learning as we go, how to expand and move on and shout out to the Urban League and Atlanta. Same thing, they're doing amazing things. Shout out to the Urban League in Atlanta.

Same thing, they're doing amazing things. It just gave me an award there for being one of the great philanthropists there, but I just think any, I mean, fulfill me like, so just so we clear, so I can, like, you gonna get money, cause, you know, jets, all these things, but it's gonna come to a place in the point of time where it's not gonna get money, cars, jets, all these things. But it's gonna come to a place in the point of time where it's not gonna fulfill you because

it's all on the outside, it's all materialistic. And the only thing that's gonna fulfill you is looking out for other people. And that's what fulfills me the most when I'm able to give back on a level that you're able to touch hundreds or not level that you're able to touch, hundreds of, or not thousands of lives at one time. And that's when I go home happy. It's not when I go home and I got a big check and I go, oh, I did it today.

Check is a check. You can put it with the rest of them. I'm saying, but I wouldn't encourage anybody in position to give back to give back for sure. All right guys, you're watching a very special edition of Money Monday's. We have a big request. He's putting out a book. Yes sir, August 8th at Versailles for Sale will be

anywhere books are sold. JGZ Jenkins is the author. If you don't know, make sure you go get it and you can get it anywhere right now where books are sold. You can pre-order it. And I'm doing the Audible version by the way, your boy is doing it himself. He's already done, you know, it's truly. So we're gonna buy a bunch of books for the money Mondays,

because we have a big event coming up right after that. We have a whole arena, we're throwing a big arena event, like a business event in Salt Lake City. So we're gonna buy a bunch of copies to give out copies there. But you guys gotta go there, buy copies, buy copies for your friends, give it out to your staff friends family followers Now remember the reason we do the money Monday's so you have hard discussions with your friends family your staff

etc about money so we can help change our society and have people make more money So follow young GZ follow the real Tarzan make sure to check out the book. We'll see you guys next Monday. There it is. Yeah, it's sir.